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Based on this combination of quantitative and qualitative data, here is a partial list of some of the most popular stories of the year, based on what my readers shared.
For the past ten years I have gone through an annual ritual of publishing a book about trends that describe our shifting culture and business environment. Over the past decade, my team and I have identified and written about well over 100 trends covering everything from the rise of the #metoo movement (a trend we … Read more
It should be a basic human right to remember the past with fondness as being better than it actually was. Unfortunately, for today’s generation of young people, this may already be impossible. “Can one ever transcend one’s youth if it remains perpetually present?” asks author Kate Eichhorn. As they grow up online, an underappreciated side … Read more
Every year my team and I read and review hundreds of books in the process of curating ideas to incorporate in our annual list of trends. Beyond using those books to inspire how we see the world, we also select our favorites each year to feature as part of the Non-Obvious Book Awards program. For … Read more
The Queen-inspired film Bohemian Rhapsody film was poorly rated by critics, yet became a big box office hit. Earlier this year, the same thing happened to Hugh Jackman’s The Greatest Show musical film about the life of PT Barnum. Why are critics so out of touch with what real people like? And why do we love the … Read more
Last week a small army of cruise ship passengers disrupted a funeral in the tiny Norwegian city of Honningsvåg and took pictures of the mourners. According to The Guardian, Barcelona is crowded with careless tourists who overrun destinations and fail to respect the culture. A political story of a Supreme Court nominee seeming to ignore a handshake and walk away this … Read more
The Washington Post story this week revealing the “previously unreported ratings system” used by Facebook to rate the trustworthiness of users on a scale of zero to 1 has all the usual components of an outrage-worthy announcement. How dare Facebook think they can rate all of us? What if they abuse this system or someone hacks it? … Read more
Last week Netflix announced that they would be stopping their long standing policy of asking customers to vote on early pilots for programs to see if they have enough critical mass and audience to continue. In the same week, at a television industry event a Netflix executive shared that Netflix finds demographics to be useless … Read more
If you are a jerk to your Uber driver, you’re probably a jerk. For some time the ride sharing platform has allowed drivers to rank you, but this week they announced that you will now be able to see that feedback from drivers if you get the same feedback twice in a month. This is … Read more
It is hard to imagine the pressure a chef who has been given 3 coveted stars in the Michelin dining guide for 20 straight years must feel. For the first time, a renowned chef is asking to be let off the hook. Sébastien Bras wants “to be allowed to cook excellent food away from the frenzy of … Read more
Non-Obvious is my #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling book about how to see what others miss and anticipate the future.
Rohit Bhargava is a trend curator, founder of the Non-Obvious Company and the 3-time Wall Street Journal bestselling author of eight books.
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Rohit is the author of 9 books on trends, the future of business, building a more human brand with storytelling and how to create a more diverse and inclusive world.
