Leander Kahney of Wired News said in Apple of Our Eye: Macs Save Money “There seems to be a widespread re-evaluation of Apple going on, a cultural shift that’s changing the way people think about the company. It’s been building for a while but it has reached a tipping point in the last couple of months.” The next few months will reveal if this is true.
Malcolm Gladwell discussed how little things can make a big difference in his book “The Tipping Point.” He says that ideas and products spread just like a viral epidemic. First, they are highly contagious; second, little causes can have big effects; third, the change happens not gradually, but at one precipitous moment. Furthermore, there are certain types of people that are necessary to achieve a tipping point. Connectors are people whose web of relationships is very broad–they spread the news. Mavens are passionate collectors of information. They are information brokers. A final requirement is for people who are persuaders–we might call them evangelists. Gladwell says, “Mavens are data banks. They provide the message. Connectors are social glue: they spread it. Salesmen have the skills to persuade us when we are unconvinced of what we are hearing.”
Certainly, the tipping point for iPods was reached some time ago. Is it possible that the Macintosh is at such a point now?
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