Reuters: Small, offbeat trends can change the world

Small, offbeat trends can change the world

While Malcolm Gladwell’s “Tipping Point” explores how a trend emerges from obscurity to the mainstream, a new book says even small trends can have big effects.

College-educated nannies, home-schooled children, spouses who are together only at weekends and home-buyers with bad credit all have the potential to change society, according to “Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow’s Big Changes” (Twelve, $29.99).

“By the time a trend hits 1 percent, it is ready to spawn a hit movie, best-selling book, or new political movement,” says author Mark Penn, who is credited with identifying soccer moms as a key to Bill Clinton’s re-election campaign and who is now an adviser to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign.