The Non-Obvious Insights Blog. Non-Obvious Insights
The Non-Obvious Insights Blog.

Dedicated To Helping Readers
Be More Interesting
Since 2004.

As Featured In:

How To Sue A Robot And What The TED Conference Is Really Like

conradmaldives

Should technology be a source for hope or fear? That was the question that seemed to emerge this week as I read several stories offering a recap from the TED Global conference as well as new initiatives in natural language search from Google and a legal debate about how and if people should be able … Read more

Why We Love Fake Stories, Perfume That Smells Like Nothing And My Slides From SXSW

Rio-Londoneiro

I spent the early part of this week at SXSW and one of the themes of my talk (see slides here) was our shifting relationship to the truth. I believe we must choose to venture beyond our own media bubbles and seek out information from unfamiliar sources. This week the largest ever study of fake news found … Read more

Snickers Launches Plan To Sell Candy Bars Based On Emotions

Forget using tech and big data for personalization – Snickers has a better idea … just let people tell you how they are feeling. The new versions of their “hunger bar” (as they are now calling their product) which will come out in June 2018, branded along with the emotion that they might fit with (like Salty&Sweet … Read more

How Netflix Lawyers Delight The Internet By Having A Sense Of Humor

Earlier this week when Netflix sent a surprisingly human cease and desist letter to the folks who decided to create a “Stranger Things” themed popup bar without permission, people offered credit to their lawyers. It seemed to me like a better example of something that happens all too rarely in business: a brand deciding what … Read more

The Mask That Displays Your Emotions In Real Time

Rather than wearing your emotions on your sleeve, a new product called the Hyperface lets you wear them on your face. The idea from London-based designer Eun Kyung Shin is to use a visor-like headset to create a new visual method for communications where we could understand each other more deeply without depending on emotional … Read more

IKEA Creates 72 Regional Versions Of Its Iconic Catalog … Here’s Why

This week IKEA will release its new 2018 catalog, and this timely piece looks at how a small internal army of hundreds of photographers, art directors, copywriters, proofreaders, prop masters, carpenters, photo retouchers, programmers and CGI specialists make the catalog globally relevant. From zooming in on kitchen photos (because Chinese kitchens are smaller than American … Read more

Why Chief Marketing Officers Don’t Last

The tenure of most Chief Marketing Officers is woefully short, but this fact is often dismissed as a symptom of changing leadership or sometimes ineffective results. New research points to the fact that CMOs often suffer from vaguely defined job responsibilities and confusion between whether more strategic thinking or focus on commercialization (or a hybrid) … Read more

Google Launches Beautiful Tool To Teach Kids Online Safety

If you are a parent, one of the things that probably keeps you up at night is how to monitor your kids activity online and keep them safe from scams, cyberbullying or worse. This newly launched tool from Google looks to be a wonderful resource both for parents and also educators to teach kids everything … Read more

What The “Robot Renaissance” Really Means …

Nothing says the future quite like robots, and this week there were plenty of interesting stories of how robots are being used in important, curious, quirky and sometimes terrifying ways. From robots replacing advertising agencies to virtual home tours to an edible robot that could soon crawl through your insides, the stories this week touch … Read more

Glow-In-The-Dark Hair, Secret NYC Trains, Nike’s Anti-Social Ad, and Citibank’s Flawed Strategy

First of all, thank you for indulging me for the past two weeks as I shared my favorite books of the year and also announced my latest book – this week I’m back with my picks for the most interesting and under appreciated stories of the week and they range from a brilliant new ad … Read more

The Non-Obvious Insights Newsletter. Non-Obvious Insights
Layer 97
The Non-Obvious Insights Newsletter
Layer 118

Skip the obvious and anticipate the future with our weekly newsletter. Join over 25,000 subscribers and start receiving the stories (and insights) you’ve been missing.

All Books

#1 WSJ & USA Today Bestselling Author

In addition to Non-Obvious Thinking, Rohit is the author of 10 books on trends, the future of business, building a more human brand with storytelling and how to create a more diverse and inclusive world.

Contact ROHIT

Have a Question or Inquiry?

Just fill out this form, and we’ll get back to you within 24 hours!

Contact

About You

What Are You Contacting Us About*:

Your Message