The Tipping Point

In The Tipping Point, Gladwell tells us that The Tipping Point is when ideas or products, messages and behaviors begin to spread. It becomes an epidemic or a virus. Some examples of this are when Gladwell explains to us how Hush Puppies started out as a shoe that no one knew about or wore, and then all of sudden when a few people started to wear them, everyone becomes interested in the shoe. Designers want to use Hush Puppies in their collections, actor Pee-Wee Herman began wearing them, and then the idea of Hush Puppies tipped and became an epidemic where everyone wanted to wear this popular pair of shoes.

Another example that describes The Tipping Point was when Gladwell explained the stickiness factor. Joan Ganz Cooney, Gerald Lesser and Lloyd Morrisett had to create "Sesame Street" as a television show that would help educate young children. After conducting several tests and making small adjustments in how they would present it to preschoolers, they found that children were learning from this show, therefore "Sesame Street" sticked.

Gladwell's idea of The Tipping Point applies to public relations because the goal is to get the message out to the publics with hopes that the message sticks. Once the idea sticks within the publics, then, it will "tip."

The 80/20 rule, according to Gladwell, tella us that 20 percnt of the people do 80 percent of the work. With this in mind we know that it really only takes a few people to make an idea "tip."