I finally got a chance today to start reading Michael Sampson’s book User Adoption Strategies – 2nd Ed.
I concentrated on Chapter 1. It was incredibly educational. In fact, I read it twice. In this chapter, amongst other things, Michael introduced the concept of First Wave People, and Second Wave People.
The best way of summing up the difference between these two types of people is by using a quote from Michael’s book:
A first wave person is attracted to the “what” of new technology, while second wave people focus on the “why”.
That one sentence captures it exactly. Michael also points out that these two types of people have different perceptions of reward. For the First Wave people, getting to use new tools is reward enough, but second Wave people have to understand where and how the new tools will improve their current work.
I’m looking forward to Chapter 2 tomorrow…