The Tipping Point: In Summary and My Life

The Tipping Point, the first of several successful business sociological books by British author Malcolm Gladwell, covers the interesting and complex titular idea of Tipping Points in “idea, trend, and social behavior.” In a nutshell, the author describes this idea of a tipping point to be “the moment of critical, mass, the threshold, the boiling point” in which an epidemic takes on or “tips”. In the book, where trends are compared to viruses and whose subtitle reiterates the fact that “little things can make a big difference,” three rules of this epidemic are outlined – The Law of the Few, The Stickness Factor, and The Power of Context. Gladwell’s ideas are by no means basic. At times they were hard for me to wrap my head around. Once understood, however, this complex idea becomes simple. Backed by a group of relevant and real life examples, the Tipping Point is easy to see and makes sense. Opening with stories about the rise of popularity of Hush Puppies shoes in the 90s and decrease in crime in a particular area of New York, we embark on a journey that travels from the colonial days all the way to present day.

As stated above, in order for a trend to take on or boil over, three concepts must be present - The Law of the Few, The Stickness Factor, and The Power of Context. In the Law of the Few, Gladwell states that "the success of any kind of social epidemic is heavily dependent on the involvement of people with a particular and rare set of social gifts."

Connecting with the 80/20 rule in economics where 20% of people are said to do 80% of the work in any occurrence, The Law of the Few is about innovators. Divided into three categories (connectors, mavens and salesmen), Gladwell discusses how a few people can start a trend. Drawing upon examples of historical figure Paul Revere and psychologist Milgram, connectors are described as energetic and sociable. A connector knows a lot of people and, above all, would know how to network. A maven, on the other hand, serves more of an internal function. Their purpose in innovation relates to their knowledge or skill and, more importantly, their ability to pass that along to others. A maven is knowledgeable and intellectual and, like a teacher, knows how to move their knowledge further to others like a teacher would to a student. Where they start a trend, a connector who catches wind will connect it to others. Finally, salesmen are explained through examples involving financial planner Tom Gau and news anchors coverage of the 1984 presidential election. The heart of a salesman can sell something. They can convince and persuade. With a maven to start a trend, salesmen to really sell it and a connector with a list of people to sell it to, the recipe for a successful trend is complete.

The Stickness Factor, described alongside an example of the success of children’s television shows such as Sesame Street and Blue’s Clues, really is about the stickness of an idea. In order for a trend to tip, it must have some sort of charisma or charm that is unique and different enough to make it stick long enough to tip. Shows like Sesame Street and Blue’s Clues show this through their success. While other children’s programming of its time may have been considered to be mindless or serve no purpose besides 30 minutes to an hour and play time, these shows were different. They were educational, and more importantly, they still engaged the children. Parents were happy, children were happy, and they tipped.

Finally, the Power of Context is outlined in two parts. Drawing upon another example of a decrease in crimes in New York, context of a trend is showed to be very important. Similarly to how a student distracted by television or a nearby party may have trouble studying or a group of people surrounded by negative energy may struggle to find motivation, New York was having trouble fixing their problems with crime. Citywide efforts to change things considered to be “crime inviting” were made – Broken windows were repaired and graffiti was cleaned. Sure enough, crime began to drop. The Power of Context is all about putting a trend in the best possible circumstances to prosper.

When broken down, The Power of Context is about the environment of a trend, The Stickness Factor is about the trend itself, and The Law of the Few is about the people who take that trend and put it out to the world. The Tipping Point, however, is so much broader than just about trends. The Tipping Point can really be used in any aspect of like or anything you are putting out to the world. As a PR professional, a job I encounter or anything I want to do could take the role of a trend I want to take on. If I am trying to get a job, I am the trend I want my employer to take on. If I am trying to publicize a client, the client is the trend I want to take on in the best light possible. So as a trendsetter, who am I?

There is no rule in The Tipping Point that says someone can only serve one role. If someone excels at something, however, they may serve one role best. I would have to say that I show the least traits of a Maven. If you ask me about what is going on in the Entertainment World, when the new 2010 Range Rover is hitting the streets, or where to get the newest True Religion jeans, I am your guy. I can help people as well, but credit must be given where credit is due and I can’t take all around knowledge as my strong suit. One thing I do know is that I know a lot of people from all different walks of life. This makes me a connector. Furthermore, however, I also would consider myself to be a good Salesman. I am often told I have a good energy about myself and can convince others to get what I want. I consider myself to be skilled in both of these areas. If I had to pick one to classify myself as, however, I would call myself a Salesman. I hope this helps me in Law School.

