Shows
Nir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainHow to Become an Indistractable Reader - Nir And FarNir’s Note: This guest post is by Nicholas Hutchison, founder of BookThinkers and author of Rise of the Reader.
When I was growing up, you couldn’t pay me to read a book about self-help or business. Now, I read between 60 to 80 books every year.
A good non-fiction book is the distilled knowledge of years of research and insight and costs just a few bucks. Why wouldn’t you take advantage of such a cheap, efficient way to learn lessons that could change your life without having to do the work or live the experienc...
2024-06-1009 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainHow to Overcome Anxiety Forever - Nir And FarExperiencing fear without harm lessens feelings of anxiety.
Nir’s Note: The following essay is adapted from a chapter in Get Better at Anything: 12 Maxims for Mastery by Scott Young. Scott is the author of Ultralearning and a TedX speaker renowned for his “MIT Challenge,” where he learned 4 year’s worth of college-level computer science in just 12 months..
You can read the Nir And Far blog post on: How to Overcome Anxiety Forever https://www.nirandfar.com/overcoming-anxiety/
Nir And Far, a podcast about business, behaviour and the brain by Nir Eyal. If you enjoy th...
2024-05-1307 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainThe Magic of Now, Not How - Nir And FarNir’s Note: Noah Kagan is the Chief Sumo at AppSumo and runs a YouTube Channel with over 1 million subscribers. His new book, Million Dollar Weekend, is out now.
Airbnb began as a weekend project when the founders sent an email offering their living-room air mattress to hotelless attendees of a major design conference. Facebook started when Mark Zuckerberg built a clone of ConnectU over the weekend and told everyone in his dorm about it. Even Microsoft began with Bill Gates making software quickly for a company in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
You can read the Nir A...
2024-03-1108 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainMake Time for Procrastination in 2023 - Nir And FarNir’s Note: This guest post is by Bryan Gentry who writes at Idea Link about finding productivity and satisfaction in life and work. Follow him on Twitter at @brygentry for more insights and occasional dad jokes.
If you haven’t finalized your New Year’s resolutions, consider committing to binge-watch a show on a regular basis.
You can read the Nir And Far blog post on: Make Time for Procrastination in 2023 https://www.nirandfar.com/make-time-for-procrastination/
Nir And Far, a podcast about business, behaviour and the brain by Nir Eyal. If you enjoy...
2023-02-1321 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the Brain3 Reasons Why Subscription Businesses Fail - Nir And FarNir’s Note: This article originally appeared in The Harvard Business Review
Subscriptions are hot (and not).
Companies and investors love subscription business models since they generate recurring revenue that translates to predictable cash flow. The more money a company is likely to make in perpetuity, the higher its share price.
From 2012 to 2019, the subscription economy grew more than 300%, and 75% of companies selling directly to consumers said they would offer subscription services by the following year.
You can read the Nir And Far blog post on: 3 Reasons Why Subscription Businesses Fail http...
2022-11-0748 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainHow to Get the Most Out of Your Calendar-Nir&FarIt doesn’t so much matter what you do with your time; rather, success is measured by whether you did what you planned to do. It’s fine to watch a video, scroll social media, daydream, or take a nap, as long as that’s what you planned to do.
To create a weekly timeboxed schedule, you’ll need to decide how much time you want to spend on each domain of your life. How much time do you want to spend on yourself, on important relationships, and on your work? Note that “work” doesn’t exclusively mean paid labo...
2020-08-1705 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainCan't Kick a Bad Habit? You're Probably Doing It Wrong-Nir&FarI had just finished giving a speech on building habits when a woman in the audience exclaimed, "You teach how to create habits, but that's not my problem. I'm fat!" The frustration in her voice echoed throughout the room. "My problem is stopping bad habits. That's why I'm fat. Where does that leave me?"
I deeply sympathized with the woman. "I was once clinically obese," I told her. She stared at my lanky frame and waited for me to explain. How did I hack my habits?
You can read the Nir And Far blog post...
2020-08-1007 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainLearn How To Avoid Distraction In A World That Is Full Of It-Nir&FarDistraction is a curse of modern life. Between our cell phones and computer screens, not to mention our kids and coworkers, our attention is constantly being diverted. It can become difficult to focus on any one task—or any one person—for very long.
If anything, the world is becoming a more distracting place. Technology is becoming more pervasive and persuasive. But hoping tech companies change their ways and your boss finally learns to respect your time may take longer than you’re willing to wait. Better to equip yourself to manage distraction with strategies you can implem...
2020-08-0319 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainWhat You Need to Know When Visualizing Your Goals-Nir&FarNir’s Note: This guest post is written by Dr. Todd Snyder. Dr. Snyder is a Psychologist and Productivity Coach at ToddSnyderCoaching.com
The world is full of self-help myths and half-truths. One bit of folk psychology that won’t seem to die is the idea that we can “visualize” our path to success by imagining the life we want. In fact, studies find visualizing our personal goals as if we’ve already achieved them can hurt our chances of ever making them a reality.
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: What You N...
2020-06-2209 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainIf Tech Is So Distracting, How Do Slack Employees Stay So Focused?-Nir&FarHow Slack’s culture kills distraction by building psychological safety, telling employees to go home, and using lots and lots of emojis.
If there’s one technology that embodies the unreasonable demands of the always-on work culture that pervades so many companies today, it’s Slack. The group-chat app can make users feel tethered to their devices, often at the expense of doing more important tasks.
Over 10 million people log on to Slack every day. Slack’s own employees, of course, use Slack—they use it a lot. And if distraction is caused by technology, then they...
2020-06-0810 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainHow To Disarm Internal Triggers and Improve Focus-Nir&FarWhile we can’t control the feelings and thoughts that pop into our heads, we can control what we do with them. Research of smoking cessation programs performed by Dr. Jonathan Bricker, of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, suggests we shouldn’t keep telling ourselves to stop thinking about an urge; instead, we must learn better ways to cope. The same applies to other distractions like checking our phones too much, eating junk food, or excessive shopping. Rather than trying to fight the urge, we need new methods to handle intrusive thoughts.
You can read the Nir...
2020-06-0106 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainHow to Design for 'Normals'-Nir&FarNote: This post originally appeared in Techcrunch. I’m proud to have co-authored this post with Katy Fike, PhD. Dr. Fike is a gerontologist, systems engineer and Partner at Innovate50, a consulting firm helping companies create products and services for the 50+ market
As web watchers, entrepreneurs, and investors search for the next big thing, they’d be wise to focus on innovations that can be easily adopted by technology novices. A recent string of companies, including Groupon and Pinterest, have found success outside the early-adopter digerati by building products simple enough to be used by just about anyon...
2020-05-2506 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainHow to be More Productive and Focus (+ Free Schedule Maker)-Nir&FarMany people bristle at the idea of keeping a schedule. They don’t want restrictions and prefer the freedom to tackle things as they come up.
While an open day is wonderful on a vacation when you have nothing to do but relax, vacations eventually end. In the real world, there is work to finish, people to meet, and a family to nurture.
