Rohit Bhargava |
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Dear Newsletter, What kind of person is still choosing not to get vaccinated when they have an opportunity? Can letting users hide the like counts on social media posts help reduce online anxiety or cyberbullying? Why are futurists so bad at actually realistic predictions? What happens in an economy where everyone is about to run low on everything? Dig into these questions and more stories in this week’s Non-Obvious Insights Newsletter!John Oliver Exposes the Dark Side of Sponsored Content ![]() For anyone in marketing, the entire segment is painful to watch and hard to disagree with. I believe in the power of sponsored content, and I have seen it work. But when a media group cashes a check to let literally anything on the air with no standards at all, you end up with a lot of manipulative and believable bullshit getting air time. What’s the solution? It seems pretty simple. TV stations (and most other forms of credible media) already have editors and producers on staff. Part of their job should be to establish minimum standards for truth and authenticity of any potential sponsored content. You can never silence the bullshit or remove it completely, but at least anyone accepting sponsored content could prevent themselves from giving it legitimacy so frequently and easily. What Does Apple’s Shift to Offer “Lossless Music” Really Mean? ![]() ![]() While I personally could see myself switching back and forth between using this feature and not, it is exactly the kind of idea that could make a meaningful impact in reducing cyberbullying and helping the mental wellbeing and self confidence of young people overall … two things that most social media platforms have historically done very poorly. Better late than never, I suppose. Welcome To An Economy About To Run Low On Everything … ![]() “Shortages, transportation bottlenecks and price spikes are nearing critical levels, raising concern that a supercharged global economy will stoke inflation.” The net effect of this will be predictable from an economic point of view. Products will get more expensive, consumers will react by making faster decisions to buy and in the worst case, they will start panic-buying and hoarding. The bottom line is, our world may be on its way to the future normal, but it seems there’s definitely going to be some pain along the way. Why Humans (and Futurists!) Are So Bad At Seeing The Future? ![]() The piece, as you might expect, made me wonder whether my own predictions in Non-Obvious Megatrends may age poorly themselves when examined by a future reader. Yet his conclusion did give me hope: “What I took away from The Book of Predictions, forty years later, is to watch for the curious and interesting intersections between very large things.” The search for intersections is at the heart of Non-Obvious Megatrends and my predictions. Does this mean they will stand the test of time? I really don’t know. But by 2060, I’ll just consider myself lucky if I’m still around to read someone’s future critique of them. By then I’ll definitely be saggy and well beyond middle-aged anyway. Four Types of People Who Are Hesitant or Don’t Plan To Get Vaccinated ![]() But the truth is, in certain states, those two groups might account for more than 50% of the local population so this really is a situation where we can’t leave anyone behind. The article offers some thoughtful tips for how each segment might actually be convinced. So if you’re an “Enthusiast” like me (the fifth and only non-hesitant segment the research identified), Dr. Sgaier has some useful lessons and advice on what it might take to get more of those people to get the shot. And if those techniques don’t work, you could always tell them how their vaccine card might win them free flights for a year from United or a million dollars in a Covid lottery.Even More Non-Obvious Stories …Every week I always curate more stories than I’m able to explore in detail. In case you’re looking for some more reading this week, here are a few other stories that captured my attention …Capitalism Doesn’t Have To Be This WayInfluencer Nyma Tang just became CVS’s first beauty inclusivity consultantAlbert Einstein Letter With Signature and e=mc2 Sells for $1.2MTwo Ways Intel Connects Deaf and Hearing CommunitiesHow are these stories curated?Every week I spend hours going through hundreds of stories in order to curate this email. Want to discuss how I could bring this thinking to your next event as a virtual speaker? Visit my speaking page to watch my new 2021 sizzle reel >> ![]() |