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I have often resisted describing myself as a futurist. To me, a futurist was someone who offered an ambitious prediction of the far future — usually focusing on things like energy produced by bio luminescent bacteria or 3D printed houses. Instead, I have spent close to the past decade predicting the near future. Every year, … Read more
Visit this “Data Detox” store to take back control of your online privacy.
Given next week is Halloween – I thought it fitting to share a few related stories this week. The first is about Skittles “Trick Plays” bag which features candies that do not taste like their colors, which is sure to frustrate some die-hard Skittles consumers. Last week I featured Snickers hunger bars and this week I came … Read more
It is sadly rare to see a brand that is truly great at self-disruption but IKEA is one worth watching. They made the bold announcement this week that they would pilot test shipping products via other retailer sites instead of only their own. Combined with its recent acquisition of TaskRabbit and their experimentation with augmented reality, the brand … Read more
The last 50 feet is a problem for automated delivery and I have seen lots of solutions, from Amazon’s parachute drones to Mercedes’ delivery truck with drones. What if you could send the drone to a person instead of to a place? If you combined this with a tracking app on your phone or even … Read more
Just in time for Oktoberfest, Adidas in Germany launched a new pair of sneakers with a durable leather coated in what Adidas is calling “DPBR” coating: durable puke and beer repellent. You have to love the acronym and the idea behind these shoes. They are affectionately called “the München,” after the home of the biggest … Read more
The world is angry and people are holding on to plenty of rage … so it’s perhaps no surprise that “Anger Rooms” are taking off. The reason why is perfectly summed up in this quote from the founder of one of them: “I think that part of what’s going on here is that breaking stuff … Read more
One of the side effects of social awareness among millennials is how many young brides are coming to embrace lab grown diamonds as equally beautiful but more ethically sourced alternatives to “blood” diamonds. It doesn’t hurt that the Gemological Institute of America qualifies these synthetic diamonds as “real diamonds” – but the significant discount may … Read more
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
The bored husband at a shopping mall is one of the most common stereotypes of suburbia and now a Chinese gaming company has a solution that is rapidly going viral. The so-called “husband pod” features seat massages, retro video games and virtual reality experiences. While there are no plans to expand this outside of China … Read more
Non-Obvious Thinking is my latest book about the 4 secrets of becoming a non-obvious thinker - relesaed 10/01/2024.
Rohit Bhargava is a trend curator, founder of the Non-Obvious Company and the 3-time Wall Street Journal bestselling author of ten books.
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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.
