Love & the Gartner Hype Cycle

I recently wrote a paper about Enterprise 2.0 for EBC6260 Integrated Enterprise Networks. When I used the Gartner Hype Cycle to explain the market adoption of Enterprise 2.0 technologies, I suddently came across an idea to apply love to this theory. I think it fits quite well, and maybe lots of other things are in compliance with the Gartner Hype Cycle as well.

As the Hype Cycle figure shown above, it illustrates every new technology's market adoption in various stage from its emergence to the maturity and mass implementation. When a new technology is first invented and with broad appeal, vendor would advertize it by all means and to the maximum in order to attract as many early adoptors as possible (Technology Trigger). Then consumers begin to take notice to this new technology. More and more prospective buyers become real consumers for the product. Then this technology is being deployed in-volumn by mainstream buyers (Peak of Inflated Expectation). Some day after the overwhelmed enthusiasm and chase, people suddenly become aware of the inflated factor and find that the technology cannot deliver the satisfactory result as they expected before, this is when Trough/Chasm is reached. As the technology/tool is improved and modified in fulfillment of business market requirement over time, it will be gradually re-accepted and widely used by customers (Plateau of Productivity);or if it is nothing but a tech buzzword which is not feasible and meaningful for business, it will demise at last.

How about love? Doesn't the progress of love go the same way as adoption of a technology does? I think the answer is "Yes"! When a girl and a boy first meet and have a great feeling about him/her, they know little about each other (Technology Trigger) and they have a great passion to get more information about him/her. As the time goes by, they find they are hooked and the love temperature has been raising up continuously. They even vow to stay together forever no matter what will happen (Peak of Inflated Expectation). Some day, however, they find they lost the passion and become more and more impatient and dissatisfied to each other. It is not that they don't love each other no more, but the familiarity makes them expose their weakness fully and truly (Trough/Chasm). Gradually, they realize that everyone has his/her merits and drawbacks, in other words, true love should contain all things that s/he has if two people are really into each other. They try to compromise and in a tempt to enjoy the beauty of his/hers. Their intimate affection contributes to a happy marriage at last (Plateau of Productivity); or if they are not able to understand and compromise to the other one, then the only choice is breaking up.

These are just my random thoughts triggered by the graph, I guess maybe lots of things are consistent with the Gartner Hype Cycle as well, like your feeling towards a food you have never tasted before and the like. It is very interesting to notice that this Hype Cycle is quite a generic formula applying to different things besides the technology. Do you agree with me?

Just wish every love has a joyous ending!