Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
The Tipping Point is a book that explains how ideas spread like epidemics and what elements need to come together to help an idea reach the point of critical mass, where its viral effect becomes unstoppable.
Gladwell defines a tipping point as “the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling point.” The book seeks to explain and describe the “mysterious” nature of social epidemics and why certain behaviors, products, messages, or ideas achieve popularity while others do not.
Throughout the book, Gladwell suggests that for these ideas or behaviors to become a social epidemic, it is not necessary that large and resource-intensive efforts be used.
Instead, the author believes that trends become popular due to small but significant changes in the content, the message, the context, and the individuals who convey the messages. According to Gladwell, the tipping point is reached when individuals pay proper attention to small changes that carry enormous effects.
What I Liked
I read this book when it first came out. It has aged very well – I think the core ideas in this book were all supercharged by the Internet. Even now, it’s good primer on how ideas, memes, and products travel.
What I Did Not Like
Nothing – great book.