16.6 Mass Media, New Technology, and the Public
Learning Objectives
- Explain the technology diffusion model.
- Identify technological failures over the past decade.
- Describe the relationship between mass media and new technology.
When the iPad went on sale in the United States in April 2010, 36-year-old graphic designer Josh Klenert described the device as “ridiculously expensive [and] way overpriced (Guglielmo, 2010).” The cost of the new technology, however, did not deter Klenert from purchasing an iPad; he preordered the tablet computer as soon as it became available and ventured down to Apple’s SoHo store in New York on opening weekend to buy it. Klenert, and everyone else who stood in line at the Apple store during the initial launch of the iPad, demonstrated characteristics sociologists describe as early adoption, a practice engaged by tech-loving pioneers who likely embrace new technology as soon as it arrives on the market. What causes a person to become an early adopter or a late adopter? What benefits do each provide? This section explains the cycle of technology and its diffusion in society. Critics often discuss the process and factors influencing the diffusion of new technology in the context of a diffusion model known as the technology adoption life cycle.
Diffusion of Technology: The Technology Adoption Life Cycle
Rural sociologists originally observed the technology adoption life cycle during the technology diffusion studies during the 1950s. University researchers George Beal, Joe Bohlen, and Everett Rogers looked at the adoption rate of hybrid seed among Iowa farmers in an attempt to conclude how farmers accept new ideas. They discovered that the process of adoption over time fit a normal growth curve pattern—first came a slow gradual rate of adoption, then quite a rapid rate of adoption, followed by a leveling off of the adoption rate. Personal and social characteristics influenced when farmers adopted the use of hybrid seed corn; younger, better-educated farmers tended to adapt to the new technology almost as soon as it became available, whereas older, less-educated farmers waited until most other farms already used hybrid seed before they adopted the process, or they resisted change altogether.
In 1962, Rogers generalized the technology diffusion model in his book Diffusion of Innovations, using farming research to conclude the spread of new ideas and technology. Like his fellow farming model researchers, Rogers recognizes five categories of participants: innovators, who tend to experiment and have an interest in the technology itself; early adopters such as Josh Klenert and his fellow iPad aficionados, technically sophisticated people interested in using the technology for solving professional and academic problems; early majority, who constitute the first part of the mainstream, bringing the new technology into common use; late majority, who feel less comfortable with the technology and may express skepticism about its benefits; and laggards, who resist the new technology and may criticize its use by others (Rogers, 1995).
When new technology succeeds in the market, it follows the technology adoption life cycle shown in Figure 16 .7. Innovators and early adopters, attracted by the desire to own something new, want to possess the innovation immediately, sometimes even before discovering potential uses for it, and do not concern themselves with things like the price. When the iPad hit stores in April 2010, Apple sold 120,000 units on the first day, primarily as a result of presales (Oliver, 2010). Sales dropped on days 2 and 3, suggesting that demand for the device dipped slightly after the initial first-day excitement. Within the first month, Apple had sold 1,000,000 iPads, exceeding industry expectations (Goldman, 2010). However, many mainstream consumers (the early majority) waited to find out just how popular the device would become before making a purc hase .
Forrester Research notes that much of the equipment acquired by early adopters—laptops, MP3 players, digital cameras, broadband Internet access at home, and mobile phones—has shifted into the mainstream. Analyst Jacqueline Anderson, who works for Forrester, said, “There’s really no group out of the tech loop. America is becoming a digital nation. Technology adoption continues to roll along, picking up more and more mainstream consumers every year (Wortham, 2009).” To cite just one example, in 2008 nearly 10 million American households added HDTV, an increase of 27 percent over the previous year (Wortham, 2009). By the time most technology reaches mainstream consumers, the company has refined it to make it more established, more user-friendly, and cheaper than earlier versions or prototypes. In June 2010, Amazon slashed the price of its Kindle e-reader from $259 to $189 in response to competition from Barnes & Noble’s Nook (Bartash, 2010). Companies frequently reduce the price of technological devices once the initial novelty wears off, as a result of competition from other manufacturers or as a strategy to retain market share.
Although many people ultimately adapt to new technology, some express extreme resistance or unwillingness to change at all. When Netscape web browser user John Uribe was repeatedly urged by a message from parent company AOL to switch to one of Netscape’s successors, Firefox or Flock, he ignored the suggestions. Despite AOL informing him that it would stop providing support for the web browser service in March 2008, Uribe continued to use it. “It’s kind of irrational,” Mr. Uribe said. “It worked for me, so I stuck with it. Until there is really some reason to totally abandon it, I won’t (Helft, 2008).” Uribe self-characterizes himself as a late adopter—he still uses dial-up Internet service and his aging Dell computer with its small amount of memory. Members of the late majority make up a large percentage of the U.S. population—a 2010 survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau found that despite the technology’s widespread availability, 40 percent of households across the United States have no high-speed or broadband Internet connection, while 30 percent have no Internet at all (Whitney, 2010). Of 32.1 million households in urban areas, respondents cited a lack of interest or need for the technology as the most common reason for not having high-speed Internet (Whitney, 2010).
