Recommended preface to "Breaking Trends": Your influence is extraordinary
[
](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxj67uWf4wyGh9PH-TtSoEuWPqUl_TkMNkhoOOJmzHnFUJRZyp53eRBHow4DSG8IaVfcluwWPcT tcYLAd8A85YBC1Evt6iz3faurWKQZLhvHQVM7-C2jOTmwyyejk2or4gzOLLy_UsZ2X4/s 1600/%25E5%25BC%2595%25E7%2588%2586%25E8%25B6%25A8%25E5%258B%25A2.jpg)
Recently I was sorting out my book collection and re-reading “Explosive Trends”, which I find particularly interesting.
If you put a thin piece of paper on the ground, it may float away in the wind, but if the paper is big enough, after being folded fifty times, its thickness can reach from the surface of the earth to the sun, which is incredible. If we try to express it in mathematical logic, it is two to the fiftieth power. The reason why the concept of geometric series is amazing is that it can have an impact hundreds of millions of times.
Through media reports, in recent years we have often heard many stories about underground bands or young singers becoming famous overnight, or about coin-priced delicacies that originally existed in the alleys and were unknown, but suddenly attracted a group of gourmets to patronize them, and then became patrons. Many seemingly illogical and unpredictable popular phenomena in life are actually not groundless or have no reason at all. They are often just not discovered by ourselves.
Although resident singers or rock bands are not famous, they already have a group of loyal fans in the nightclubs or folk music restaurants where they usually perform on stage. In their eyes, these artistic performers are gods. Although common people’s delicacies are difficult to reach the level of elegance, they still have support from the people in the countryside and have a certain degree of strength and reputation. What they lack is just a tipping point. If they have the right time, location, and people, they will naturally become popular.
Examples like this can be seen everywhere. For a while, Taiwanese people loved to eat Portuguese egg tarts. Before we could even figure out the difference between Portuguese egg tarts and Taiwanese egg tarts, we had already discovered that there were egg tart shops opening one after another on the streets. Although the Portuguese egg tart did not become popular for long, it does have a place in our memories. To give another example, in the past, everyone liked to make tea and chat when having dinner or watching TV. This has been a living habit of many families in Taiwan for many years, but in recent years these habits have slowly changed. Some people start to sip coffee, others like to taste red wine, or just like barbecue during the Mid-Autumn Festival. It is also difficult to trace the origin, but it has indeed become popular in our daily lives.
If we look back at these trends that once promoted life style, we can find that behind these events there is the so-called “tipping point”, which is the well-known writer Malcolm Gladwell (Malcolm Gladwell), the most critical core mentioned in the book “Exploding Trends” - certain trend-setting trends are often driven by a few keys. Whether it is an idea, product or behavioral pattern, the way it spreads is actually no different from a virus.
Earlier we talked about Taiwanese people’s habit of drinking tea, which is gradually being replaced by coffee and red wine, but if we ask you what is the hottest drink on the market now? Some people may answer that it is the “signature emerald lemon” of Qingyu. What is so magical about this beverage shop that claims to sell drinks like houses? It can actually make many people enjoy the meal even if there is a long queue on a hot day?
It is reported that there are at least 28 chain beverage stores in Taiwan’s beverage market, but how did this beverage store originally from Taichung become so popular within half a year? It may still be a mystery, but it did happen.
There are actually countless such examples. I think you must have seen many people, regardless of gender, old or young, in the MRT, buses or cafes, staring down at the three or four-inch mobile phone screens, right? It seems not long ago, when smartphones first became popular, most people just used Facebook, LINE and other applications on their phones to chat with friends, but now many people are crazy about a gem matching game called “[Candy Crush Saga] (https://apps.facebook.com/candycrush/)”.
Not only young college students and pink-collar office workers love to play it, but even many silver-haired people are obsessed with this game. The media also reported a while ago that even Hong Yizhong, the head coach of the Chinese Professional Baseball League Lamigo Peach Monkeys, also likes to take out his tablet computer and play “Candy Crush Saga” after games. For example, during the game on June 12, it started to rain heavily before the game. While waiting for the rain to stop, Hong Yizhong did not forget to take out his tablet computer to fry candies.
