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Summary: Start Your Own Positive Epidemic
Review: A quick search of Amazon.com Purchase Circles finds that "The Tipping Point" is a favorite read of advertising agencies and PR firms. Why? Author Malcolm Gladwell surmises that they are realizing that "because of the sheer ubiquity of marketing efforts these days, word-of-mouth appeals have become the only kind of persuasion that most us respond to anymore." "The Tipping Point" demystifies the process of word-of-mouth marketing and outlines examples of how companies and individuals have found the tipping points for their causes, or in other words, the moment when an idea takes off and reaches critical mass. The author compares the spread of viral epidemics to the way ordinary things 'tip' toward widespread knowledge or acceptance. Typically, its pattern includes a contagious agent, little causes having big effects with all of it usually happening in one big, dramatic moment. This can happen with ideas, products, messages and behaviors, too. Gladwell outlines a potent case study. It is the interesting tale of rekindled interest in Hush Puppies shoes. Hush Puppies were all but dead in 1994, yet a handful of kids in the East Village and Soho wore the pairs they picked up in second-hand stores. Fashion designer John Bartlett spied the kids' shoes on the street and thought they would make interesting accessories for his spring collection. Haute couture designer Anna Sui followed Bartlett's lead and insisted on them for her next fashion show. Suddenly, 30,000 pairs of Hush Puppies are sold in 1994, 430,000 in 1995, almost 2 million in 1996, and' you get the idea. The fashion-conscious are ripe hosts for spreading idea viruses. To understand what the non-trendoid can do to deliberately start and control positive epidemics of her own, Gladwell cites three rules: · Law of the Few - epidemics are a function of the people who transmit infectious agents. The people who transmit easily are connectors (those who know many people), mavens (those who frequently gather information), and salespeople (those who's personality transmits a message effectively). · The Stickiness Factor - the infectious agent itself, that is, how sticky its message is. · The Power of Context - the environment in which the infectious agent is operating. When an epidemic tips, it is because something has happened, and a change has occurred in one or more of those three areas. Gladwell's chapter on the "Law of the Few" will sound familiar to those who have read Seth Godin's "Unleashing the Ideavirus" or Emanuel Rosen's "The Anatomy of Buzz." Gladwell's "mavens, connectors and salesmen" are cousins to Godin's "sneezers" and Rosen's 'network hubs.' Lest we fear that this is a book geared only toward Prada People, "The Tipping Point" brims with insights into how historical and commonplace events transpired. We learn that: · Paul Revere's ride was successful in spreading news about the forthcoming invasion because he was a maven and a connector. · Sesame Street and Blues Clues have become popular children's shows because its writers maniacally focused on the stickiness of its messages. · "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" became a best seller because of the context in which the author publicized her message - to groups of women around the country. One thing "The Tipping Point" is not: A how-to manual for spreading an idea, product or behavior. More importantly, as Gladwell argues, to create change, we must reframe the way we think about the world through research and then deliberately test our intuitions. Positive epidemics can be successfully launched if we hold steadfast to our belief that we can change the world.
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Summary: Non-Linearity and Social Change
Review: With the use of viruses as a metaphor for non-linear dynamics in social change, Gladwell has written a very interesting book that forces us to examine our premises for analyzing change. An easy read of an interesting topic; it read very quickly, he is a talented narrative writer with a passion for his subject. I'm a little hesitant to buy into some of the explanatory methodology, but the concepts are interesting. The main concept is that very minute changes in a situation can yield vastly different and widespread consequences. While mostly applying this to social behavior, Gladwell is talking about a mathematical process; but one that needs to involve certain types of people in order to succeed. Although Gladwell is enamored with THE NURTURE ASSUMPTION, which has suffered some well-placed criticism, I found THE TIPPING POINT dovetailes nicely with a book by Jane Jacobs called, THE NATURE OF ECONOMIES.
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Summary: Start an epidemic for fun and profit
Review: 'What is a tipping point?' Mr. Gladwell? 'Tipping points,' Mr Gladwell seems to say, are your path to fame and fortune. This sums up the strengths and weaknesses of the book. 'Tipping points' seem to be moments of uncertainty when the 'little things' make a huge difference. Knowing exactly what 'little thing' to look for is never made clear, but the right 'thing' can be worth a fortune. I'm sure Gladwell is onto something here. His case studies and examples are convincing. Gladwell covers a variety of extremely profitable 'viral' projects. If you are like me, you'll be visualizing crazed masses infected with a mad passion to send you cash. Making money on idea-epidemics connects. Unfortunately, the keys to our own personal tipping-point get lost in the rhetoric. I suspect the 'tipping' paradigm is enough for most readers. According to Gladwell, ideas spread like viruses. Successful marketing depends on little things. We don't learn great ideas because they are 'good,' we get them because epidemics of popular-opinion spread them. The little details produce an idea-epidemic in one city, while the same idea does nothing in the next. Despite the insignificance of the details, vast differences in impact are felt. It pays to know these details. The key seems to be the excellence of the 'carrier' (our infecting agent). To help us with this, Gladwell describes three required personality types. The 'connector' is the person that actually transmits the virus. A good connector knows everyone that is anyone. The 'maven' knows the details. The 'salesman' closes the deal. The best carrier is a blend of all three. They infect hundreds. Those they infect are going to infect many more. Next, we need a 'sticky' idea, one that motivates action (sending you money) and is never forgotten (they keep sending you money). Unfortunately, even the stickiest of ideas fail unless the target mind is receptive, so one has to be an artist combining context with idea. Don't get me wrong. This is not all about money. This is a way of making government more efficient, too! Gladwell shows us how crime in New York was halted by tipping point experts. So far, so good. Unfortunately, all the examples are told via hindsight. In the present, hindsight won't help much. What do we need to know for blending connector, maven and salesman? How many carriers are needed? What makes one idea 'sticky' and another 'slick'? What helps us read the popular mindset? What kills viral ideas? Do ideas fight? Are there any ideas that are always sticky? How do we insure the epidemic keeps sending us money, don't they get out of control? There are more questions than answers.