Experts claim that, rather than slowing down the progression of new technological developments, laggards in the technology adoption life cycle may help to control the development of new technology. Paul Saffo, a technology forecaster, said, “Laggards have a bad rap, but they are crucial in pacing the nature of change. Innovation requires the push of early adopters and the pull of laypeople asking whether something works. If this was a world in which only early adopters got to choose, we’d all be using CB radios and quadraphonic stereo.” He added that aspects of the laggard and early adopter coexist in most people. For example, many consumers buy the latest digital camera and end up using just a fraction of its functions. Technological laggards may explain the reason that not every new technology becomes a mainstream trend (see sidebar).
Not Consumer-Approved: Technological Flops
Have you ever heard of the Apple Newton? How about Microsoft Bob? Or DIVX ? For most people, the names probably mean very little because these were all flash-in-the-pan technologies that never caught on with mainstream consumers.
Introduced by Apple in 1993, the Apple Newton or MessagePad contained many of the features now popularized by modern smartphones, including personal information management and add-on storage slots. Despite clever advertising and relentless word-of-mouth campaigns, the Newton failed to achieve anything like the popularity enjoyed by most Apple products. Hampered by its large size compared to more recent equivalents (such as the PalmPilot) and its cost—basic models cost around $700, with more advanced models costing up to $1,000—the Newton faced ridicule by talk show comedians and cartoonists because of the supposed inaccuracy of its handwriting-recognition function. By 1998, the Newton stopped production. A prime example of an idea ahead of its time, the Newton paved the way for the smaller, cheaper, and more successful PalmPilot, which in turn motivated every successive mobile Internet device.
DIVX, an attempt by electronics retailer Circuit City to create an alternative to video rental, had even less success in the late 1990s. Customers could rent movies on disposable DIVX discs that they could keep and watch for two days. They then had the choice of throwing away or recycling the disc or paying a continuation fee to keep watching it. Viewers who wanted to watch a disc for an unlimited amount of time could pay to convert it into a “DIVX silver” disc for an additional fee. Launched in 1998, DIVX promoted the system as an alternative to traditional rental systems with the promise of no returns and no late fees. However, its introduction coincided with the release of DVD technology, which had gained traction over the DIVX format. Consumers feared that the choice between DIVX and DVD might turn into another Betamax versus VHS debacle, and by 1999 the technology looked all but obsolete. The failure of DIVX cost Circuit City a reported $114,000,000 and left early enthusiasts of the scheme with worthless DIVX equipment (although vendors offered a $100 refund for people who bought a DIVX player) (Mokey, 2009).
Microsoft Bob, a mid-1990s attempt to provide a new, nontechnical interface to desktop computing operations, signifies another catastrophic failure in the world of technology. Microsoft developed Bob, represented by a logo with a yellow smiley face that filled the o in its name, to make Windows more palatable to nontechnical users. With a cartoon-like interface that resembled the inside of a house, Bob helped users navigate their way around the desktop by having them click on objects in each room. Microsoft expected sales of Bob to skyrocket and held a big advertising campaign to celebrate its 1995 launch. Instead, the product failed dismally because of its high initial sale price, demanding hardware requirements, and tendency to patronize users. When Microsoft launched Windows 95 the same year, its new Windows Explorer interface required far less dumbing down than previous versions, and Microsoft Bob became irrelevant.
Technological failures such as the Apple Newton, DIVX, and Microsoft Bob prove that mainstream adopters benefit by not jumping on the new-product bandwagon before audiences have truly tried and tested the technology
Mass Media Outlets and New Technology
As new technology reaches the shelves and the number of early majority consumers rushing to purchase it increases, mass media outlets must contine to adapt to the new medium. When the iPad’s popularity continued to grow throughout 2010 (selling 3,000,000 units within 3 months of its launch date), traditional newspapers, magazines, and TV networks rushed to form partnerships with Apple, launching applications for the tablet so that consumers could directly access their content. Unconstrained by the limited amount of space available in a physical newspaper or magazine, publications such as The New York Times and USA Today can include more detailed reporting than they can fit in their traditional paper, as well as interactive features such as crossword puzzles and the use of video and sound. “Our iPad App is designed to take full advantage of the evolving capabilities offered by the Internet,” said Arthur Sulzberger Jr., publisher of The New York Times. “We see our role on the iPad as being similar to our traditional print role—to act as a thoughtful, unbiased filter and to provide our customers with information they need and can trust (Brett, 2010).”
Because Apple decided to ban Flash (the dominant software for online video viewing) from the iPad, more traditional TV networks have converted their video files to HTML5 to enable screening of full TV episodes on the device. CBS and Disney were among the first networks to offer free TV content on the iPad in 2010 through the iPad’s built-in web browser, while ABC streamed its shows via an iPad application. The iPad even managed to revive forms of discontinued traditional media; in June 2010, Condé Nast announced the restoration of Gourmet magazine as an iPad application called Gourmet Live . As more media content becomes available on new technology such as the iPad, the iPod, and the various e-readers available on the market, it appeals to a broader range of consumers, becoming a self-perpetuating model.
