Rating: 
Summary: This might have appealed to me in college.
Review: Not a book for thinkers, but rather a tome for those who prefer to be told how to think, what's important, what's profound. If you are an intelligent reader, I suggest you pass on this bloated attempt at insight. In addition to being trite, the book is poorly written, almost like a term paper: a, b, c, d; with little journalistic asides of the most pedestrian kind. Those of you who have favorably reviewed this book should stop to examine your powers of discrimination and original thought.
Rating: 
Summary: Esoterica
Review: This is a fun book to read, but the dots remain uncconected.
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I much prefer works that are more practical, and guide you directly to where you are going, instead of this very indirect analysis.
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Some examples of this direct approach which are exceptionally well done include the CD "Voice Lessons to go" and the DVD "New Sex Now."
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All of these are fun and enjoyable and will improve your life.
Rating: 
Summary: Three Cardinal Principles
Review: The Tipping Point-Malcolm GladwellThis terrific book isn't really about advertising or footwear although it begins and ends with two seemingly overnight sensations in that category, one of which, Airwalks, he ascribes to advertising, the other, Hush Puppies, he doesn't. (I think he may be wrong there, but more on that later.)
But the reason anyone in advertising or marketing will want to read this book is because Mr. Gladwell does such a good job of deconstructing and explaining how trends or fads or to use the current expression: "buzz" come to be. Drawing from an enormous range of sources, from history to sociology to anthropology and psychology, he ultimately attributes the emergence of the latest, new, new thing to three cardinal principles that no marketer or communicator should be unaware of.
His first law relates to the subject of the audience to which a message should be directed. As he explains, a small group of people he designates as "connectors", "mavens" and "salesmen" play an enormous role in determining if an idea (or product) takes off. This would seem to have an interesting application to how marketers identify their target audience.
His next law arises from his observation that even very subtle changes in how a message is delivered can have a huge impact on its memorability and how likely it is to prompt action. So this would seem to have a big bearing on what an advertiser's message should be.
And finally, he gets to the fact that the context in which a message is delivered can be every bit as important to building momentum as what the message itself is, i.e. how and where you say something is just as critical as what you say.
Three important lessons for anyone interested in changing people's behaviors, which is certainly key to what advertisers and their advertising agencies are interested in. But what about my beef with his Hush Puppies claim? Well, what Gladwell asserts is that Hush Puppies became all the rage after the fashionistas who troll the small stores of New York's lower East Side discovered them sometime around late 1993 or early 1994. No advertising necessary. But what I know is there was some terrific Hush Puppies advertising done around that time. However, when I went back to look for it, I discovered it ran from 1986-1989 and clearly there can't have been a four or five year gap between this advertising and the Hush Puppies craze. Unless...
Unless the great advertising was actually done as a tool to load up the trade (a not uncommon practice in the apparel business), and when the merchandise didn't move (possibly because the media budget was too small) the trade dumped its stock of Hush Puppies on wholesalers who eventually sold them to those small stores on the lower East Side where the trendsetters found them.
Who knows? But this book is well worth reading in any event.
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Summary: Valuable insights we can use to improve Homeland Security
Review: The lessons learned from the Tipping Point could be useful for communities fine-tuning their disaster response plans.
People communicate and congregate in ways that can be understood before a crisis crystallizes.
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Summary: Too many interesting stories with little focus
Review: After I read "Blink" by the same author, I become familiar with his characteristic style. He uses many references and tells many stories that are informative and amusing for a young person with little scope of the big world, or someone who wants to kill time.
The idea of this book is not new at all. It is merely a rehash of what is widely known in dealing with issues related to herd manipulation, be that disease epidemics or marketing. The so many stories in the book confound its theme and undermine the author's ability to communicate clear and convincing ideas.
For example, he claims that by understanding the rules of epidemics, we could manipulate their outcome and mentions issues like teenage smoking, movies, etc. Yet, his stories seem to show his desire for flexing his wide knowledge in every field in life. He talks about syphilis, AIDS, TV show, research, while blurring the main highlights of the book.
In Chapter 1, "The three rules of epidemics", he twists the concept of "vector" into his fancy rule of "The law of the few", twists the concept of "host resistance" to his fancy "Stickiness factor", twists the concept of "host to vector interaction" to his fancy "The power of context". Then he builds the entire book, with so many references on such twisted inventions.
In chapter 2, "The law of the few", he merely stretches the causative vector in any epidemics into connectors, informed mediators, and salesmen and demonstrates each in many stories.
Chapter 3, "The stickiness factor", explains the impact of the vector on the host through case studies on Sesame Street, Blue's clues show, and education virus.
