Dear Reader, A big welcome to all my new SXSW subscribers! It was a week filled with gatherings, insights and connection and I'm thrilled at how well our events and plans to bring people together went. If you weren't there or didn't manage to make it for my new keynote, the good news is SXSW has already posted that online so you can watch it NOW (link below). If you requested them, you will also receive my slides by email later this week so stay tuned for that as well. In stories this week,...
9 days ago • 6 min read
Dear Reader, Greetings from Austin. This week in stories, you'll get an inside look at the making of my new keynote that I'll be debuting from the stage tomorrow here at SXSW. There's also an exploration of why "world modeling" may be the scary new future of AI, the rise of anti-surveillance products and also a hotel suite that can only be booked as recognition for human kindness. Enjoy the stories this week and if you're in Austin for SXSW, come and join one of our events so we can meet up...
16 days ago • 5 min read
Dear Reader, It's hard to believe we're cruising right into the end of the first quarter of the year already. For me, this month will be filled with book launches, live events, college tours and maybe a few days at home in between. Things are in full swing right now, and the stories this week reflect that energy as well. It's good to know that even amidst the conflicts happening in the world right now, there are still people thinking about how to get us off the addiction of recycling...
23 days ago • 7 min read
Dear Reader, It was a quiet week, the calm before a storm of 6 keynotes in 12 days culminating in SXSW as I look forward to heading into a transformed Austin without its convention center for a different sort of gathering. If you'll be there too, be sure to hit reply and let me know so I can get you some invitations to a few private events we're hosting or you can join our private Whatsapp group here. And for the other events, if you're in Orlando, New York or Las Vegas - let me know so we...
about 1 month ago • 7 min read
Dear Reader, It's a big week of celebration across the world so Happy Chinese New Year and Bom Carnaval for my Brasileiro readers! And for my American friends, one of my featured videos below is a slightly non-obvious take on President's Day inspired by the various styles of Presidential Portraits over the years. For stories this week, there's a timely research report focused on what countries are proudest of their heritage (perfect timing during the Olympics) and my perspective on why the...
about 1 month ago • 5 min read
Dear Reader, Super Bowl advertising winners and losers, how predictive market gambling is exposing suckers and the premeditated murder of a 150-year-old newspaper. Those are your lead stories this week as I sit here enjoying a break from the freezing weather on a very quick trip to Orlando for a keynote. The other extended stories this week include the Amazon Ring backlash, a fun video rating the accuracy of English accents put on by American actors, a chip that aims to make counterfeit...
about 1 month ago • 6 min read
Dear Reader, It's issue number #500 for the Non-Obvious Newsletter this week! That's the equivalent of nearly ten years of weekly curated thoughts and the moment has me wondering about my longest active readers. So here's a question for approximately 42% of you who open this email every week ... what date did you first subscribe or start reading these insights on my blog (which started before the newsletter)? Hit reply and let me know - I'll send a signed book and offer a mention next week...
about 2 months ago • 6 min read
Dear Reader, Greetings from San Francisco! I am here for a speaking gig for the first time in many years and local friends tell me the city is MUCH better than it was a year or two ago when it was receiving a lot of negative publicity for the homelessness problem. It's odd to say about a city like SF, but there's a rebuilding vibe here now that makes the city feel both reinvented and unfinished at the same time. In stories this week, you'll read about why I think the failure of Neom isn't...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
Dear Reader, This morning I've been thinking about momentary friends. Those people that you meet and bond with because you happen to be in the same place, but for whatever reason you don't keep in touch. You never trade phone numbers or look each other up on social media. All you have is the moment you share together. Sometimes I think our modern connected world makes those kinds of friends impossible to make but then I get reminded that they aren't. There's something unappreciated about...
2 months ago • 6 min read