early adopter 

A person who is typically the first to purchase new technologies before they become popular in an effort to look interesting. They can be easily identified by the dozens of boxes in their basement filled with crap like Nook Ereaders, Zune mp3 players, Google Glasses and AOL email addresses as well as their remarkably small retirement savings accounts.

Our tech startup is failing because we only hired early adopters with attention spans similar to goldfish.

early adopter by halal9000 April 26, 2019

Early adopter

Someone who tries the new thing before everyone else; not necessarily because it’s better, but because being first is part of the fun. They’ll test the app nobody’s heard of, wear the trend everyone else thinks is weird, or experiment with a technology while the rest of us are still asking, “But what’s it for?”

“Nina was wearing second-hand designer, mixing weird silhouettes, and shopping from emerging local brands years before they showed up on everyone's mood boards. She's an early adopter, not a trend follower.”

Early adopter by Araucaria Angustifolia October 28, 2026