Bluetooth and The Theory of Diffusion of Innovations

 The Diffusion of Innovations Theory tries to explain how, why, and at what rate new ideas and technology spread. Everett Rogers argues that "diffusion is the process by which an innovation is communicated through certain channels over time." I have chosen to examine Bluetooth technology and see how, why, and at what rate this technology spread. 



Under this theory, five main elements influence the spread of a new idea or technology. They include 1. the innovation itself, 2, communication channels, 3. adopters, 4. time, and 5. social system. For an innovation to be self-sustaining it must be widely adopted. Bluetooth technology was invented by Dr. Jaap Haartsen in 1994. He was working for Ericsson's Mobile Terminal Division. This technology allows devices to be connected and to communicate with each other without wires. This innovation transformed the way we communicate and share data. 



              

According, to the Diffusion of Innovations Theory there are categories of adopters. The adopters include 1. early adopters, 2. early majority, 3 late majority, and 4. laggards. The innovators for Bluetooth were from Ericsson, Intel, and Nokia. They took all of the risks. They were willing to take the risk of bringing this new technology to the market. Bluetooth technology spread to printers and laptop computers in 2001. The early adopters would have been corporations and schools that needed to pair their computers to their printers. Corporations and Universities are more likely to adopt new technology sooner. From 2001 to 2016 Bluetooth had four additional versions it went from Bluetooth 1.0 which had basic data transfer capabilities, to today's version Bluetooth 5.0 which has increased speed and data broadcasting capabilities. From 2001 - 2016, the early majority adopters adopted Bluetooth technology. These were the younger people probably in their teens and early 20's. they wanted to use their wireless headphones and speakers to listen to their music. The late majority adopters were the ones who began using the technology between 2016 to now. These adopters were probably our parents and their friends. They needed more time to be convinced and needed to see other people using the technology before they would commit. And then we still have the laggers like my grandmother who is still nervous to use the air pods we gave her for Christmas. She is used to doing things the way she has always done them and has no interest in changing her way or trying new things.





Since the first mobile phone with Bluetooth capability came on the market in 2000, and as the technology became more widespread in 2004 and kept improving right up until today Bluetooth technology has certainly proven to be self-sustaining. Bluetooth had all the characteristics that adopters needed to evaluate whether or not they should adopt this technology. Bluetooth had the capability to work with existing tools such as iPhones, computers, printers, headphones, and speakers.  It had the advantage that many people were using their technology so others who were hesitant to try it could see others using it. Bluetooth had an advantage because there was no other technology like it. The best part is that Bluetooth is so simple to use.  

In my opinion, Bluetooth has been adopted by most people. It truly has transformed the way the world communicates, enjoys music, and transfers data.  There is very little downside to using Bluetooth technology. Over a 22-year period, Bluetooth has been incredibly successful.

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