Interested by the way he links together several different anecdotes/studies to come out with his own idea. Also how I could immediately apply some of these concepts to the world around me.

The day after I finished I was talking with friends who are trying to quit smoking and suffer mental illness, discussing the parts about Zyban, nicotine, norephedrine and dopamine. I like it when I can immediately apply new information like that.

I could’ve sworn I’d read about the Micronesian suicide epidemic earlier, but maybe just in the press following this book’s initial release

it could have been shorter. However, I did enjoy how the author applied the lessons to various “epidemics”, and then took the study a step further, and asked how to use that information to solve problems.

The most poignant for me, considering current events at Virginia tech, was the afterword, which includes the teenage “epidemic” of school violence, which apparently stemmed from the Columbine shootings. It gives me a new perspective, and the outlook isn’t good.

The information is interesting, however it is reiterated time and time again as Gladwell constantly seems to reclarify his prior point.

I enjoyed Blink! more than this book, however after reading blink first I decided I would also try this one out.

I don’t know why, but I just don’t like this guys books. To me, the concepts he talks about are obvious. I believe I got more value from reading Fixing Broken Windows entry on Wikipedia and abstracting the concept out in my own mind – and that was a paragraph or two.

I also wonder if Mr. Gladwell is sponsored by big tobacco – a whole chapter dedicated to talking about how cool smokers are? Come on! hehehehe

I wholeheartedly agree with the comment that this could have been condensed down to 50 pages.

I am reading Gladwell’s book for a marketing class. It’s an interesting and enjoyable read. My only complaint is that it does not need to be 270+ pages long! It could have been condensed into about 50 pages. this guy needs an editor. Or a more complicated idea. In fact the title pretty much sums up the whole book.

Good book. Hush puppies, sesame street, mavericks…good stuff.

Over the weekend I finished reading Malcom Gladwell’s ‘The Tipping Point’, which is a book about social epidemics. A well written book, that makes for an interesting read. One of the nice things was that it did not only reference Barabasi’s theories on scale-free networks, but also a whole bunch of other theories, which are mostly taken from the field of psychology (ie. Group Think, Broken Window Theory). Definitely worth reading.

Testing the http://allconsuming.net/ to blogger connection …

Gladwell’s book has been an influencer of the Zeitgeist of social networking, I’d been looking forward to reading it. It turns out to be a good, if a bit repetitive, book.

He analyzes change, and the people who drive change, in terms of epidemics. What’s interesting about epidemics (good or bad ones) is they come on slowly. They’re encouraged by environmental catalysts. But then they have the power to tip and go non-linear and have explosive growth. Any events at a large scale, such as at the societal or economic level, can follow the same pattern.

He lays out “three rules” for epidemics (which aren’t really rules, but principles) The Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor, and the Power of Context.

“The Few” are the people who act as catalysts, whom he breaks down into Connectors (networkers), Mavens (early adoptors), and Salesmen (evangelists). The examples are long-winded, which is what makes the book seem so too. But I love hearing about how other people achieved things in their lives, and this section was inspiring—the few, when putting themselves out there in the right circumstances—truely can make a difference. Drawing on one of examples—Paul Revere wouldn’t have been successful without being networked prior to his famous ride.

I’m a maven by nature, but I’ve been wanting to be a better networker for some time, and the Connectors gladwell describes peaked my interest.

I’ve been fascinated by (and a believer in) the broken window theory of law enforcement, but I hadn’t read much of the details of the New York case until this book. Gladwell describes it in detail in the Power of Context section (part 1). Then he talks about the non-linear power of networking in part 2.

His examples for Stickiness are from smoking and suicide. I found these interesting, but distracting in terms of explaining the principles.

The book left me with a reinforced belief, and feeling of awe, in the potential for large scale changes to “tip” suddenly. And it left me with a belief that the “social web” will succeed as it’s seeming to, and a hopefullness that if people engage and act as catalylsts, they can in fact do great things in this huge world of ours.

Absolutely fascinating. It loses steam partway through, at which point Gladwell seems to start repeating himself and belaboring his point(s). However, the first few chapters, with the discussion of “mavens” and “connectors” and the section about the research behind Sesame Street and Blues Clues were so utterly fascinating that I couldn’t put the book down.

Gladwell is a catchy writer, but I saw several flaws in his stories that he really didn’t address. Two stories I know are completely false but were used as evidence. It makes me wonder about the rest of the anecdotal evidence he uses as proof. I still think there are very valuable ideas in the book and it is really interesting to read. But the credibility of Gladwell’s research is rather low in my book…