Crossing the wireless chasm

November/December 2002 7 In Crossing the Chasm, Geoffrey Moore discusses the differing needs of early adopters of new technology and the majority adopters that follow (see figure). He describes this conceptual gulf as the chasm that needs to be bridged if a technically innovative product is going to be successful in the mass market. Don Norman picks up this theme in The Invisible Computer, arguing that the chasm is largely a matter of usability (although he avoids that particular word). Both authors use numerous examples from the 1980's and 90's, but for more recent examples, we need look no further than the products serving as the building blocks of the mobile internet.