Ben Guttmann

When churn is ok – the wedding magazine problem

Think about what it must be like to run a wedding magazine. For a few months, it’s one of the most important and anticipated pieces of mail for your readers. Then, all of a sudden, they cancel their subscription. When you’re done planning your wedding, you suddenly don’t need a wedding magazine anymore.

January 22, 2024

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Four small stories about tech and culture that have stuck in my head

In my notes, a few ideas for posts have been staring at me for weeks or months. I found these interesting ideas and always wanted to share them but never had enough material to flesh them out into a complete article. Well, now that we’re halfway through list season, today is the perfect opportunity to share them.

December 11, 2023

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The anchoring effect breaking our brains

A few days ago, I was plopping my credit card down for some new piece of software, and I was met once again by a familiar sight: the three-columned pricing page. We’ve all seen this a thousand times. One of these options seems outrageously expensive. One of them looks like a complete rip-off. But then, right there in the middle – the best deal of all time!

October 30, 2023

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You don’t need to be everywhere

There are lots of social media platforms. But you don't have to be on most of them. We only have so much time, and only so many resources, to devote to anything we’re doing – and maintaining an active presence on twelve different channels can eat up a lot of both. Instead of doing all of them half-assed, it’s far better to either commit or punt.

October 16, 2023

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When curse words stop working

In a sea of traditionally blasé titles, like Think and Grow Rich, The Power of Positive Thinking, and The Four Agreements, the bluntness of something like Unfu*k Yourself shines as a beacon of contrast. You can easily convince yourself: This book is different… so maybe this book is better. This is the power of salience.

October 9, 2023

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