What You Need to Know Today: October 1
Good afternoon, Early Risers!
Here’s what you need to know
TECH
Guys vs girls on Tinder. Girls take their time, carefully vetting pictures, skimming bios, and only swiping quickly past profiles of guys-with-fish (or so I hear); guys, on the other hand, swipe-right (Tinder-talk for liking someone’s profile) furiously, stopping only on profiles that are so attention grabbing (think: cleavage, yoga pants) they merit a second look, or until their thumbs fall off. These two approaches — though brutal generalizations — prove to be quite accurate. In the early stages, Tinder realized these behaviors (the latter, especially) were devaluing the swipe-right, thus lowering user engagement. To fix this problem, Tinder started using analytics to teach guys the value of the swipe-right. Here’s how they did it. Interesting stuff!
+ If you think Tinder is shallow, wait till you see the app being called the ‘Yelp for people.’
++ Facebook is introducing five big changes to user profiles. (I can’t wait to see what business fan pages do with 7-second looping video-profiles).
Controversial: Take an eye exam on your laptop. I think I need to start a brief section dedicated to ‘They Took Our Jobs.’ What do you think? This story is about a tech startup, called Opternative, that created an online eye exam that claims to be as good as in-person refractive eye exams. And guess what? Optometrists are not happy (which could be a sign that it works). But, if we know anything about self-diagnosing online, it’s usually a bad idea. In any case, I think we should applaud startups like Optnernative, who are trying to improve outdated medical procedures. Optometrists who scoff at the idea of online eye exams are dumb. If they were smart, they would be first in line to fund startups like Opternative. Think about it — If patients can take the refraction test at home, before they enter the doctor’s office, the Optometrist can run any other tests that require in-person assessments (like checking pressures) a lot quicker. Reducing patient wait-time (patients are happy) and increasing the volume of patients the Optometrist can see (the limiting factor in growing a practice). So yeah, if you want less money and disgruntled patients, keep doing what you’re doing.
What do you think? Am I completely wrong on this? Send an email to daily@earlytorise.com. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Or leave a comment below.
CAREER
People with high self-control might actually pay the price for those virtues. ETR editor Craig Ballantyne recently shared some great advice with our team about what makes a clickbait story. He said, “people love articles that allow them to feel superior to others because of things they do AND don’t do (i.e., people that don’t have iPhones love reading about the negatives of iPhones). This is an astute observation. I catch myself all the time getting sucked into reading articles like this. For example this is an article that goes against everything The Daily Brief stands for. It talks about the hidden-burdens of being a go-getter. I encourage you to read this article, but do it with strong side-eye. I hope this gives you some ideas for your own clickbait article headlines.
How to ruin 55-years of great advertising in a week. “In 1960, Volkswagen ran what may have been its most famous ad ever: Lemon. The one-word headline described a 1961 Beetle that would never make it to a dealer. It had a mere blemish, enough for VW engineer Kurt Kroner to reject the vehicle and inspire Julian Koenig, the DDB copywriter partnered with legendary art director Helmut Krone, to pen the famous ad. The copy mentions 159 checkpoints and a willingness to say ‘no’ to cars that don’t cut it. It concludes with the argument that Volkswagens maintain their value better than other automobiles.” That ad launched the industry’s creative revolution and introduced America to what would become one of the most loved and respected brands of all time, says AdWeek. Read the full story on how Volkswagen squandered 55-years of advertising and decades of hard-earned trust and goodwill.
It’s “more than cereal, it’s a cereal experience.” This story will make your blood boil (or you’ll laugh). These hipsters are being attacked by the London press for selling $6 bowls of cereal. CityLab has the full scoop 😉 on Breakfast of Gentrifiers. (Taking selling-the-experience to a bowl new level).
+ Psychics are putting themselves in the path of money: Business lessons from a clairvoyant.
LIFESTYLE
NEW way for athletes to conquer stress. “When athletes learn how to be more aware of their bodies they may also change the workings of their brains and become more resilient to stress, according to a new study on the effects of mindful meditation on brain function in serious athletes.” Read more.
Donald Trump’s tax plan is supported by 7 decades of hard data.
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#NOWYOUKNOW
Just because it’s World Vegetarian Day, doesn’t mean you can’t eat Chipotle for lunch. Just make sure you order like this.
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