I think that this book does a great job of explaining how social trends are formed, and the best ways that social trends are spread. The book utilizes great examples that help explain the process of social trends. Through the detailed examples, the audience can create clear and vivid pictures that demonstrate the author’s purpose in writing this book.
I think one of the points that is interesting is the point that the author mentions when he is talking about epidemics. He says that a tiny of the percentage of the people will do majority of the work. I think it is interesting in relation to social trends because sometimes a social trend is sparked by just a small group of people. Usually social trends will start as an idea by a small group of people, and then it quickly spreads to other people. He goes on to say that it is a small handful of people that are exceptional at what they do that helps start the social trends. Some people have strengths in areas that are weaknesses for others, and together they can unite the two and create something special. Together, they can distribute and spread their ideas better because they are using each other and maximizing everyone’s potential.
One of the examples that I think creates the most vivid picture in my head is when the author describes the story of Paul Revere. He brings in so much context and detail into the story that helps me imagine the actual scene when Paul Revere rode into the night warning the people that the British were coming. The author then uses this example consistently to mention other factors about social trends and how they spread. One of the tools that we can gain from the Paul Revere example is how powerful word of mouth is when trying to convey our ideas to other people. This is the most effective way to communicate your ideas with other people, and now with the technology that is available to us today, we are able to spread that information faster and to a much broader audience. We are still communicating to other people our thoughts, our interests, and our similarities and now, we are able to reach millions of people through word of mouth.
Our technology has also had an impact in the way that people become “connectors”. The author explains what it means to be a connector and how reaching people through your friends, and mutual friends also impacts how fast social ideas can spread. He begins to describe all the connections he has made because of his one friend, and I could not help but think about Facebook, and Twitter and how we are able to make the biggest and broadest connections right at our fingertips. With social media, we have the power to reconnect with people who we have forgotten or who no longer live in the same area with us. This allows for our networks to reach beyond the walls of high schools, cities, states, and even different countries.
This book was very enjoyable to read and it definitely opened me up to a new perspective about how social trends are created, and how they are spread to different people.
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