“Observability is the degree to which the results of an innovation are visible to tohers.  The easier it is for individuals to see the results of an innovation, the more likely they are to adopt.” (Diffusion of Innovations, p. 16)

This is a no brainer.  Something we all understand.  We see it work for others and we think, “Hmmm.  Maybe I can do that/ use that / try that as well.”  Think about Twitter.  How many times did you hear, “I love it!” before you jumped in?  How many dates did you go on before you married?  How many “I love this machine!” statements did you hear before you bought a Mac?  How many times did you see an expensive piece of clothing before you thought it was cool enough to buy it?

When others see it used or practiced, it creates discussion.  Discussions lead to new thinking and reinforcement.  Evaluation happens and then either rejection or adoption.  If the evaluation is positive, a higher rate of adoption will follow.

Think about RickRoll and other memes (also watch this fabulous TED video on memes). They work because of the observability principle.

When trying to help others adopt social learning, make it visible, make it easy to talk about, easy to share, easy to be observable.  Be a marketer of social learning.

One easy way to do that is to use it yourself.  Instead of emailing a group a question, start a discussion and email them the link to the discussion.  Put all your meeting notes in a wiki.  Give up email (as much as possible).  Use it yourself and make it visible to others.

If you have the responsibility and influence, augment current training & communications with social learning.  Let them see the difference.

What follows is a short series of at least 5 posts.  Each will focus on one aspect of what it takes to adopt social learning / media within an organization as well as with customers and prospects.

The information is taken from the book Diffusion of Innovations by Everett M. Rogers and then applied to social learning.  This is one of THE books, in my estimation, which will help the most when trying to help others adopt anything – technology, a new culture, processes, even hybrid corn in Iowa.  A fabulous read.  If you don’t have it, get it.

The five principles of adoption are:

1. 1) Relative Advantage
2. 2) Compatibility
3. 3) Complexity
4. 4) Trialability
5. 5) Observability

These posts talk about AFTER the sale and implementation.  (Although these things should be taken into consideration BEFORE all of that.) These posts answer the question,

“Now that we have it there, how do we get them to use it?”

Because – trust me – just because it is there DOES NOT mean that it will be used.

Again, this question should be part of a strategy long before implementation and should be constantly re-examined during and after.