Rohit Bhargava's Blog, page 76
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?
June 4, 2017
An Inside Look At the Bullshit Of Hollywood Wellness
In a world that seems filled with bullshit, it is a voyeuristic thrill to see those all too rare moments when it all comes tumbling down. The article linked below from New York Post is one of those moments, as writer Maureen Callahan goes behind the scenes at the GOOP Health and Wellness Summit hosted by Hollywood celeb Gwyneth Paltrow as an extension of her often ridiculed ecommerce and lifestyle site GOOP. After spending a day at the event, Callahan dissects panels filled with pseudo-medica...
June 2, 2017
Why America Needs Feminists (And Sweden Doesn’t)
This week a short but powerful piece from former model Paulina Porizkova casts a powerful light on the role of women in different cultures and her own struggles with being a woman first in the Czech Republic, then in Sweden and finally in her adopted home of America. Touching on sexuality, power, and politics – it is a surprisingly poignant piece that will get you thinking about what feminism really means along with why (and when) it is most necessary.
...May 31, 2017
The Future of Books, Publishing and Libraries
This week the entire US-based publishing industry is descending upon New York for a three day celebration of books known as the BookExpo. I’m here on behalf of my publishing company Ideapress, and so this week’s insights will focus on books. Below you will read about the bold new way that libraries are reinventing themselves and the multiple ways that Amazon is creating disruption and angst within the industry. Through it all, one beautifully optimistic fact is coming through loud and clear f...
May 24, 2017
IKEA’s Secret Insights, Google Explains Syria And The “Avolatte”
What is the most hipster-centric product you could imagine? The answer is just one of the six interesting stories curated for you in this week’s newsletter. Along with the ironically true tale of the invention of the “Avolatte,” you’ll read about new efforts to become more relevant and innovative from the USPS, a promising new potential role for Google to take in the media landscape, Nokia’s retro launch for “strategic downgraders” and some surprising insights from IKEA’s little-known focus...
May 18, 2017
15 Non-Cliché Books To Give As Useful 2017 Graduation Gifts
Right now the #1 book on Amazon.com is “Oh The Places You’ll Go” by Dr. Seuss — which means graduation season is officially upon us. Yet is an inspirational kids book really the best choice as a graduation gift for him or graduation gift for her to help explain the world that lies ahead? What if we were to rethink this ultimate cliché of a graduation gift and instead give something much more useful?
For the past year, I’ve been working on updating and republishing my own book of career advice...
May 17, 2017
Always Eat Left Handed: An Irreverent Career Advice Book For Graduating Seniors, Career Optimizers And Millennials
For the past year, I’ve been quietly working on writing my first career advice book. It is called Always Eat Left Handed and I am proud to share that is just launched this week!
Learn More About Always Eat Left Handed …
My latest book is an irreverent collection of 15 pieces of advice I am sharing to help anyone optimize their careers and achieve more success. Here’s a quick list of links to a few ways you can learn more about the book:
May 11, 2017
Slow Checkouts, Shoplifter Facial Tracking and an Espresso-Making Phone Case
As I sat bombarded with the same stories over and over this week, I found myself longing for something different. I feel that way a lot. So this week, my curated stories deliver on just one promise: they are genuinely fascinating ideas for products and services. From a slow checkout line designed to offer a low pressure retail experience for patients with dementia to a phone case that actually makes an espresso … this week’s stories show that the world is a much more interesting place when we...
May 5, 2017
How Convenience Is Transforming Dating, Fast Food, Fashion And More
This week I kept seeing the recurring theme of convenience. Whether it was a story about how cell phones can be used for monitoring disease carrying mosquitos to a new Amazon Echo Virtual Stylist that will judge your new outfit. There is a new portable scanner that will test the pesticides in your fruit and even a scientific study on how to strike the best pose in a portrait. Yes, convenience is increasingly getting more protective, technical and available in places we never expected.
Amazon’...April 28, 2017
The Failure Museum, Pringles’ Flavor Clouds and Selfie Bans
This week a theme that emerged in the stories was that of the many faces of failure. There is a new museum in Sweden celebrating product and cultural failures of modern times. A former Silicon Valley darling chat app called YikYak failed and lost hundreds of millions of perceived/bloated valuation. The Met Gala stuck to its doomed “no selfie” policy and Nintendo once again fueled speculation about whether they would intentionally fail to stock enough product to meet demand. Yes, there are man...
