Occasionally I like to read books by relatively less known authors as some contain surprising insights.
Why did Google + and Google Glass fail? Why did Tahrir square explode on 25 April 2011 and not on 18 April 2011? How come Rosa Parks is a civil rights legend but Claudette Colvin is not? Why is influencer marketing often a failure? Why did #blacklivesmatter pick up big time only in 2015 despite its first use in 2012? Etc. etc.
It’s all about social networks & the infrastructure of contagion, something you must master if you’re a change maker.
Prof Centola talks about “weak ties” (acquaintances) and “strong ties” (close friends) and the relevance & uses of each. Simple ideas go viral with weak ties, but complex ideas require strong ties to spread. How do you know it’s complex? If it has the 4 barriers to adoption- coordination, credibility, legitimacy & excitement. Bridges (i.e., the connection between people in different clusters) are crucial. Narrow bridges are excellent for personal branding & information sharing (career tip!), but you need wide bridges for spreading innovation & organizational change.
Quite a few historical references. I liked the use of social networks to explain the fall of China post-1450 and the rise of European states. Sometimes too much connectedness isn’t good!
This book is about CHANGE. How it works and why it often fails. It’s also a GUIDE on how to achieve lasting change.
