Tipping point and 2010 trend

In 2010 Digital US Year in Review, Comscore provided the growth in technology and media usage throughout the year. Cyber Monday 2010 was recorded as the heaviest online individual spending day of the year with $1.028 billion. This is the first time that the amount has surpassed $1 billion. I believe we can also take this is as an indication that the economy is bouncing back from the recession. Another trend that I found interesting is the growth of the US mobile market. As of December 2010, 1 out of 4 mobile phones in the US are smartphones, while 3g/4g phones reached 51%, indicating the maturation of the mobile industry. Smartphones have enabled people to check their e-mails on the go, get directions anywhere, and even access and update their social networking pages. I believe this rapid change in technology and media usage oblige marketers to adapt and be proactive as more opportunities are coming up.

In "The Tipping Point", Malcolm Gladwell interrelates the rapid spread of a behavior, an idea or a product with an infectious disease, which are social epidemics. The "tipping point" itself is the term he uses to describe the significant moment that signals an epidemy. Gladwell introduces the three "rules of epidemics" that would determine whether the tipping point is going to take place; they are: the Law of the Few, the Stickiness Factor, and the Power of Context. The Law of the Few states that in order to reach the tipping point, three different groups of individual need to occur in the first place. They are connectors, mavens, and salesmen. I believe connectors are the people who start the movement in the first place, whether it is the visionary CEOs or enthusiastic barristas. Mavens are the influential talkers that will not let their peers make a wrong purchase decision. And lastly salesmen, which I think is rather self-explanatory.

The second rule of epidemic is the stickiness factor, which determines whether the trend will reach exponential popularity. It is the “unique” quality of a particular product, which I think is the ability to generate what Andy refers to as organic word of mouth. Gladwell gives the examples of renowned children television show “Sesame Street” and “The Blue's Clues” to further discuss the stickiness factor. The last rule of epidemic is the power of context, which I think simply explains that timing is important. Gladwell also introduces the magic number of 150; the number he believes as the threshold of group efficiency. In addition to the rules of epidemic, Gladwell provides several case studies that have relatable properties with the spread of social epidemics.