Sunday, July 31, 2016

Narratives keep the feeling going

Our feelings (anger, shame, delight) appear almost instantly, and, left alone, they don’t last very long.

But if we invent a narrative around an event or a person, we can keep the feeling going for a very long time.

Pavlov (ring a bell?) helped us see that a dog could learn to associate one thing with another. Humans are way better than this than dogs.

If you’re not happy with the feeling, try dropping the narrative. After all, it’s your narrative, the story you have to keep telling yourself again and again, that’s causing the feeling to return.

       


from Seth Godin's Blog on marketing, tribes and respect http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/171443306/0/sethsblog~Narratives-keep-the-feeling-going.html

Saturday, July 30, 2016

Empathy is difficult

If you believed what he believes, you'd do precisely what he's doing.

Think about that for a second. People act based on the way they see the world. Every single time.

Understanding someone else's story is hard, a job that's never complete, but it's worth the effort.

       


from Seth Godin's Blog on marketing, tribes and respect http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/171032598/0/sethsblog~Empathy-is-difficult.html

Friday, July 29, 2016

Microsoft awards hardware startup ENTy the 2016 Imagine Cup

ENTy-pose The festivities have wrapped for Microsoft’s Imagine Cup, a global competition among students and young people to create new software and devices. The winner this year was ENTy, a polished and highly practical hardware solution for tracking posture, helping with diagnosis and possibly treatment of diseases that affect balance. Read More

from Microsoft – TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2016/07/29/microsoft-awards-hardware-startup-enty-the-2016-imagine-cup/?ncid=rss

Weekly Roundup: Verizon buys Yahoo, WikiLeaks publishes DNC emails and Skully crashes

yahoo-verizon Yahoo finally found a buyer, Mobileye and Tesla broke up, and some of the largest tech companies reported quarterly earnings. These are the biggest tech stories of the week. Read More

from Amazon – TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2016/07/29/weekly-roundup-verizon-buys-yahoo-wikileaks-publishes-dnc-emails-and-skully-crashes/?ncid=rss

Just because you're right...

You may be right, but that doesn't mean that people will care. Or pay attention. Or take action.

Just because you're right, doesn't mean they're going to listen.

It takes more than being right to earn attention and action.

       


from Seth Godin's Blog on marketing, tribes and respect http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/170581694/0/sethsblog~Just-because-youre-right.html

Thursday, July 28, 2016

Amazon shatters earnings expectations

Amazon, the US e-commerce and cloud computing giant is said to hire 1,000 people in Poland. The company already hires almost 5,000 people in Poland and has service centers in Gdansk, Wroclaw and Poznan ON 14 April 2016. (Photo by Jaap Arriens/NurPhoto via Getty Images) Amazon shattered expectations when it reported second quarter earnings after the bell on Thursday. Adjusted earnings per share came in at $1.78, when Wall Street was forecasting $1.11. Amazon also beat revenue predictions, posting $30.4 billion for the quarter when analysts were expecting $29.55 billion. The company saw a significant increase in sales and profit from the same period last year.… Read More

from Amazon – TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2016/07/28/amazon-shatters-earnings-expectations/?ncid=rss

Minecraft support for Oculus Rift is finally almost here

1 Oculus Minecraft After months of teasing, Microsoft is finally almost ready to give Minecraft Windows 10 Edition Beta users a taste of VR. In a blog post celebrating the first anniversary of Minecraft Windows 10 Edition Beta, Microsoft announced that support for the Oculus Rift will be coming “in the next few weeks” as a free update to existing users. People who want to get in on the action… Read More

from Microsoft – TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2016/07/28/minecraft-support-for-oculus-rift-is-finally-almost-here/?ncid=rss

My Plantronics Savi 740 just died…so I bought another Eric D. Brown

Plantronics Savi 740I’ve written before about my love of for the Plantronics Savi 740 (see here and here).

Earlier this week, my beloved 740 died.  I’m not quite sure what happened but it just stopped working.  Mind you, it was only 4+ years old…which is something you really don’t see much of these days.

For a few minutes, I looked around at different models but Plantronics seems to have kept the 740 as their base model with only minor changes (mostly on how the earpiece is configured). I also looked at a competing product from Jabra (the Jabra 9470) but just couldn’t bring myself to move away from a device that has worked for me for 4+ years.

So…I ordered another one. It arrived today and I plugged it in, let it charge and went right back to using the best multi-device headset on the market.

