Diffusion of Innovations Theory- The Typewriter

The typewriter is an excellent example of the diffusion of innovations theory. The first group, the pioneers, date all the way back to the 1500s when Francesco Rampazatto created the 'Scriturra Tattile'. From then until 1867, various innovators were creating and experimenting with a machine that imprints letters onto paper. These pioneers saw a clear need for a replacement to talking and hand-writing. A machine efficient and fast could change the world in so many ways- and it did. These inventors continued to perfect and make the typewriter more efficient, and by the 1880s it was a common commodity in offices. 

Majority of the early adopters and early majority included businesses. This is because of how the typewriter revolutionized the work world. Companies were able to type significantly faster than they could write things down. They were able to keep records, type messages, and almost any kind of documentation. In summary, essentially everything was done quicker. This saved a significant amount of time in certain areas, opening up more time for employees to focus on other things. This efficiency and time saving is the main reason the typewriter caught on and gained so much traction. Some of the early majority used the typewriter for other things, like typing novels.

Some people may have been late adopters due to the inefficiency of the first styles. By 1950, the portable typewriter was a major success, and by 1972 Thomas Edison created the electric typewriter. These were most likely the styles that drew in the late majority, and laggards. While the typewriter was quicker than writing, its bulky design took away from its efficiency, leaving some people skeptical, so the newer additions worked to fix that. There were, of course, the laggards who still preferred the look and feel of hand writing. 

For this communication technology, not many negatives were present during its prime, the main effects can be seen with the modern versions of typing, through cellphones or computers. So in reality, the typewriters only consequences are the creations made numerous decades later, and the negative ways people use typing.