Malcolm Gladwell’s title of his book, The Tipping Point, is a very good explanation to summarize what Gladwell is trying to focus or pin point in his book. Just as the words are said in the title, “the tipping point” is the exact pivotal point or moment when particular ideas, behaviors or trends are reached. When these ideas, behaviors, or trends reach a certain level it usually reaches the boiling point or the “threshold” as Gladwell states, which is like the climax of a book when all things come together or build up to meet at the highest most significant point. Once these ideas, behaviors, or trends make it to this point then it creates an epidemic causing it to spread which creates a significant reaction.
As Gladwell states in the book, in order for there to be a tipping point and these sets of ideas, trends or social behaviors to start epidemics there are three rules that apply towards achieving a tipping point. The three rules include the Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor and the Power of Context. With these rules Gladwell focuses on how to achieve a tipping point. With the rule of the Stickiness Factor there must be some form of impact to cause stickiness, which is one of the critical components for allowing something to tip. In order to create stickiness there must be one thing achieved and that is the main principle of creating a message or statement that is unforgettable and can result in being contagious. The Law of the Few rule states that when it comes to determining how epidemics occur, it usually happens as a result of only a small percentage of people involved. The third rule, the Power of Context, is within the way an epidemic can be influenced by the nature of its surroundings. As human beings, we care about our environment and a lot of the times we are strongly influenced to make decisions based off solely on what is going on around us. A person’s behavior can be altered because of its environment and as a result this has an effect with how epidemics are created. These three rules help to gain more insight into how exactly Gladwell describes what a tipping point is and when epidemics occur based off one rule or combination of them.
By following these three rules that Gladwell emphasizes in his book, I think that my Public Relations and Administration classes campaign, “One Team, One Spirit,” which is centered to help boost attendance at men’s basketball games will definitely tip. Our classes’ mission for trying to get this campaign to tip and boost attendance at not only GCSU men’s basketball games, but other athletic events can best be described by Gladwell. Gladwell states, “When we are trying to make an idea or attitude or product tip, we’re trying to change our, audience in some small yet critical respect: we’re trying to infect them, sweep them up in our epidemic, convert them from hostility to acceptance” (Gladwell 166). I believe that this is our mission for the campaign and we need to begin to follow this idea as our goal towards making this campaign successful and to tip. In order to get the results we want from this campaign, I think we need to follow the Stickiness Factor. What we want is to make a message so memorable that it will stick in students and faculty’s minds and will draw them into action, which will be attending men’s basketball games and showing support. I think we have already created a good start for our message within our logo for the campaign, “One Team, One Spirit.” To make this message more successful campus wide, we need to make it stick. Within epidemics, to make the message spread it needs the help of messengers (Gladwell 92). In this campaign, our class is the messengers. It is going to be the smaller, more subtle ways of making the message of “One Team, One Spirit” stick. Just as Gladwell mentions the idea of repetition in words as one of the keys to success for the kids television show Blues Clues and Sesame Street, I think repetition of our message will be a small and subtle way to change our audience into accepting this message. As messengers it is our job to start this repetition of the logo. Even though our class is small, I believe we can begin to start an epidemic on our campus by making awareness of this message. The first way we can begin to this is by a word of mouth epidemic. By letting friends and others know about “One Team, One Spirit” then it will get everyone interested in what the message is referring to. A way to keep repetition of our logo and to get everyone on campus to know who the men’s basketball players are and to begin to get to know them would be to have all the players wear a plain t-shirt with the logo, “One Team, One Spirit” incorporated on the shirt. The t-shirt can be very basic and can have written on the front the logo in permanent marker and the player’s names and numbers on the back. Our class can start the same idea by wearing the same made t-shirts with the logo. The whole idea is for the message to stick and for everyone on campus to begin to see repetition of the logo and create a campus wide school spirit towards the men’s basketball team.
I feel like out of the three “types” of people in society that Gladwell refers to including the Connectors, the Mavens and the Salesmen that out of the three I am most like the Mavens. Although I do not have a full on personality like the Mavens described in the book, I still have a few characteristics that puts myself into this category of “types” of people in society. The Mavens or also known as the “Market Mavens” are individuals who accumulate knowledge. I believe I am a Maven in the aspect that some of my own personality qualities are that I am a good listener and I have a good memory. From these two qualities, I think it helps in the aspect of me being able to retain a lot of information I hear. Most of my friends tell me that I am a good listener and I think this ability carries over in other areas of my life. I know, for instance, in dance I am like a maven in that I usually accumulate knowledge from dance movements once they are taught to me very well. I am also able to retain musical rhythms and elements that also apply towards dance. I believe this knowledge to retain this information has helped towards me being able to work on fulfilling a dance minor. As “Market Mavens” like to keep the marketplace an honest place by retaining information about different products, places, or prices by being helpers in the marketplace. I am a Maven in that information whether it is educational, informative or just fun facts; I usually am interested and curious about it and will note this information to myself.
This semester our PR and Administration class has been venturing out and trying different social media outlets. Some of these media outlets include public relations blogs, PR Open Mic, Twitter and LinkenIn. There comes a moment when using these new social media outlets that one could experience a “tipping point.” I feel like I am not at the point yet where I have tipped using these social media outlets, but I am still trying to gain knowledge of these outlets and acquiring these skills. I think they do provide an excellent way to communicate further with other public relations professionals in the field and is helpful with communicating with classmates. I know that by using these social media outlets it will only help me in the future in the world of public relations and by further using these outlets I hope to be able to tip soon.
Gladwell, Malcolm. The Tipping Point. New York: Back Bay Books, 2002.
