In 1958, Ernest Hemingway was asked: ‘What would you consider the best intellectual training for the would-be writer?’, he responded:
Let’s say that he should go out and hang himself because he finds that writing well is impossibly difficult. Then he should be cut down without mercy and forced by his own self to write as well as he can for the rest of his life. At least he will have the story of the hanging to commence with.
8 Disruptive Health and Fitness Technologies
From MeMD:
From online doctor visits to space-age physical exam scanners, learn about eight game-changing technologies that will reduce costs and improve healthcare and fitness in years to come!
// Don’t know why, but one large infographic doesn’t work with tumblr. Make sure to check out the rest via the link below.
[MeMD.me]
Just funded the Scanadu Scout! Excited for its arrival. There needs to be a company or division of kickstarter, indiegogo, et al. that helps companies bring concepts to market more rapidly.
(via emergentfutures)
Source: futurescope
The Hidden Secrets of Startup Hiring Success
Assembling a team of extraordinary people is an exceptionally difficult thing to do.
At some point professional networks are tapped and you have rely on additional methods of bringing on talent.
The challenges associated with this task are not easy feats and influence the ultimate success of the impact that role has on the business. In an effort to prevent mistakes pros have learned along the way, let’s take a look at some of the factors.
You have to recognize quality people with little insight into how they work beyond their track record and a few short meetings.
Clearly a sheet of paper and a series of formal meetings are not the most effective way to paint a clear picture of what you may be embarking on. Be able to connect at many levels and ask to see projects they accomplished, while telling the story of it’s development and evolution.
You have to be a visionary in terms of the strategy and roadmap of the role you are working on.
Without planning you set the resource and the functional area (and ultimately the business) up for a less-than-optimal result. Make sure you allocate time as infrequently as every two weeks to think about the road ahead. What does a multi-person team look like? What larger goals and projects can be accomplished with interdisciplinary skill sets?
The only role you are an expert in is the generalist role of what you are hiring for yesterday.
When building a team, you extend the bounds and granularity of the subject matter you are an expert in. You are expected to know what these specialist roles include and how they contribute value to your greater plan for the subject area. Do you feel satisfied with the knowledge, best practices and infrastructure built for your subject area? Are you capable of hiring someone smarter than you? Do you have the team leadership skills for the area you run? Or just the intrapreneurially fortitude?
All of these require you proceed confidently with little information yet make a big impact.
Daunting as it may be, always be sure to ask, “what is it that I don’t know?” It certainly will not guarantee you’ll be prepared for everything, yet what it may shift you from a reactive approach to becoming more proactive. It may just well be the difference between success and failure-
Product Leadership Wisdom
Here’s An Excellent Presentation About The Rise Of Mobile And The Massive Implications
Nicholas Carlson, businessinsider.comRevered Apple analyst Benedict Evans of Enders Analysis is giving a presentation May 29 at the BookExpo America convention in New York.
It’s on the rise of mobile and what it means for the industry.
It’s full of great charts like…
The rise of Mobile
(via emergentfutures)
Source: smarterplanet
Tumblr users spend an average of 14 minutes per visit, Tumblr founder and CEO David Karp revealed… The reason for the longer session time is not that Tumblr is ‘so much better,’ Karp explained. ‘It’s very different behavior. People come here for same reason they turn their TV on when they come home at the end of the day … It’s something to do before checking your email, it’s a chance to go and see stuff you enjoy, let’s you escape from the real world. And that media experience is one that ends up consuming a fair bit more time than just the amount of time you spend checking your friends updates on Facebook or Twitter or Foursquare.’
David Karp | Users Stay Longer on Tumblr Than Facebook, Says David Karp (via courtenaybird)
Sound familiar?
(via emergentfutures)
Source: Mashable
Thoughts for an Amazon/e-comm Ad Product
The thought/idea:
A media product that creates dynamic ads using pre-purchase data.
An example would be products from a given wish list then used as dynamically targeted creative to relevant users like friends or family.
It would be a service that connects to amazon wish lists people have, turn it into advertising targeted at people that are connected to the original person’s wish lists.
Another thought, though at some level I’m sure they are working on it: Amazon needs to build out a better social user community with profiles abs relationship info. What level of social shopping has amazon tested? How incredible could they make this experience? What about setting a task force team to scour the web of recipes or partner with a site and offer the typical Pinterest recipe fully bundled as a newly packaged product order. This would drive higher engagement, increasing sharing/multiplying purchases through Social Purchases Virality, and finally higher basket AOVs.
Product R&D + Testing Opportunity
Potentially grab data from shipping and payment addresses to find links to other users as friends and family as a test audience. Target this. See how people respond. Sell to advertisers.
Thought
What if everyone wrote their bio or descriptions like a speech they were giving after receiving a lifetime achievement award?
That would be neat.
IoT survey says less than 10% of consumers want connected products
The Internet of Things is definitely coming! But how quickly are people ready to adopt this tech? According to the Yankee Group’s survey of 2,300 Americans - the demand right now is very small. Less than 10% of consumers are interested in a variety of connected items including smart thermostats (top of the list at 8%) and internet enabled appliances (6%).
This is a great proxy for the acceptance and state of technology intersecting with humanity.
While I believe the sample set is extraordinarily small and likely not as accurate as it should be, in general this is good barometer for how people expect their lives to be connected.
Interestingly, this number dwindles historically, until it reaches zero. An important item to consider is that without technology, this demand or expectation would have likely remained negligible.
Economically speaking, the supply (or presence) of technology only further drives adoption, reliance and ultimately expectations of how humans require connectedness as a part of their daily life.
If one were to take a look and establish a correlation with said connectedness and the evolution of technology, we’d likely be able to create a coefficient that can help us predict this demand over time. As it further assimilates into our lives, maintaining a ubiquitous presence, expect new generations to rapidly drive demand.
Where do you see the expectation of technology and humanity in the next five years?
(via emergentfutures)
Source: gigaom.com
Apple Retains Top Spot in Flourishing Tablet Market
Year over year tablet shipments by the top five vendors show that Apple, Samsung dominate the market. Microsoft is on the rise though. Keep an eye on future Surface models.
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