Chapter 2. The Law of the Few: Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen
What are connectors, mavens, and salesmen? People who connect or introduce us to our social circles. These are the people who connect others like in the game ‘Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon’. These people have a knack for making friends.
What is a “small-world problem”? How does an idea or trend travel through a population? That is the problem. Milgram wanted to know if we belong to separate worlds or bound up together connecting one another.
What is “six degrees of separation”? Can it truly be tested? Six degrees of separation means that in only six steps, most people can be connected to any other person. These means finding acquaintances who know other people that can connect you to the person at the end of the six steps. That was confusing sounding but it works. I think it can be tested. It may not be an accurate or statistically correct test but it does show a pattern.
What makes someone a connector? A connector would usually have friends in many different areas of life-different occupations or lifestyles. They would probably be outgoing and friendly and willing to introduce their friends to other friends that may have something in common with each other.
Take Gladwell’s “quiz” on pp. 39-40. We will discuss it when we are able to post online. I came up with 68 people.
What makes connectors so necessary in society? Connectors are the glue that holds different groups in society together. Without people to introduce us, we may never get out of our comfort zone and blend together. What a boring world that would be!
What does the phrase “the strength of weak ties” mean? It means that people who are merely acquaintances can be more helpful than friends in introducing you to people and places that may help you. Since acquaintances may be more familiar with things outside your circle, they can help you find resources that you might not have know about, such as a job opening. Gladwell says weak ties can be a source of social power.
Why did Paul Revere’s ride succeed when William Dawes’ ride did not? Paul Revere was a connector. He was very social and belonged to many different clubs. He was also interested in the intelligence of war and knew the heads of militias and who the key people were to talk to. William Dawes did not seek out the people who could have helped spread the word faster to those who needed to know.
Describe any connectors or mavens from your school, family, or friends. I have one friend/colleague who is always knows everything. If I have a question, I call her. If she doesn’t know the answer she picks up the phone and calls someone who does or who knows someone else who does. She know people in Europe and Australia and stays in touch with them in order to keep options open for overseas vacations.
How much do you rely on word-of-mouth information? I use word of mouth all the time. I like to do research on items that I may purchase or a restaurant I may visit, but if I am not sure about something, the information given to me by someone who has that product could make the difference in my purchase.
How did mavens influence the sales of Hush Puppies? A maven most likely bought the shoes and told his friends how cool they were so they bought them and then their friends, etc.
What are the positives and negatives of being a maven? The positives are the vast stores of knowledge amassed by a maven. Since they love to share and be helpful, lots of people benefit from their knowledge. I would think a negative would be the constant ‘fine-tuning’, such as Mark Alpert returning electronics again and again. That would be tiring. A maven might also get a ‘know-it-all’ reputation which could make some people tune out his helpful suggestions.
What makes someone a salesman? They have the skills to persuade us to believe in things even when we are unconvinced about the product.
According to two studies he cites, what are the three things that Gladden says make salesmen so effective? The first is that little things can make a big difference; the second is that non-verbal clues are as important as verbal clues-maybe even more important; and the third is that persuasion is very subtle even though the seller is not trying to give a hidden message.
What are “micromovements”? Micromeovements are the repeated patterns and behaviors that happen when people interact. These patterns of movement and speech will often start mimicking the patterns of the people with whom you interact.
What makes someone good at charades? They are able to draw people into their emotions and feelings with their powers of persuasion. This enables the team guessing to predict an answer based on the actor’s gestures and emotions.
What traits of the connector, maven, and salesman do you see in yourself? I know a lot of different people through my work but I am not a connector. I am not very social. I have always worn mixed media chunky bracelets, long before they became popular, but I do not kid myself that I started a trend. I am able to sell children on doing activities in music class that they are initially reluctant to do but I am not generally a salesperson.
Which traits do you wish you possessed? I wish I had the connectors’ ability to interact and make social connections.
Are these traits able to be developed or are we simply born with them? I think they are traits you are born with. I do believe you can work on your social skills and your salesman skills but the true connector or salesman was born to persuade.
What disadvantages are linked with any of the three? I can’t think of any.
Chapter 3. The Stickiness Factor: Sesame Street, Blue’s Clues, and the Educational Virus
What is “the stickiness factor”? Is the message good enough that it can start a change or momentum toward a change.
What makes something “sticky”? It has to grab your attention and keep it long enough to warrant a change in behavior or make you remember the information.
What is direct marketing? What makes for a successful campaign? Direct marketing is sending out letters or putting ads in media that directly reach the consumer. A successful campaign is one that makes the consumer buy the product.
What is the “gold box” that Lester Wunderman used so effectively? The gold box was a symbol place in ads by Columbia Records. If you found a gold box, you could get a free record.
What changes did she and her team make in order for the show to work? They did a lot of research and made changes to the structure and format of Sesame Street. They blended reality and fantasy and made the adult conversations less.
Compare and contrast Sesame Street and Blue’s Clues. Sesame Street is a constant moving series. There are cute songs, flashy pictures, lots of information presented in quick soundbites. Blue’s Clues is perfectly literal-there are no word plays and comedy for adults that are confusing for children. It tells a story simply and repetitively.
What is the Distracter? The Distractor was a slide show that ran next to a video of Sesame Street. The object was to see how many times and during which part of the show the children watching Sesame Street looked at the slide show instead.
What is The James Earl Jones Effect? The effect is that constant repetition with ample pauses for reactions helps preschoolers learn facts. This could be applied in many different ways, not just in teaching preschoolers the alphabet.
