This week covers some great reads on running One-on-One meetings for managers, various tech articles covering Tetris and the smart remote, and an article discussing an experiment in France involving people staying in an underground cave for 40 days. I also posted earlier this week on my thoughts on Evernotes product direction. Enjoy!
Business
Very helpful article posted by Lighthouse a few weeks back describing the value of good one-on-ones. The article also includes suggestions for the frequency of such meetings, and providing managers with a great template and guidance for how to run effective one-on-ones with their team members.
Tech
Wired published an interesting article describing the downfall of the smart remote, in light of the announcement that Logitech is sunsetting their Harmony remotes. Great insight into how the theory of the smart remote came about, and how it lost its relevance in the streaming world, and how TV tech improved over the years.
Next up, Mailchimp is moving into the eCommerce space, which seems like a wise and logical move for the company to get into. The eCommerce provider space is getting very interesting, with Shopify, Big Commerce, Amazon, and now Mailchimp all competing. Curious to see how each company’s messaging and positioning in the marketplace evolves.
A new technique has emerged in playing Tetris, involving tapping or “rolling” on the back of the Nintendo controller. This technique reduces the repetitive stress in using the same muscle to tap on a button, while also enabling the player to rapidly press buttons to play the game. The technique, once learned, has proven very effective in getting high scores.
Miscellany
John Lennon’s album, Plastic Ono Band, had some intriguing influence from a (since discredited) form of therapy called “Primal Scream” or “Primal Therapy”.
A “Deep Time” experiment was conducted in France, where people (voluntarily) stayed in an underground cave for 40 days without access to clocks, sunlight, smartphones, or any real contact from the outside world. The participants’ view of the passage of time varied and demonstrated the idea that the body’s internal clock relies heavily on the daylight cycles we experience.