Debugger
We’re All Early Adopters Now
With billions of people staying home, the innovation adoption curve looks more like a spike
Doctor appointments are being rescheduled as video calls. The notoriously slow legal profession is adopting virtual technology. And it’s possible to obtain a marriage license in New York via a Zoom call. With more than half of the population under some form of lockdown, sectors have had to rapidly adopt new technology in order to continue serving their customers, fast-forwarding us into the future overnight.
This is not the normal pace of change. Generally, new technology is adopted in phases over the span of years, led by early adopters who try new apps and services as outlined by Everett Rogers’ bell curve. But this process is now being compressed from both sides: Businesses are adapting to the new reality on a daily basis, and consumers are far more willing to try new things — like online grocery shopping — because the alternatives are impossible or frustrating right now.
Take telehealth: In 2016, about 14% of physicians surveyed by the American Medical Association said they used…
