Diffusion of Innovations: Typewriter

 The initial diffusion of innovations in relation to the typewriter began with developments in the early 19th century. This phase of pioneers included many inventors in Europe and the United States but was highlighted by Christopher Lantham Sholes in 1867. In a way, Sholes was picking up on a trend which he had read about in the Scientific American of a British inventor who was gaining traction with a similar machine. Sholes pioneered the first practical typewriter and truly kicked off the experimental phase of typewriter development.

The next phase, involving the early adopters and uptake of typewriter development was started with Sholes continuing to work on his typewriter model and eventually signing a contract with E. Remington and Sons. He had been developing and updating his typewriter for years but the only true way to make people want to buy it was to have a contract with a larger company. Once he began working with E. Remington and Sons his first production typewriter, the "Remington", began to sell quickly.

Once the Remington began to be manufactured and released to the public the typewriter began to hit the stage of early and late majority. Even with the success, Sholes continued to update his typewriter in order to keep up with public demand. Along with E. Remington and Sons he released a Model 2 version, 4 years after the first model, with a shift key so that users could switch between capital and lowercase letters while typing.

Typewriters would continue their supreme reign over the world of communications for quite some time. Several updates and changes were made throughout the years, such as making them electric and portable. However, every great thing comes to an end, at that is no different for the typewriter. By the early 1900s the final "laggards" and skeptics were beginning to use the typewriter, however there was a new sheriff in town. With the invention of the computer the typewriter never stood a chance. The typewriter lacked in nearly every aspect compared to the computer and soon became obsolete. With the introduction of the internet though, some people still prefer the simplicity that it offers.