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: How to be More Productive and Focus (+ Free Schedule Maker) https://www.nirandfar.com/schedule-maker/
Nir & Far, a podcast about bu...
2020-05-1828 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainHow Bad is Tech Use for Kids, Really?-Nir&FarIt feels impossible to tell if the technology our kids use should be celebrated or feared. A few years ago I wrote a book, Hooked, about how technology can be used to change our habits. I intended the book to teach startups how to build healthy habits, but now I’m not so sure. With headlines telling us technology is hijacking our brains, I started second guessing the impact of our devices, especially when it comes to our kids.
How alarmed should we be? Is this a crisis or a fear frenzy? I wanted to understand what th...
2020-05-1116 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainHow Apps Can Shape Your Future Self-Nir&FarNir's Note: This guest post is written by Jeni Fisher, a London-based Googler who consults startups on applying behavioral insights to achieve business and user goals.
Early on in my role as an Apps partner manager at Google Play, I was drawn towards the Self-Improvement apps space because their persuasive influence transcends screen-level interactions. Their mission is to persuade people to take real-life actions that lead to long-term behavior change and ultimately shape how they live their lives.
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: How Apps Can Shape Your Future Self ht...
2020-05-0413 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainHere's How Fortnite 'Hooked' Millions-Nir&FarNir’s Note: This guest post is by Patricio O’Gorman, technology consultant and professor at Universidad de Palermo.
If you have kids, you’ve likely heard about Fortnite. The wildly popular online battle game has amassed over 125 million players and hosts more than 3 million concurrent players. The game “has brought in more revenue in a single month than any other game of its kind,” according to industry watchers, grossing over $1 billion so far this year.
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: Here's How Fortnite 'Hooked' Millions-Nir&Far https://www.nirandfar.com/fortni...
2020-04-2707 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainHere Are The 4 Simple Introspection Steps That Will Boost Self Awareness-Nir&FarWhen faced with a challenge, where do you find the insight to move your life forward? Last year, over fifteen million books were sold in the self-help genre.1 That doesn’t account for the videos, courses, and workshops that fuel this multibillion-dollar industry. Include business and diet books, and that number balloons to over $1.7 billion spent on advice-seeking books.2 But there’s a secret the gurus don’t want you to know—many of the answers to life’s most important questions can be found inside of you, for free. It's called introspection.
You can read the Nir and Fa...
2020-04-2015 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainThis is What Most People Get Wrong About Willpower-Nir&FarYou come home after a long day of work and you immediately curl yourself up on the couch and binge the latest Netflix craze for hours, while you scroll and scroll through your social media feeds and snack on potato chips even though you're "on a diet." You look around and see that the garbage needs to be taken out, laundry needs to be folded, and your child's toys are strewn across the living room floor. The list of productive things you could be doing seem endless, yet you can't seem to find the willpower to peel yourself off...
2020-04-1307 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainIs Tech Ruining Kids? How to Safely Manage Screen Time-Nir&FarOur fears about what technology and smartphones are doing to our kids has reached a fever pitch. Articles with headlines like “Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?” and “The Risk Of Teen Depression And Suicide Is Linked To Smartphone Use” have, ironically enough, gone viral online.
“It’s not an exaggeration to describe iGen as being on the brink of the worst mental-health crisis in decades,” writes Dr. Jean Twenge in The Atlantic. “Much of this deterioration can be traced to their phones.”
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: Is Tech Ruining Kids? How to Safel...
2020-04-0610 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainFundamental Attribution Error: Why You Make Terrible Life Choices-Nir&FarNir’s Note: This post part of a series on cognitive bias co-authored by Nir Eyal and illustrated by Lakshmi Mani. Discover other reasons you make terrible life choices like confirmation bias, hyperbolic discounting and distinction bias.
There I was, sitting in a packed movie theatre. I waited two years for this sequel and I’ve got enough popcorn and diet soda to last me a full three hours. Fifteen minutes into the movie, the hero and villain are facing off for the first time when a lady bursts into the theater. Trying to find a seat, she awkwa...
2020-03-3008 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the Brain[Focus Guide] How To Make The Most Out Of Your Time And Your Life-Nir&FarPsychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi wrote that “few things are sadder than encountering a person who knows exactly what he should do, yet cannot muster enough energy to do it.”1 Why don't we do what we know needs to get done? Why is it so hard to concentrate and finish what we start? In our digital age, is there any hope of “mustering enough energy” to stay focused on what really matters so we can live the lives we want? In this article, you’ll learn tools and strategies to finally get, and stay, focused. This guide is for people who want to ha...
2020-03-2314 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainDistinction Bias: Why You Make Terrible Life Choices-Nir&FarNir’s Note: This post part of a series on cognitive bias co-authored with and illustrated by Lakshmi Mani. Discover other reasons you make terrible life choices like confirmation bias and hyperbolic discounting.
There I was, looking at an enormous wall of television screens. Each one flashed the exact same scene — a beautiful flower slowly blooming to reveal each petal, pistil, and stamen in exquisite super high definition detail. It was downright sexy. But now it was time to make my choice.
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: Distinction Bias: Why You Make...
2020-03-1608 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the Brain"Addicted" to Technology? Why You Need To Turn The Tables And Hack Back!-Nir&FarDoes repeating a falsehood make it true? It seems so, at least when it comes to the myth that technology is addicting us all. While a reassessment of the role our gadgets play in our lives is healthy, many people are buying into a self-defeating fallacy that ironically makes it harder to dial back.
Not only does the idea that technology “hijacks” our brains smack of the same moral panics leveled at previous pastimes—Novels corrupt women’s minds! Pinball machines create an unstoppable compulsion!—it also miscategorizes what addiction really is.
You can read the Nir an...
2020-03-0909 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainHow to Trigger Product Usage that Sticks-Nir&FarIf you make web or mobile products, you’re actually in the business of task management. You’re counting on your product to become a recurring part of your customers’ lives. In order to accomplish that, you have to motivate your users to build a new habit.,
Sometimes software companies forget that what they’re building isn’t just a product that people find valuable. Part of what you’re building is how people will find and experience that value. It’s easy to overlook, because it seems like enough of a challenge to build a great product that re...
2020-03-0209 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainViral Loops Or Viral 'Oops'?-Nir&FarRecently, MessageMe announced it had grown to 1 million users in a little over a week's time. The revelation captured the attention of envious app makers throughout Silicon Valley, all of whom are searching for the secrets of customer acquisition like it's the fountain of youth. "Growth hacking" has become the latest buzzword, as investors like Paul Graham profess it's functionally that matters.
Clearly, everyone wants growth. To someone creating a new technology, nothing feels better than people actually using what you've built and telling their friends. Growth feels validating. Growth tells everyone the company is doing things rig...
2020-02-2406 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainOur More Addictive World-Nir&FarWe're in an addictive world. The world has become harder to resist. Products are getting better at giving people what they want and - for the most part - that has been good thing. Yet, the historical trend-line shows products are also becoming more habit-forming.
