Tipping Points

I loved reading Malcom Gladwell’s The Tipping Point. I think I devoured it on an elliptical trainer 13 years ago. Gladwell is an amazing story teller. Every time I find myself in a public space like a Starbucks with many teenagers, I think about the book and the Hush Puppies example. I think about a co-op student a few years ago who was explaining to me what SnapChat was. Now, I think about the idea of reaching out to “influencers” for a quick flash in the pan.

I’m not sure how well the concept of tipping points holds today. When you have a near infinite number of channels and there’s growing distrust of platforms, how much are we as a whole influenced by any one of these?

Maybe a better term is critical momentum or escape velocity?

This might be old fashioned and wrong, but thoughtful content (or work) x time might be the way to go. It’s not fun and it’s no guarantee of success but at least it could build a skill.