The subtitle of this book by Malcolm Gladwell is “How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference.” This is a very popular and best-selling book that was loaned to my wife by a friend. There are many interesting aspects of the book, but I found some of it disappointing. I thought it sometimes rambled and there was repetition. The book describes styles, events, books, etc. that have reached a tipping point to become wildly popular, but I didn’t feel it was explained why the tipping point was reached. For example, there is a detailed description of how “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood” evolved into a very popular book, but I really didn’t find an explanation, except that it was the perfect “book group book.”  

Despite my complaints, there is information in the book that makes it worth reading. The first example of something reaching a tipping point is a description of how Hush Puppie shoes sales had declined to the point that the manufacturer was considering discontinuing them. Then they inexplicably became “hip” in clubs and bars in Manhattan. In 1995 there were 430,000 pairs sold and four times that many the next year. The Hush Puppie story and several other examples are described as “contagious behavior.” However, I don’t think I have a better understanding of what creates contagious behavior after reading the book. Diseases spread in epidemics and fads spread in “social epidemics.”  It is mentioned that yawning is contagious, but I don’t know how that helps someone looking for a way to advertise their product.

There is an interesting discussion of the cigarette ad that “Winston tastes good like a cigarette should.” The ad generated wide discussions about why the slogan was constructed with bad English. Perhaps that is why people decades later can complete the ad if given the first four words.

Rod Steiger is described as the “best-connected” actor of all time because he made great movies and movies with movies that involved all of the “subject niches.” John Wayne made many more movies, but Westerns dominated, and he is rated as “less connected.” I use that example to describe how the author invests significant time in describing how what he describes as “connectors, mavens, senders, innovators, and salesmen” are crucial to something reaching a tipping point. Perhaps the message is that you must impress someone considered important enough to be given one of those descriptors before your product has a chance of reaching a tipping point of popularity.

There is a very interesting description of how news anchors had an impact on the 1984 presidential campaign and election. Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw were rated as nearly perfectly neutral in reporting stories about Walter Mondale and Ronald Regan. Peter Jennings scored higher than either Rather or Brokaw when talking about Mondale, but “…when he talked about Reagan, his face lit up…” Studies found that people who watched Jennings voted heavily for Reagan. Mr. Jennings and his network dispute the results.

I thought the description of how TV Guide and Parade ads had included a “gold box” quite interesting. Viewers were told that they could get free records if they could find the gold box and write in the name of the record they wanted. The ploy made the advertisements interactive and successful.

The discussion of children’s television programming is perhaps the best part of the book. There is a lengthy and fascinating description of how Sesame Street was created, how that show broke new ground. I was even more interested in the discussion of how popular Blues Clues was and is with preschoolers. I’ve watched Blues Clues with grandchildren because they requested it, and I wondered why they liked it. The book gives the answer. “An adult considers constant repetition boring, because it requires reliving the same experience over and again.  Preschoolers don’t find repetition boring, because each time they watch something they are experiencing in a completely different way.”

The description of how crime is contagious is another worthwhile part of the book. A consultant encouraged the New York Transit Authority to vigorously combat graffiti and people not paying the fee to ride to subway. Crime was reduced and “…the bad guys wised up and began to leave their weapons home and pay their fares.”

There is a surprising comparison of suicide in Micronesia and smoking. An older teenager committed suicide after his father ordered him to find another place to live, and there was a surge in suicides. Some of those who attempted to hang themselves and were rescued said they merely wanted to try the experience. They really did not want to die. The book says that many people who become addicted smokers are reacting counter to the anti-smoking movement. Raising cigarette prices, public health messages, and massive anti-tobacco messages has resulted in “skyrocketing” of teenage smoking; teens want to try what is being discouraged.

My overall judgment of the book is influenced by the account that a young woman by the name of Kitty Genovese was attacked three times and eventually killed. It was reported several neighbors viewed the attacks and didn’t call the police or help her. Follow-up investigation has found these reports to be wrong. It is a prime example of how inaccurate media reporting, such as the descriptions in this book, can influence public opinion. Wikipedia observes that, “The circumstances of her murder and the lack of reaction of numerous neighbors were reported by a newspaper article published two weeks later ^[the common portrayal of neighbors being fully aware but completely unresponsive has since been criticized as inaccurate.” People did not ignore what was happening, but the media decided that the death of the young woman must have resulted from the lack of response of neighbors who saw what was happening and did nothing. The book accepts that badly incorrect assessment.

The book has useful information despite the fact that it accepts badly flawed information widely accepted by the “mass media.” The message is to be careful about accepting information without careful research and consideration. And then continue to be skeptical!