I had heard that The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell was one of those books that made people working in behavior change or marketing swoon. My feet stayed firmly on the ground, but I did think it was interesting. The writing is a little textbook-y but with a casual tone — in way of a baby boomer trying to pull off the word "chillax" — and (like a conversation with "Uncle G," you get through it pretty quickly and relatively unharmed.
The main theme centers around three essential characters, without whom, starting trends and selling Airwalks would be nearly impossible: The mason, the connector and the salesman.
The mason is the fact-finder. The trend-seeker. The information-gatherer. He/she/they search tirelessly for what's new. What's hot. What's au courant. They know all about that new African fusion restaurant in SoHo and polka-dotted Keds. And not only do they collect this information, but they pass it on. Enjoying the process of gifting useful knowledge to the world.
The connector's role should be easy to surmise. Once masons are able to get their information to a connector, all they have to do is wait for the burnt-out Blackberry to get going. Connectors know everybody. And inevitably the somebodies.
Salesmen are those somebodies. They tell people what's cool and what's lame. They make other people want to do whatever it is they are doing.
In Peace Corps, it's very possible we'd be all three. Let me give a concrete example.
As a health volunteer, I routinely try to seek out new information concerning water purification. (Mason!) I come across SODIS* technology and think it's really cool. Now because I'm the token foreigner and a regular face in the town's health post, people know me. I tell them about this hot, new method of cleaning my drinking water and how it has minimal effects on my wallet or routine. (Connector!) I then place the clear, plastic bottles filled with water atop my own tin roof for all of the community to see, inspiring my neighbors and other passers-by to try the same. (Salesman!) This causes, of course, a chain of SODIS-practitioners to pop up all over my community.
The whole premise is that for a trend to hit the mainstream, a certain number of people have to adopt it. I thought that the The Tipping Point would offer suggestions as to how to make that happen. Unfortunately, it just gives the obvious: get the trend to the people who are going to make other people want to adopt it. No specifics, no tips or tricks.
Overall, the book wasn't bad. It was kind of cool to track where certain fads started and flopped. And as far as behavior change study, it's a good start. It's made me think about who are the masons, connectors and salesman in my own community — and how I can work with these people more hopefully to cause change. Boiling your water isn't exactly like watching Blue's Clues. But you never know. It could catch on.
*SODIS is a process of water purification that uses the sun.
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