Chapters 4 and 5, "The power of context", are full with stories such as the fall in New York City crime rate and Sesame Street to demonstrate the importance of the environment, where the vector and host interact, on the outcome of epidemics.
Chapters 6 and 7, "case study", many more stories to explain the already told many stories.
Rating:
Summary: Insightful and informative
Review: Very interesting read. I am surprised that although I have seen the book quoted umpteen times, I have not seen its findings touted as much (max 150 number people circle, etc). I think its concenpts could be great for marketing people who could depend on 'connectors', 'mavens' and 'salesperson' concepts to extend the reach of their marketing arm with minimal effort/cost. However, the book introduces a significant knowing-doing gap for the average reader. The reader is left amazed by the insightful knowledge but is also left frustrated not knowing how exactly to apply it.
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Summary: Gladwell is onto something important...
Review: This is an original and absorbing social thesis. Gladwell has taken a fresh perspective on those elements in society that determine radical change. Why do certain trends like fashion or political opinion, explode in popularity, while others never get off the ground? He proposes that certain ideas or trends act similarly to epidemics, spreading at a fantastic rate, spreading across populations like the bubonic plague or the Aids virus. From Gladwell's analysis, he has pin-pointed three distinct causes for what he has called "The Tipping Point" - three agents of influence, acting individually or collectively, which "tip the scales", so to speak, in the direction of profound change.
These three agents of change include: The Law of the Few - individuals of charm and influence, called Connectors, Mavens and Salesman, who are responsible for that essential ingredient of change, word-of mouth. The second agent is The Stickiness Factor - that one seemingly insignificant point that ensures the idea or trend is memorable, the message sticks in the mind. The third agent of change is The Power of Context - this factor focuses on the importance of environment, how context influences our various behaviours in significant ways.
The compelling example Gladwell uses to illustrate the power of context was the crime rate in New York City during the late eighties and early nineties. Crime was out of control, murders and muggings were reaching all time highs. Then, over a short period of time, the crime rate plummeted radically. Gladwell speculates that the cause for this extreme decline in crime was due to a massive environmental clean up across the city. The New York Transit Authority, for example, embarked on a massive assault on graffiti and fare evasion, and once the trains were graffiti free and fare protocols were put in place, crime in the subways dropped. He attributes this to "the broken window effect", a theory that speculates that environment plays a significant influence on the behaviours of criminals. In other words, the criminal is more inclined to commit crime in a debilitated environment than one that is clean, graffiti free with no broken windows. This may sound a little hard to believe, however, the strategy worked and the crime rate tumbled to all time lows.
The book is strewn with examples and studies supporting his view that the three factors mentioned above, are the catalyst for radical social movement and trends across society.
Gladwell also writes persuasively as his arguments are well researched and suggestive of great insight into the behaviours of society and the specific dynamics that underpin these behaviours. He gives the impression that he's on to something important, that if constructively harnessed, could well provide us with the means to change the negative aspects of our world for the better.
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Summary: Disappointed. All that hype!
Review: Malcolm Gladwell is a genius... in getting publicity for himself. As a writer for the New Yorker, he must have a lot of pull in the publishing and P.R. circles... in the publishing and P.R. capital of New York. I kind of like that wild hair, but I also see it as part of his publicity schtick. Definitely "brand recognition," there.
After about 75 pages I became bored with his long, long-winded storytelling. And I'm a fan of storytelling, but this was just over the top. A couple of his anecdotes I found interesting, but this is a classic example of a concept that could be expressed in 40 pages and he chose to make it book length.
I found Emanuel Rosenberg's "The Anatomy of Buzz" much more insightful... AND it gave you LOTS of recipes for HOW TO CREATE BUZZ. Gladwell's Tipping Point only told stories, with little translation in to WHAT'S IN IT FOR YOU, the reader.
I was disppointed after all that hype. I won't be buying his new book, "Blink," that's for sure. If a friend wants to lend me a copy, I'll leaf through it, but I can't justify the expense... monetary or time.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting
Review:
Tipping Point is an interesting collection of observations that makes for a good read, although I would not call it scientific. Very well written. I advice to at least have a look at it, as it might not suit everyone. Another good read that I suggest is "Can We Live 150 Year?" by M. Tombak. Also not very scientific but interesting approach to health, aging and longevity...
Rating:
Summary: Highly stimulating read
Review: Malcolm Gladwell investigates the patterns of human behavior and shows how the word-of-mouth works. The introduced term "tipping point" makes this book a precious read for every one trying to understand human behavior, whose basics run as deep as the discovered workings of the universe shown in Eugene Savov's book Theory of Interaction. Little things can trigger chain reactions of self-organization that are indispensable for success.
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