"The Tipping Point"

In class we were required to read a book called "The Tipping Point." This book describes changes in social epidemics a disease that is quickly spread by a small amount of people. The book uses stories and situations to show examples of the fast spreading epidemics and constantly reminds its readers that a small tip or change in a marketing or PR strategy can change everything.

The author, Malcolm Gladwell, tells his readers that three agents of change has the power to tip an epidemic. He calls these agents The Law of Few, the Stickiness Factor and the Power of content. (page 19).

The Law of few describes how a social epidemic can come from a small group and expand. He uses the example of Hush Puppies; a shoe brand that went out of style. When a group of kids started wearing Hush Puppies because no one else was wearing them, they were spotted by fashion designers, and those designers used Hush Puppies in their clothing lines, and then consumers saw them on the run way and Hush Puppies' sales skyrocketed (pages 14, 18-19).  Gladwell also uses The 80/20 Principle to prove The Law of Few to be true. The 80/20 Principle states the about 80 percent of all work will be done by about 20 percent of the population (page 19).

Gladwell describes the Stickiness Factor as small details or changes that can make an item or product stick in the consumers minds. He uses the stickiest shows of all time to prove his point, children shows. "Sesame Street" was the pioneer for educational children shows. They made their show sticky by allowing children to interact with the characters while learning at the same time. Gladwell also talks about "Blue's Clues" a children's show that was sticky because it made learning a game to figure out what the character, Blue, wanted to do that day. The show helped children to connect to everyday items and colors by keeping the characters simple. The blue dog was named Blue, the mailbox was named Mailbox and the pepper shaker was named Pepper (pages 89-91 and 111-112).

The last rule of epidemics that Malcolm Gladwell introduced to us was the Power of Context. The Power of Context tells us that details can change how an object, person or product is received. He tells us the story of Kitty Genoverse. Kitty was being harassed, chased and repeatedly beaten by a Man while an entire neighborhood watched, yet no one helped or called the police. Kitty died that day and if help would have been called she probably would have lived. The book tells us that research shows when someone is being attacked while only one or two people are watching those people are more inclined to help; the opposite occurs when someone is attacked and several onlookers are present.