Rohit Bhargava's Blog, page 75
June 21, 2017
The Swiss Town That Banned Travelers Posting Photos On Social Media
How do you get attention for a sleepy little Swiss ski resort town that few people have ever heard of? Ban photos and promise to fine tourists for sharing them online. That’s the genius strategy behind this move from the town of Bergün, but the explanation of why is even better. “We don’t want to make people outside the community unhappy by sharing social media photos of our picturesque landscape,” says Mayor Peter Nicolay. What’s the solution? Just come to the village and experience it for y...
June 20, 2017
Brazilian Publisher Offers On-Demand Clever Captions For Your Selfies
Sometimes it is hard to pick the perfect caption for your selfie, but Brazilian publisher Leya has a solution to help … and introduce you to some of their newest authors in the process. The brand launched a chatbot that will ask you about your photo and then suggest a quote from one of their authors which you can copy & paste as a caption. The bot then follows up with a link to buy the book at a discount. Clever, timely and strategic.
Read the full story on Creativity >
Love non-obvious stori...
June 19, 2017
Facebook Helps Make Politicians Care About You
It is a sad reality of politics just how often politicians seem to cater to the loudest of their constituents. Making noise may not be the only way for normal people to create clout anymore, thanks to Facebook’s announcement that it will allow users to easily tag their local and state politicians in a post. The feature has the powerful potential to allow anyone to have more direct contact with their politicians and influence them to make decisions that more widely represent all the people, an...
June 16, 2017
Apple Imagines Destroying The World At WWDC
During its Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) this past week described by one media outlet as a “parody of itself,” Apple launched a video intended to show developers how much the world needs them and the apps they build. The video, unfortunately, ended up illustrating just how much havoc Apple could wreak if it chose to shut down apps, or otherwise deny service. The video accidentally reinforced the scary idea that if you have an iPhone, your entire sanity and perhaps safety are at the co...
June 15, 2017
Google Launches Beautiful Tool To Teach Kids Online Safety
If you are a parent, one of the things that probably keeps you up at night is how to monitor your kids activity online and keep them safe from scams, cyberbullying or worse. This newly launched tool from Google looks to be a wonderful resource both for parents and also educators to teach kids everything they need to know online, from how to avoid phishing scams to the best way to be kind to each other and not turn into trolls. Now we just need a version of this same training for all the adult...
June 14, 2017
The Brave and Slightly Scary Future Of Retail Surge Pricing
What if every retailer could implement surge pricing for products on their physical shelves or online stores based on who you are, what you like and the other data they have collected (or purchased) about you? It is a new world where every interaction you have as a brand could be tailored not only from a personalization point of view, but also from a deep number crunching analysis of exactly what any transaction might be worth to you. This detailed article takes a deep look at the promising a...
June 13, 2017
Why Jack Welch Might Be Overrated
While the business community loves to offer Jack Welch legendary status, this article shares that measuring his successor Jeff Immelt against that legacy may not be entirely fair. The analysis is a powerful reminder that success or failure can come from the circumstances that leader inherits as much as from what a leader does. It is important to remember when considering the legacy of other recently ousted leaders, like Marisa Mayer who just stepped down from Yahoo today.
June 12, 2017
Best Buy Launches Try-Before-You-Buy Service To Fight Back Against Competitors
With the number of new gadgets constantly coming out, it can be paralyzing to have to sort through all the reviews, unboxings and online analysis. Best Buy has a bold solution: to let consumers try gadgets before they buy them. Clearly consumers need help figuring out the best product for them … and if this bet works, it could be enough to put Best Buy at the top of a crowded list of retailers selling the exact same things for the exact same price.
Read the full story on RetailWire >
Love non...
June 8, 2017
Chatbots That Negotiate To Save You Money
What if a chatbot could learn the logic of customer service interactions and help you do everything from fight a parking ticket to negotiate a discount on your mobile phone bill? It turns out chatbots are excellent at this type of negotiation because of how formulaic most customer service scripts are. If a bot can be programmed to learn the leverage points, it can interact with a customer service rep on your behalf to get results. Sounds perfect … until those brands figure out how to use thes...
June 6, 2017
Love IKEA? Now Your House Can Smell Like It
What do cinnamon buns, lingonberries and assemble-yourself-bookcases smell like? IKEA … and soon you can bring that smell home in a fragrance developed by independent Swedish fragrance creator Byredo. The idea is an interesting exploration of how broadly a brand experience could go. Given the power of smell to evoke memory, something like this could also bring back the memory of extinct experiences too. I wonder what a Blockbuster fragrance would smell like?
