Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point is an excellent tool for those interested in the theory of, what I consider, Possibility. He clearly identifies types of movements throughout our population that shape and profile aspects of life from fashion to human nature. Gladwell labels people as well, classifying them by their actions and attributes. As a whole, the book is an excellent foundation for those not only starting a journey in the PR world, but also for those already immersed within it.
I consider Possibility to be the over arching theme of this book. Everything Gladwell discusses is dependent. Everything is a variable, whether it be a type of person or a type of movement. Once a variable acts upon a situation, everything changes. The Possibility changes.
Gladwell points to three types of movements that can tip a product, disease, ect. over its balance point. When a product tips it manifests itself within a part of society. Suddenly it experiences exponential growth and if were to put the data of that growth on a graph, the point where the graph shot up or down would be considered the tipping point.
The Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor and the Power of Context are the three points Gladwell discusses when talking about how a product might sweep through society. He claims that when all three of these ideas are in place, that a product will tip.
The Law of the Few deals with exceptional people who may find about a trend, and through their social connections, they spread the trendy epidemic. Think about it as seeing someone wearing an 80’s style jacket and you think to yourself, “That’s a cool jacket, and not many people have anything like it.” So you decide to buy one. You wear the jacket and someone else sees you and thinks to themselves the same thought you did. Then they buy one like it and so on and so forth.
The Stickiness Factor is very well defined in The Tipping Point and I will use a direct quote from the book here.
"The stickiness factor says that there are specific ways of making
a contagious message memorable; there are relatively simple changes
in the presentation and structuring of information that can make a
big difference in how much of an impact it makes."
Gladwell has a simple and clear definition for the Power of Context. He states “that human beings are a lot more sensitive to their environment than they may seem.” Generally, we can assume that everyone is a product of his or her environment. Actions and reactions, thoughts, the way someone dresses, beliefs and mannerisms are all shaped by our environment. We are results of our surroundings.
In further attempt to provide direction in understanding Possibility and epidemics, Gladwell breaks down people into three groups: Mavens, Connectors and Salesmen. Mavens are the type of people who particularly enjoy finding great deals on products. They will be glad to let you know when and where you can find the best prices or experiences when you are looking to purchase. Connectors are people that know a lot of people. They introduce and are introduced. In short, they get around. Salesmen can make us want to buy. Many times, we don’t even know why, but they have the art of the sell.
When I consider myself, I’m not quite sure where I fit. With some aspects of life I’m a Maven. I thoroughly enjoy finding the best deals on products such as cell phones and other electronic equipment. I’ll spend long hours on the computer meticulously researching what people think about a product, their likes and dislikes. I’ll find every spec and feature. And of course I always shop around for the best prices. Sometimes I’ll delay a purchase just to wait for ebay deals. I don’t particularly see myself as a Connector. I don’t feel the need to know a great deal of people and for what it’s worth, I’m not entirely positive what a “great deal of people” entails. I suppose I’m a tiny bit of a Salesman, but that’s only for products and ideas that I’m profoundly interested in.
Our current project in PR Admin has been going well. I’ve been exceedingly pleased with the effort everyone has put into everything. And when I think about which if these concepts would be most beneficial to our progress, only ones comes to the forefront of my mind: the Power of Context. I believe that creating an environment around campus of enjoyment and anticipation of school athletic events is crucial to our progression throughout or project. When a basketball game is coming up, people should feel it in the air. They should plan their day around it. I want to hear students asking each other if they are going to the game that night. I would like to spend some time focusing on the little things that shape people’s campus environment. What are we over looking? Where can we carve out a niche that no one else has found? There is simply something and somewhere we haven’t gone and I would like find out what it is and explore it.
