nicole
@nicole_c
nicole
Even with the short films, but especially with Toy Story, they embraced the limitations of the medium and yet delivered a full solution with it, you know, they didn’t skim on emotional connections within their movies. Even when the technology was arguably inferior to both live action and traditional animation, they were able to deliver incredible e... See more
Ben Gilbert • Pixar | Acquired Podcast
It's easy to assume that givers are virtuous and takers are villainous, but that’s giver propaganda. Conversations, like improv scenes, start to sink if they sit still.
Adam Mastroianni • Good conversations have lots of doorknobs
The gamification style feels like a low respect for your users. I'm going to give you some flashy star doing this thing, good job. It's like you're treating them like those elementary school kids. Whereas, give them awesome tools and then trust that they know their goals. If their goals line up with your goals, they're going to use them well. Just ... See more
Ben Gilbert • Superhuman Part II - Designing Software to Feel like a Game (with Rahul Vohra) | Acquired Podcast
On day one of Improv 101 they’ll tell you not to ask questions in a scene because it puts undue pressure on your partner. “Hey, what are you doing?” “Uhh I’m making things up in an improv scene.” Similarly, refusing to take the spotlight in a conversation may seem generous, but in fact can burden the other person to keep the show going. (“What’s up... See more
Adam Mastroianni • Good conversations have lots of doorknobs
Conversational affordances often require saying something at least a little bit intimate about yourself, so even the faintest fear of rejection on either side can prevent conversations from taking off.
Adam Mastroianni • Good conversations have lots of doorknobs
A counter positioning occurs if a company comes up with a new business model and challenges often a powerful incumbent with it. But for the incumbent to mimic this model, they would incur (or at least think they would incur) so much immediate financial damage that they just say, I can't go there.They're very cognitively biased towards thinking that... See more
David Rosenthal • 7 Powers with Hamilton Helmer | Acquired Podcast
This is art that's been preserved by generation after generation after generation after generation, repair and upkeep that's been going on for millennia through the Roman empire, the medieval period, a lot of invasions, the English Civil War, the formation of the United Kingdom, all the way up to the Information Age.
Tom Scott • I hit 3,000-year-old art with a hammer
If I’m ever struggling to understand a business, taking a step back and saying “What is every party incentivized to do?” brings instant clarity. … When push comes to shove, Microsoft needs to defend their castle. They weren't defending it against a productivity upstart. They were defending it against an advertising company that was looking at it as... See more
Ben Gilbert • Writely (Google Docs) | Acquired Podcast
When it’s just you and me, taking turns is easy: you go, I go, repeat. When it’s you and me and Nina and Marlon, who should talk next? It’s often unclear, so we all stand around waiting for someone else to take their turn or to invite us to take ours. Givers try to salvage these situations by turning them into laborious seminar discussions (“Why do... See more