Blog 8: Diffusion

Diffusion of Innovators - Instagram

History of Instagram: 

Kevin Systrom who was a graduate of Stanford University created the app Instagram in 2009. While he did not go to school for computer science he learned to code on his days off of working at Google. He first created an app called "Burbn" to share his love for whiskeys and bourbons so that people can post their plans and share some photos but it later turned into one of the biggest apps.... Instagram!

Now let's look into the Diffusion of Innovations Theory for Instagram!

Early Adopters and Common Users: 

The early adopters of Instagram were those who enjoyed the same drinks as Kevin Systrom (the founder of Instagram) since they would see all the different drinks he would post on the app. 2009 was also an earlier time for new apps to come out so the early adopters would be those who were not afraid to step out of their comfort zone and try new things. Lastly, early adopters were the tech-savy individuals who liked the app because of the unique features and because it was different than other apps like Facebook.

Commons users of Instagram are young adults who love to share all the fun things going on in their life. It is a great way to interact with other people and loved ones who you aren't able to see all the time. Common users also include influencers who post on Instagram because of ads and personal expressions to share to their followers. This is because on Instagram people are able to share pictures, videos, reels, and more of the hobbies they love to do.

Late Adopters and Laggards:

Late Adopters are those individuals who are hesitant to join Instagram because it was still new and had to have more experience before they can join in on the fun. Late adopters are those who had to wait for the app to hit the charts and get great reviews before they would do anything. 

The laggards would be people who are not on any type of social media and don't care to ever join. The laggard group is those who are hesitant to be on social media because of all the terms and conditions that first pop up when creating an account. Laggards for Instagram are usually in the older demographic that can't wrap their head around all different social media platforms.