Who is a winner first mover or later entrant?

When I am thinking about my previous experience in field of communities (and now I am talking about virtual communities) the only thing which comes in mind is quick check of some sites I belong to but not being very active, for example, Latvian social network for friends – www.draugiem.lv or since august 2007 www.facebook.com. Basically I can say that I have been passive member of certain communities. And I think that there are at least few reasons why:

1) Active membership in any community involves regularity and time and there I am talking about at least few hours in day.
2) Participation in communities requires certain knowledge and interest.
3) New technologies and new applications develop so fast that if you fall out of information cycle, then it is quite hard to catch up with. And for me catching up associate with frustration.
4) Finally, and probably most important - psychologically virtual communities for me is unreal and involvement in them steel time I can spend in real communities, with friends, family, colleagues etc.

Last semester I took course Product development and Innovation management. In this course we discussed concept of first mover and late entrant advantages as well as concept - cyberphobia and ability to adopt new technologies and innovations. Let be bring in small example:
Cyberphobia is phenomenon that in my opinion is also dealing with so called “innovation adaption”. According to Moore*** there are several types of people who accept new technologies in different stages.
Early Market. These are innovators who are always ready to try new technologies.
Early addapters. The technology is caught betwixt and between. There are people using new technology, but it is not widespread yet.
Early Majority. The technology is gaining acceptance among pragmatists in one or more niche markets.
Late majority. The technology has passed the test of usefulness and is now perceived as necessary and standard for many applications. People start to use it to be into area.
Laggards. The late and passive user, who don’t appreciate the importance of technologies. This group is in the risk zone of cyberphobia.

If we look at society from this perspective then it would be possible to divide those who have no problems with accepting new technologies and have no threats from cyberspace and those who can barely accept innovations.
Day by day new media expand and people, including me, learn how to use it in their interests. Because of new social order and fact that technologies take central role in society new phenomena emerge every day. So from this perspective i would say that for early adopters or first movers it is huge advantage. However, i think that late enter don’t miss that much because social networks are changeing so quickly and it is easy to cach up in terms of information, however someone can feel that he/she is falling back.


*** Moore, G. A. (2004): Darwin and the Demon: Innovating Within Established Enterprises, Harvard Business Review, July-August, pp.86-92.