Tipping Point "Law of the Few"
As I identified elsewhere, The Tipping Point identifies three rules. The first of the rules identified, and covered in chapter 2, is the "Law of the Few." Gladwell asks on page 32, "Why is it that some trends and messages 'tip' and others don't?" He then goes on to identify what he believes enables some people to be influential and by corollary why others are not.
The three "types" of people he identifies are Connectors , Mavens, and Salesmen.
I would like to use this discussion section for our group to share our views on these three types of people, and how accurate you believe Gladwell's assessment to be. Also, I would love it if we could share examples of people that we have met in our various walks of life that we believe exemplify one (or more) of these archetypes.
Re: Tipping Point "Law of the Few"
I'll start by responding to Malcom's hypothesis regarding "Maven traps". (A method of gathering information from market mavens.) The example that he cites is the "comments" phone number that is listed on so many consumer products. Gladwell believes that only a true subject matter expert would call such a number with questions or concerns. By staffing this call-in center, the company can cheaply gather market information from such SME's.
As someone who has previously worked for a market research company, I can tell you that the vast majority of the time that the phone rings it is NOT a maven that is calling to comment upon your product - thus delivering valuable information for almost nothing - but rather a lonely person with a lot of time to spend and very few outlets upon which to spend it.