michael

"The Tipping Point" is about how ideas, products or viewpoints suddenly become popular and cultures can change very quickly. Malcolm Gladwell compares these processes to epidemics and discusses the relevant factors for them to spread. Among others he identifies three relevant roles that participate in the process: mavens, connectors and salesmen.

The book is an easy read and the examples very enlightening - stickyness of Sesame Street or the drop in crime rate in New York.

I expect the whole topic is most popular in marketing and sell new products. Though it is much more important to leverage this kind of insights for spreading wisdom among people. I see a lot of potentials when these concepts are applied to nowawadays communication infrastructure. For example, to identify, facilitate and leverage the three mentioned roles in social networking systems.

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference author: Malcolm Gladwell rating: asin: 0316346624 binding: Taschenbuch list price: EUR 11,56 EUR amazon price: EUR 16,89 EUR