0316346624 Malcolm Gladwell 2008-01-31T10:27:01+00:00 This book purports that the best way to understand popularity and social behavior such as the rise in popularity of a book, teen behaviors, or word of mouth phenomena is to model them as epidemics. The author suggests that ideas, behaviors, and the popularity of products spread like viruses, and that changes often occur quickly and unexpectedly. Small changes often result in larger changes and spread until a critical mass or "tipping point" is reached, thereby causing a larger more dramatic effect than would have been predicted. Why is it that some people seem to have more power to influence mass thinking than others? The author says that word-of-mouth epidemics are stimulated by people with certain personality types: sociable people who bring others together are called Connectors, people who are adept at disseminating knowledge are called Mavens, and people able to persuade are called Salesmen. Some people have more than one quality. This book brings to mind for me how frightening it is that we as humans are so easily manipulated by social dynamics and crowd mentality. The book will make you think about social dynamics, fads, and group behavior, and give you insight as to how these can be manipulated. I recommend this book along with a personal favorite of mine on getting your life and body together your own way [[ASIN:097974590X THE 3:00 PM SECRET: Live Slim and Strong, Live Your Dreams]] 8 http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41KdxNo4k0L.jpg http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41KdxNo4k0L._SL160_.jpg http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41KdxNo4k0L._SL75_.jpg 0316346624 0.0 Back Bay Books Paperback This celebrated New York Times bestsellernow poised to reach an even wider audience in paperbackis a book that is changing the way North Americans think about selling products and disseminating ideas. Gladwells new afterword to this edition describes how readers can constructively apply the tipping point principle in their own lives and work. Widely hailed as an important work that offers not only a road map to business success but also a profoundly encouraging approach to solving social problems. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference us 2002-01-07 2009-03-24T10:25:34+00:00 http://www.amazon.com/Tipping-Point-Little-Things-Difference/dp/0316346624%3FSubscriptionId%3D0R4R2DRX8WCTQCB26W02%26tag%3Dws%26linkCode%3Dxm2%26camp%3D2025%26creative%3D165953%26creativeASIN%3D0316346624