What Makes Men Cry?

I enjoyed David Churbuck’s essay on tearjerkers, where he explored media that consciously evoke a crying response. He prompted a discussion with the Cast of Dads, where we probed the things that make us dads cry. The conclusion? Dads don’t cry often, but they’re suckers for narratives in movies and books that involve severance of father-son bonds, and life-or-death situations where they’re forced to choose among their children.… Read the rest

Be More Effective Through Storytelling

New Scientist cites Chao Lu of China, who was able to recite 67,890 digits of pi from memory in 2005, making him a world memory champion. I found the method used by memory champions interesting:

Many of them use a mnemonic method. Before starting to memorize a number, they associate a person or object with each four-digit number from 0000 to 9999.

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Lessons From The Dot-Com Bubble, One Decade Past

It’s hard to believe it’s been 10 years since the dot-com bubble burst. The actual date, March 10,  passed quietly a few weeks ago. I remember those times as if they were yesterday.

I was a 24-year-old marketing guy at an upstart called Media Metrix, the first Internet media audience ratings firm.… Read the rest