The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

Another interesting book in a similar vein as Freakonomics.  Gladwell seeks to find the root causes of epidemics in all of their forms, be it disease, ideas, trends or otherwise.  The overall emphasis is on the spread of ideas, why they do/don't spread as epidemics, and how to create your own epidemics of ideas.  He finds some really interesting stuff.

It seems that the difference between a normal idea and something that "goes viral" can be seemingly microscopic.  Differences in degree can be striking at times.  A particularly illustrative example of the phenomenon is how nothing changes when it's raining and the temperature drops from 40 degrees to 39.  Same thing when it drops to 38, 37, 36, etc.

But something fundamentally different happens when the temperature crosses from 33 degrees to 32.  It's exactly the same type of phenomenon that occurs during an epidemic.  The tweak from 33 to 32 makes all of the difference in the world when it comes to changing the world.

Gladwell breaks down the causes of epidemics into three basic categories: Connectors (which he further subdivides into three categories), Stickiness and Context.

Connectors are the people who are uniquely situated to spread ideas from person to person.  As you might expect, true connectors are very difficult to find, the proverbial diamonds in the rough.

Stickiness refers to the power of the idea itself.  Is it truly unique and does it really stand out from the crowd of normal ideas?

Context is quite interesting, the notion that the environment in which an idea is spread plays a fundamental role in whether or not it will go viral.  His best example is how the NYC Subway system dropped crime by eliminating graffiti.  By simply erasing the graffiti from cars and stations, the context of the subway system changed.  People began to believe that this was a place where rules are actually enforced, and it played a major role in the drop in criminal activity.

As a marketer, Gladwell's three concepts above sound very familiar.  Connectors and Context are media.  Stickiness is creative and/or messaging (or the product itself).  His concepts are similar in kind, but not exactly to the same degree from that of the traditional marketing worldf.  He illustrates very extreme examples, where tiny changes in the "marketing mix" make all of the difference between a dud and an international success.

The trick, however, is to move from analysis of past epidemics, to a prescription for generating your own.  That is a far different story, as epidemics are excruciatingly difficult to create.

For me the take away is the all-importance of constant experimentation, tweaking and analysis.  The slightest changes can and do make all of the difference in the world.  Even in the height of frustration, any one of our ideas might be on the verge of spreading like wildfire.

There is science behind word of mouth, and it's something I need to take more time to explore.