Friends of Dave #49: Act Now!
Forget "Cyber Monday." I am declaring today "Self Enlightenment Saturday."
And just like that, the holiday shopping season has officially gotten out of hand, folks. This past "Cyber Monday" was the single largest online shopping day in U.S. history, topping $6.59bil in sales.
If you are a marketer, you have to be impressed. The retail industry, with their email blasts, coupon codes, crazy discounts and the offer of free shipping, has successfully conditioned us to willfully spend MORE money just three days following "Black Friday," the original day they created to push and shove our Thanksgiving dinner stuffed bodies into the throes of the holiday shopping season.
What I find so funny: despite the fact that in 2017 we all walk around with the internet in our pockets 24/7 and nearly half of U.S. households have an Amazon Prime membership, "Cyber Monday" is even still a thing. The term seems so 2000-ish I'm literally embarrassed to even type the words. Pretty soon we'll all simply tell (or have our kids tell) the Alexas we just bought to analyze the best deals on our stocking stuffers and kid gifts on our "Christmas list" at any time of year, and automatically purchase and ship them for free to us at the time of our choosing. "Cyber Monday" you say? Try "Cyber Everyday."
There is a part of me, the human side of me, that really hopes this happens. The artificially created frenzy that focuses everyone's attention on buying material gifts around the holidays seems to get bigger every year, and it really brings me down.
So in keeping with the real holiday spirit, I'm offering that we should declare the Saturday of the week following Thanksgiving to be "Self Enlightenment Saturday." It should be a day that people don't have to shop. They don't worry about door busting deals. They don't need to focus on Christmas lists. And for God's sake, it should be a day when people stay off of Facebook, Snapchat and social media. It would be time reserved for thinking, learning, listening and reflecting on things that matter most to us and our families. What do you think?
Ah, a boy can dream...But if you like the idea, don't wait -- act now! Let this issue of the newsletter get you started on your path. And if enough of you take advantage of the offer and click on the links below, I might just do what the retailers do, and simply expand the idea to "Self Enlightenment Week"...how fun would that be???
Have a festive weekend...and don't forget to move the Elf on the Shelf if you have little ones (I'll save that rant for another day...).
XOXO
Dave
3 To Get You Thinking...
A New Kind Of Self-Sustaining Fishery Could Off-Set The Worst Impacts Of Animal Farming — www.cbinsights.com
An IoT-connected fish farm located in deep seas in Norway is capable of maturing up to 1.5M fish in just 14 months. This could help supply protein to our growing population at a lower environmental cost. Fascinating, in-depth look this opportunity by CB Insights.
American children are drowning in self-esteem — www.1843magazine.com
In America there is a theory that self-confidence leads to all manner of other virtues, including academic achievement, because children who feel good about themselves will love learning. So why do our kids suck so much at math then?
Work has changed to make us all passionate quitters — aeon.co
If you are a white-collar worker, it is simply rational to view yourself first and foremost as a job quitter – someone who takes a job for a certain amount of time when the best outcome is that you quit for another job (and the worst is that you get laid off).
When employees are treated as short-term assets, they reinvent themselves as marketable goods, and are always ready to quit.
3 For Your Day Job...
Learning to code will eventually be as useful as learning Ancient Greek — work.qz.com
Interesting perspective: if you believe we are headed toward an automated future, then we have greatly overstated the benefits of learning to code.
Why ALL Businesses Will Become Data Businesses — towardsdatascience.com
I've written about this topic myself, but I always appreciate learning from what others have to say about the growing importance of data in corporate decision making. It never gets old for me.
Beneath a calm surface, the stock market is undergoing a major change — www.marketwatch.com If there’s one word that would seem to describe the U.S. stock market in 2017, it’s this: quiet. But a crucial shift may be taking place below the surface.
3 Last Ones for Fun...
How Those Fake Holidays Are Created — time.com
OK, everyone digs National Donut Day. But what's up with "holidays" like Oreo Day, Froot Loop Day, and Tater Tot Day? And it total stinks that we haven't gotten an Asparagus Day yet. Right?
40 Years Of Simon — www.fastcompany.com
Let's see if you'll make it that long, Candy Crush!
Where unsellable wine goes to die and become fuel for your car's gas tank — qz.com
Or gets turned into Mad Dog 20/20...