Through The Lens Of The Diffusion Theory

 When looking at the cassette tape through the lens of the Diffusion Theory, I am able to apply the theory to its history, growth, and popularity. One reason the popularity of the cassette grew was because it had characteristics for both individuals and organizations. Individuals adopted it because they were more compact than the previous technology, eight track tapes. People could customize them, bring them on the go, and easily share them. Organizations, especially news organizations, adopted them because they were easily able to record interviews or speeches. The cassette grew fast because there were a high number of early adopters. This was because the technology was so far superior to what it replaced. Also, music lovers were drawn to the quality and flexibility. As with any idea or technology, there were late adopters. Late adopters could have been people who did not want to spend money on new equipment to accommodate cassette tapes. One would have needed to buy a cassette player for their home stereo, and replace their car stereo, if they wanted to start using cassettes. They may have also had a large music collection in other forms, such as vinyl records. There were some downsides to the cassette technology. The two main downsides were quality deterioration with many repeat plays, and the tape could come unwound out of its case. Other than quality issues, I do no see any negative consequences from the technology, in fact, music sales continued to increase and journalists had a superior technology for interviews allowing them to do their job anywhere. The positives far outweighed the negatives, which is why the technology continued to grow over time... until a new innovation replaced it, and the Diffusion of Innovation process started for something new.