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Recently, I had the chance to stay at the W Hotel in Times Square – and they had an interesting new text messaging service designed to inform guests about anything from a fax coming in, to confirmation of a dinner reservation. Just text "W Insider" to a special number to get set up. It got … Read more
I love Firefox. From its signature "tabbed browsing" to its open source heritage – Firefox has experienced huge growth thanks to the legions of brand believers who have spread the word about Firefox. The Firefox brand has become a badge of honor – just as most graphic designers would never willingly choose to use a … Read more
The phenomenon of Internet users sharing their opinions about products and services online is well into the mainstream now, with large etailers like Amazon.com encouraging customer reviews, sites like TripAdvisor asking travellers to review lodging in destinations around the world and ratings systems for buyers to evaluate sellers on sites like ebay and others. Online, … Read more
Google, by virtue of the sheer volume of their daily visitors has built into their site what might be the greatest viral marketing tool ever … their corporate logo. And on occasions outside of the standard American holidays, they often use the logo to promote their cause, product, holiday or scientific endeavour of the day. … Read more
Like most other parents of a one and a half year old, my house is filled with books. Picture books, soft books, waterproof books, popup books, touch and feel books, or Dr. Seuss books. You name the type of kids book, and we probably have one lying around somewhere. But even in this home library … Read more
One of the biggest hurdles that online publishers have faced in trying to make money from content has been the lack of a single standard for micropayments. While services like Paypal have made strides in popularizing a form of digital cash, micropayments of less than 1 cent still remain impossible online. As a result, sites … Read more
I’m in San Francisco working on a client project where we are targeting the business to business audience of IT Managers and CIOs. It is an interesting audience category because of the relative importance of influencers and distribution of the IT purchasing decision across many levels of an enterprise. As such, it’s also a particularly … Read more
A recent print ad from Sun about the Fire X4100 server is modeled on a Playboy centerfold spread and features images of the server and quotes on the data sheet such as "I’m petite and powerful with plenty of room for cables." The ad drives users online to www.sun.com/sweetdreams as a landing page to learn … Read more
Google has mastered the power of the Beta release. They have equated the term "Beta" with the idea of exclusivity so strongly that to be invited by Google to become a Beta tester of a service is the ultimate sign you are a technology insider. Other online services themselves have Beta testers – and in … Read more
I came across a print ad in Wired Magazine the other day for Rackspace, a provider of managed hosting solutions, and the entire ad was devoted to their tagline "Fanatical Support is the difference." Intrigued at a campaign which seemed hinged on a word that typically evokes a negative reaction (fanatical), I read further. They … 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.
