Isn't it fun to be an early adopter? Other people stand on the street near an Underground station, wondering which way to go while you stride confidently along with your smartphone showing the way. Or your app ensures that all the pubs you stop in have a fabulous selection of real ales. Or perhaps the audience for your presentation is tickled by Prezi and your content glows in the reflected glory.
Early adopters have their ears to the ground for what is becoming possible. Some of the possibilities may cost money (i.e. iPhones), other require a time investment to get through a steep learning curve and some ask for both. The early adopter inventories resources and needs, estimates the potential payoff and then places a wager.
23 Things has been a great way to trail around some early adopters, though I find my resources aren't always
comparable. After spending several hours working on a Prezi it still
did not satisfy basic design criteria. I think a background in design or a better spatial sense would help. On the bright side, there may be
some evil application for a presentation that causes nausea! In the case of Prezi, while the software is free, the time investment is too high for me to try adopting it. My work doesn't require many presentations, so I don't estimate a high payoff.
Isn't it hard to be an early adopter? Wagering your time and money on possibilities that are often dead ends. When you succeed, you bring other people along, demonstrating and teaching the useful new technology. Then you start testing the next possibility.
Shout out to all the early adopters in the library world who've been sharing their knowledge in cpd23.
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