The Tipping Point: Exploring the Power of Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen

1. Thetipping Point Carlos Michelsen • Carlos michelsen

2. ON the two Hands Put your self in their shoes • In MalcomGladwells’ book “The Tipping” point he sates what is a “tipping point” doing so by describing several different situations in which there was a “tipping point” in the trans course of different scenarios, such in medicine with the epidemics, explaining it through the spread of HIV and other diseases such as syphilis, as from the commercial point of view explaining the “tipping point” of the shoe company Hush Puppies. Gladwell explains as well what he calls “The Law of The Few,” a law that is explained through examples such a the beginning of a battle in the USA revolutionary war, to the giving of an exam to the reader to explain what a connector its. Gladwell in these first twenty pages of the book manages to explain several characteristics of what a “tipping point is,” through several scenarios.

3. “Ontheotherhandknowwhereyou are going” • Gladwells’ explains his theory of connectors, with several characters and circumstances. One f the being his explanation of Roger Horchow, a man who was behind some big Broadway shows, a man who had scored very high on his people knowing test. Gladwell explains how this man was naturally sociable, how he is the type of person you meet in a airplane and by the end of the flight you are best friends with him , how Horchow is the type of person who remembers every persons name and is abele to maintain a casual relationship with them, having an agenda a with the persons birthday, so that they these people can receive a birthday card from the. Gladwell in his explaining of Connectors says that the age group that had the most acquaintances was the age group between their mid thirties and forties and that it is usual that the connections of these people would double from when you are twenty to when you are forty.

4. Summarizing satirically • Gladwell in explaining his “connectors” claims that you live in the same world as your friends, this meaning that you wouldn't’t know much as these people live in the same world as you do, this meaning we live in small world one with few diversity. Gladwell besides this explains how e don’t have much in common with our acquaintances, thus meaning that our world is yet more narrow, but how can this be true if our acquaintances are similar enough to have the same job as us or working in a similar area, a characteristic that from my point of view is essential as this decides where you focus in life and thus this world is not as narrow, as these acquaintances may come from many different backgrounds and we may all meet in this jobs.

5. Use signal verbs that fit the action • Gladwell firmly believes that there is a “tipping point” in most scenarios that there are certain characters that are more decisive on the occurrences of these “tipping points,” and for these tipping pints there are more than one factor that come in to play

6. Connectors • Gladwell explains what connectors are, how they are the ones who many times set trends etc. “Connectors are individuals who have ties in many different realms and act as conduits between them, helping to engender connections, relationships, and “cross-fertilization” that otherwise might not have ever occurred. (pg68 Gladwell) • Glawell explains this point through the example of Paul Revere who doe to his connections in every town was able to do what he dis which was to warn the people that the British were eventually coming.

7. Mavens • Gladwell continuing explains who “Mavens” are explaining specific characteristics of each of them, how they are very social people who usually remember peoples name and how several historical figures, such as Paul Revere mugh of been a Maven as well he does to explain this his name in the directory book quiz to show you what type of person you are. • Gladwell gives the example of Tom Gau a Californian sales man, he expresses how he is not so good looking or so well educated, bust instead very charismatic, “Gau is in his forties. He is good-looking, without being pretty at all… when we met Gau shook my hand . But as he told me later, usually when he meets someone he gives them a big hug or if it’s a woman a big kiss” (Gladwell, pg73) He explains that these people are very charismatic, energetic and outgoing, that when they meet someone they make them feel as if though they had met along time ago. • These are people who are very well informed and that help people make decisions on what to buy, what to do etc. these people usually read allot of Magazines, constantly watch the news etc.

8. Sales Men • Finally Glawells sums up everything by describing “Salesmen”, people who actually sell the ideas and pitch them to the other “connectors, such as mavens. Gladwell describes that these people are highly charismatics, usually have a great since of humour and are people to which it is very easy to communicate to as well as very easing. Gladwell uses Gau as well for this example explaining how well he got along with this man “ we inmediatley in to physical and conversational harmony. We were dancing. Eve before he attempted to persuade me with his words he had forged a bond with me and his movement of speech.” • This type of connector being one of the most important one as it is the one that directly acts. Gladwell gives examples of how these types of characters are crucial as thy are the ones that pitch many important ideas that move history.

