Creating “zero click” content
Creating “zero click” content As I mentioned a few weeks ago, a growing problem with Google is the number of “zero click” searches on there — searches that don’t lead to another click, because Google answered the question for you. It’s generally a good thing for users, but it’s a bad thing for companies wanting to get more website traffic. In the case of Google, there’s not much you can do. In other cases, though, it might be best to just lean into this trend. Most social media sites quietly ...
Grateful in the macro and the micro
Grateful in the macro and the micro When you ask someone what they’re grateful for, you often get the same kinds of things – health, family, friends, etc. Those are all wonderful things, and we should all be grateful for them, but being grateful for smaller things can sometimes have a bigger impact. In a recent episode of “My First Million”, the hosts (Sam Parr and Shaan Puri) interviewed Gary Vaynerchuk and it was a fascinating conversation. I encourage you to listen/watch the entire thing w...
Shortform for long books
Shortform for long books I’ve been using Blinkist for some book summaries for a few years now, and it’s great! However, I’m noticing a growing problem in the gap between long books and Blinkist, in that the “Blinks” just aren’t long enough to really share the heart of the book. Blinkist and most related platforms are proud of the fact that they give you “15 minute summaries”. Those are a fantastic way to get an overview of a book, but then they leave a bit gap between that 15 minute summary a...
Creating “zero click” content
Creating “zero click” content As I mentioned a few weeks ago, a growing problem with Google is the number of “zero click” searches on there — searches that don’t lead to another click, because Google answered the question for you. It’s generally a good thing for users, but it’s a bad thing for companies wanting to get more website traffic. In the case of Google, there’s not much you can do. In other cases, though, it might be best to just lean into this trend. Most social media sites quietly ...
Grateful in the macro and the micro
Grateful in the macro and the micro When you ask someone what they’re grateful for, you often get the same kinds of things – health, family, friends, etc. Those are all wonderful things, and we should all be grateful for them, but being grateful for smaller things can sometimes have a bigger impact. In a recent episode of “My First Million”, the hosts (Sam Parr and Shaan Puri) interviewed Gary Vaynerchuk and it was a fascinating conversation. I encourage you to listen/watch the entire thing w...
Shortform for long books
Shortform for long books I’ve been using Blinkist for some book summaries for a few years now, and it’s great! However, I’m noticing a growing problem in the gap between long books and Blinkist, in that the “Blinks” just aren’t long enough to really share the heart of the book. Blinkist and most related platforms are proud of the fact that they give you “15 minute summaries”. Those are a fantastic way to get an overview of a book, but then they leave a bit gap between that 15 minute summary a...
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One of my favorite new words in the past few years is “sonder” — that moment when you realize that everyone around you has an internal life as rich and as conflicted as yours. With that always on my mind, I tend to notice more areas where it might apply.
One of those was in Charles Duhigg’s book “Supercommunicators“. In it, he encourages us to bring out the “multiple identities” in people that you’re talking to. He says:
“Draw out multiple identities. Ask people about their backgrounds, communities, the organizations and causes they support, and where they come from. Share your identities in return. We all contain multiple selves; none of us are one-dimensional. It helps to be reminded of that.“
He goes further to compare this with topics and issues, saying:
“An antidote to this proclivity (he was referring to binary bias) is complexifying: showcasing the range of perspectives on a given topic. We might believe we’re making progress by discussing hot-button issues as two sides of a coin, but people are actually more inclined to think again if we present these topics through the many lenses of a prism. To borrow a phrase from Walt Whitman, it takes a multitude of views to help people realize that they too contain multitudes.“
It’s easy to think we know someone while really only knowing 10% of who they are. Learning about more of their identities can help with your relationship with them, and also might help shape your views on other areas of life. Ultimately, it helps expand the concept of sonder, knowing that people contain far more than we see on the surface, and then it’s awesome to get to see some of those other layers.
One of my favorite new words in the past few years is “sonder” — that moment when you realize that everyone around you has an internal life as rich and as conflicted as yours. With that always on my mind, I tend to notice more areas where it might apply.
One of those was in Charles Duhigg’s book “Supercommunicators“. In it, he encourages us to bring out the “multiple identities” in people that you’re talking to. He says:
“Draw out multiple identities. Ask people about their backgrounds, communities, the organizations and causes they support, and where they come from. Share your identities in return. We all contain multiple selves; none of us are one-dimensional. It helps to be reminded of that.“
He goes further to compare this with topics and issues, saying:
“An antidote to this proclivity (he was referring to binary bias) is complexifying: showcasing the range of perspectives on a given topic. We might believe we’re making progress by discussing hot-button issues as two sides of a coin, but people are actually more inclined to think again if we present these topics through the many lenses of a prism. To borrow a phrase from Walt Whitman, it takes a multitude of views to help people realize that they too contain multitudes.“
It’s easy to think we know someone while really only knowing 10% of who they are. Learning about more of their identities can help with your relationship with them, and also might help shape your views on other areas of life. Ultimately, it helps expand the concept of sonder, knowing that people contain far more than we see on the surface, and then it’s awesome to get to see some of those other layers.
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