The Most Uplifting Stories of 2023, How To Buy Souvenirs and A Big Announcement About My Next Book | Non-Obvious Insights #399

Dear Newsletterest,

As we reach the final edition of this newsletter for 2023, I'd like to offer my gratitude for being a loyal subscriber. If you have taken time to email your comments on a story this year, thank you. I've learned so much from your insights. And if you haven't connected with me personally yet, please do in 2024. I'd love to hear from you.

This week as a special holiday announcement I also want you to be the first to know that I'm writing a new book! It will be called "Non-Obvious Thinking: How To See What Others Miss" and features brand new techniques, methods and stories to help anyone be more open minded and better anticipate the future. It will be out in May 2024.

Exclusively for my newsletter subscribers, if you'd like to join our advanced reader program and see early drafts of the book in the coming months (as well as get invitations to special behind the scenes events), please join our launch team here >>

Have a safe and energizing last week of the year and I'll see you in 2024!

Stay curious,

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The Most Positive and Uplifting News From 2023 ... In An Infographic

Just in time for the end of the year, the team at Information is Beautiful have put together an infographic with all the "positive trends and admirable global breakthroughs of 2023." On the list is everything from promising new medical treatments to city-wide pronouncements that are likely to make a major impact to improve local environments.

Looking at the range of news stories and worldwide initiatives, you might just start to feel a little better about the future of humanity in the coming year. We still have lots of problems, but browsing this visualization of stories brings hope that we can solve more problems than we create and that the future doesn't have to be a disaster.

Remember, the only future we can make is the one we can imagine. So these are the kinds of stories we should all be reading and sharing as we bring 2023 to a close.

How To Buy Cultural Souvenirs From Your Vacation In An Ethical Way

On a recent trip to Australia, I reached out to an local tattoo artist for a session. After learning it was inappropriate for someone without a native background to get an indigenous design, I opted for one that was a mix of Australian and Indian patterns instead. This is just one of the ways a Condé Nast article recommends to avoid unintentionally exploiting or appropriating a culture that you visit on your next trip - a timely reminder as many of you may be taking some type of holiday next week.

Aside from always choosing to buy directly from native artists instead of middle men, the article also suggests that when you bring a piece of a culture home, it becomes your responsibility to share the true story behind it. To prepare, make a note of the place, people and backstory details of what you bring back so you can retell its story authentically.

Souvenirs should be more than just proof that you've been somewhere. They can also be powerful tools to help celebrate the people and cultures you encountered as well as help others to discover and support them directly. That's true whether you have that experience inked on your arm or hang it on your wall.

Inside the New York Times Big Bet On Gaming

The team of editors at the New York Times that's currently breaking new ground isn't one that you'd expect. Gaming has become such a major surging area for the media company that some staffers believe the organization itself is quickly morphing into "a gaming company that happens to offer news." The brand has long been associated with games through it's popular crossword puzzles, but expansion into online gaming plus their acquisition of the hugely popular daily Wordle game has propelled them to another level.

The number of daily users for the app has more than doubled over the past year, and their in-house team of puzzle masters and gaming editors has become one of the most important at the company. The obvious question is whether they can convert any of those gamers to become subscribers. Still the growing focus of the venerable media brand into this new media area will be a shift other news organizations will likely be watching closely in the coming year.

Pizza Hut Celebrates Delivery Drivers With A Free Pizza Doormat

During the holiday season last year, Pizza Hut was navigating a big shortage of delivery drivers and making quick moves to address the problem. This year, that experience inspired a clever new holiday campaign idea where they are helping homeowners to offer a gift of a free pizza to their delivery drivers via a holiday doormat with a QR code for a free pizza.

There aren't many campaigns that celebrate the delivery workers who bring us our food and deliver the rest of our gifts. If you can find a day when these doormats aren't sold out already (I haven't had much luck unfortunately), then definitely pick one up and try to do something nice for the delivery people in your life.

How Sound Boxes Are Accelerating Digital Payments Across India

Digital payments are easier than ever in India, but what if you're a street vendor who accepts them but doesn't read or write? How could you confirm you've been paid and someone isn't just trying to trick you? For years this has been a barrier to adoption of digital payment, but now a smart solution involving low cost digital speakers that can audibly confirm when payments have been made to help prevent fraud and streamline daily transactions might be shifting the entire market.

These "sound boxes" are not only helping to accelerate the pace of adoption for digital payments, they are also offering a lucrative revenue stream for financial services companies in India who don't make a cut off all transactions and instead must make up the difference elsewhere. For consumers, their experience with street vendors can be faster and more secure. It's a product that truly does seem to offer a win for nearly every party involved.

Even More Non-Obvious Stories ...

Every week I always curate more stories than I'm able to explore in detail. Instead of skipping those stories, I started to share them in this section so you can skim the headlines and click on any that spark your interest:

How are these stories curated?

Every week I spend hours going through hundreds of stories in order to curate this email. Looking for a speaker to inspire your team to become non-obvious thinkers through a keynote or workshop? Watch my new 2024 speaking reel on YouTube >>

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The Most Uplifting Stories of 2023, How To Buy Souvenirs and A Big Announcement About My Next Book | Non-Obvious Insights #399

The Most Positive and Uplifting News From 2023 ... In An Infographic

How To Buy Cultural Souvenirs From Your Vacation In An Ethical Way

Inside the New York Times Big Bet On Gaming

Pizza Hut Celebrates Delivery Drivers With A Free Pizza Doormat

How Sound Boxes Are Accelerating Digital Payments Across India

Even More Non-Obvious Stories ...

Older messages

The Truth About Nutmeg, Netflix Secret Viewing Data and What Nations Have The Most Soft Power In 2024 | Non-Obvious Insights #398

The Sales Secrets of Art Traders, How Obesity Drugs Are Transforming Travel and the Upside of Cutting Down Trees | Non-Obvious Insights #397

The Biggest Tech Innovations of 2024, Sports Journalism Scandals and Why Ancient Statues Have Broken Noses | Non-Obvious Insights #396

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Being Too Beautiful, Japan's Luxury Beer, Obnoxious Airline Passengers and Why Studios Kill Films | Non-Obvious Insights #394

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