18.2.4 Observability

The easier it is for people to see an innovation being used the more likely they are to consider buying it themselves. Examples include types of motor car, mobile phones and computers. Less obviously, products such as solar panels in domestic housing can sometimes be found in clusters on a housing estate (Figure 72). Innovations that are harder to see tend to diffuse more slowly, though there may well be other factors involved.

Figure 72 Making solar energy more observable – solar panels on the roof of terraced houses (Source: Science Photo Library)