All products alleviate customers’ pain. Even products used to gain pleasure must first generate desire, a unique form of discomfort, which the customer will pay to satiate.
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: Our More Addictive World https://www.nirandfar.com/our-more-addictive-world/
Nir & Far, a...
2020-02-1705 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainIs Some Tech Too Addictive?-Nir&FarAddiction can be a difficult thing to see. From outward appearances, Dr. Zoe Chance looked fine. A professor at the Yale School of Management with a doctorate from Harvard, Chance's pedigree made what she revealed in front of a crowded TEDx audience all the more shocking. "I'm coming clean today telling this story for the very first time in its raw ugly detail," she said. "In March of 2012 ... I purchased a device that would slowly begin to ruin my life."
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: "Is Some Tech Too Addictive?" https://www.ni...
2020-02-1012 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainHunting for Habits: Keying in on smart design to make a product irresistible-Nir&FarNir's Note: In this guest post, Ryan Hoover describes the design decisions and strategies used to build a habit-forming product, largely influenced by the learnings on this blog. Follow @rrhoover or visit his blog to read more about startups and product design.
Recently, Nathan Bashaw and I launched Product Hunt, a daily leaderboard of the best new products. As two product enthusiasts, we wanted to create a community to share, discover, and geek out about new and interesting products. But to make it a success, we knew we had to make it a habit, a product people w...
2020-02-0314 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainHow You Can Help Users Change Habits-Nir&FarNir’s Note: This guest post comes from Stephen Wendel, Principal Scientist at HelloWallet and the author of Designing for Behavior Change. Steve's new book is about how to apply behavioral economics to product development. Follow him on twitter @sawendel.
It can be extraordinarily difficult to stop habits head-on. Brain damage, surgery, even Alzheimer’s disease and dementia sometimes fail to stop them.1But why are they so difficult to change?
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: How You Can Help Users Change Habits https://www.nirandfar.com/how-you-can-help-users-change-habits/
Nir...
2020-01-2710 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the Brain4 Cures for Feeling Overwhelmed: A Book Review-Nir&FarNir’s Note: This book review is by Sam McNerney. Sam writes about cognitive psychology, business, and philosophy.
Many of us feel we’re drowning in the rising tide of emails, updates, and digital distractions. According to a survey by the Families and Work Institute, the majority of American workers report feeling overwhelmed or overworked. In her new book, Overwhelmed: How to Work, Love, and Play When No One Has The Time, Brigid Schulte acknowledges that although the deluge of to do’s is inevitable, there are ways to regain our sanity.
You can read the Ni...
2020-01-2009 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainThe Psychology Behind Why We Can't Stop Messaging-Nir&FarToday, there’s an app for just about everything. With all the amazing things our smartphones can do, there is one thing that hasn’t changed since the phone was first developed. No matter how advanced phones become, they are still communication devices — they connect people together.
Clearly, we’re a social species and these tech solutions help us re-create the tribal connection we seek. However, there are other more hidden reasons why messaging services keep us checking, pecking, and duckface posing.
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: The Psychology Behind Why We Ca...
2020-01-1306 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainThe Morality of Manipulation-Nir&FarLet's admit it, we in the consumer web industry are in the manipulation business. We build products meant to persuade people to do what we want them to do. We call these people "users" and even if we don't say it aloud, we secretly wish every one of them would become fiendishly addicted.
Users take our technologies with them to bed. When they wake up, they check for notifications, tweets, and updates before saying "good morning" to their loved ones. Ian Bogost, the famed game creator and professor, calls the wave of habit-forming technologies the "cigarette of...
2019-12-3013 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainNir Eyal Interview with John Jantsch - Nir&FarMy interview with author John Jantsch about his new book, The Self-Reliant Entrepreneur.
Nir & Far, a podcast about business, behaviour and the brain by Nir Eyal. If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe on iTunes and leave an iTunes review. It will greatly help new listeners discover the show. Please visit my website Nir and Far for other info about my writing, books and teaching: http://www.nirandfar.com/
2019-12-2318 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainAbolish The Reference Check-Nir&FarIt’s time to abolish the reference check. The unpleasant process of calling up a job applicant’s former boss to gab about the candidate’s pluses and “deltas” is just silly. Maybe if we all just agree to stop doing it the practice will go away, like pay phones and fanny packs. Instead, I’ve learned a better way to hire that leverages a universal human attribute—namely, the fact that we’re all lazy.
What’s my beef with reference checks? They don’t accomplish the job we intend them to do. In a startup, you can’t afford to...
2019-12-1606 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainWays To Get People To Do Things They Don’t Want To Do - Nir&FarA reader recently asked me a pointed question: “I’ve read your work on creating user habits. It’s all well and good for getting people to do things, like using an app on their iPhone, but I’ve got a bigger problem. How do I get people to do things they don’t want to do?” Taken aback by the directness and potentially immoral implications of his question, my gut reaction was to say, “You can’t and shouldn’t!” To which his response was, “I have to; it’s my job.”
This gentleman, who asked that I not disclose his na...
2019-12-0910 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainWhat Killed Turntable.fm? - Nir&FarNir’s Note: In this guest post, Ryan Hoover, Director of Product at PlayHaven, utilizes my thinking on the “Habit Zone” to shed light on where Turntable.fm fell short. Ryan blogs at ryanhoover.me and you can follow him on Twitter at rrhoover.
As I described nearly two years ago, much of Turntable’s success was due to its well-executed social engagement loop; however, that wasn’t enough. So what went wrong?
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: What Killed Turntable.fm? https://www.nirandfar.com/what-killed-turntable-fm/
Nir & Far, a podcast...
2019-12-0204 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainWhen Designing for Good Is Bad - Nir&FarWe in the design business love when people do what we want. Nothing is more satisfying than when a user intuitively understands what to do with what we’ve built. At the heart of good design, however, is understanding what the user really wants to get done.
But what of designing for behaviors people don’t want to do, at least not right now? We all know we should eat healthier, exercise more, create fewer greenhouse gases, give more to charity, and vote in every local election from city council to school board. But do we? Despite coun...
2019-11-2506 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainTo Become a Superstar, Improve Your Strengths (Not Your Faults) - Nir&FarNir’s Note: This guest post is by Auren Hoffman, the CEO of LiveRamp in San Francisco. This essay is a bit different from the normal subject matter on the blog but I hope it will stir some discussion about which of our personal habits are worth improving. Connect with Auron on Twitter at @auren or on Facebook.
To really differentiate yourself and become a superstar in this winner-take-all world, you should be focusing on improving your strengths, not your weaknesses.
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: To Become a Superstar, Im...
2019-11-1806 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainThis Simple Equation Reveals How Habits Shape Your Health, Happiness, and Wealth - Nir&FarNir’s Note: This guest post is by James Clear. James writes at JamesClear.com, where he share ideas for mastering personal habits. Join his free newsletter here.
In 1936, a man named Kurt Lewin wrote a simple equation that changed the way we think about habits and human behavior.