If you multiple devices (desk phone, computer/skype/softphone and cell phone), check out the Plantronics Savi 740…you won’t be disappointed.



from Eric D. Brown http://ericbrown.com/plantronics-savi-740.htm
http://ericbrown.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/savi_w745-276x300.png

August’s Smart Lock gets Alexa functionality

August Smart Lock - HomeKit enabled Hero Alexa continues its unremitting march across the world’s different with the addition of the August Smart Lock to its list of compatible products. The hardware startup is bringing voice control to its smart home product courtesy of Amazon’s friendly AI. The functionality is arriving for both the first and second generation of the Smart Lock by way of the Alexa app, letting users… Read More

from Amazon – TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2016/07/28/august-alexa/?ncid=rss

Your best shot

Should you put all your best material up front?

Later seems really far away. Now is far more urgent.

But what if it's a marathon, not a sprint?

A fast start is often overestimated. If you're truly capable of delivering world-class work later (as opposed to merely stalling), you might discover that in a world of quick hits, your ability to keep showing up with work that gets better and better is precisely what the market wants from you.

The people who are swayed by the fast start and the shiny new thing aren't going to stick with you for very long, are they?

Promises, kept.

       


from Seth Godin's Blog on marketing, tribes and respect http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/170162352/0/sethsblog~Your-best-shot.html

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Microsoft Pix uses AI to help your iPhone take the best pictures

pix-compare Microsoft Pix is looking to become your new go-to camera app on iPhone. The new iOS offering from Microsoft’s mobile team employs some artificial intelligence smarts to help make sure you take the best pictures, by eliminating human error through batch captures and by enhancing image color, exposure and other variables that can make the difference between drab and dramatic for your… Read More

from Microsoft – TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2016/07/27/microsoft-pix/?ncid=rss

Amazon debuts a dedicated shop for Kickstarter products

Funding a project on Kickstarter is like placing a bet – will the project ever work? Will it ship? Or will you just be out a chunk of change? That said, the crowdfunding platform has enabled a number of companies to get off the ground, including those that range from gadgets and electronics to toys and home goods, among other things. Today, Amazon announced it’s teaming up with… Read More

from Amazon – TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2016/07/27/amazon-debuts-a-dedicated-shop-for-kickstarter-products/?ncid=rss

Awair air quality monitor teams up with Nest, Amazon Echo and IFTTT

bitfinderawair Awair, the IoT product that sits in the home and measures the quality of your air, has today announced integrations with a number of other platforms to improve the experience. The company behind Aawir, Bitfinder, has teamed up with Nest, the Amazon Echo, and IFTTT to offer users new ways to interact with the data gathered from air quality monitor and more seamlessly automate their other… Read More

from Amazon – TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2016/07/27/awair-air-quality-monitor-teams-up-with-nest-amazon-echo-and-ifttt/?ncid=rss

Profit and loss

One of the easiest ways to build a positive personal P&L is to re-establish your monthly expenses at a dramatically lower level.

If you cut your burn rate to the bone, you suddenly will find the freedom to say 'no' to work that drains you and doesn't build your reputation. And perhaps you can say goodbye to the stress that might be paralyzing you.

Create like an optimist. Spend like a pessimist.

       


from Seth Godin's Blog on marketing, tribes and respect http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/169717286/0/sethsblog~Profit-and-loss.html

Tuesday, July 26, 2016

Deep learning software knows that a rose is a rose is a rosa rubiginosa

flower-project-diagram We can’t all be botanists, unfortunately, but most of us do have smartphones, and that may be a start. A computer vision system built by Microsoft Research Asia can identify thousands of species of flowers with nothing but a picture. Read More

from Microsoft – TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2016/07/26/deep-learning-software-knows-that-a-rose-is-a-rose-is-a-rosa-rubiginosa/?ncid=rss

The Xbox One S gets bundled ‘Madden’ and ‘Halo’

Xbox-One-S-Halo-Collection-Bundle_Large Sure the plain ole Xbox got a price drop down to $249 ahead of the release of the console’s svelte new configuration, but Microsoft’s still looking to lure in bargain hunters who’ve been eying the 40-percent slimmer new console. This morning the company showed off two Xbox One S bundles, due out a few weeks after the system’s August 2nd debut, each featuring one of… Read More

from Microsoft – TechCrunch https://techcrunch.com/2016/07/26/xbox-one-s-bundle/?ncid=rss