Tipping point - social trend (Malcolm Gladwell)
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Tipping Point Defining and engaging social change
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A very short summary of the book and how to identify the components and situations that underpin social change
Transcript of Tipping point - social trend (Malcolm Gladwell)
Tipping Point Defining and engaging social change
The Tipping Point
• The easiest way to consider the emergence of trends in our society, such as the rise of particular fashions or the popularity of certain books and films, is to think of them as epidemics.
• These epidemics can be made sense of by considering the three rules
– The Law of the Few
– The Stickiness Factor
– The Power of Context
The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell, 2000
The Tipping PointThe Law of the Few
A certain few types of people are primarily responsible for the emergence of social epidemics in society:
1. Connectors: People with an uncanny knack for making friends and acquaintances. Due to their personality and character their networking skills generally span across various subcultures and niches. This makes them invaluable for spreading ideas and trends.
2. Mavens: These people collect information, and when they find something interesting they love to share it with anyone who will listen. They are more interested in the world around them, reading more magazines, newspapers and even junk mail. They provide the message and Connectors spread it.
3. Salesmen: These people convince the unconvinced. Unlike the other two they work with nonverbal as well as verbal persuasion. Their personalities are very expressive- they are the carriers of the epidemic.
The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell, 2000
The Tipping PointThe Stickiness Factor
The content of the message is also intrinsic to starting an epidemic, not just the messengers. The message needs to be ‘sticky.’ That is, it needs to be memorable, it needs to spur people to action.
You need to make your message irresistible.
The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell, 2000
The Tipping PointThe Power of Context
We are exquisitely sensitive to changes in our context. The Power of Context advocates that behaviour is a function of social context and environment. For example when people are asked to consider something or make decisions in a group, their conclusions generally differ greatly than if they had been alone.
Close knit groups have more power in amplifying the potential of the social epidemic or trend. The Rule of 150 guides this roughly. 150 is the maximum number of people the average person can have a genuine social relationship with. Any more than this and the group is no longer tightly knit.
The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell, 2000