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: This Simple Equation Reveals How Habits Shape Your Health, Happiness, and Wealth https://www.nirandfar.com/this-simple-equation-reveals-how-habits-shape-your-health-happiness-and-wealth/
Nir & Far, a podcast about business, behaviour and the brain by Nir Eyal. If you enjoy this podc...
2019-11-1107 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainIt’s Not All Fun And Games: The Pros and Cons of Gamification at Work - Nir&FarNir’s Note: This post was co-authored with Stuart Luman, a science, technology, and business writer who has worked at Wired Magazine, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and IBM.
In the never-ending effort to motivate employees, companies are taking cues from video games–adding scoring, virtual badges, and other game-like elements to everyday work processes to make jobs more fun.
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: It's Not All Fun and Games: The Pros and Cons of Gamification at Work https://www.nirandfar.com/its-not-all-fun/
Nir & Far, a podcas...
2019-11-0407 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainIs “Lean Startup” Right for Your Idea?-Nir&FarNir’s Note: Lyle McKeany is an entrepreneur writing and working on an early-stage startup. In this essay, he shares his experience using lean startup methodologies with my Hook Model at the Lean Startup Machine conference. This article also appears today on Pando Daily. Follow Lyle on Twitter @lylemckeany.
The conventional view of lean startup ideation methodology is to identify a problem, test your riskiest assumption with a certain success criterion, talk to potential customers before coming up with a solution. Then pivot or persevere until you validate a solution. But it turns out that this conventional view...
2019-10-2809 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainHow To Cope with Your Insane Jealousy Of The WhatsApp Deal-Nir&FarWednesday was my birthday. It should have been a great day. My wife and daughter had prepared a delicious breakfast, I had lunch with close friends, and I finished up some writing and client work. At the end of the day I headed to San Francisco to enjoy a swanky scotch tasting at a friend’s house.
Then I heard the news. WhatsApp had been purchased by Facebook for $19 billion. When I read about the deal I blurted out the words, “Holy Crap!” so loudly that a stranger nearby gave me a disapproving look.
You can read...
2019-10-2106 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainPeople Don’t Want Something Truly New, They Want the Familiar Done Differently - Nir&FarI’ll admit, the bento box is an unlikely place to learn an important business lesson. But consider the California Roll — understanding the impact of this icon of Japanese dining can make all the difference between the success or failure of your product.
The California Roll provided a gateway to discover Japanese cuisine and demand exploded. Over the next few decades sushi restaurants, which were once confined to large coastal cities and almost exclusively served Japanese clientele, suddenly went mainstream. Today, sushi is served in small rural towns, airports, strip malls, and stocked in the deli section of lo...
2019-10-1407 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainMarketplaces & The Curse of the Network Effect-Nir&FarMarketplace businesses exist to connect two or more parties, typically the buyers and the sellers. Investors love these marketplace businesses because they tend to grow quickly and spawn winner-take-all companies. A long line of successful Silicon Valley startups have found success providing a place for people to connect and transact. Examples of these kinds of companies include industry titans like eBay and LinkedIn but also include some of today’s web darlings like Uber and AirBnB.
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: Marketplaces & The Curse of the Network Effect https://www.nirandfar.com/th...
2019-10-0707 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainThe Secrets of Addictive Online Auctions-Nir&FarNir’s Note: This guest post was authored by Lisa Kostova Ogata, one of the first product managers at Farmville and a VP of Product at Bright.com (sold to LinkedIn). While at Zynga, Lisa learned how to shape user behavior, but in this essay she describes her surprise when she found herself unexpectedly hooked.
I don’t consider myself a gambler. I’m the person who places a minimum bet at the roulette table with the specific intent of getting a free drink — after all, it’s cheaper than buying one at the bar. Yet, there I was on a...
2019-09-3010 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainThe Power of No-Nir&FarNir’s Note: Is “no” the most powerful word in the English language? In this guest post Chikodi Chima explores the power of no and what happens when people say, “No.” Chikodi is a former VentureBeat staff reporter who helps startups with their public relations and marketing. His blog is PR Tips For Startups and he is @Chikodi on Twitter.
Sirens were beautiful creatures from Greek Mythology who lured sailors to their death. The power of their song was so irresistible it would cause captains to steer their boats into the rocks and drown. We are also seduced dai...
2019-09-2305 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the Brain“Yes, And”: The Two Words that Created a #1 App-Nir&FarNir’s Note: In contrast to last week’s post on the power of saying “no,” Eric Clymer shares how a creative attitude helped his team build a #1 ranked app. Eric was the lead developer of the “A Beautiful Mess” app and is a Partner at Rocket Mobile.
In improv comedy, there are really only two words that matter: “Yes, and.” You share a premise, form a scene, create a character, and if everything works out right, kill the audience. Then, you try and do it again with another, “Yes, and.”
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on...
2019-09-1607 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainVariable Rewards: Want To Hook Users? Drive Them Crazy-Nir&FarIn advertising, marketers reinforce a behavior by linking to the promise of reward. “Use our product,” they claim, “and you’ll get laid”; it’s the gist of many product pitches from soap to hamburgers.
But online, feedback loops aren’t cutting it. Users are increasingly inundated with distractions, and companies find they need to hook users quickly if they want to stay in business. Today, companies are using more than feedback loops. They are deploying the Hook Model.
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: Variable Rewards: Want To Hook Users? Drive Them Cra...
2019-09-0908 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainThis Will Be the Last Article You Read-Nir&FarIf the Internet had a voice, I am fairly certain it would sound like the HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
“Hello Nir,” it said to me in its low, monotone voice. “Glad to see you again.”
“Internet, I just need a few quick things for an article I’m writing,” I’d reply. “Then it’s back to work. No distractions this time.”
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: This Will Be the Last Article You Read https://www.nirandfar.com/this-will-be-the-last-article-you-read/
Nir & Far, a podcast about business, behaviour and t...
2019-09-0207 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainThis Simple Equation Reveals How Habits Shape Your Health, Happiness, and Wealth-Nir&FarNir’s Note: This guest post is by James Clear. James writes at JamesClear.com, where he share ideas for mastering personal habits. Join his free newsletter here. In 1936, a man named Kurt Lewin wrote a simple equation that changed the way we think about habits and human behavior.
Known today as Lewin’s Equation, this tiny expression contains most of what you need to know about building good habits, breaking bad ones, and making progress in your life.Let’s talk about what we can learn from Lewin’s Equation and how to apply these ideas to master...
2019-08-2607 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainThe Unbelievable Future of Habit-Forming Technology-Nir&FarNir’s Note: Jane McGonigal is a game designer at The Institute for the Future and bestselling author of Reality is Broken and SuperBetter. She’ll be speaking at the upcoming Habit Summit in April. (You can register here!) In this interview with Max Ogles, McGonigal discusses impact of future technologies on behavior, habits, and the way we design products.
