The Tipping Point

Malcolm Gladwell’s book, The Tipping Point, is about how an idea spreads the same way that an epidemic does. People commonly believe that trends and ideas are gradual and that in order for something to become an epidemic it must go through a slow process. Gladwell dispels that way of thinking. He points out three characteristics of an epidemic: “It must be contagious, small causes can have big effects and the change happens not gradually, but at one dramatic moment.” (9) The tipping point is that moment when everything changes, the moment when crime declines or blogging takes off, or twitter becomes a phenomenon. The tipping point is when the idea or event becomes an epidemic.

Gladwell points out three parts of an epidemic which he calls the “three agents of change” - The Law of the Few, The Stickiness Factor and the Power of Context. (19)

Our class' goal is to make the Relay For Life Kickoff an epidemic! Our class can utilize Gladwell's "agents of change" tip the event, but in order to do so we must first understand the agents of change.

The first agent of change is “The Law of the Few.” This law talks about how a few people use their talents to set off an epidemic. In this law there are three types of people: the connector, the maven, and the salesman. The connector connects people to other people, they are the kind of person who knows virtually everyone. The maven is the person who connects people to information, they know a lot about the world and how it works. The salesman is a person with a lot of charm that can easily influence others. (30-88)

I believe that I am most like a maven. I love gathering information. I love learning about and researching things in the world. I am constantly reading the news and trying to keep up with what is going on around me. A maven is not just someone who loves to gather information though; they have to love sharing it as well. As soon as I learn something I want to share it with everyone around me. When I learn about new things I am constantly connecting that new piece of information to someone I know. To me that is one of the best parts of social networking. If I find something that I want to share with others it is easy to post a link or write about in a blog, on Facebook, or Twitter. I love music and as soon as I find a song I like I want to share it with everyone I know so they can enjoy it in the same way. My friends are used to hearing me say, “So I heard this song and you’re going to LOVE it!” I love sharing information and that is a big part of why I decided to become study public relations.

The second agent of change is “The Stickiness Factor.” This establishes whether the idea will stick. You can have a great connector, maven or salesman, but if you don’t have a good message it doesn’t matter. The stickiness factor determines whether the idea is good enough to start an epidemic. The stickiness factor plays a huge role in why social networking is so popular. Facebook and Twitter took off because they were great ideas. They stepped away from the norm enough for it to stick. (89-132)

The last agent of change is the “Power of the Context.” Introducing an idea or concept into the right environment is key if you want it to explode into an epidemic. The idea behind the context is that you have to know your audience, their environment and their needs.(167)

All three of these agents of change can play a role in the tipping point of the Relay For Life Kickoff. Our class is full of connectors, mavens, and salesmen. We have to hone in on our skills and allow our passion for the event to overflow to the community. The goal of the kickoff is to honor, inspire and motivate team captains. The connectors of our class can connect us to the right people for donations. The mavens can connect us to the information about prices and quality. The salesmen can sell the kickoff to the community. The kickoff should not have a problem with the stickiness factor if we correctly use our skills to publicize it. It is important for captains to want to come back each year. By making it a fun, honoring and unique kickoff the event should stick. As far as the context is concerned it is important for us to understand not only our client, but also who our client serves. Our client is the planning committee, but they serve the cancer survivors and team captains of Baldwin County. It is important for our class to understand their needs and what will honor them.

Social Media is a perfect example of how a tipping point takes place. Facebook, Twitter, and blogging are all outlets that can start an epidemic. The speed at which something can become an epidemic on Twitter is ridiculous. The recent “Balloon Boy” exploded on Twitter. It is important in the PR field to take advantage of the opportunity to “tip” something through social media. Our class should be using these methods to try to “tip” the kickoff. We are already blogging about the event, and using Facebook and Twitter to communicate with each other about the event. Continuing to use social media could serve to create a buzz for the kickoff and possibly “tip” the event to its full potential.