Malcolm Gladwell's bestseller "The Tipping Point" argued that a select group of people in society were able to turn small-scale trends into cascades of popularity. Citing numerous examples largely from the field of product marketing, Gladwell made a compelling point that has been widely accepted by marketing executives in fields of all kinds. This longread examines the counterpoint that there are no singularly important Influencers who can drive social trends. The implications of this debate about how to cause something to "go viral" has become critical for all sorts of organizations (including corporations but also nonprofits) trying to reach as many people as efficiently as possible.
"Is the Tipping Point Toast? by Clive Thompson
Published in Fast Company, January 28, 2008
http://www.fastcompany.com/node/641124/print
Eric
After reading from people like Gladwell about influencers for years I'm clearly predisposed to reject this guy. I see his point but my major issue is from real world experience. I see it at work all the time where a successful/respected person is able to change the behavior of many others. A new inside sales rep simply doesn't have that ability. If i want to enact change I have a group I feel i would need to target. Sure as Watts says society has to be "ready" but i don't think Gladwell or others argue that simply getting influencers to pimp something makes it take off even if it sucks. The other issue is him saying "prove it" in terms of the influence strategies. Are you kidding? there are HUNDREDS IF NOT THOUSANDS of ways to interact/influence others. Entire books are written about it. I think it is perfectly resonable to use the premise that some people are better at it/more connected then others without having to walk the reader through details about it. Watts has an interesting thought but end of the day my number 1 issue with it is he seems to rely on computer models. If one thign has come clear to me working in a larger corporation and having to change action it is that you can't simulate how people respond and act. There is no logic and influence plays a massive role
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