Q: You recently worked on a project designed to visualize the future of technology. The idea was that using some future, not-yet-existent product, nicknamed FeelThat, people could actually share emotions with each other. (Here’s a link to the...
2019-08-1909 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainThe Secret Marketing Power of Evolutionary Psychology-Nir&FarNir’s Note: Gad Saad is a professor of marketing at Concordia University and the author of The Consuming Instinct. He’ll be speaking at the upcoming Habit Summit in April. (You can register here!) In this interview with Max Ogles, Saad discusses the role of evolutionary psychology in modern marketing.
Q: Let’s start with a simple question: What is evolutionary psychology?Gad Saad: Evolutionary psychology is applying evolutionary theory to understand the human mind. Evolution is typically used to explain all biological diversity, from how flowers evolved, to how a particular trait of an animal evolve...
2019-08-1207 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainThe Real Reason You’re Addicted to Your Phone-Nir&FarNir’s Note: This guest post by Avi Itzkovitch offers some clues as to why we can’t seem to put our cell phones down. Avi (@xgmedia) is an Independent User Experience Consultant. He is currently working from his Tel-Aviv Studio XG Media.
Do you constantly check your smartphone to see if you’ve received messages or notifications on Facebook? Does your phone distract you from your studies or work? Do your friends, parents, children, or spouse complain that you are not giving them enough attention because of your phone? You may be addicted to your phone.
...
2019-08-0509 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainThe Psychology of Notifications: How to Send Triggers that Work-Nir&FarNir’s Note: This post was co-authored with Ximena Vengoechea. Ximena is a design researcher at Twitter and will be speaking at this year’s Habit Summit.
In his famed experiments, Ivan Pavlov trained his dogs to associate mealtime with the ring of a bell. Pavlov found he could elicit an involuntary physical response in his dogs with a simple jingle. Every time his bell rang, the dogs began to salivate.Today, the beeps, buzzes, rings, flags, pushes, and pings blasting from our phones prompt a similar response. They are the Pavlovian bell of the 21st century and the...
2019-07-2907 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainThe Number One Reason Good Habits Don't Last-Nir&FarNir’s Note: This guest post is written by Max Ogles. Max writes at MaxOgles.com about behavior change, psychology, and technology. Sign up for a free copy of his upcoming e-book, “9 Ways to Motivate Yourself Using Psychology and Technology."
A commonly quoted and incredibly scary stat reveals that 9 out of 10 people who undergo heart bypass surgeries as a result of poor health are unable to change their habits, even with their lives on the line.We’ve all failed at something, though luckily most of us don’t face death as a consequence.
You can read...
2019-07-2209 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainThe Next Secrets of the Internet - Nir&FarRight now, someone is tinkering with a billion dollar secret — they just don’t know it yet. “What people aren’t telling you,” Peter Thiel taught his class at Stanford, “can very often give you great insight as to where you should be directing your attention.”Secrets people can’t or don’t want to divulge are a common thread behind Thiel’s most lucrative investments such as Facebook and LinkedIn, as well as several other breakout companies of the past decade. The kinds of truths Thiel discusses — the kinds that create billion dollar businesses in just a few years — are not held ex...
2019-07-1508 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainThe Future is Driven by Interface Changes-Nir&FarNir’s Note: In this guest post Ryan Hoover takes a look at how interface changes drive innovation. Ryan blogs at ryanhoover.me and you can follow him on Twitter atrrhoover
What do motorized vehicles, broadband internet, and smartphones have in common? These technologies all introduced new forms of user interface, transforming its user’s daily lives and behaviors.I’ve been studying Nir Eyal’s work and recently read his article on the power of interface changes.
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: The Future is Driven by Interface Changes https://w...
2019-07-0105 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainThe Billion Dollar Mind Trick: An Intro to Triggers-Nir&FarNote: I’m proud to have co-authored this post with Jason Hreha, the founder of Dopamine, a user-experience and behavior design firm. He blogs at persuasive.ly
Yin asked not to be identified by her real name. A young addict in her mid-twenties, she lives in Palo Alto and, despite her addiction, attends Stanford University. She has all the composure and polish you’d expect of a student at a prestigious school, yet she succombs to her habit throughout the day. She can’t help it; she’s compulsively hooked.
You can read the Nir and Far bl...
2019-06-2407 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainThe Behavioral Economics Diet: The Science of Killing a Bad Habit-Nir&FarDiets don’t work. Studies show that temporary fixes to old habits actually make people gain weight. Essentially, the dieter’s brain is trained to gorge when off the diet and inevitably the weight returns.
In my previous essay, I shared the story of my father’s struggle with bad eating habits. He had put on weight over the last few decades and despite several attempts, he had trouble taking it off. In his late 60s he faces pre-diabetes and a daily ritual of taking a handful of pills.
You can read the Nir and Far bl...
2019-06-1708 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainTemptation-Nir&FarHow do products tempt us? What makes them so alluring? It is easy to assume we crave delicious food or impulsively check email because we find pleasure in the activity. But pleasure is just half the story.
Temptation is more than just the promise of reward. Recent advances in neuroscience allow us to peer into the brain, providing a greater understanding of what makes us want.
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: Temptation https://www.nirandfar.com/temptation/
Nir & Far, a podcast about business, behaviour and the brain by...
2019-06-1008 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainStrange Sex Habits of Silicon Valley-Nir&FarMy wife put our daughter to bed, brushed her teeth, and freshened up before bed. Slipping under the covers, we exchanged glances and knew it was time to do what comes naturally for a couple on a warm night in Silicon Valley. We began to lovingly caress–but not each other, of course. She began to fondle her cell phone, while I tenderly stroked the screen of my iPad. Ooh, it felt so good.
If our nightly habits were any indication, we were having a love affair with our gadgets instead of each other. Apparently, we weren’t th...
2019-06-0309 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainStop Building Apps, Start Building User Behaviors-Nir&FarDo you get the feeling apps are getting dumber? They are, and that’s a good thing. Behind the surprising simplicity of some of today’s top apps, smart developers are realizing that they’re able to get users to do more by doing less. A new crop of companies is setting its sights on changing user behaviors; the small behaviors in your life, hoping to reap big rewards.
They’re using the best practices of interaction design and psychology to build products with your brain in mind. Here’s how they’re doing it.
You can read...
2019-05-2705 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainResearch Reveals How to Take a Better Break-Nir&FarUntil recently, when I needed a break I’d grab my phone. Whether I was bored, mentally fatigued, or just wanting a pick-me-up, I felt relief checking the news, Facebook, or Instagram.
However, new research suggests there are good ways and not-so-good ways to spend our break time. While some breaks can leave us refreshed and reenergized, others tend to leave us depleted and drained.
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: Research Reveals How to Take a Better Break https://www.nirandfar.com/how-to-spend-your-breaks-wisely-and-have-a-better-workday/
Nir & Far, a podcast about bu...
2019-05-2010 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainPsychology of Sports: How Sports Infect Your Brain - Nir&FarNote: I co-authored this post with Andrew Martin and David Ngo. It originally appeared in TechCrunch.
