Space Coast FPRA

From the Bookshelf of Carey Beam – The Tipping Point

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell  (2000, 288 pages)

If this isn’t on your bookshelf, it should be.  This is a study in classic diffusion theory using modern day anecdotes.  Especially applicable to today’s social media networks, The Tipping Point emphasizes affecting change though word-of-mouth information exchange.

Malcolm Gladwell compiled the material for the book from his time spent as a staff writer with The New Yorker.  Gladwell says, “As human beings, we always expect everyday change to happen slowly and steadily, and for there to be some relationship between cause and effect. And when there isn’t — when crime drops dramatically in New York for no apparent reason, or when a movie made on a shoestring budget ends up making hundreds of millions of dollars — we’re surprised. I’m saying, don’t be surprised. This is the way social epidemics work.”

According to www.gladwell.com, “It’s a book about change. In particular, it’s a book that presents a new way of understanding why change so often happens as quickly and as unexpectedly as it does.”  Understanding diffusion and the tipping point is absolutely critical to successful public relations programming.  Check out more reviews and prices on new and used copies of The Tipping Point at Amazon.

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