Social interaction part II

Social interaction applying HTWFAIP and the adoption life-cycle concept



I was not sure with whom I should do this social experiment. I ended up choosing a friend, a professor, my trainer, a random classmate, and my cousin. All my conversations were interesting, but certainly had a sense of awkwardness. Since none of them expected to engage in a interaction of that kind.
In order to build up confidence, I thought it is probably better to talk to my friend first. I approached him smiling and asked, if he has a second for me. I showed a sincere interest in how he was doing in classes and privately. He was surprised by the amount of interest I had in his day. Since I usually would not talk to him in this way. However, he responded to my question with an equal interest in my affairs. He became more open when I started asking him about his cell-phone. He told me that he has subscribed to the ‘Verizon’ network and has a LG enV phone. He uses this phone for voice, text, and music. I would have expected him to use his phone more extensively, because he is usually the one that introduces me to new software. Thus, I would say that he is an early majority, regarding the cell-phone question, but otherwise I would put him in the category of the early adopter.

The next person I approached was my professor. I went to her office after class, using a question I had from the previous lecture as an excuse, to have a more private environment. I knocked on the door and entered with a smile, called her name and wishing a good afternoon. I sat down and started a conversation incorporating the rules of engagement required for this assignment. I asked her what the potential outcomes of this stimulus package could be once dispersed to the recipients, emphasizing her own opinion. She was glad to engage in the conversation. After a little while I slowly changed the topic to know what cell-phone she has and who her network provider was. She said that the Verizon network is her provider, and since she could not find her phone she just said that she owns one of those phones that have the big buttons. She mentioned as a side note that she has trouble seeing. My conclusion form this interaction was that she does not really care what her phone is and who the network provider is. I would say that she belongs to the category of the late majority.

The third person I interacted with was my trainer. I started this interaction as I have started all the other experimental conversations. In our interaction I showed a sincere interest in how he is doing, as I did it with my friend. He opened up really quickly and we had a nice conversation. After all that was done, I asked what type of cell-phone he uses. He said that he has an IPhone and he even added that this is a very good phone. When I asked him about the sensitive screen, he just said that one has to be careful. Based on the information I got from the conversation, I would say that he is an early adopter; since he uses his phone for email, voice, text, and music.
The random classmate I approached was somebody that I did not know before. After class I approached a guy and introduced myself with a smile on my face. He introduced himself as Jason, and we continued a genuine conversation. I changed the subject to cell-phones and told him that I have a Blackberry curve with AT&T. He just responded very positively and said that he also has a Blackberry but with T-mobile. We continued and compared our service coverage, since we already have the same phone. He said he uses his phone for voice, text, email, internet, music, and taking pictures. Therefore, I would say that he is an early adopter.

The last person I interviewed was my cousin. We haven’t seen each other for a while and this weekend we got to get together. I interacted with him using the principles of HTWFAIP, and got straight to the cell-phone question. He told me that he has a LG voyager with the ‘Verizon’ network. He added that this phone is the IPhone killer, because it can do what the IPhone can do. Despite my lack of enthusiasm over the IPhone, I had to add that this LG does not have the same internet and gaming capabilities as the IPhone. He uses the phone for voice, text, email, picture, video, and music. And I believe that makes him an early-majority adopter, since he does not use the internet through his phone to often.