This week, fans packed stadiums in London wearing their nation’s colors like rebels ready for battle in Mel Gibson’s army. They screamed with excitement and anguished in defeat. Many paid thousands of dollars to travel around the globe to be there.
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: Psychology of Sports: How Sports Infect Your Brain https://www.nirandfar.com/how-sports-infect-your-brain/
Nir & Far, a podcast about business, behaviour and the brain by Nir Eyal...
2019-05-1310 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainPersonalized eCommerce Is Already Here, You Just Don’t Recognize It - Nir&FarNOTE: This post originally appeared in Techcrunch.
Reading Leena Rao’s recent article on Techcrunch about the personalization revolution, you get the sense that the tech world is waiting for a bus that isn’t coming. Rao quotes well-known industry experts and luminaries describing what needs to happen for e-commerce to finally realize the promise of personalized shopping, a future where online retailers predict what you’ll want to buy before you know yourself.
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: Personalized eCommerce Is Already Here, You Just Don't Recognize It https://www.nir...
2019-05-0608 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainNostalgia: A Product Designer’s Secret Weapon-Nir&FarNir’s Note: In this guest post, Ryan Hoover, contributing writer of my book Hooked, describes how nostalgia is used to drive attention and build an engaging product. Follow @rrhoover or visit his blog to read more about startups and product design.
Remember pogs?
Remember Tubthumping?
Remember Nickelodeon GUTS?
Now pause…
How do you feel right now? Did reading those words stimulate any emotional reaction? Did it bring back memories? Excite you? Make you smile?
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: Nostalgia: A Prod...
2019-04-2909 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainIt’s How You React to Failure that Matters: Why Ego is the Enemy-Nir&FarNir’s Note: This guest post is an excerpt from my friend Ryan Holiday’s new book, Ego Is the Enemy. Ryan is the author of three other books and his monthly reading recommendations, which go out to 50,000+ subscribers, can be found here.
John DeLorean ran his car company into the ground with a mix of outsized ambition, negligence, narcissism, greed, and mismanagement. As the bad news began to pile up and the picture was made clear and public, how do you think he responded? Was it with resigned acceptance? Did he acknowledge the errors his disgruntled employees w...
2019-04-2211 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainHow to Boost Desire Using the Psychology of Scarcity-Nir&FarInterested in boosting customer desire? A classic study that demonstrates the psychology of scarcity reveals an interesting quirk of human behavior that may hold a clue.
In 1975, researchers Worchel, Lee, and Adewole wanted to know how people would value cookies in two identical glass jars. One jar held ten cookies while the other contained just two stragglers. Which cookies would people value more?https://twitter.com/JulesMaltz
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: How to Boost Desire Using the Psychology of Scarcity https://www.nirandfar.com/2013/07/psychology-of-scarcity.html
Nir & Fa...
2019-04-0110 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainHow Technology is Like Bug Sex-Nir&FarThis week, thousands of people swarmed the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Looking from above, the scene resembled an insect infestation of scampering masses in a hive of the latest must-haves.
When considering our complex relationship with technology, perhaps it is useful to reflect upon the plight of one particular bug, the male julodimorpha beetle, who like us at times, can’t get enough of a bad thing. His misplaced desire is so powerful that it threatens the survival of his species.
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: How Tech...
2019-03-2510 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainHow Successful Companies Design for Users’ Multi-Device Lives-Nir&FarNir’s Note: This guest post comes from Marc Abraham, a London-based product manager at Beamly. In this article, Marc reviews the recently published book “Designing Multi-Device Experiences” by Michal Levin. Follow Marc on Twitter or check out his blog.
We live in a world where the number of connected devices is growing on a daily basis at an immense rate, with people constantly switching between these devices (PCs, smartphones, tablets, TVs and more). The question arises how we can design optimally for a device to be used together with other devices.
You can read the Nir an...
2019-03-1809 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainHooks: An Intro on How to Manufacture Desire-Nir&FarType the name of almost any successful consumer web company into your search bar and add the word “addict” after it. Go ahead, I’ll wait. Try “Facebook addict” or “Twitter addict” or even “Pinterest addict” and you’ll soon get a slew of results from hooked users and observers deriding the narcotic-like properties of these web sites.
We’re on the precipice of a new era of the web. As infinite distractions compete for our attention, companies are learning to master new tactics to stay relevant in users’ minds and lives. Today, just amassing millions of users is no longer good eno...
2019-03-1110 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainGood Products Start With Good Questions-Nir&FarNir’s Note: My friend Jake Knapp just published a fantastic book titled, Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days. The book details a process he and his colleagues at Google Ventures use to quickly go from idea, to prototype, to live test. Jake put together an exclusive excerpt from the book for NirAndFar.com readers. Here it is:
Monday of the sprint week begins with an exercise we call “Start at the End”. It’s a look ahead—to the end of the sprint and beyond. You and your team will lay o...
2019-03-0407 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainGetting Over Your Fear of Missing Out-Nir&FarNir’s Note: This post is co-authored with Stuart Luman, a science, technology, and business writer who has worked at Wired Magazine, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and IBM.
“I wish that I could be like the cool kids,” goes the catchy hook for the hit song by Echosmith. The official video has been viewed over 15 million times on YouTube, perhaps tapping into something deeper than mere adolescent angst.
You can read the Nir and Far blog post: Getting Over Your Fear of Missing Out https://www.nirandfar.com/2015/01/fomo.html
Nir & Far, a...
2019-02-2508 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainEscape From Message Hell-Nir&FarWe are caught in an endless cycle of messaging hell and the pattern is always the same. First, a new communication system is born — take email or Facebook, for example. Ease-of-use helps the product gain wide adoption and reach a critical mass of users. And then things turn ugly.
Some crafty entrepreneur figures out how to exploit the system and starts building a business around it. He reaches millions of people and opens the floodgates to countless others who seek to emulate his methods. Inevitably, the messaging channel is deluged with crap, clogging the pipes of what wa...
2019-02-1107 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainMind Hacking a Book-Nir&Far“Hi Nir,” the email began. “I have been reading your work and find it incredibly interesting.” Naturally, this is the kind of message a blogger loves to receive. However, this email was special for another reason. It was from a prominent New York publishing agent who represents several authors I read and admire. “I don’t know if you’ve already started down this road or whether writing a book interests you, but I’d be delighted to have a conversation with you if you are interested.”
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on Mind Hacking a Boo...
2019-02-0407 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainHow to Start a Career in Behavioral Design-Nir&FarNir’s Note: This guest post is by Erik Johnson. Erik applies behavioral design principles on The Behavioral Insights Team at Morningstar.
Six years ago, I was in a position that many people early in their careers find themselves in: I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. My first job out of college took good care of me and was interesting enough, but I knew it wasn’t the career I wanted in the long term. I needed something else, so I started reading and exploring what was out there. One day, as I w...
2019-01-2821 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainHooking Users One Snapchat at a Time-Nir&FarNir’s Note: This guest post is by Ryan Hoover. Ryan blogs at ryanhoover.me and you can follow him on Twitter at @rrhoover.
