Dr. Val FarmerDr.Val
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Rural Mental Health & Family Relationships

Little Things Can Make A Difference

May 15, 2000

How do ideas travel? How do fads get started? Why do some ideas take hold while others, perhaps equally brilliant and worthwhile, gather dust on a library shelf? What creates a "buzz"? What makes something cool, hip, and fashionable?

Malcolm Gladwell, in his new book, "The Tipping Point," explains how ideas, messages and behaviors spread just like viruses. They are contagious. "Carriers" transmit the idea or behavior to other carriers. At some point, the contagious idea crosses a threshhold and skyrockets upward in an exponential spiral becoming a social epidemic.

What causes an epidemic? Gladwell identifies three characteristics of an epidemic - 1) contagiousness, 2) little causes can have big effects and, 3) change happens not gradually but at one dramatic moment - "the tipping point."

The tipping point is a moment of critical mass, the boiling point, a radical transformation. This social epidemic model of behavior to answers two questions all educators, parents, marketers, business people and policymakers have. Why is it that some ideas or behaviors or products start epidemics and others don't? And what can we do to deliberately start and control positive epidemics?

The three rules of epidemics. According to Gladwell, there are three aspects of an epidemic: the carriers of the infectious agent, the infectious agent itself, and the environment in which the infectious agent is operating. When an epidemic tips, something happens in one or more of these three areas to jolt it out of equilibrium.

Rule one: The law of the few. A tiny percentage of influential people, through their social connections, energy, enthusiasm and personality, spread the word. They are the carriers. Gladwell describes these key people as connectors, mavens and salesman.

Connectors are the kind of people who seem to know everyone and have a special gift for bringing people together. They make many friends and acquaintances on purpose, simply because they like people and enjoy interacting with them. They manage to occupy many different worlds, subcultures and niches. This reflects something intrinsic to their personality - a combination of curiosity, self-confidence, sociability and energy. Their ability to influence others comes through their ability to spread ideas through their network of connections.

Maven is a Yiddish term for someone who accumulates knowledge. Mavens have an obsession not only for information but also in their desire to share it with others. Not only do they love knowing things with exactness and thoroughness, they thrill in helping others discover it and then using it make good decisions. What they do is automatic, reflexive, and almost "pathologically" helpful. Mavens provide the message, connectors spread it.

The third carrier in tipping an epidemic is the salesmen. Salesmen have more than a persuasive way with words, they have gifts of energy, enthusiasm, optimism and charm. They are immensely likeable. Their non-verbal cues and vocal range are entrancing and very persuasive. These people infect others with their mood and by the way they express emotions and feelings.

Rule two: The stickiness factor. The message matters. Is it memorable? Will it create change? Can it spur someone to action? With our information age, we are bombarded with multiple messages from everywhere. Too many do not stand out. They do not stick.

The quality of an idea should determine its impact. Right? We hope so, but how ideas are presented also influences their acceptance or rejection. Messages need to be irresistibly packaged. The structure and format of the message can increase the "stickiness" of the message. Ways to increase stickiness include putting a message in a narrative, story-telling format, involving the audience, being repetitive, and simplifying the goal.

Rule three: The power of context. Epidemics are sensitive to the conditions and circumstances of the times and places they occur. Paul Revere’s ride took place at night. People were at home and being awakened from their sleep. They assumed his message was urgent.

Our inner states and habits are exquisitely sensitive to context. Gladwell uses the example of the New York subway system. Every night the graffiti was painted over. This eventually had an overall impact in reducing crime. Ignored graffiti had sent the message that no one cares and no one is in charge. The NYPD also created a tipping point by cracking down on quality of live (vagrancy, panhandling) crimes.

Gladwell also notes the power of social groups in social epidemics. Small, close-knit groups have the power to magnify the epidemic potential of a message or an idea. The size of the group makes a big difference in how people behave. Groups of 150 or less are optimal for functioning cohesively and acting in a unified manner.

Gladwell’s message gives us hope. By either altering the physical world or the size of the group we can influence how people feel and act. By altering the manner in which a message is presented, we can help the message stick. By finding and reaching a few connectors, mavens and salesmen, our message can radiate and tip into a social epidemic. We can change things. With the right kind of effort, we can make a difference. For that kind of message, I can be a maven.