What You Need to Know Today: February 26
Good afternoon, Early Risers!
Here’s what you need to know
TECH
Aristotle, Cicero, and Donald Trump all have this in common. A question we’re all wondering is what makes Donald Trump’s tweets so yuuuge? After all, he has the same 42 characters we all have, but somehow Trump’s tweets seem bigger. We turn to Slate’s Amanda Hess for our answer: “What is the secret to Trump’s Twitter success? He’s cemented his reputation as a modern social media master by relying on age-old jerk moves,” says Hess. “His most Trump-ian tweets manage to hit upon all three of Aristotle’s modes of persuasion: logos (the appeal to logic), ethos (the appeal to credibility), and pathos (the appeal to emotion).” Read more.
The scariest 11-minute video you’ll watch today. “Do you worry about trained martial artists beating you up on the street?” says Morgan Marquis-Boire, director of security at First Look Media. “Not particularly,” says Kevin Roose. “But you’re aware that they exist, and you’re also aware that you couldn’t really do anything if one of them wanted to beat you up on the street.” Hackers are like trained martial artists. They live where you live, grocery shop where you grocery shop, but aren’t likely to ruin your life for no good reason. Just to show you how easily anyone can be hacked, Fusion’s Kevin Roose dared two expert hackers to do their worst on him.Here’s what happened.
Making viral look easy. Two french bros have taken over the App Store. “2048,” “ZigZag,” “Stick Hero,” do any of these games ring a bell? They’re all viral hits created by the company Ketchapp Games, founded by Michel and Antoine Morcos. Normally the brothers don’t take interviews, but Tech Insider got them to agree to a quick chat here. Their business model is noteworthy.
CAREER
The truth about intuition. “Intuition. That’s what people call successful decision making that happens without a narrative. Intuition isn’t guessing. It’s sophisticated pattern matching, honed over time. Don’t dismiss intuition merely because it’s difficult to understand. You can get better at it by practicing,” says Seth Godin. Two guys who have honed their intuition skills and are two of the most sophisticated pattern matchers in the world are Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger. Buffett’s annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway Inc. shareholders is due this Saturday. Here’s what you need to know.
Pitch rituals: 12 quirky habits execs and teams use to prepare. Nothing beats the Suits can-opener ritual, but these 12 are a close second. Here’s one I like: “Sacrifice a lamb: We try to always bring someone who’s never pitched before. It goes against a staple rule of new-biz consultants of ‘Only bring the A-Team,’ but there’s something magical about watching a young creative or account person come into their own in the room, not jaded by how things ‘should be done.’ They are often the stars of the show,” says Vishal Sapra VP-global brand development, MRY.
LIFESTYLE
Arby’s knows its customers too well. Maybe you heard the news. Arby’s is finally offering vegetarian options, but there’s a major catch. Arby’s will introduce its vegetarian menu one day out of the year on February 29th. Yep, a Leap Day. It gets better. What kind of veggie options will they offer? Everything on their original menu, minus the meat. Here’s how Arby’s describes a vegetarian Reuben, “Remove the freshly sliced, perfectly brined, cooked and tender enough to flake with a fork corned beef.” LOL. Arby’s shade toward vegetarians is in good fun, but it also shows us the fast food chain really does “get” its true customers.
How to be interesting. “What is it about some people that makes them unforgettable, that makes me want to invite them to everything, that makes them inspiring?” This is what Jessica Hagy asked herself before writing the hit article “How to Be Interesting in 10 Simple Steps.”
#NOWYOUKNOW
17 Google Products You Probably Didn’t Know Existed
Think Insights is Google’s “digital cheat sheet” for marketers where it uses its data to glean what’s on deck for the industry.
Click here to see all 17 products.
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