Are Early Adopters More Helpful By Nature?
I confess. The greatest joy of discovery and progress I’ve experienced in the past 12-months has been the direct result of geeks. And by geeks I mean early practitioners of new media tools such as Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs. By design, social media tools allow people to connect with each other to share ideas and support. What’s shocking is people’s willingness to actually deliver on the promise and spirit of social media. But why?
My gut says that people who play with new tools and technologies fall within a spectrum. The first 5% (lunatic fringe) are hardcore technophiles who loathe interacting with carbon-based beings (humans). Technology is work to them and information is power. Despite their intellectual gifts, they can be written off as being helpful to outsiders. The next 10% (early adopters) are what I feel are the “sweet spot” sector: Ordinary people with an insatiable curiosity to experiment with new toys. Technology is play and information is to be shared.
Given the mind-boggling number of people online, extremely narrow niches of people are able to find each other. And when they do, it’s a very human reaction to help kindred spirits. Birds-of-a-feather, right?
Early adopters are a bit “out there” by nature. They download the latest browser the first day it’s released. They stand in line to buy the new iPhones. They toil late @ night in the glow of their computer screen playing with the newest multi-platform text messaging system. And they routinely write using the “@” symbol instead of the old fashioned, 2-letter word. So when someone approaches us for help, we relish the opportunity to bring someone to “the dark side” so they, too, can experience the surprising joy of good karma.
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