Frank: Frank: Hi, my name's Frank and I'm an early adopter.
Audience: Hi Frank.
Frank: I first realize I had a problem when I spent nearly $700 on the original iPad so I can have 3G. Nobody needs 3G. There's Wi-Fi everywhere.
Greg: Is this the right spot? Nope.
Frank: Early Adopters are described as curious, adventurous consumers. They buy first, talk fast, and spread the word about the pros and cons of things they've purchased, so says Morgan Gerard of Idea Couture. As we've just shown you, there is a dark side to early adoption. Yes, I still have a problem. A problem that has crossed over into my professional life as well.
I was blown away by the Myo Armband when I first saw it two years ago at South by Southwest. Who wouldn't when it looked like this? I'm pretty sure they just implied you could shoot spider webs out of your wrists. Now the reality of this was a little bit different.
Thank you everybody for coming. We're really excited about the opportunity to get in front of you guys and show off our capabilities. Some of the new technologies we're using ... God's sakes. Stop. Stop. Stop.
I'm sure after a while this will be amazing. Right now, it's just not ready. There is however, a benefit for companies that make strategic investments in early adoption. Actually having experience in emerging technologies before adoption reaches critical mass is invaluable. Developing expertise with these new tools gives you a degree of credibility and a serious, competitive advantage.
Dan: That's the Oculus Rift. We've been putting together some virtual reality projects with it.
Katie: Wow, that's great. Drew must love it. He's been working on it nonstop.
Dan: Keep up the good work, buddy.
Frank: Early adoption isn't just about hardware. Social media is where the benefits really stand out. A business insider recently performed a study on the benefits of brands joining social media early. For small and medium businesses, it's extremely important to be first. It gives smaller brands a head start in establishing themselves as experts, building credibility, and getting in front of an audience they normally couldn't reach. Things like Instagram, Periscope and Snapchat allow even the smallest brands an opportunity to build massive national and international audiences. We're actually using Periscope right now. Hi, Periscope. We're down to two viewers.It's a hurtful thing to say.
It's crazy to think that every company is capable of their own R&D department. Picking and choosing when to leap is extremely important. The moment a company stops looking for the next best thing, you can bet they're already three steps behind. Keep pushing forward. Always be wary of that shiny new thing syndrome. It could bite you.
Frank:It's called a LaserDisc. Two of these holds an entire episode of Blossom.
Ben:Whoa. Suck it, VHS.
Singer: Don't know about the future, that's anybody's guess. Ain't no good reason for getting all depressed. Buy up your pad and pencil, the sun is going to surely shine.
Episode 10 -
I'm An Early Adopter
Early adopters: innovative experts or impulsive consumers who need to be first? In this week’s episode of Casual Fridays, Frank discusses the competitive advantage for brands who make these technological investments, but also warns us to beware of the potential failures -- and many, many dark sides -- that come with early adoption.
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