9. The Stickiness Factor • This is another factor that will determine if something would be popular or not the stickness factor states that the things that are Shure to become popular, are doomed to failure as the stickiness factor shows that fro something to be able to “stick” there needs to be a certain amount of something for it to expand, and uniqueness so there is something that attracts more people than the usual. • To explain this uniqueness, Gladwell uses the children television shows and how much they have changed through the years, how at a beginning they just told a story usually through some caricatures and that through the time they thought something and used an interaction of humans and make belief figures, such as in Sesame Street and Blues clues which pioneered the side of the twenty first children's television shows.

10. disagree • Gladwell argues that by the late 80’s, Sesame Street became the most important watched TV show running on television, for children. This being true for most of the years, Gladwell dos not have in consideration other TV shows of the time that were starting to grow as well in the late 80’s TV shows that also targeted “3, 4 and 5 year olds” this show was “Rugrats,” which by 1992 was one of the most watched TV shows of the time and had been already won several Emmy awards. This came to be the most watched kids TV show in the 90’s and early 2000’s, the age range for watching this TV show was also broader meaning this meaning that it was more popular, having children from age 3-10 watching it, as well as it being a completely different format from Sesame Street, a format with minimum only cartoons and no real life actors, this as well showing the advantage of having an all cartoon show, a characteristic that Gladwell argues that wasn’t useful for Sesame Street. This show also implementing the “classic” standars of a children's TV shows, standards that ended up being much stickier than Sesame Streets’

11. Agree • Gladwell stated that the crime rate in the early 90’s decreased significantly in New York. Because of the broken mirror factor. A factor that states that violence is somewhat contagious and that an environment is very influential in safety of a place, such that graffiti, broken windows, illegal advertisements and such other things make the place more likely to have violence. I completely agree with Gladwell to this statement as recent studies show this to be true, that in more hostile environment, people tend to become more hostile for the sake of their safety, as well as in safe environments people tend be more calm thus not leading them to make haste bad decisions. So when in the early 90’s when new York set out for a campaign to paint over all of the graffiti's, get rid of the illegal advertisement as well as to clean up the streets the crime decreased. The recent study shows exactly how positively these things affect the city and the behaviour of its inhabitants.

12. Part 3 • Gladwell describes more in to depth the broken window effect on New York, how fair beating is a gate way to more serious crime and how much it increased the insecurity in the subways, how the police force found that by detaining these criminals the rest of the crimes would also decrease as well as the criminals who were detained, had most of the times a warrant for or were carrying some type of weapon. Gladwell in this part of the book tells the story of “Divine Secrets of a YA Ya Sister Hood. How this book was an epidemic, not because of its content, but because of how it became popular. Not because of how women liked it, but how Rebecca Bloomwood sold it. Bloomwood, was an actress, she did readings in the local libraries, and in these reading she acted her book. How this reading and selling created attraction to the book, and how the book started to attract more and more women from all of the ages, how this book eventually became a fraternity. How these women started book clubs and how they began gathering to discuss the book; Gladwell tells, how the book became a social “thing,” how women started their own sisterhoods.

13. Ya-Ya Sisterhood • Gladwell describing why and how Ya- Ya sisterhood was such a success, gave a great example, describing how this book became such a “hit.” “Once we’re part of a group, we’re all susceptible to peer pressure and social norms and any number of other kinds of influence that can play a critical role in sweeping us up in the begging's of an epidemic.” I find this to be completely true, as I’ve been a victim of peer pressure and have read several studies that show how peer pressure affects your decision taking as well as your behavior, tastes and attitude. An article in Time magazine perfectly correlates with what Gladwell says. The article describes how the human being makes decisions. And how in the making of these decision has many factors that come in to consideration. Such as the environment in which you grow in, your education, religious values, and most importantly your surroundings, your friends and their tastes as this is what is most influential thus demonstrating that Gladwell is correct in his stating that “your group” is very influential. • http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,844774,00.html