A classic since its first appearance in the 1980s, this comprehensive reference continues to be the history of the spread of new ideas, for academics and professionals alike. In an age of ever-increasing technological innovation, this renowned volume--which has sold more than 30,000 copies in each edition--is more important than ever. Diffusion of Innovations lucidly explains how inventions and new concepts spread via communication channels over time. As professor Everett Rogers explains, such innovations are almost always perceived as uncertain or even risky. To overcome this, most people seek out others like themselves who have already adopted the new idea. The diffusion process, then, is most often shaped by a few individuals who spread the world amongst their circle of acquaintances, a process that typically takes months or years. But there are exceptions: use of the Internet in the 1990s, for instance, may have spread more rapidly than any other innovation in human history--and it continues to influence the very nature of diffusion by decreasing the significance of physical distance between people. As thought-provoking as it is instructive, this fully updated, widely acclaimed work of scholarship is itself a great idea that continues to spread.

Journal of CommunicationIncorporates important advances...presented in the usual clear, didactic, and often light-spirited style of the author, who also offers choice examples of his wide cross-cultural experiences. The result is a highly readable and discussion-provoking text.

Engineering Management SocietyHolds several important lessons for anyone planning the introduction of new ideas in a firm....Introduces the latest and probably some of the best thinking in that area.

First appearing in the 1980s, this comprehensive reference covers the history of the spread of new ideas, for academics and professionals alike.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 477-535) and indexes.

Dr. Everett M. Rogers is Distinguished Professor in the Department of Communication and Journalism at the University of New Mexico (UNM), where he teaches and conducts research on the diffusion of innovations. He also holds courtesy appointments in the UNM Center on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Addictions, where he conducts research on preventing drunk driving, and in the UNM Center for Prevention Research, where he conducts research on the sustainability of public health innovations. Rogers also is currently involved in research projects on bridging the digital divide in New Mexico and on how Indian audiences give meaning to health content in Hollywood soap operas such as The Bold and the Beautiful. Currently in his forty-fifth year of university teaching, Rogers has taught at Ohio State University, Michigan State University, the University of Michigan, Stanford University, and the University of Southern California, and at the National University of Colombia (Bogotá), the University of Paris, the University of Bayreuth (Germany), and Nanyang Technological University (Singapore).

The four previous editions of Diffusion of Innovations have received various awards. In 1990, the Institute for Scientific Information designated Diffusion of Innovations as a "Citation Classic" on the basis of the large number of citations (approximately 7,000) that it received in articles published in social science journals. This book was selected by Inc. magazine in 1996 as one of the ten classic books in business and in 2000 was designated as a "Significant Journalism and Communication Book of the Twentieth Century" by Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly. It was also awarded the first Fellows Book Award in the Field of Communication by the International Communication Association's fellows in 2000.