The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference

The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference by Malcolm Gladwell

Malcolm Gladwell explores different things that have "tipped" to go from niche to widely popular. Hush Puppies were old shoes that were on their way out. After a few New York hipsters adopted them, they became incredibly popular and a fashion statement. Another shoe brand, Airwalk was crazy popular as it was adopted by the skater crowd. They released a "popular" version at shoe stores, but kept the performance brand at skate stores. However, once they dropped the special skate brand, their popularity faded. The book explores other "tips" such as New York crime and fare evasion, teen activities (like smoking, school shootings, sickness and suicides. The Stanford prison experiment even makes an appearance. There are interesting discussions on the influence of "connectors" and "mavens" in spreading fads. The book is a fun read, even if some of the explanation may have more nuance than he gives.