Rohit Bhargava's Blog, page 8

Season 5 of the Non-Obvious Show Podcast Is Now Live!

Over the past six months I’ve been recording conversations with people whose books and body of work I find most fascinating. Earlier this week I’m thrilled to share that the newest season of the Non-Obvious Show just launched with a new interview all about being a “Supercommunicator” with my friend Charles Duhigg. Over the rest of this season, we’ll explore some fascinating topics including how to be more defiant, the upside of trash talk, the best places in the world to live, building your empa...

Copenhagen’s Adult Park Offers Rare Child-Free Green Spaces

On UNICEF’s latest list of the best countries for children, Denmark came in second place. Copenhagen as a city is known for being kid-friendly, scoring high on something called the “popsicle test”–which assesses the safety of a place “according to whether an eight-year-old can walk to a shop on their own, buy a lolly and return home safely.” It’s a unique way to measure safety but does offer some insight into what has typically been most important for urban planners when designing public spaces ...

How Carnival Cruise Killed Their Loyalty Program … And What Happens Next

In mid-June, Carnival Cruise Lines launched what may be the most shocking (and potentially destructive) experiment in the history of loyalty programs. They essentially ​announced that they will be scrapping their 13-year old program​ and instead replacing it with a new system based on how much you spend. More specifically, they are taking away Lifetime Diamond Membership for customers and instead requiring people to requalify for it with ongoing spending on new cruises. For the past few weeks, b...

The Non-Obvious Book of the Week: Generations by Jean M. Twenge

If there was ever a book that could demystify and explain the differences between these generational labels we assign to one another, this is it. Legendary psychology professor and generational expert Jean M. Twenge explains it all in this 500+ page compendium of everything you ever heard (or were misled by) about the differences between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers and the Silent Generation.

While these terms may mean something different to all of us, the big idea of this book is that ...

Is “Sludge” a Real Customer Service Tactic to Avoid Irate Customers?

There is a term in Cass R. Sunstein and Richard H. Thaler’s book Nudge, first published in 2008, that introduces the idea of sludge–“tortuous administrative demands, endless wait times, and excessive procedural fuss that impede us in our lives.”

“In 2023 (the most recent year for which data are available), the  National Customer Rage Survey showed that American consumers were, well, full of rage. The percentage seeking revenge—revenge!—for their hassles had tripled in just three years … Resear...

The Talking Statues of Versailles

When my kids were younger (and probably today too!) one of our favorite family movies was Night at the Museum. The idea of museums coming to life was fun to imagine. This week, The Palace of Versailles in France teamed up with Ask Mona and OpenAI to help “twenty iconic fountains and statues from the Gardens become narrators of their own stories. For the first time at Versailles, these masterpieces of heritage speak and engage in conversations with the public.”

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Digg, the Internet’s Favorite Defunct Brand Is Coming Back

If you were around for the early days of the Internet, you might remember Digg. It was a collection of interesting stories that was so popular that at one stage it was popularly referred to as the “​homepage of the Internet.​” Then in 2018 after an ownership shuffle, the site was permanently shut down … until now. The big news in tech circles this week was the reboot of Digg. Though still just in private alpha mode for early reviewers the site has a ​relatable vision and mission​ behind it:

“...

How Technology Is Changing the Way Perfume Gets Made

As AI enters perfumery, are we expanding access to beauty — or automating the soul out of it?” This is the provocative question asked in an article I came across this week outlining the ​growing role of AI and technology​ in helping to develop new scents.

“From concept to shelf, a single perfume can take six to 18 months — even longer in luxury. And like fine wines, fragrance materials vary with climate concerns. One year’s yield will not smell like the next one, or the one before. Perhaps th...

The Non-Obvious Book of the Week: The Problems in the Art World by Brainard Carey

Being an artist is hard. When you choose to do it professionally, you’ll likely face many problems. According to Brainard Carey, the renowned director of the Praxis Center for Aesthetics, you may encounter exactly 26 problems to overcome–and so he published a book about how to do it. While his book is clearly written for artists, many of the problems explored in the book from the problem of attracting mentors and patrons to the problem of scams designed to extract money from artists, Carey’s boo...

How One Museum Is Reinventing the Way Collections Are Shown

Imagine spending a day at a museum without seeing the actual exhibits but instead visiting the warehouse where they keep everything that isn’t on display. That’s the non-obvious ​concept behind the V&A East Storehouse​ that just opened on the east side of London. Affiliated with the Victoria and Albert family of museums, this venue built on the site of the former London 2012 Olympics Media Centre houses over 250,000 objects, 350,000 library books and 1,000 archives.

“Storehouse is a new kind ...