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It's a Dirty Job...

I almost didn't read your article on Mike Rowe and Dirty Jobs (February) since a) I'm not a blue-collar worker, b) I have never seen the show, and c) I despise the reality-TV concept. But now I feel a connection with Rowe and his labors. The idea of working hard -- but not too long -- is something everyone should embrace. I plan on watching my first episode of Dirty Jobs this weekend.

Tony Prete
Boulder, Colorado

As a loyal viewer of Dirty Jobs and as someone who told anyone who would listen early on what a great show it was, I was very, very happy to hear that Rowe has a deep loyalty to the show's true value: the real people who are doing hard work. Nowadays, too much reality TV is nothing but a semi-scripted mess. The show is what it is -- the people who do these jobs and their real personalities.

Jason Keith
Waltham, Massachusetts

I didn't know the QVC story about Sister Mary Margaret. I snorted at my desk reading it. Great setup and delivery. The picture of Mike in a suit with work boots on is brilliant.

Debbie Root
Quincy, Illinois

Past the Tipping Point

I just read "Is the Tipping Point Toast?" (February). While Duncan Watts has done some great research and analysis, I think that Malcolm Gladwell's work was not given its due. In Watts's analysis and in your article, only one aspect of The Tipping Point has been taken into account: the Law of the Few. The other points, such as the Mavens, Salesmen, and the stickiness factor (which the Heath brothers have analyzed well), are merely glossed over. What I understand of Gladwell's work is that all of these factors play a role in the "tipping" of a product or idea, not just one. Watts has done an excellent job of proving that Connectors alone cannot create an epidemic, but I do not think that his work deflates the premise of The Tipping Point.

William Henagan
Harbor Springs, Michigan

The social research by Duncan Watts on how trends are and aren't disseminated reminds me of one salient truth: Marketers are no longer in control. People can't be manipulated as easily as they once were. Consumers are in charge. There is a more fundamental change, though, that redefines the very notion of a trend. The fact is that there is no one market but an infinite number. The economics of online commerce allow more companies to reach fewer people and still be successful. Increasingly, we are seeing homegrown businesses reinvent the market by selling to smaller groups. If along the way, a product takes off, that's not something marketers can engineer, even though they'll be first to take the credit.

Leo MacLeod
Portland, Oregon