What You Need to Know Today: January 21
Good afternoon, Early Risers!
Here’s what you need to know
TECH
“People are not really into using products,” says Goran Peuc, “Any time spent by a user operating an interface, twisting knobs, pulling levers or tapping buttons is time wasted. Rather, people are more interested in the end result and in obtaining that result in the quickest, least intrusive, and most efficient manner possible.” If you’re a product specialist/designer/marketer this is a must read.
“Do yourself a favor and turn off your read receipts.” How to use iMessage like a pro.
Why the people you emailed aren’t emailing you back, by week. Want less email? Up your out-of-office email reply messages with these.
CAREER
What a 1990 Chevy pickup truck taught me about raising capital. “You’re more likely to get what you want when it isn’t something you imminently need,” says Doug Winter, CEO and co-founder of Seismic. This paradox Winter explains holds true not just in negotiating business deals, but you see it a lot in relationships, too. When you’re single, finding a date seems like a struggle, ‘Why can’t I find someone I actually like.’ But once you settle down, the floodgates of eligible bachelors and bachelorettes opens, ‘Where were all these people when I was single?’ As you’ll see in this article this shift in mindset is not out of your control. You can train your mind to take advantage of opportunities you’d otherwise miss. After all, this is how Winter was able to negotiate a $14,500 truck down to $6,500.
+ Future-proofing your career. “No one is safe…” says Suzi Nelson. “Except for maybe digital marketers.” If you want a job in digital marketing in 2016 these are the six skills you need on your resume.
LIFESTYLE
How to tell if people like you? Ask this one simple question.
Health and wellness seeping into your social life. Happy Hour without the booze. Yoga with a beer. What’s happening? Taking a traditional business model and tacking on a trendy wellness practice seems to be the MO for stagnant businesses these days. Is it a good idea? You tell me. Hit reply or leave a comment telling me what you think about these infusions.
#NOWYOUKNOW
What Chain Letters Can Teach Us About Natural Selection
By Richard Dawkins
You receive in the mail a postcard on which is written: “Make six copies of this card and send them to six friends within a week. If you do not do this, a spell will be cast upon you and you will die in horrible agony within a month.” If you are sensible you will throw it away. But a good percentage of people are not sensible; they are vaguely intrigued, or intimidated by the threat, and send six copies of it to other people. Of these six, perhaps two will be persuaded to send it on to six other people. If, on average, 1/3 of the people who receive the card obey the instructions written on it, the number of cards in circulation will double every week. In theory, this means that the number of cards in circulation after one year will be 2 to the power of 52, or about four thousand trillion. Enough post cards to smother every man, woman, and child in the world. Read more.
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