I recently finished the amazing book by Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. I believe this book gives insider information to everyone who reads it, and it was a great requirement for our Public Relations Administration class.
The tipping point is that dramatic moment when a trend or idea becomes an epidemic caused by a little change that has a big effect. It only takes a group of people to make a bold step for the whole world to be changed forever. I liked that Gladwell used real life experiences that most were familiar with to help everyone grasp and understand the concept of tipping. The book defines three characteristics necessary to cause the tip: The Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor and the Power of Context.
The Law of the Few is the idea that a select few people drive society. Gladwell divides these people into three groups. These are the Connectors, the Mavens, and the Salesmen. The Connector is a person who knows many people. They have many acquaintances and can bring people together because they are involved in many social circles. The Mavens accumulate an abundant amount of knowledge and share it with others. Mavens want to solve others problems and do this by solving their own. They inform the connectors of the information. The Salesmen persuade us when we are unconvinced of what we hear. They make you feel welcome and they sell a product or idea to you.
I believe that I am a maven. I love discovering new things and finding out new information then sharing it with others. I like knowing things before others and I feel accomplished when I give them the inside information and help them out. When shopping I want to know that I am getting the best product I am searching for with the best deal. When I find this deal I am quick to tell my friends so they can benefit from it as well. I would like to think I am a connector but because I am a quite and reserved person, I usually do not make the initiative to meet new people. Luckily, some of my best friends are connectors and help me to branch out and still stay connected. I am defiantly not a salesmen because I do not like to put people in uncomfortable situations and make them feel forced to make a decision.
The Stickiness Factor makes something memorable and keeps you coming back for more. The Power of Context reminds us that “epidemics are sensitive to the conditions and circumstances of the times and places in which they occur”.
Our PR Admin class has all three types of people Gladwell describes, and I feel that we can use this to our advantage when trying to tip our Relay For Life event in a community that is unwilling to give. We can use our Mavens to research information and pass it on to our connectors who will find the people for our salesmen to target and get to participate in our event. Because money is such a big issue now days, I believe we can use free publicity to promote the event without requiring much money and still make it a success. If we target the right group of people, they will in turn spread the information and influence others to participate in the event as well as give to it. Having the “Relay For Life” name associated with our event also helps make it successful, because businesses are aware of the organization and are more willing to give if they know exactly where their products are going. Because we have such a diverse group of people in our class, we can come together with our different talents and benefit this event. When the event is over I hope we have achieved the Stickiness Factor because this is an annual event and hopefully the community of Baldwin County will begin to be aware of the event and prepare for it every year.
Twitter is a great example of what the tipping point describes. One person started it, and from there it became a huge fad. This did not only become popular in social lives, but now businesses and organizations are using it to connect as well. Blogging, microblogging and social media networking sites are beginning to take over the world and because a few people took that initiative and venture out, so have a million other people. It has helped many more people become connectors because once tweet can lead to a new friend, free food or maybe even a job. This book defiantly applies to everything social media is now offering us and I believe it is only going tip more.
I really enjoyed this book and believe everyone in the professional world should read it. My father was actually a maven because he passed it on to me. It was not until it was required for my class that I read it, and I am sure glad I did!
No comments:
Post a Comment