Skip to Main Content

The non-obvious blog

banner image

Dedicated To Helping Readers
Be More Interesting
Since 2004.

webby_awards_logo
1200px-AdAge_logo.svg
harward-business-review-logo
wall-street-journal-logo
post thumbnail for 7 Tips for Making Your Website Non-Obvious (and Interesting)

18 2025 July

7 Tips for Making Your Website Non-Obvious (and Interesting)

Updating a website is one of my least favorite things to do as an entrepreneur. It just takes so much time. But if you’ve ever...

Read Now
post thumbnail for The Non-Obvious Book of the Week: The Problems in the Art World by Brainard Carey

01 2025 July

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...

Read Now
post thumbnail for How One Museum Is Reinventing the Way Collections Are Shown

30 2025 June

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....

Read Now
post thumbnail for Inside the Relentlessly Cheerful Campaign of Zohran Mamdani

27 2025 June

Inside the Relentlessly Cheerful Campaign of Zohran Mamdani

Amidst all the coverage of what some news outlets described as a  “political earthquake​” with relative newcomer Zohran Mamdani defeating longtime NY politician Andrew Cuomo...

Read Now
post thumbnail for The Perfect Astronaut of the Future Is Changing—Here’s Why It Matters

26 2025 June

The Perfect Astronaut of the Future Is Changing—Here’s Why It Matters

In the late 1950s, NASA recruited 11 men aged 25-48 for a unique experiment that has today been mostly forgotten. The participants, ​known to history...

Read Now
post thumbnail for New Event Planner Survey Suggests Celebrity Keynote Speakers May Be a Waste of Money

25 2025 June

New Event Planner Survey Suggests Celebrity Keynote Speakers May Be a Waste of Money

I have “shared the stage” with Jay Leno. That’s industry lingo for saying that I was the second (much less expensive) keynote speaker at an...

Read Now
post thumbnail for The Non-Obvious Book of the Week: The Power of Onlyness by Nilofer Merchant

24 2025 June

The Non-Obvious Book of the Week: The Power of Onlyness by Nilofer Merchant

Starting with her own powerful story of standing up for herself, this book from author and thinker Nilofer Merchant is a play-by-play guide on how...

Read Now
post thumbnail for Denmark’s Radical Archaeology Experiment Is Paying Off in Gold and Knowledge

23 2025 June

Denmark’s Radical Archaeology Experiment Is Paying Off in Gold and Knowledge

It is a beach cliché to see random idiots with metal detectors and sifters trying to find everything from loose change to diamond earrings. Using...

Read Now
post thumbnail for The Dangerous Fiction of the AI Reality Filter

20 2025 June

The Dangerous Fiction of the AI Reality Filter

It seems like the perfect hack. A series of prompts that anyone can input into a generative AI tool like ChatGPT in order to ensure...

Read Now
post thumbnail for A Lesson In Marketing Strategy From the Cheetos Shape Hunt

19 2025 June

A Lesson In Marketing Strategy From the Cheetos Shape Hunt

Searching for Cheetos that are shaped like anything is a fairly idiotic way to spend your time. It’s also surprisingly popular despite its idiocy. The...

Read Now
post thumbnail for The Non-Obvious Book of the Week: All the Living and All the Dead by Hayley Campbell

17 2025 June

The Non-Obvious Book of the Week: All the Living and All the Dead by Hayley Campbell

The first time I read All the Living and All the Dead, it was an easy pick for the Most Original book winner in the 2022...

Read Now
post thumbnail for How To See Through a Manipulated Headline (A Retailwire Case Study)

16 2025 June

How To See Through a Manipulated Headline (A Retailwire Case Study)

One thing I often talk about in this newsletter is honing our media literacy. This week I found a perfect case study to illustrate how...

Read Now
post thumbnail for The Secret of Optimism and the New Peruvian Airport

13 2025 June

The Secret of Optimism and the New Peruvian Airport

Earlier this week when I arrived in Lima, it was in their brand new airport that is less than two weeks old. People in the city had...

Read Now
post thumbnail for The Consequences of Being An Asshole While Flying

12 2025 June

The Consequences of Being An Asshole While Flying

Sometimes life seems to offer sadly few consequences for being an asshole. And rarely are they irreversible. Unless you happen to exhibit that bad behavior...

Read Now
+
+