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Summary: Insight into Social Change
Review: As an individual working in a social service program at a middle school, I found THE TIPPING POINT to be filled with studies that challenge the way many education and prevention/intervention programs strive to reach their goals. I recommend this book for those in public service who struggle to spark positive social epidemics. It covers simple "marketing" techniques that although somewhat obvious to some, are often overlooked or ignored in programming by many government and public agencies. Gladwell examines trends in fashion, television, smoking, crime and even the American Revolution, focusing on several personality types that are "natural pollinators" of social revolutions. If you are looking for a book to captivate you from beginning to end with flowery writing, this isn't for you. If you want to learn more about the onset and power of social epidemics, get a copy and take some notes! Gladwell packs his book with a great deal of information.
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Summary: Quick, Easy, Informative Read--Enlightening on Many Things
Review: I thought this book was really about starting marketing trends. Certainly, some of these are addressed in the book, but it delves deeply into some of the more fascinating trends and social behaviors by which we're all affected. Most fascinating, IMO, was the section on how NYC managed to drive their crime rate down considerably with a decidedly simple approach: the "no broken windows" theory. Fascinating. This is one of those books that you'll think about for days after finishing it, applying the insights it provided. Well worth it. Quick read.
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Summary: We have a chance
Review: While technology continues it's upward spirle, our over all quality of life seems to continually spin downward. World War III seems to have disappeared, but racial and ethical conflict have continued to destroy the concept of world wide peace. What success can be produced in the war on drugs? Where is there hope for family love? This book gives evidence that social change can be engineered. With a little effort, the impossible becomes a reality. Let's hope our real leaders use this information to give hope for our children and grandchildren of living in a better world. Not one where the rich have better toys.
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Summary: The Tipping Point - how confusing book can be?
Review: Absolutelly nothing new in this book. I couldn't even understand who is the target group for this book. Has nothing to do with new ideas or so (as someone stated in one of the reviews).
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Summary: A Message that will Stick
Review: The Tipping Point is an ambitious book that explores how ideas spread and why some messages are more contagious than others. Filled with scores of examples, Gladwell focuses on the inflexion point of where an idea translates into a mass epidemic. The Tipping Point has even helped to spur the growth of a developing form of marketing called "Buzz Marketing." Gladwell says that there are three primary catalysts required to create an epidemic: (1) "The Law of the Few" - The Connectors, Mavens and Salesmen are the few people in society who interact in depth with different groups spreading ideas, are the few who are sought after for advice because of their very detailed knowledge, and the ones who have a natural ability to communicate. Gladwell argues that it is these people who generate the 'buzz.' (2) "Stickiness Factor" - Gladwell concludes "there is a simple way to package information that, under the right circumstances can make it irresistable. All you have to do is find it." (3) "The Power of Context" - This is the idea that finding / creating the environment that is interested in the idea is as important to communicating the idea as the idea itself. Gladwell challenges many conventional notions that we have about why we act the way we do. Although they may disagree with his ideas, critics are be buried in an avalanche of supporting evidence carefully cultivated and referenced. Althought some evidence is anecdotal, Gladwell goes on to back his ideas on human behaviour further with citations of more comprehensive studies. The anecdotal evidence has the added effect of bringing his ideas down to a practical level. Stitching together ideas from over a hundred studies in a well documented reference section, in many ways, The Tipping Point is like an anthology of fascinating studies in human behaviour. One controversial observation that Gladwell makes is that humans can be promped to act through subtle suggestions -- not necessarily on a subliminal subversive level but by the mere presence of an idea. Gladwell points to a study that showed that after Marilyn Monroe's death, suicides rose 12%, and when articles on suicides appeared on the front pages of newspapers the suicide rate would rise. Gladwell argues that the people in such articles give readers who are already predisposed to the idea "permission" to do the unthinkable -- supporting his concepts of "The Power of Context" and "The Law of the Few". Specific, an easy read, and thought provoking this book is great for anyone who is (a) interested in human behaviour, (b) marketers and (c) people who are interested in business in general.
Rating:
Summary: FASCINATING
Review: Even for those of us with little real interest in marketing, this book is fascinating, clear and informative, and entertaining to boot. It will open your mind to our popular culture and the way things happen in ways you might never have thought of before. The examples used are of interest to everyone, from Hush Puppies to the NYC crime rate -- why do things become the rage, what is the tipping point???? You will be very intrigued to learn Gladwell's well-supported theories. Believe it or not, this is a great summer read, and moves quickly, like a suspense story.
Rating:
Summary: READ THIS BOOK!
Review: If you're even remotely interested in marketing, READ THIS BOOK! If you have kids, READ THIS BOOK. If you care about the world you live in, READ THIS BOOK! The subtitle says it all but I'll leave you with the last four sentences from the book: "Look at the world around you. It may seem like an immovable, implacable place. It is not. With the slightest push - in just the right place - it can be tipped." Hey, I'm about as cyncial as they come, but this book got me to stop and think that there MAY be hope for us yet!
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