Let's get viral
What do Hush Puppies shoes and declining crime in East New York have in common? More importantly, why should we care? According to Malcolm Gladwell in The Tipping Point, they're both "textbook examples of epidemics in action," and epidemics are what make "the unexpected become expected, where radical change is more than a possibility .... a certainty." As one passionate for revolution, I'm digging this so far. In the early 90s, Hush Puppies went from a fashion dinosaur to fashion forward apparently overnight, while crime in East New York dropped precipitously to record-low levels. In both instances, Gladwell argues, ideas -- that Hush Puppies were somehow cool again and that crime was bad -- spread virally after "infecting" a critical mass of people. Ideas that change the world (and products and messages and behaviors, for that matter) "spread just like viruses do," Gladwell contends. They are contagious; embrace the power of exponential growth; and welcome sudden, dramatic change. They function according to three principles he calls the "Law of the Few," the "Stickiness Factor," and the "Power of Context." I didn't intend to write a book review here (and my wife is telling me she needs the computer anyway, so it's about time for me to log off), but rather to say simply that Tipping Point is an immensely provocative read (and I'm only through the introduction and first chapter). Thanks, Matt, for giving me a copy.
posted by Jeremy Del Rio @ 4/19/2005 10:07:00 PM
1 Comments:
Hey J,
I've overlooked the book. Just may pick it up now...
Jose H.
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