What’s interesting is that like other players, he also encountered the bottleneck of “stuck”. When being interviewed by the media, he did not forget to call the fans to help him overcome the level. Just after Coach Hong stopped at the 181st level, the team’s record skyrocketed. Is there some kind of subtle tipping point between the candy bombs and the team’s record? This not only creates a common topic between the team and fans, but also allows more people to see the charm of “Candy Crush Saga”.
Although this mobile game originated from Europe and the United States is now very popular, you may not know that it did not gain the favor of many domestic players at the beginning. After being introduced to Taiwan from Hong Kong at the end of last year, it quickly captured the hearts of a small number of loyal players. Later, thanks to the blessing of multiple reports from mainstream media and several app websites, it gained widespread attention.
Looking at the key to the success of “Candy Crush Saga”, the management team of the parent company King.com naturally plays a major role. The company’s background is in the production of gambling games, so it understands the needs of human nature. In addition, they pay special attention to the design of game levels and user interfaces, so they can set off an amazing legend in the global market.
Malcolm Gravel once mentioned in his book that if you want to detonate a trend, you must think in the following three directions: including the principle of the few (find a few key people who can detonate it), the fixing factors (the message you convey must be noticeable and change behavior) and the force of the environment (people are accustomed to succumbing to the constraints of the environment). Judging from the process of “Candy Crush Saga” successfully detonating the popularity, we can definitely find the context of these three directions. From this candy whirlwind, it seems to show that detonating the trend is not as difficult as imagined.
Malcolm Gravel, who has a background in media, is very good at analyzing some indescribable but ubiquitous phenomena in life. Although this book “[Exploding Trends](https://www.books.com.tw/exep/assp.php/vista/products/0010687961?utm_source=vista&utm_medium=ap -books&utm_content=recommend&utm_campaign=ap-201904)” is not a new book, and it has been published for thirteen years. However, many of the observations and investigations in the book are quite detailed and are not affected by the changes of the times. It is worth keeping on your desk and reading again.
“Exploding Trends” is not only a classic social science book, but also a cross-disciplinary trend report. Instead of thinking of “Exploding Trends” as a book about concepts, behaviors, messages and products that have a huge impact after being disseminated and diffused, I think it is better to think of it as a life guide that can be consulted at any time. Especially in this fast-changing digital era, any change may happen overnight! At this moment, we need even more critical guidance.
I was very happy to hear recently that Times Culture Publishing Co., Ltd. will re-publish [this masterpiece](https://www.books.com.tw/exep/assp .php/vista/products/0010687961?utm_source=vista&utm_medium=ap-books&utm_content=recommend&utm_campaign=ap-201904), I am also happy to recommend it to all my friends. If you have read other works by Malcolm Gravel in the past, you must not miss his first work; if you have not had time to get to know him, then now is the best time.
Re-read this [classic book](https://www.books.com.tw/exep/assp.php/vista/products/0010687961?utm_source=vista&utm_medium= ap-books&utm_content=recommend&utm_campaign=ap-201904), the biggest feeling I feel between the lines is that even if you and I are just ordinary people, they may exert a huge influence and even set off the next wave of trends.
And you, are you ready?
★ Welcome to like the “Vista Writing Companion Program” fan page!
★ Do you want your copywriting to be liked by more people? Come and watch “[Slow Reading and Understanding in Seconds] (https://www.books.com.tw/exep/assp.php/vista/products/0010973827?utm_source=vista&utm_medium=ap-books&utm_content=recommend&utm_campaign=ap-202605)”. ★ To improve your content power, please don’t miss the online course “[Content Power: The Super Power of Building Brands] (https://hahow.in/cr/content-power)”
★ Photo Credit: Alex Knight
Further reading
- “Compound Interest Thinking: Make Small Changes Become Big Changes, Use Compound Interest to Improve the Long-term Effect of Life Profits” Recommended Preface: Wake up every day and be smarter than yesterday
- Recommended Preface to “Simon Learning Method”: Learn to be old, live to be old
- Recommended Preface to the Second Brain: Embrace the AI era, start by utilizing the second brain
📖 深入探索相關主題
