Diffusion of Innovations, Essay Example

Understanding Diffusion of Innovations Theory

The Diffusion of Innovations theory suggests the involvement and innovation of technology and resources into a political campaign.  For instance, the inclusions of innovative advertising mediums such as Facebook.com or MySpace.com are clear examples of a use of innovation for the benefit of a campaign.  These types of inclusions can be extremely beneficial for a third party candidate during an election because the individual is able to reach out to a large audience without utilizing much, if any, of his or her campaign war chest.  The costs for these forms of technology are very low and sometimes are even free, which is critical for third parties where fundraising and financial support may be lacking.  Furthermore, this innovative technology is often very easy to use.  In more recent years, Twitter has begun an explosion of simple messages sent to large numbers of followers for a single individual or organization.  The political candidate or campaign team can advertise campaign events, campaign policy, or recent television exposure quickly and without incurring large costs.  This theory would especially suit this type of campaign because it forces candidates and campaign staff to utilize innovative methods of thinking and communication given reduced or limited resources.  Diffusion of Innovations theory creates innovative campaign methods to address the lack of resources without limiting the campaign’s message or audience exposure.  Without utilizing this theory, third party candidates are often forced to fight a mainstream battle where the winner is whoever has the largest war chest; this is a battle that third party candidates are almost always doomed to lose. (260 words)