Ask HN: Are early adopters rich? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: Are early adopters rich?

#31

Post by jerf » Mon, Nov 29, 2010, 12:43 AM UTC

In general, I would say that "early adopters" are not necessarily rich so much as flush with disposable income.

This is actually a weird case, because usually being an early adopter requires a financial outlay to purchase some product that provides some sort of superior service of some kind. In this case, we see people with the early adopter mindset but trying to save money who are instead giving up some convenient service (at least, cable with DVR is convenient) for a cheaper alternative that is now merely "good enough". Because I've done it, and while I'm slowly putting the pieces back together as the world catches up with me, I have definitely sacrificed some things. I'm not getting superior service here, I'm cobbling together bits and pieces.

Still, we are getting there. Sports was a big hole but I just watched $MY_COLLEGE_TEAM's last game of the year online in HD over the Internet. That's progress vs. even just three months ago. Cord cutting is getting easier and easier.

Re: Ask HN: Are early adopters rich?

#32

Post by prodigal_erik » Mon, Nov 29, 2010, 2:37 AM UTC

zumbojo wrote: post #26

waterlesscloud wrote: post #22

I haven't had cable since the early 90s. I got frustrated at how annoying it was to set up service with them when I'd be paying $1000+ a year to them. So I gave up trying to make it easy for them to take my money and just never signed up up when I moved. I don't miss it, and I wish all the companies involved doom and gloom.

Same here; I think cable companies’ complacency in customer service issues isn’t receiving due consideration when discussing this “cord-cutting” trend. When I purchased my house in 2008, I proceeded to call Comcast (intending to sign up for basic cable + Internet), set my iPhone on speakerphone, and paint the walls of my new rooms. After three nights of 30-45 minute waits with no answer, I gave up and purchased AT&T…

Comcast's site mentioned self-installation, so I went out and bought a DOCSIS 3 modem that was on their supported list, plugged it in, and it told me via HTTP that it had a good signal. Then when I tried to sign up they explained to me that self-installation was not permitted for new users, and rather than just light it up, I would have to wait two weeks and stay home from work so some flunky could show up and "install" a simple device which I already knew to be working. Pissed me off so much I went with DSL, which was live via self-install a few days later.

Re: Ask HN: Are early adopters rich?

#33

Post by zazi » Tue, Nov 30, 2010, 2:23 AM UTC

I think there is some correlation between early adopters and how rich they are.

I would definitely buy more early products if I was rich just because I have the financial backing to withstand the risk that an early product has. E.g. I'm waiting to buy the iPad now in hopes of a better iPad version coming out soon. But if money was no issue, I would buy the iPad now and the new version when it comes out.

But of course, there are some people that would be early adopters despite not being rich. It's just that the statistics of how rich early adopters are would be skewed by the newly rich being more willing to take more risk and spend their money on untried products.