In this issue: LUCKY STRIKE MOVEMENT MAPS THE FUTURE OF RELIGION EXAGGERATED SLEEP DRINK YOURSELF PRETTY And much, much more... ------------------------------------------------------------ ____ ____ ___ _____ ____ ______ ______ * / __ )/ __ \/ | / _/ | / / |/ / | / _/ / / __ / /_/ / /| | / // |/ / /|_/ / /| | / // / / /_/ / _, _/ ___ |_/ // /| / / / / ___ |_/ // /___ /_____/_/ |_/_/ |_/___/_/ |_/_/ /_/_/ |_/___/_____/ *Keeping brains healthy since 2004 ------------------------------------------------------------ Brainmail email issue 26 - April 2007 ------------------------------------------------------------ Brainmail is a free snack-sized newsletter dedicated to new thinking, innovations and trends. To subscribe or unsubscribe go to http://brainmail.nowandnext.com Tell the whole world about brainmail forward this to a couple of friends. ------------------------------------------------------------ > Lucky strike Psychologists at Harvard University claim that people as young as five subconsciously favour lucky people and instinctively discriminate against people that have been unlucky. The study found that 'lucky people' were 50% more likely to be liked than people who had been dealt a poor hand. Ref: Psychological science (UK) > Glasses for geeks Vision Optic Co. has invented a pair of glasses that stop people from falling asleep. The glasses, aimed at drivers and students preparing for exams, feature an earpiece vibrator that warns the wearer when they are about to nod off. Ref: Nikkei Weekly (Japan) > No real friends It was recently reported that over the past 20 years the average number of very close friends people have in America had shrunk. What was not widely reported was that the number of people that had nobody at all to confide in had doubled over the same period to one in four. Ref: Time US) > A virtual girls night out Second Life has been attracting attention recently due to a number of off-line brands setting up virtual stores. Most of these brand spaces are openly commercial and many have been flamed as a result. A more interesting development is the approach taken by iVillage. This online female community has taken to hosting biweekly tours of Second Life for its members or other interested parties whatever their gender. The tours are led by different curators and involve visiting interesting places and meeting interesting 'locals'. Ref: Spingwise.com (Neth) > What technology taketh away... Fed up when a routine service call or enquiry gets put through to an automated voice control system? Don't worry. A movement called Get Human exists to help you. The website at Gethuman.com tells people how to quickly get through to real people at hundreds of major customer sites in the US and has spawned several similar sites in other countries. Ref: Harvard Business Review (US) > Word detective: Generational Congestion The phrase generational congestion refers to the fact that people are no longer acting their age. Adults are behaving like children while Teens and Tweens are growing up faster than ever. As a result we have people aged from three different generations enjoying the same food, music, clothing, brands and experiences. Ref: The Guardian (UK) > Movement maps Researchers at MIT, Telecom Italia and Mobilkom Austria are using mobile phones to map flows of people in urban areas. The resultant data is useful not only for architects and urban planners but also drivers and pedestrians wanting real time maps of what's busy and what's not. Ref: Sense Worldwide newsletter (UK) > The conflicted consumer A survey has found a segment of 'loyal' consumers that buy products despite the fact that they are unhappy with the behaviour of the company behind them. The survey of 1,300 UK consumers found that almost 25% purchased products from companies whom they believed had an ethical reputation that was either poor or very poor. However, unlike hard-core 'green' consumers who boycott companies or go without certain products, these consumers continue to buy until a credible alternative presents itself. Ref: Harvard Business Review (US) > Word detective: Consolidated Families. Consolidated Families are akin to Extended Financial Families but rather than moving in together Consolidated Families move next to each other. In Japan 30% of property transactions now involve relatives moving closer together. Why is this happening? The reason is probably a mixture of security and convenience. What's interesting about this trend from a business point of view is that it opens up all kinds of possibilities in terms of group purchasing and consumption. Ref: Nikkei Weekly (Japan) > The future of religion 82% of people in the UK believe that religion does more harm than good. Conversely, according to Theos (a theology think tank) there has been a 28% rise in the number of people visiting cathedrals since 2000. So what's going on? The most likely explanation is that people are seeking safety and comfort in the midst of rapid change and uncertainty. Ref: The Times (UK) > Seeking fulfilment through work According to Richard Florida (Rise of the Creative Class) people that expect a job to bring them happiness will be bitterly disappointed. Happiness is primarily influenced by the quality of your personal relationships and your overall level of optimism. Asking a job to make you happy is therefore ridiculous. The Economist seems to agree. According to the magazine people will often find out a way of making dull jobs interesting and it is the relationships have within work more than the work itself that makes people happy. So what's the takeaway here? Simply that trying to find the 'perfect' job is a waste of time. Ref: Penelopetrunk.com (Blog) > Fresh thinking about teenagers A survey called Typical Young People has found that the influence of the family is as strong as ever with 90% of teens saying that they felt that their family would always support them. 93% also believed that treating others well was important and there was evidence yo suggest that the celebrity lifestyle was not an aspiration for many. Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK) > Exaggerated sleep Feeling tired? It could be because you're kidding yourself about how much sleep you get. A study in the American Journal of Epidemiology found that people exaggerated how much they slept. On average, participants slept for 6.1 hours but claimed they were sleeping for 7.5 hours on average. Ref: Time (US) > Big Brother - with ants Japanese toy company Bandai Co. has developed an electronic toy called Ant Life Studio that replicates the behaviour of an ant colony. A virtual queen ant lays eggs and worker ants dig and search for food. Human observers can then hinder the nest-making process or add food and observe the resultant ant behaviour. Ref: Nikkei Weekly (Japan) > Book numbers 400 years ago there were approximately 2,000 published books in existence. Today there is a book published every 30 seconds - about 10,000 new novels a year for instance. Moreover, the number of books now available in the world is increasing at a rate that is five times as fast as the growth of the human population. Ref: Financial Times (Asia) > The customer service myth A survey of 362 companies by Bain & Company found that 80% believed that they delivered 'superior' customer service and support. Unfortunately this was rather at odds with the customers of the very same companies where only 8% agreed. Ref: Harvard Business Review (US) > Pocket-sized intelligence Among the things that sold well in Japan last year Shinsho, or pocket-sized non-fiction paperbacks, were a big hit. The idea is to combine the readability of a magazine format or design with the depth obtained from a conventional book. The result is easily digestible information on specific topics. Ref: Nikkei Weekly (Japan) > If you snooze you win Nobody has yet found a link between napping and achievement although history is full of anecdotal examples. Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci and Winston Churchill were all fond of a good sleep during the day. However, a team of wide-awake researchers at the University of Athens Medical School and Harvard's School of Public Health have discovered a correlation between napping and good health. The study, based on 23,000 healthy Greeks, found that those napping during the day were a third less likely to die from a heart attack than those not nodding off. Ref: The Economist (UK) > Drink yourself pretty Drinks company Coca-Cola and cosmetics company L'Oreal have joined forces to develop a new nutraceutical drink called Lumaˇ. The product is expected to be a mass-market equivalent of Borba, which is a skin balance water. Ref: Trendcentral.com (US) ------------------------------------------------------------ : STATSHOTS The budget for running cars belonging to government officials in China is GB £21 billion - more than the official Chinese defence budget. Ref: The Times (UK) 50% of individuals with a profile on MySpace are aged over 35. Ref: Seeking Alpha.com (US) A typical avatar in Second Life consumes the same amount of electricity each year as an average Brazilian in real life. Ref: Rough Type (US) The average pedestrian in Britain walks around with £851 worth of goods on or around their person. Ref: The Guardian (UK) Shoppers engage in 10 times as many greetings, conversations and other social interactions at farmers' markets than in other retail environments. Ref: Worldwatch Institute (US) British Rail receives GB £5 billion of public money every year - almost 400% as much as it did when British Rail was privatised in 1994. Ref: The Economist (UK) Last year US $248,460,000,000 was spent taking public companies private in the US. Ref: Harper's (US) 70% of children in the UK have a television in their bedroom and 20% of British families eat every meal while watching the television. Ref: Daily Telegraph (UK) 30% of British claim that they hate their co-workers and 30% say that they have moved jobs to get away from them. Ref: The Sun (UK) Sales of fair trade products increased by 56% over the period 1997 to 2005 Ref: Worldwatch Institute (US) ------------------------------------------------------------ : QUOTE OF THE MONTH "Only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die having left undone" Pablo Picasso. ------------------------------------------------------------ : STILL HUNGRY? If this snack-sized newsletter still leaves you feeling hungry feed your brain with something a little more substantial at www.nowandnext.com (and yes, that's free too). ------------------------------------------------------------ : LOVE IT? THEN SHARE IT Do you know someone whose brain is not being fully exercised? Someone that is snacking on media that isn't terribly satisfying. Floss their brain and brighten up their day with a copy of brainmail in their inbox - forward this to your friends. ------------------------------------------------------------ : SUBSCRIBE TO BRAINMAIL Brainmail is a free monthly newsletter about new ideas, innovations and trends. To subscribe or unsubscribe visit the website at http://brainmail.nowandnext.com ------------------------------------------------------------