With all of this information in tow, a real life example I can apply to my own life right now is the Bobcat Athletics Auction I am planning with my Public Relations class. The Auction is being planned for a client. The client wants to please the guests that can attend. So, how do we make this tip for them? In terms of connecting, we must connect with our audience and get them to attend. Through the unique theme we selected along with our presentation, we must sell the idea to the guests. Once the event comes around, we will then have an audience to cater to. In terms of the Stickness Factor, we need to innovate. We need the Auction to be new and different from previous years and to stick with the guests. We want them to have a good time. Finally, we need the Context of a successful event. From the time they arrive to the décor inside, the guests need to be happy. The theme is A Night with the Stars. We want them to feel as if they have left Milledgeville and entered Hollywood. The theme is set. The environment needs to be magical. The food and drinks need to be delicious. The music and energy need to captivate the audience. And they need a few good mementos to take with them to remember how great the event was. With that, the 2010 Bobcat Athletics Auction should be a great success.

What Twitter Can Do

Tonight, I began following many prominent Public Relations on Twitter. It was very interesting and insightful to see what they had to say on their personal Twitters. One thing is certain - Research is required to find them. I considered following the stars of E!'s new Public Relations documentary The Spindustry. Their Twitter's, however, seemed to be used more for communication with The Kardashian sisters than for things PR related. From there, I Google searched for information on Hollywood PR professionals. I am not sure yet exactly what direction I want to go in my career but I know that since childhood, the Entertainment industry has been calling my name. From this search, I found two interesting things:

1) A website that listed 25 Hollywood professionals to know. I could not find many of them on Twitter, but was able to find a few. They don't seem to update their Twitter pages often, but hopefully that will change.

2) I stumbled upon information about a California PR executive named Michael Levine. He is the founder and CEO of a company named Levine Communications Office. I was able to read Bios about him and his co-workers and what they do. I also found many of them on Twitter.

Though I am not yet at the point where I am seriously searching for an internship, every little contact counts and it is good to start gathering information early. At the very least, I will enjoy seeing the Tweets from these Hollywood PR professionals. Just the thought of doing what they do someday makes me happy!

Let's PITCH!

Last week, three teams from my Public Relations class pitched three themes to GCSU Athletics for their annual Athletic Auction. We were responsible for the planning of the event in it's entirety (Everything from it's budget to the invitation and graphic content) and presenting our work to them. One winning team from the class would manage the execution of the event with the classes collective effort. Our team's theme was a summery and beachy Hawaiian type theme called TROPIC THUNDER.

One of my jobs in my group was to design a logo for the program. It took a long time to make and I was extremely proud of it:

Another concept I came up with for the auction was a theme for the name involving a tropical font and a a subtitle for each piece I designed. It was almost like a movie, like Pirates of the Caribbean: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL, only it was Tropical Thunder: The Bobcat Athletics Auction and Tropical Thunder: The Menu. I liked this idea because I felt like it branded the auction and made it memorable. Here are the examples:

In the end, although our pitch was not selected, the experience was a good one. I really enjoyed doing the parts of the project I did. Projects like this make me glad I found my way into PR.

1, 2, 3, Flagler, Sports, and Legacy!

As many of you know, I am not the biggest fan of traveling in the world. As more of a homebody, I try and keep my travel to a minimum like the occasional fast weekend in New York or a quick jet set to LA. When I heard of my Public Relations classes invitation to and great opportunity at Flagler, however, I knew this was a trip I had to make.

We arrived on a Sunday afternoon and stayed at the beautiful Marriott Renaissance hotel at World Golf Village. The scenery was perfect and the weather was even more of a treat. We spent the first evening eating at the Murray Brothers restaurant at World Golf Village discussing all things related to Public Relations including future aspirations and what we would do with Flagler PR while we were in attendance.

On Monday, we spoke to one of Flagler's sports marketing classes about what we have done with Bobcat Athletics this semester and last. After, we attended the GCSU v. Flagler game. It was an amazing game and I was happy to see the Bobcats pull off their wins.

On Tuesday, we met with some members Flagler's PRSSA (After hitting the beach for a few minutes after an Oceanside breakfast). This, to me, was one of the most informative parts of the trip. It was very interesting and insightful to see what their students had to say and hear what they have done in working toward their Public Relations careers. It certainly gave me alot to think about in terms of resumes, internships, and more.

I enjoyed traveling to Flagler with my classmates and truly learned alot. Over the years, some memories may fade but the memories, inside jokes, and one-liners gained from this trip will stay with me forever.