College students are exposed to a variety of books while pursuing a degree. Some books will make an impression and stick, while others will be forgotten quickly. In my Public Relations Research & Strategies course we read, “The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell. This book was sticky and made a significant impression on me.
Gladwell’s book has many public relations implications and lessons applied to real-world situations, such as sexually transmitted diseases, crime, teenage smoking and educational television. The book is centered on the Tipping Point, which is "that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire (Gladwell)."
Public relations professionals are always employing tactics to help spread their messages, and “The Tipping Point” gives insight on successful ways these practitioners might start an epidemic. “These three characteristics one, contagiousness; two, the fact that little causes can have big effects; and three, that change happens not gradually but at one dramatic moment are the same three principles that define how measles move through a grade school classroom or the flu attacks every winter” (Gladwell, 9).
Gladwell said that there are three types of people who are the key to spreading word-of-mouth epidemics. They are Connectors, Mavens and Salesmen. Connectors are people who link us up with the rest of the world, while Mavens are experts who people trust for information. Salesmen are the people with the persuasive power to draw a person in. These three people also help to define The Law of Few that Gladwell speaks of in “The Tipping Point.” "The Law of Few says that the success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social gifts" (Gladwell, 33)
Two other major concepts that Gladwell explains are The Power of Context and The Stickiness Factor. The Power of Context describes how the environment people live in plays a major role in their actions. One example used in the book is of a woman who was stabbed to death for 30 minutes in the streets of New York while 38 neighbors did not call the police. Gladwell calls this the Bystander Problem. None of the 38 called because they did not feel it mattered if they called because they thought someone else would call. This signifies the Power of Context because if this same crime happened with only one or two people around, one would feel more inclined to help and the woman would have most likely survived.
The Stickiness Factor however means that a message makes an impact or a memorable impression that moves us to action. College students forget many of the books they read because there wasn’t anything in the book that stuck with them or evoked emotion. “The Tipping Point” will be one of those college readings that will stick with me.
Gladwell’s book has many public relations implications and lessons applied to real-world situations, such as sexually transmitted diseases, crime, teenage smoking and educational television. The book is centered on the Tipping Point, which is "that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire (Gladwell)."
Public relations professionals are always employing tactics to help spread their messages, and “The Tipping Point” gives insight on successful ways these practitioners might start an epidemic. “These three characteristics one, contagiousness; two, the fact that little causes can have big effects; and three, that change happens not gradually but at one dramatic moment are the same three principles that define how measles move through a grade school classroom or the flu attacks every winter” (Gladwell, 9).
Gladwell said that there are three types of people who are the key to spreading word-of-mouth epidemics. They are Connectors, Mavens and Salesmen. Connectors are people who link us up with the rest of the world, while Mavens are experts who people trust for information. Salesmen are the people with the persuasive power to draw a person in. These three people also help to define The Law of Few that Gladwell speaks of in “The Tipping Point.” "The Law of Few says that the success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social gifts" (Gladwell, 33)
Two other major concepts that Gladwell explains are The Power of Context and The Stickiness Factor. The Power of Context describes how the environment people live in plays a major role in their actions. One example used in the book is of a woman who was stabbed to death for 30 minutes in the streets of New York while 38 neighbors did not call the police. Gladwell calls this the Bystander Problem. None of the 38 called because they did not feel it mattered if they called because they thought someone else would call. This signifies the Power of Context because if this same crime happened with only one or two people around, one would feel more inclined to help and the woman would have most likely survived.
The Stickiness Factor however means that a message makes an impact or a memorable impression that moves us to action. College students forget many of the books they read because there wasn’t anything in the book that stuck with them or evoked emotion. “The Tipping Point” will be one of those college readings that will stick with me.
Malcolm Gladwell, "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference"
Back Bay Books/Little, Brown and Company
March 2000
