tipping what?

ever since i got to san francisco, i've decided that i should take up reading again. a very smart co-worker of mine at microsoft once told me that reading keeps the mind sharp - now that i've started, i wholeheartedly agree! i'm not really sure when it happened, but sometime after i no longer had to attend high school english class, reading slowly dropped further and further down on my priorities list until it was nowhere to be found. i could probably come up with a ton of excuses for this, but in the interest of keeping this entry semi-short, i'll save that for another time :)

what's been on my reading list? well, i started by picking up fortune magazine. in my youth i'd never really cared too much for business magazines, but now i find it absolutely fascinating. i think i've at least skimmed the past few months worth of the magazine cover to cover.

next, i read "Touch the Top of the World" by Erik Weihenmayer. i actually didn't pick this one out, they gave away copies for free at google's sales conference. anyways, it's a great story about overcoming obstacles, rising up to challenges and learning to break through the barriers that other people shy away from. if that weren't reason enough, Erik gave an excellent speech at the sales conference which i got to see live.

then, i read "Fast Food Nation" by Eric Schlosser. this was a terribly frightening read. if you like eating at mcdonald's or any other franchised fast food chain, don't read this book. if you want to see a new perspective of how this vertical operates, prepare to be shocked. ignorance might be bliss, but i definitely wanted to know this information. from now on, the only place i'll eat a fast food burger is in-n-out. yeeks!

while i was finishing up "Fast Food Nation," someone recommended "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell. as much as i enjoyed my previous reads, this book had by far the most enlightening content i've read in a long, long time. if you're into marketing, social networks, viral epidemics, communications, psychology or just human nature in general, pick up this book. you won't be disappointed and you won't want to put it down. basically, Gladwell explores an exciting phenomenon where due to the right mix of people, message and circumstance, something - anything at all - explodes with an exponential uptake. he explores case studies where these principles apply to a wide range of scenarios including viruses, fads, human behaviors, children's television and more.

now, i'm reading Gladwell's next book, "Blink." it's about how people make snap judgments. it's about first impressions, how people sense danger, why art experts can just know a piece is fake and more. i've only just started the book and it's as gripping and eye-opening as "Tipping Point." i think Gladwell is quickly becoming one of my favorite writers - great ideas and great writing, what an awesome combination.

internet savvy readers will notice that i'm using amazon's associate links for all the stuff i've mentioned. just like my adsense search box and ads, i'll be donating all proceeds to charity. as a bonus, i'm getting to check out these technologies which have started an epidemic of their own across content providers' websites.

which reminds me, in case any of you out there were wondering, i took out those google adwords ads promoting this blog. i did it so i could get a jump start on getting to know the google ads system. it was one of those start-up assignments you get at a new job where you are supposed to familiarize yourself with the product.

it's getting late so i'm off to bed. ah, there's so much to post about the past few weeks but so little time. oh, and also, believe it or not, i do read all those comments so if you have a question specifically for me, please leave an e-mail address or contact me directly. otherwise, i won't be able to get back to you with an answer ;)

good night, blogosphere!