A Sticky Tip

“There is a simple way to package information that, under the right circumstances, can make it irresistible. All you have to do is find it.” (Pg. 132)

This quote, taken from "The Tipping Point," concludes Malcolm Gladwell’s chapter relating to his second theory of the spreading of social epidemics. He calls this theory the “Stickiness Factor.” It is the thought that a message or trend will spread if it is memorable and “sticks” with whoever has been introduced to it. Gladwell feels that making an impact on someone depends on how the ideas are presented and not necessarily on the quality of the ideas. Presentation has a huge effect on how “sticky” an idea is and often it is the smallest changes that can make the difference between a trend “tipping” or not. Malcolm Gladwell explores his theory of “stickiness” through examining the children’s show Blue’s Clues. He argues that Blue’s Clues “may be one of the stickiest television shows ever made.” Each Blue’s Clues episode follows a single story line, making it easier for kids to engage in the show, and therefore making it more memorable. Each episode is half an hour long rather than an hour and there are minimal characters, and each character has a straightforward name. There is one actor, a man named Steve, a blue dog named Blue, a mailbox called Mailbox and two other characters that are a shovel and a pale, named Shovel and Pale. The simplicity has the ability to capture children’s attention which makes the show “stick”. Another small change is that Steve pauses after posing a question, encouraging participation from the audience. The pause is a longer than a regular pause so it gives the child at home a chance to shout out the answer. This small change got the children intellectually involved and helped build on their logic and reasoning. Blue’s Clues “stuck” with children because the creators found the right way to present the information and by making little changes they were able to “tip” their television show epidemic.