Gladwell & The Tipping Point
Gladwell states that word-of-mouth epidemics spread through a population according to 3 rules:
1) The Law of The Few: only a select few are capable of spreading the message
2) The Stickiness Factor: the message needs to be memorable and retained.
3) The Power of Context: the context of the environment must be just right for the message to spread.
He draws a convincing analogy with the way viruses spread through society with these same three rules:
1) Only a select few are capable of spreading viruses to epidemic levels through their vast social contact.
2) The virus must be contagious.
3) The environment must be just right for the virus to spread (e.g. a temperature of above 70 degrees).
