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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Another great segment from the recent “Founders” episode about Sam Walton is related to finding ways to hire creative people. More specifically, how do you determine the creativity of someone during an interview? Here’s a bit from the show:
One of the best ways to find creative people is to ask a simple question.
What books do you like?* I’ve never met a creative person in my life that didn’t respond with enthusiasm to a question about reading habits. Which books people read is not as important as the simple fact that they read at all. I’ve known many talented engineers who hated science fiction but loved, say, books on bird watching.*
A blatant but often accurate generalization. People who are curious and passionate read. People who are apathetic and indifferent don’t.
I’ve found this to be true in my life as well, but he added an interesting twist about the specific books not mattering, and he’s right. I’ve never thought about it that way, but I find creative people are almost always avid readers, but their choice of books varies wildly. It’s simply that creative people tend to be eager to fill themselves with the creativity of others, and books are a great way to do that.
When you ask someone “what books do you like?”, the answer itself is relatively unimportant, with the real insight simply being the excitement with which the answer is delivered.
Another great segment from the recent “Founders” episode about Sam Walton is related to finding ways to hire creative people. More specifically, how do you determine the creativity of someone during an interview? Here’s a bit from the show:
One of the best ways to find creative people is to ask a simple question.
What books do you like?* I’ve never met a creative person in my life that didn’t respond with enthusiasm to a question about reading habits. Which books people read is not as important as the simple fact that they read at all. I’ve known many talented engineers who hated science fiction but loved, say, books on bird watching.*
A blatant but often accurate generalization. People who are curious and passionate read. People who are apathetic and indifferent don’t.
I’ve found this to be true in my life as well, but he added an interesting twist about the specific books not mattering, and he’s right. I’ve never thought about it that way, but I find creative people are almost always avid readers, but their choice of books varies wildly. It’s simply that creative people tend to be eager to fill themselves with the creativity of others, and books are a great way to do that.
When you ask someone “what books do you like?”, the answer itself is relatively unimportant, with the real insight simply being the excitement with which the answer is delivered.
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