Nir Eyal's Blog, page 24
February 19, 2018
Distinction Bias: Why You Make Terrible Life Choices
There I was, looking at an enormous wall of television screens. Each one flashed the exact same scene — a beautiful flower slowly blooming to reveal each petal, pistil, and stamen in exquisite super high definition detail. It was downright sexy. But now it was time to make my choice. Would I buy the $400 […]
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January 5, 2018
Want to Design User Behavior? Pass the ‘Regret Test’ First
What are the ethical responsibilities of companies that are able to manipulate human behavior on a massive scale? It’s a question one hopes technologists and designers ask themselves when building world-changing products — but one that hasn’t been asked often enough. Operant conditioning, intermittent reinforcement, the search for self-actualization — the techniques used by product […]
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October 11, 2017
Confirmation Bias: Why You Make Terrible Life Choices
Nir’s Note: This post is co-authored with and illustrated by Lakshmi Mani, a product designer working in San Francisco. You walk into your first yoga class. You’re a little insecure about your weight and how your yoga clothes cling to your body revealing every flaw. You’re nervous about making a fool of yourself. Your eyes instantly […]
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October 4, 2017
How to Regain Focus at Work by Slaying the Messaging Monster
Technology is taking over our lives, especially in the workplace. What can we do to put technology in its place to finally get focused work done? Below are resources, tools, and articles for regaining focus in your digital life. These are tools I use myself but is not meant to be an exhaustive list. Full disclosure […]
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September 11, 2017
How to Trigger Product Usage that Sticks
Nir’s Note: This guest post is by Janet Choi, Senior Manager of Product Marketing and Content at Customer.io Meditation, like any healthy habit, takes repetition to stick. But while the folks behind Calm, a meditation and mindfulness app, knew their product’s core value was helping people to learn and build a meditation practice—initially they didn’t put […]
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August 15, 2017
How to Get People to Help Each Other, Online and Off
Nir’s Note: This guest post is by Max Ogles, who writes at MaxOgles.com. On March 27, 1964, Kitty Genovese was brutally attacked and killed in the open streets of New York City. What makes Genovese’s story so tragic is that police later discovered 37 people were aware of Genovese’s distress but never came to her […]
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August 9, 2017
Hyperbolic Discounting: Why You Make Terrible Life Choices
Nir’s Note: This guest post is written and illustrated by Lakshmi Mani, a product designer working in San Francisco. Have you ever had a mounting pile of work you know you need to do but for some reason didn’t? There’s an important deadline looming, your boss is breathing down your neck, the pressure is on — […]
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June 14, 2017
Here’s How Amazon’s Alexa Hooks You
Nir’s Note: This guest post is by Darren Austin, Partner Director of Product Management at Microsoft. Last year we added a new member to our household. I must admit that upon first meeting her, our initial impression was that she was a little creepy. Today though, we can’t imagine life without her. We’ve never seen […]
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Alexa, What Makes You So Habit-Forming?
Nir’s Note: This guest post is by Darren Austin, Partner Director of Product Management at Microsoft. Last year we added a new member to our household. I must admit that upon first meeting her, our initial impression was that she was a little creepy. Today though, we can’t imagine life without her. We’ve never seen […]
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June 8, 2017
Technology Is Not Hijacking Your Brain (video)
Some tech critics will have you believe that technology is “hijacking your brain” or that it’s “irresistible.” Not only is that not true, believing such nonsense is dangerous. In my recent talk at The Next Web conference, I discuss: The difference between technological addiction and distraction. The moral obligation of tech companies who knowingly addict […]
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