Diffusion of Innovations
"Diffusion of innovations is a theory that seeks to explain how, why, and at what rate new ideas and technology spread." This theory is by Everett Rogers who published a book about the topic. In his book, he talks about how diffusion is the process where an innovation is spread over time to people in society. He says that there are five main elements that influence the spread of the innovation. The five elements are; the innovation itself, adopters, communication channels, time, and a social system. There are also five categories of adopters; innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards.
Venmo:
Venmo is a mobile payment service where the user can send and receive money right from their phone.
Why did it catch on and spread?
Venmo caught on and spread because it is a super convenient way to send and receive money. We do everything on our phones, so being able to pay and receive money straight to your phone is pretty ideal. The app's social feed feature also helped make this app very popular with younger people. You can write things on your payments and see what your friends are paying for too. It's also a better way than checks or wire transfers because there are no transaction fees.
Why did so many people become early adopters?
Many people became early adopters of Venmo because it was such a convenient and new innovative way to handle their transactions and finances right on their phones. The app is also very simple that it was easy for people to transfer from traditional payment methods to Venmo. The app's social feature also made it clear that younger people would want to use it as well.
Why are some people late adopters or not adopters at all?
Some people may be late adopters or not adopters at all because they don't see a need to change the way they handle payments or finances. They also might not feel comfortable sharing their payments on an app with other people. Older people might not want to switch to Venmo because they are used to the way they handle payments and finances now.
What are the downsides?
Even though Venmo is doing very well and many people use it, there are a few downsides to the app. One of the downsides is it can actually make people spend more because it is so easy to use. Another downside is that the social media aspect of it can make it easier for fraud or other security issues to happen.
Would the positive outweigh the negative?
I think the positives do outweigh the negatives of Venmo. I love using Venmo. It is super easy to pay my friends back or have my parents send me money while I'm in college. It is very easy to overspend but if you have self-control it can be a very beneficial app.
