While using the bathroom, I suddenly thought of an example of how information is distributed. It is a short path, but I could track how my group of friends became fans of Charmin's Extra Strong toilet paper.
A group of us students came from overseas, so we all lived by ourselves or with friends/siblings had to take care of our chores and groceries. One day while hanging out at Carl's* house, Jane praised the tissue in Bob's house was the best she had used. She wondered out loud what brand it was. Bob appeared, and answered that it was Charmin's tissue. What he didn't mention was that I had introduced him to the tissue when we went grocery shopping together. I was checking flyers I got in my mail and saw that brand was on sale. When Bob and I went to the store, I pointed out the toilet tissue that was on sale. He decided to get some as well. The next few weeks, we mostly hung out at Bob's place. Thus, Jane had a memorable experience with Charmin's tissue.
The flyer from the store was the source of information. I introduced it to one person, Bob. Bob became the disseminator of this information when he made the experience of using this tissue available. Jane highlighted this information, and brought it into awareness of this group of people. Things and roles could have played differently. If I had hosted my friends during that time instead, I could have been the sole source of this trend to my friends. And right now, as I blog about Charmin Extra Strong toilet paper and its praises, I am a potential distributor to the intended readers of this blog, students of SOSC 4330. If this blog remains in use and its presence shared, I might trigger an increase in C.E.S. tissue sales!
This reminds me of what I read in the book "The Tipping Point" about how Hush Puppies shoes went from a fading brand in the 90s to a high-fashion trend in around 3 years. HP did not approach high fashion designers to promote their shoes. What happened in those few years was that some young people started wearing HP with other trendy shoes. And possibly, it became noticed and adapted by fashion conscious citizens, and this trend was brought to the attention of designers. Very soon, the HP shoes hit the runway and Hush Puppies became popular again.
The incident has already passed, so the exact path of this trend cannot be traced but can only be inferred.
*Names have been changed to protect my friends' reputations from being uncool people having domestic discussions.
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