The artificial intelligence balloon went up when OpenAI's ai chatbot's natural language processing began to sound and feel human. Still, ChatGPT -3 has been kicking around since June 2020 without becoming what everyone needed, was talking about, and using. So why did ChatGPT-3.5 tip? What makes ideas, products, and people "go viral.
A tipping point is a threshold when dramatic change happens in ever-faster loops creating new and sometimes irreversible states of play. Things were one way before the tip, and they have a much different configuration, feel, acceptance, support, and look after. Malcolm Gladwell's "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference" is about how small changes create significant shifts in social behavior, acceptance, and usage resulting in an idea, product, brand, or company jumping across Geoffrey Moore's adoption chasm.
Crossing the Chasm: Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers, Moore's book, is an essential read because moving from early adopters to what Moore calls the "early majority" is a must for any idea, product, company, or person who wants to tip, who wants to go viral.
Social media, digital marketing, content marketing, email marketing, SEO, and your marketing campaigns are like ChatGPT-3 in search of the small changes needed for next-level optimization, in search of a tipping point. I wish there were some marketing professional magic to define a step-by-step, hands-on starting point for using powerful tools like ChatGPT to improve customer experiences, digital marketing, and marketing copy. Still, ChatGPT and artificial intelligence don't work like that, at least not yet. So instead, your prompts supply the power of ChatGPT.
AI tools aren't a marketing strategy. While using ChatGPT to brainstorm, write content, and develop strategy provides substantial benefits, there's no AI use case capable of doing keyword research, copywriting, setting Google ads, and creating social media marketing.
If you sensed a "yet" hanging at the end of my last sentence, automation of marketing efforts, social media posts, and high-quality AI content creators can't be far off. In addition, entrepreneurs need to use tools such as LinkedIn and search engines to win customer hearts, minds, and loyalty, so why did ChatGPT-3.5 tip? And how can your ideas, company, brands, and personal brand tip too?
Tipping points happen when a combination of factors interact with each other to produce a critical threshold where significant change occurs faster and faster, more and more. Tipping point alchemy is complex, confusing, and is usually not repeatable.
Multiple elements, including social, influencers, economic, ecological, or technological factors suddenly become more than the sum of their parts. There’s no tipping point API to jack into. Factors may float forever lacking the needed catalyst like ChatGPT’s machine learning transformer 3 floating for several years before GPT-3.5 tipped.
Some reasons tipping points happen include:
Feedback Loops A positive feedback loop is a self-reinforcing process where an initial change amplifies itself, leading to an increasingly larger effect over time. These feedback loops can accelerate change and push a system toward a tipping point.
Network Effects The value of a product, service, or idea usually increases with the number of adopters. Metcalfe’s Law states the value of a network is the square of the number of connected users or n. As ‘n’ grows the network’s value increases at an accelerating rate. As more people join the network benefits increase and more people join the network creating a “network effect.
Threshold Models Individuals may have different thresholds for adopting a new behavior, technology, or idea. As more people, companies, and organizations adopt and support something new, holdouts with higher thresholds become more likely to follow and use the new idea, product, or service leading to a positive feedback loop cascading into a tipping point.
External Influencers External events or factors, such as regulatory changes, natural disasters, or economic crises, or highly influential or connected people can trigger tipping points by suddenly altering the conditions of a system, pushing it past the critical threshold. Get Kim Kardashian to discuss how much she loves your widget and it will tip.
Contagion Effects Tipping points can occur because the ideas, behaviors, companies, brands, or products become “contagious.” As people share their experiences, opinions, or beliefs, others are influenced to adopt the change, leading to rapid and widespread diffusion.
Tipping points are often the result of a complex interplay of these factors and others, making them challenging to predict or control. Understanding the underlying dynamics and conditions that contribute to tipping points can help decision-makers identify potential thresholds and prepare for or even influence the outcomes of these critical moments.
Contagion effects are when behaviors, attitudes, emotions, or information spread rapidly from one individual or group to another, much like the spread of a virus. In social, economic, and financial contexts, contagion effects can lead to positive and negative influences. Here are some examples of contagion effects in different contexts:
Social Contagion Social contagion spreads emotions, behaviors, or ideas among people through direct or indirect interactions. Social media platforms often add speed and fury to social contagions because they process, share, enable, and trend information rapidly so emotions can quickly disseminate to large groups of people leading to the viral spread of popular culture phenomena, opinions, or beliefs.
Emotional Contagion This refers to the unconscious transfer of emotions between individuals, where one person's emotions affect another person's emotional state. For example, if someone in a group starts laughing or crying, other members of the group may begin to do the same.
Financial Contagion In the financial world, contagion effects describe the transmission of economic crises or shocks from one country or market to another. This can occur when the financial markets or economies of different countries are interconnected or when investors perceive risks in one market as similar to those in another. Financial contagion can lead to a domino effect, where problems in one market spill over and exacerbate issues in other markets.
Informational Contagion This form of contagion refers to the rapid spread of information, rumors, or opinions through various communication channels, such as social media, news outlets, or word of mouth. In some cases, the spread of information can create positive or negative feedback loops, amplifying the impact of the initial information.
Contagion effects can play a significant role in shaping public opinion, driving financial markets, and influencing individual behaviors. Understanding and managing these effects is essential for policymakers, businesses, and individuals navigating various social, economic, and financial systems.
"Crossing the Chasm" is a seminal book on marketing and business strategy written by Geoffrey Moore in 1991. The book focuses on the challenges faced by technology companies when moving from early adopters to mainstream markets. Moore introduces the concept of the "chasm," a gap that exists between early adopters and mainstream customers, which often poses significant challenges for businesses.
Moore proposes a five-stage model for the technology adoption life cycle:
Innovators Visionaries who are excited by new ideas and are the first to adopt new technologies.
Early Adopters Enthusiastic individuals and organizations who see the potential of new technologies and are willing to take risks to gain a competitive edge.
Early Majority Pragmatists who are cautious and require more proof of the technology's benefits before adoption.
Late Majority Skeptical customers who only adopt new technology once it has become the standard.
Laggards Resistant to change and typically the last to adopt new technologies.
Moore emphasizes that "crossing the chasm" requires businesses to focus on a specific target market (a "beachhead") and build a whole product solution that caters to the needs of that market. This approach helps establish a strong foothold in the mainstream market, from which the company can then expand to other segments.
Key strategies to successfully cross the chasm include:
Targeting Choose a small but significant market segment with a strong pain point that your technology can address.
Whole Product Solutions Provide a complete solution that solves the customer's problem and includes any necessary support or complementary products.
Positioning Clearly articulate the value proposition and unique selling points to differentiate your product from competitors.
Partnerships Collaborate with other companies that can enhance your product offering and expand your reach.
Market Domination Once you have crossed the chasm and gained a strong foothold, prepare to capture additional market segments.
"Crossing the Chasm" has become a foundational text in the fields of marketing and technology adoption, providing valuable insights and strategies for companies seeking to bridge the gap between early adopters and mainstream success.