The Love Diffusion: How Great Ideas Spread (and Stick)

Wake-Up Call #32

Nov 24, 2024

I’m scrolling social media at night, because, well #punishment.

My wife is watching the latest episode of Shrinking on the other side of the couch (allegedly, so I am), so I have the volume off on my phone.

I stumble upon a video from a modern-day philosopher king talking about a theory of innovation. Reading the caption as the video rolls.

He mentions this thing called The Love Diffusion. It’s about how new ideas and products spread or get adopted.

I’m like, “that’s so cool, some stuffy business person actually decided to create a whole theory of innovation, then call it The Love Diffusion.”

I google “love diffusion.”

Nothing. Bupkis.

Actually, that’s not entirely true.

I do find this sweet dance groove from Alex Agore called Love Diffusion on Spotify. Then, there’s this Love Diffusion oil painting from Armenian artist, Van Hovak, whose work I’m now gaga over (like Picasso’s blue and cubist periods had a love child with Van Gogh, Hilma af Klint and Blue’s Clues with a side of cranberry sauce, and pink skittles).

Back to the story…

Still not finding anything on the theory. So I pop in an earbud and re-listen with a bit of volume.

Turns out “the love diffusion” is an auto-caption typo.

The actual phrase is “The Law of Diffusion.”

Decidedly less fun. Taking away a cool point from the stuffy business dude who coined the name. I google more. It’s based on E.M. Rogers’ 1962 Theory of the Diffusion of Innovation.

I know, I know, boooooring.

Stay with me. It’s actually pretty cool.

And it’s not just about innovation, it’s about creative work. And impact. Love, and life.

Weirdly, the more I think about it, The Love Diffusion is a better name.

Here’s what I mean…

The Theory of Diffusion and Innovation says a new idea doesn’t become a mass social, cultural, or consumer phenomenon by just magically appealing to huge numbers of people all at once and becoming the overnight “it” thing.

It actually happens in five distinct phases.

Phase 1: Innovators/creators

An innovator, maker, creator, or “thought leader” (anyone know why I put that in quotes and throw up in my mouth a little every time I use that phrase?) thinks up something cool and new and different. These are the folks who are willing to defy convention to do something truly unique, to take risks, make-taste, push paradigms and, sometimes, change society.

According to the theory, that’s about 2.5% of us. Why only 2.5%? My take - it’s not that many more aren’t capable of creation on this level, they are. It’s about fear and belonging. Being this person puts you at odds with the norm, your ideas make you an outlier, and you’re likely going to take a metric tonne of heat for sharing something so new and provocative, most people aren’t wired to endure that. Okay, so, what happens next?

These folks start to share their stuff with a select group of humans…

Phase 2: Early Adopters

A smallish gaggle of early adopters, often the ones people look to as the arbiters of taste, the seers of the future, in online speak—influencers—take a chance at exploring this new idea or product. It’s what they do, and how they maintain their status as the introducers of what’s to come. Arbiters of the future status quo. Plus, they get to play with cool stuff before everyone else, so #winning.

This is around 13.5% of us. So, a lot more, but still a fairly select group. The early adopters give the idea or thing enough momentum for it to hit a tipping point that unlocks a much bigger wave of people dipping in.

Phase 3: The Early Majority

The next wave of curious humans, often not with a similar leadership or influencer role or power, check out the idea. They follow behind the early adopters, but are still in on the zeitgeist before it happens, in part because they make it happen.

They often need more persuading to play with the new idea or thing. The original theory says this means they need evidence that it’s worth trying. I don’t believe that. My take, it’s more about buying into the status and perceived credibility of the early adopters they follow, along with the desire for affiliation. They want to be a part of the person’s community.

Oh, and there are a lot more of these people than there are early influencers. Some 34% of us are in this group. This starts to create a much bigger buzz, now that 50% of the community, group or population is on board. Which attracts the attention of…

Phase 4: The Late Majority

Now, we’re starting to talk about really big numbers, another 34% of people. Added to the 50% who are already riding the new thing pony, that’s 84% of everyone who are all “yay, best thing since Vegemite!” Okay, maybe not the best example. They’ve been on the sidelines, because, like most people, they are more cautious, risk averse, and only accept new ideas or things once they believe doing so is the both accepted and expected.

At this point, the idea or thing has been vetted by lots of others, minimizing the risk of trying on something new. Plus, if everyone else is starting to roll with the idea, you don’t want to be seen as the weirdo who is all “hell, no.” It’s not just about believing in the new idea, it’s about not wanting to be outcast when everyone else is in on it. But, what about that remaining 16% or so?

Phase 5: The Laggards

Here we’ve got the doubters, the cynics, the hardcore skeptics, the slow-rollers and procrastinators, and the curmudgeons. Now, that doesn’t mean they don’t have a right to be resistant. In the end, they’re sometimes the smart ones who saw through the hype. Can I just say here that I never owned a Beany Baby? Hrumph.

It takes a lot to bring them on board. Usually, a blend of hard evidence, data, along with pressure or fear tactics, or heavy influence comes into play. Some of these approaches are defensible, others not so much. But, it is what it is. And, some will just never buy in. But, it doesn’t really matter by then, the idea or the thing has become what it needs to be. Whether or when the laggards join in doesn’t much matter.