When Snapchat first launched, critics discounted the photo-messaging app as a fad – a toy for sexting and selfies. Their judgements were reasonable. It’s impossible to predict the success of a product on day one, let alone its ability to change user behavior. But hindsight is beginning to prove critics wrong.
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: Hooking Users One Snapchat at a Time https://www.nirandfar.com/2013...
2019-01-2109 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainDon’t Ask People What They Want, Watch What They Do-Nir&FarNir’s Note: Irene Au is a design partner at Khosla Ventures and former Head of Design at Google, Yahoo, and Udacity. She’ll be speaking at the upcoming Habit Summit in April. (You can register here!) In this interview, she chats with Max Ogles about design strategy for startups.
Q: You have an impressive background as a designer at Google, Yahoo, and now at Khosla Ventures. Could you describe how your design role translates in venture capital?
Irene Au: As entrepreneurs start to recognize how crucial design and design thinking are to the success of t...
2019-01-1406 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the Brain3 Ways to Make Better Decisions Using “The Power of Noticing”-Nir&FarNir’s Note: This book review is by Sam McNerney. Sam writes about cognitive psychology, business, and philosophy.
In Moneyball, Michael Lewis tells the story of Billy Bean, the general manager of the Oakland Athletics who transformed the A’s using sabermetrics, the data-driven approach to understanding baseball. Bean noticed that instead of using data to predict player performance, baseball professionals relied on faulty intuitions and anecdotes. Commentators debate how effective sabermetrics actually is, but Bean’s original insight—that we can’t learn that much about baseball just by watching—changed the game.
You can read the Nir and Far blog pos...
2019-01-0710 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainConquer Distractions With This Simple Chart-Nir&FarIs the world more distracting? Sometimes it seems that way. With our digital devices buzzing, world events demanding our attention, and more things to entertain us than ever before, it certainly seems harder to focus on what’s really important. And yet, focus is exactly what it takes to get things done and get ahead.
Distraction might appear more available than ever, but it is nothing new. Over 2,000 years ago, Socrates and Aristotle debated the nature of “akrasia,” (pronounced uh-crazy-uh), our tendency to act against our better judgement. To the ancient Greeks, mere mortals were prone to distraction due to our we...
2018-12-3110 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the Brain4 Simple Things I Did to Control My Bad Tech Habits - Nir&FarNir’s Note: In this guest post, Sharbani Roy explores techniques she used to break bad habits related to eating, sleeping and exercising. Sharbani blogs at sharbaniroy.com and you can follow her on twitter @Sharbani.
It’s 2 AM and you’re exhausted, but unable to sleep. You’ve been cycling through Facebook, email, and other online media for hours. You want to stop, but you can’t. This technology-induced insomnia will likely ruin your next day (or two) of productivity — and you’ve really achieved nothing according to your list of to-dos. Late-night surfing has become a bad habit you’d like to...
2018-12-2412 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainFrom Laid to Paid: How Tinder Set Fire to Online Dating-Nir&FarNir’s Note: In this guest post, Ryan Hoover takes a look at Tinder, a red hot dating app. Ryan dives into what makes the Tinder app so popular and engaging. Ryan blogs at ryanhoover.me and you can follow him on Twitter at rrhoover.
The Tinder app has become a fixture in the U.S. App Store as one of the top 25 social networking applications, generating 1.5 million daily matches as more than 50 percent of its users login multiple times per day.
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: From Laid to Paid: How Tinder Set Fire to...
2018-12-1707 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainCan Online Apps Change Real-Life Behavior?-Nir&FarNir’s Note: This guest post is written by Max Ogles. Max is an editor for NirAndFar.com and heads marketing for CoachAlba.com, a mobile health startup. Follow him on Twitter and read his blog at MaxOgles.com.
Weight gain happens pound by pound, over many years, and that’s how Dave Haynes found himself sixty pounds away from a healthy BMI. In his career, Dave was immersed in the startup world; he helped start Soundcloud, which allows anyone to share and produce music and has over 10 million users. So when he ultimately resolved to reverse this disturbing weight tren...
2018-12-1011 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainBible App: Getting 100 Million Downloads is More Psychology Than Miracles-Nir&FarNir’s Note: An edited version of this essay appeared in The Atlantic. Below is my original.
It’s not often an app has the power to keep someone out of a strip club. But according to Bobby Gruenewald, CEO of YouVersion, that’s exactly what his Bible app did. Gruenewald says a user of his app walked into a business of ill repute when suddenly, out of the heavens, he received a notification on his phone. “God’s trying to tell me something!,” Gruenewald recalled the user saying, “I just walked into a strip club — and man — the Bible just texted me!”
Y...
2018-12-0319 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the Brain3 Ways I Use Technology to Find Happiness-Nir&FarNir’s Note: This guest post comes from Brendan Kane who has built technology for MTV, Paramount, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, and the NHL. In this article, Brendan describes how he reprogramed the way he views the world using little more than his iPhone and iPad to find happiness.
Using phones and other technology to find happinessSave
We all have the power to change our lives and find happiness. I know this because I found ways to reprogram my inner circuitry and change my perspective of the world to ultimately find happiness. A few simple steps inserted into my daily routine dr...
2018-11-2606 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainGo Ask Grandma: How To Design For “Normals”-Nir&FarNote: This post originally appeared in Techcrunch. I’m proud to have co-authored this post with Katy Fike, PhD. Dr. Fike is a gerontologist, systems engineer and Partner at Innovate50, a consulting firm helping companies create products and services for the 50+ market
As web watchers, entrepreneurs, and investors search for the next big thing, they’d be wise to focus on innovations that can be easily adopted by technology novices. A recent string of companies, including Groupon and Pinterest, have found success outside the early-adopter digerati by building products simple enough to be used by just about anyone.
You can read...
2018-11-1907 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainMass Persuasion, One User At A Time-Nir&Far“Successful entrepreneurs recommend reading this article about the persuasion techniques companies use to drive engagement.”
Scratch that, how’s this? “Tons of people are tweeting this article. Find out why.”
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: Mass Persuasion, One User At A Time https://www.nirandfar.com/2012/10/mass-persuasion-one-user-at-a-time.html
Nir & Far, a podcast about business, behaviour and the brain by Nir Eyal. If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe on iTunes and leave an iTunes review. It will greatly help new listeners discover the show. Please visit my website Nir and Far for other info about my writing...
2018-11-1210 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainTime for Digital Hat Racks-Nir&FarThe first thing Don Draper does when he gets to his office is give his busty secretary a suggestive wink. The second thing he does is take off his fedora. Finally, depending on the severity of the previous night, he completes his morning routine with a stiff drink.
What can we learn from Don’s habits? First, that scotch and submissive secretaries always equal drama. But what of that fedora? There’s a lesson there too.
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: Time for Digital Hat Racks https://www.nirandfar.com/2012/12/we-need-a-digital-hat-rack-2.html
Nir & Far, a podc...
