The Tipping Point

I have begun a book by Malcolm Gladwell called, The Tipping Point. In the book he outlines a number of factors that go into the moment that products, beliefs, etc. go from the margin to the mainstream. It is a very interesting study.

I've seen in in my own life most recently with Recycling. I remember for years growing up hearing the call from environmentalist to have a recycling society. But I never recycled. It was too marginalized. Only the extremists were doing it, and who had time to sort all that stuff when you could just throw it in the trash and forget about it?

Last year I noticed, while at my local dump that the county was giving away large yellow recycling cans so I picked on up. I had the occasional cardboard box that I could recycle. Once I brought it home I started thinking about more and more recyclables I could put in the can. I found out that you no longer have to sort the items. Paper, plastic, cardboard, it can all just be dropped in one can and set out on the road for pick up.

Now I'm moving into my office and looking around for a recycling can in addition to my trashcan. What a difference, and why? The factors above created a tipping point. I didn't grow to love the environment more, I found it convenient and easy to participate.

We're using this principle at SRC to process some of our weak areas. For instance, communication between band members is non-existent, so we're working with Twitter to try and synchronize everyone on a weekly basis. The thought is, "What can we do to make communication so easy and convienent that we'll cause a tipping point of communication?"

It's been on my mind, so I thought I'd share.

--Ben