Okay, so, moderately fascinating romp down mass social behavior lane.

But, why do you care?

Simple…

If you’re thinking, feeling, making, creating entirely for your own edification, simply because you love the experience and you genuinely don’t care if anyone else ever sees, hears, experiences or is exposed to your offerings, that’s amazing. Just keep on, keeping on.

The only person you need to diffuse love to is you!

But, I’ve found that many of us, at some point, do want to share parts of ourselves we want to matter with others. We want what we create and offer to be seen, embraced, celebrated, shared. Capital-L loved. Not just by one or two people, but by as many as possible.

We want the intention and the impact to spread across culture. We want people to love it at scale. Put another way, we want it to become a love diffusion, which follows the same five phases as innovation’s theory of diffusion.

Why?

In part, because it lets us be known by more humans, which can be an amazing, albeit, also unsettling proposition. But, also, because we like knowing we’re making a difference beyond an itty bitty roundup of beings. Maybe not all of us, but most.

Also, if what you offer or even how you show up is intended to help you make a living, it often takes bigger numbers. Again, not always, but often.

There’s that old trope, “if even one person is touched by my thing, that’s enough.”

My question is, really?

So, you spend a few years writing a book, and you’ll be genuinely okay if only one person reads it? Or, a hundred read it, and it lands with one?

You’re be okay pouring your heart into creating and producing a podcast or filming videos, week in, week out, for years, so you can build an audience of a handful of people, and speak to only them?

You’re totally cool if your newsletter, art, writing, poetry, ideas, things are never seen, heard, read, or felt by more than a handful of people?

Sure, comes the answer, if it’s the right people.

But, again, really?

Maybe, it’s just me. Maybe some much better-adjusted and settled humans are genuinely cool with that.

I don’t think I am, or have even been.

I mean, yes, it’s amazing that how you show up, what you create, the work you put in might move out into the world and make a difference. One person’s life would be amazing. But wouldn’t 10 be even cooler? How about 100? What if you could grow that to 1,000? Or, gulp, a million?

What if the thing that stops us from owning the depth and breadth of our desire for impact isn’t desire, but rather fear? Fear that we don’t know how to make it happen. Or, or the exposure it might bring.

Having your offering incite a Love Diffusion that scales is not about ego or status. It’s about being able to feel connected, being of service, being seen and celebrated, being able to contribute in some way to the experience of joy, meaning, awakening, savoring, celebration, elevation, revelation (insert other “ations”) and just straight up love and belonging for all those humans.

Dunno about you, but that sounds pretty cool to me.

And, it’s why understanding how The Love Diffusion works matters.

It gives you access to a systematic way to share the love in the form of essence, service, or product, then watch it diffuse across beings and culture in a way that not only lands in individual hearts and minds, but also holds the potential to seed connection, aliveness and impact at scale.

Is that always possible? Of course not.

It’s actually pretty rare.

But the first step in understanding the deeper psychology.

Along with a simple truth. You cannot skip steps.

If you find yourself wanting who you are and what you offer to have even a shot at landing with increasing numbers of people, you cannot start by trying to speak to all of them on day one. This is a fatal flaw we all tend to make. I’ve done it so many times.

“What I have to offer,” we believe, “can help literally every human.”

Maybe it can, but trying to speak to every human ensures it will never land powerfully enough with any one or group to move them to adopt, adore, then champion it to others. That’s why books that speak to everyone rarely do as well as books that speak to one specific type of person first, even when they hold relevance to all.

So, how do we even begin to think about this?

If you want your work to plant the seeds of a Love Diffusion, start by identifying the early adopters. Understand who they are, how they operate, what they want and need, where they struggle, what they desire, and how they want to not only experience their own lives differently, but also be seen by the Early Majority as someone to be listened to, loved, beloved. To them, they first want to be amazed, then they want to be adored. It’s as much as personal impact as it is the accumulation of status and social currency.

Yes, the opening move is always to make what is in your heart in the truest way possible. But, the moment we find ourselves wanting that work to set off a wave of people who love what we’re offering, then inspire them to share it with the greatest number of people is the moment we step into the realm and the power of The Love Diffusion.

Understanding how to light this fire changes the way we not only create, but also bring what we make to the world.

It also has a wonderful side effect. It connects us with people who see, appreciate and celebrate how we show up in the world. And, that’s a pretty cool way to help feel more alive, and less alone.

Something to think about on a Sunday morning in the mountains.

And, by the way, sending a whole lotta love your way today!

Jonathan

Wake-Up Call #32 | The Love Diffusion

What are you working on that you’d love to see trigger a Love Diffusion?

Maybe it’s a simple idea, a poem, a post, essay, book, podcast, brand, craft, conversation, or even just how you bring yourself or services to the world.

Ask yourself who the early adopters might be. Who do you already know? How might you find and understand them, then reach out and let them know, “hey, I’ve got something I think you might really enjoy.”

This wake-up call is a bit about self and other discovery, and also a bit about boldness. Not just in reaching out to others, but also in owning whether you do, in fact, have the whispers of a yearning that says, “yeah, it would be cool if I could create that ripple, across whatever scale of community feels alive for me.”

Think on it. Noodle about it. Walk with it. Journal on it. And, if you’re inclined, share your take in the comments. And share this wake-up call with something as a way to seed a new conversation between you.