2018-11-0511 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainToday's Behaviors, Tomorrow's Startups-Nir&Far-Nir’s Note: In this guest post, Ryan Hoover takes a look at how new behaviors are shaping tech opportunities. Ryan blogs at ryanhoover.me and you can follow him on Twitter at rrhoover.
Startups that build a product attached to nascent behaviors have an opportunity to form habits before anyone else. First mover advantage matters. Once a habit is formed, it’s difficult to change and often provides a sustained competitive advantage.
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: Today's Behaviors, Tomorrow's Startups https://www.nirandfar.com/2013/06/todays-behaviors-tomorrows-startups.html
Nir & Far, a podcast about business, behaviour and...
2018-10-2905 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainUser Growth & Engagement: A Hacker Metric-Nir&FarIf you’re like me, you’ve had enough of the Facebook IPO story. For tech entrepreneurs struggling to build stuff, the cacophony of recent press is just more noise. That’s why when my friend Andrew Chen posted an insightful analysis of Facebook user data, I was happy to get back to learning from what the company did right instead of debating what its bankers did wrong.
Chen calculated Facebook’s historical ratio of daily active users (DAU) to monthly active users (MAU) and the stats are startling. Since March 2009, when the earliest data is available, approximately 50% of Facebook users lo...
2018-10-2214 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainThe Best Word of Mouth Marketing-Nir&FarNir’s Note: Jonah Berger is a marketing professor at the Wharton School and author of the New York Times bestseller Contagious: Why Things Catch On. Contagious explains the science behind word of mouth, how six key factors drive products and ideas to become popular, and how you can apply that science to get your own stuff to catch on.
Whether you run a small business or work for a large one, and whether you sell a product or offer a service, everyone wants their stuff to catch on.
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: What Tr...
2018-09-1707 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainGood Products Start With Good Questions-Nir&FarNir’s Note: My friend Jake Knapp just published a fantastic book titled, Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days. The book details a process he and his colleagues at Google Ventures use to quickly go from idea, to prototype, to live test. Jake put together an exclusive excerpt from the book for NirAndFar.com readers. Here it is:
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: Good Products Start With Good Questions https://www.nirandfar.com/2016/03/good-products-start-good-questions.html
Nir & Far, a podcast about business, behaviour and the brain by Nir Ey...
2018-08-1307 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainThe Two Words that Created a #1 App-Nir&FarNir’s Note: In contrast to last week’s post on the power of saying “no,” Eric Clymer shares how a creative attitude helped his team build a #1 ranked app. Eric was the lead developer of the “A Beautiful Mess” app and is a Partner at Rocket Mobile.
In improv comedy, there are really only two words that matter: “Yes, and.” You share a premise, form a scene, create a character, and if everything works out right, kill the audience. Then, you try and do it again with another, “Yes, and.”
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: "Yes, And": The...
2018-07-0207 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainAre Companies Too Obsessed With Growth-Nir&FarNir’s Note: In this guest post, Abhay Vardhan, discusses how to measure the strength of user habits with cohort analysis and retention rate. Abhay is a founder of Blippy.com and blogs at abhayv.com. Follow Abhay on Twitter @abhayvardhan.
A common mistake entrepreneurs make is to focus too much on user growth. Instead, it is often more important to ask: “Is the product creating a habit so users keep coming back?” and “How do we measure the strength of such a habit?”
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: Are Companies Too Obsessed With Growth? How to Mea...
2018-06-1808 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainGetting Over Your Fear of Missing Out-Nir&FarNir’s Note: This post is co-authored with Stuart Luman, a science, technology, and business writer who has worked at Wired Magazine, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and IBM.
In 2013, the word “FoMO” was added to the Oxford English Dictionary. The “fear of missing out” refers to the feeling of “anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere.” Although the terminology has only recently been added to our lexicon, experiencing FoMO is nothing new.
You can read the Nir & Far blog post on: Getting Over Your Fear of Missing Out https://www.nirandfar.com/2015/01/fomo.html
Nir & Far...
2018-06-1108 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the Brain3 Ways to Make Better Decisions-Nir&FarNir’s Note: This book review is by Sam McNerney. Sam writes about cognitive psychology, business, and philosophy.
In Moneyball, Michael Lewis tells the story of Billy Bean, the general manager of the Oakland Athletics who transformed the A’s using sabermetrics, the data-driven approach to understanding baseball.
You can read the Nir & Far blog post on: 3 Ways to Make Better Decisions Using "The Power of Noticing" https://www.nirandfar.com/2015/01/powerofnoticing.html
Nir & Far, a podcast about business, behaviour and the brain by Nir Eyal. If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe on iTunes and leave an iTunes review. It w...
2018-05-2110 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainYou'd Be Surprised By What Really Motivates Users-Nir&FarNir’s Note: This article is adapted from Hooked: A Guide to Building Habit-Forming Products, a book I wrote with Ryan Hoover and originally appeared on TechCrunch.
Earlier this month, Twitter co-founder Biz Stone unveiled his mysterious startup Jelly. The question-and-answer app was met with a mix of criticism and head scratching. Tech-watchers asked if the world really needed another Q&A service.
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: You'd Be Surprised By What Really Motivates Users https://www.nirandfar.com/2014/02/youd-be-surprised.html
Nir & Far, a podcast about business, behaviour and the brain by Nir Eyal. If...
2018-05-0710 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainNir Eyal Interview with Adam Alter Author of Irresistible-Nir&FarNir Eyal interviews author of Irresistible.
Nir & Far, a podcast about business, behaviour and the brain by Nir Eyal. If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe on iTunes and leave an iTunes review. It will greatly help new listeners discover the show. Please visit my website Nir and Far for other info about my writing, books and teaching: http://www.nirandfar.com/
2017-08-2129 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainHow to Use Personality Science to Drive Online Conversions - Nir & FarNir’s Note: This guest post is by Vanessa Van Edwards, lead investigator at the Science of People — a human behavior research lab. This exclusive book excerpt is from Vanessa’s new book, Captivate: The Science of Succeeding with People, which was recently named as one of Apple’s Most Anticipated Books of 2017.
We all want more conversions. More sign-ups, more sales, more clicks. And so we obsess over calls to action, user flow, and user-centric design. But there is one tool most entrepreneurs, web designers, branding experts, and copywriters forget to take into account—personality.
You can read...
2017-07-2412 minNir And Far: Business, Behaviour and the BrainWhat Do You Do When Someone “Steals” Your Amazing Idea? - Nir & FarThe subject line read: “did you see this?” The message was from my editor Jen. “Nir, I saw the headline on this story and thought it might be written by you—but no!” she wrote. “Very weird.” I instantly clicked on the link she’d sent.
It was uncanny! An article written by Christopher Mele at the New York Times, freakishly similar to a post I’d written but hadn’t yet published.
You can read the Nir and Far blog post on: What Do You Do When Someone “Steals” Your Amazing Idea? https://www.nirandfar.com/2016/11/th...
2017-05-1507 min