Cellphone lane
There are slow lanes, fast lanes, and bike lanes. And now, at least for a little while, there’s a lane for cellphone users.
Continue reading… “Cellphone users get their own lane on the sidewalk”
Growing trend among young singles who treat pets like girlfriends and boyfriends
Lucy, a 1 year old Burmese Mountain dog and her owner Alfred Pretrone.
There’s “something special” about Lucy, says Alfred Pretrone about his female companion. She’s good-looking, “chill” and she makes the stress melt away at the end of a long day. But Lucy isn’t Mr. Petrone’s girlfriend. She’s his dog.
Continue reading… “Growing trend among young singles who treat pets like girlfriends and boyfriends”
Why technology is not making us smarter: Study
People have become uncomfortable being alone with their own thoughts.
Most Android users check their phones 150 times a day, according to Google. Wearable technologies like smart watches and Google Glass may eventually make us check our phones less often, but will almost certainly drive up the average user’s digital interruptions each day. Early users of Android Wear who were given Samsung Gear Live or LG G Watches at Google I/O report their wrists “constantly buzzing.” Digital technology has certainly increased the quantity of our mental stimulation, but what about the quality?
Continue reading… “Why technology is not making us smarter: Study”
Advances in emotional computing will give businesses an unfair advantage
Pepper will understand human emotions.
Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son announced last week they have developed an amazing new robot called Pepper. The most amazing feature isn’t that it will only cost $2,000, or that Pepper is intended to babysit your kids and work the registers at retail stores. What’s really remarkable is that Pepper is designed to understand and respond to human emotion.
Continue reading… “Advances in emotional computing will give businesses an unfair advantage”
Do men really think about sex every 7 seconds?
We’ve all been told that men think about you-know-what far too often.
Men probably don’t think about sex every seven seconds. But rather than wonder about whether this is true, Tom Stafford asks how on earth you can actually prove it or not.
Continue reading… “Do men really think about sex every 7 seconds?”
Toddlers who play non-educational games on touch screens have lower verbal test scores: Study
“Technology can never replace a parent’s interaction with his or her child.”
Children who played non-educational games using touch-screen devices had lower verbal scores upon testing, according to a recent study by pediatricians from the Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York. The study examined children from 0-3 years old that used touch-screen devices to determine if their use was of any educational benefit to infants and toddlers.
Why kids (and adults) should play outside
Kids who play outdoors have a stronger spiritual connection to the Earth.
A new study, published in the Journal of the Study of Religion, Nature and Culture found that children who play outdoors have a stronger sense of purpose and self-fulfilment than those who don’t.
Continue reading… “Why kids (and adults) should play outside”
This is your brain on a smartphone
A mobile junkie.
When is the last time you powered your smartphone all the way down? Try turning it all the way off now. Take your phone out and turn it off (note: this is not advised if you are reading this on your mobile. In this case you are probably too far gone). Fair warning, you will experience a short stint of anxiety and emptiness. These mobile withdrawals are unpleasant (and slightly pathetic) but the sobering and liberating experience is worth more than your 25th snapchat today.
Continue reading… “This is your brain on a smartphone”
Uber has taught us that the best customers are lazy people
Lazy people are the best customers.
The ultimate customers are lazy, anti-social people. To be assured of success today, create a service that appeals to people just active enough to push a button but too lazy to check their bank statements.
Continue reading… “Uber has taught us that the best customers are lazy people”
The persuasive pressure of peer rankings
Here’s what you might see on a typical week when users took part in a friendly competition to rank themselves against their friends and colleagues in weekly step counts.
When introducing a new product it is essentially an exercise in persuading people to change their behavior. Many companies try to tackle this challenge by making the functional benefits of the new seem so much more compelling than the old. But this approach rarely works. After all, how many of us as children enjoyed eating our vegetables just because our moms said they were better for us than dessert?
Continue reading… “The persuasive pressure of peer rankings”
Face-to-face networking meetings work best
There is no substitute for gaining someone’s full attention than to meet them face-to-face.
Everyone likes being efficient. And most people feel somewhat awkward in meeting new people. So, most people in a job search try to do their “networking” online and over the phone. It seems more efficient in being able to get to more people faster, and it’s less intimidating to send someone an email than to meet face-to-face.
Continue reading… “Face-to-face networking meetings work best”
Apple wants to measure your mood to better deliver targeted ads
Apple wants to measure your mood through body sensors, user habits, and consumer data.
Apple wants to know more about its users–specifically how they are feeling, to be able to better serve ads. A patent application published Thursday by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office shows Apple is looking at the possibility of measuring users’ mood to better target content.
Continue reading… “Apple wants to measure your mood to better deliver targeted ads”
