Why We Still Need Conferences and Convention Centers
Gathering the smartest minds in a profession together face to face for future-shifting conversations inspires hope. It is undeniably important.
Travel & Tourism
The Non-Obvious Insights Show – Episode #233
This week’s stories will include desperate airlines selling in-flight meals online, the LA Olympic committee’s brilliantly inclusive new logo, how to use stupidity to get a promotion, a conversation with Silicon Valley’s last ethical thinker and how a Japanese rock star and Lady Gaga are showing us the future of virtual performances. This Week’s Stories: … Read more
Today’s Perfect Tourism Campaign: Send Your Virtual Scream To Iceland
There are many things these days that might make you want to scream out loud – but it’s not always easy to find a place to do it. Now, in a timely new campaign for Iceland tourism, you can send your most heartfelt scream to them and the Icelanders will release that scream in nature for … Read more
5 Non-Obvious Megatrends Changing Our World In 2020
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
How Travel Inspires Better Thinking
It was a delight this week to see my friend Philippe Brown interviewed about the work he does to create luxury travel experiences for his clients. His insights on the importance of crafting the anticipation of travel, AI-enhanced experiences, using video game design to create a dramatic arc for travel and the role of behavioral … Read more
Robot Layoffs, Disappearing Street Food & Asymmetrical Jeans | Non-Obvious Insights 01.17.19
Japanese Hotel Has First Round Of Robot Layoffs I first wrote about the Henna hotel, staffed entirely by robots, more than two years ago. It seems that the experimental property in Japan has discovered a hopeful truth: people sometimes prefer people. And so it may also be the first example in history of robots being … Read more
The 2018 Non-Obvious Book Awards – Top 50 Business Books Of The Year
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
Amy Winehouse And How Dead Artists Might Come Back On Tour As Holograms
This week the father of Amy Winehouse announced a world tour in 2019 featuring a “hologram” of his daughter on stage. A digital avatar of Winehouse, who died in 2011 from alcohol poisoning at the age of 27, will “perform” some of her most popular songs in a concert accompanied by a live band, real backup … Read more
Binge Rooms: The Ultimate Immersive TV Experience
Back when I worked at a marketing agency I remember those times when I would see a campaign so inspired it would immediately make me wish I had thought of it. This new effort from FCB New York is one of those envy-inducing efforts. The goal is to position LG TVs as the ones that … Read more
How To Sue A Robot And What The TED Conference Is Really Like
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
