Writing this from home on a gloomy afternoon, let's get started!

Swipe:

So the government in the USA created a National Design Studio and got Joe Gebbia (a designer and founder of AirBnB) to run it.

Now government websites look like this: ​RealFood.gov​

It just looks slick and easier to consume when compared to previous government sites which look more like:

By the way I asked AI to make a more "fun" food pyramid and this is what it did.....I'm down 🤣

Wisdom:

I'm a big fan of writing things down, and anytime I'd wake up in a bad mood I'd often just write down why and end up figuring out why and how to get over it quickly.

Nowadays I feel like writing (or talking) to ChatGPT has replaced me sitting down with a piece of paper.....and you can explain it any problem and it guides you through it!

I'm not sure it's a full replacement for sitting with your thoughts, but it sure is helpful.

Interesting:

This is an interesting graph of which home service gets you the most ROI for your investment, meaning how much equipment and expertise you need before earning a buck:

Picture:

The silent best ads are often not on Facebook, or Google, or Instagram, or YouTube.....but in PRINT.

This is a completely overlooked sect of advertising because it's not sexy at all.

But a $2,000 ad in a city-wide publication like this dropped to every homeowner can sometimes return 10x to 100x more than online ads.

The most important element of all these types of ads is the call to action of the PHONE NUMBER:

About 70% of these ads will offer a discount, like "10% off any job" to get people to call from the ad:

Most of these ads are about simplicity and just showing a picture of what they do:

The downside is it's hard to instantly track performance, whereas online ads are instantly trackable and therefore much sexier.

Essay:

The internet keeps making instructional content cheaper, and now practically free.

As information gets more and more free, there will be a shift in how monetizing knowledge happens:

As information gets more and more free, there will be less money in explaining HOW to do the thing (although more money for those who do it really well).

The evolution of knowledge monetization:​ ​2000's: Sell a PDF on how to fix an Xbox. ​2010's: Sell a video course on how to fix an Xbox. ​2020's: Make videos how to fix an Xbox, get followers, do brand deal. ​2025's: AI tells you how to fix your Xbox, for free, and helps you do it.

So if you were teaching people how to fix Xbox's, you could sell that knowledge directly and making money from it easily:

But now instead of needing a person’s video course or paid information, people just upload a picture and get a personalized fix from AI.

So "How to do X" is no longer a good business model unless you’re packaging it with community, speed, trust, or entertainment.

This means you have to either be:

• The fastest (live help, done-for-you).

• The most trusted (community or brand).

• The most entertaining (personality-driven content).

• Offer something non-replicable by AI (like physical service or hands-on support).

This tracks with the concept of "​RaaS"​ where instead of selling people information, you sell the end result (Results As A Service).

Splurge:

So after Christmas there were only two things I returned:

1.) This Alexa Echo 11" with screen: I've got an Alexa in pretty much every room and use it for very basic home control stuff like turning on fans, white noise machines, lights etc. I usually have the Echo Dot because it's tiny and just works.

So I got this Alexa with an 11" screen thinking I could use it for a baby monitor and to show when people come to the door:

I ended up returning it because:

• It has a kind of glitchy screen. I'm used to a smooth iPad and this feels like a kinda crappy Android tablet.

• I feel like the big screen in front of the speaker reduces the sound quality AND the ability to pickup your voice from anywhere.

• The screen doesn't tilt! I have to crane my neck to use it by my counter.

• It doesn't easily swivel. If I want to turn it it's just not easy.

• With my baby monitor it wouldn't zoom via voice, and was just glitchy and slow.

I ended up just not using it at all for a full week so I returned it. I ended up buying an iPad Air and sticking it on one of these cool tilt/swivel stands. It does all the things an Alexa does but better.

2.) Meta RayBan Wayfarer 2 Video Glasses

I like the idea of a camera in your glasses, but I never had a use for it. But then I had a baby and thought I could take some cool point of view videos!

I used it the first day, but was kinda surprised the quality was that of a mediocre phone. It felt like iPhone 10 quality.

I'm so used to awesome pics and videos on the new phones that this was a let down (and I got the most recent refreshed version with a 3k camera).

The other major problem is when you want to use these, you don't have em! I don't wanna wear these all the time or carry them around just to take a random POV video.

A week went by without me using them at all.

• They just don't do much else besides camera and built in speakers and AI.

• There's not screen or text you can read while using them.

• They have a built in AI thing but I can do that from my phone and not need glasses.

• They have speakers, but other people can totally hear it if you're blasting music which is rude....so AirPods are better.

Overall there just wasn't much I could with these that a phone couldn't do better.....so I returned them.

I DO however think some dope glasses with an internal screen could be an awesome semi-replacement or enhancement for a phone at some point, but this wasn't there yet.

Hope you have a great weekend,
Sincerely,
Neville Medhora