💡 My brain wiring, side projects updates, new pod, and interesting finds
An excellent example to illustrate how my brain is wired 🤦♂️ 😆 This is how it is, I can't stop it.
The (funny) story
Not too long ago, we went on a vacation to a lovely place in Spain - Majorca Island (Wiki →) in Spain. It was our first time in Spain, and we loved it. I will share my observations about this place at a later time.
On one of the days, we were sitting on a balcony and enjoying the view, just soaking in the zen feeling of the sea, the sandy beach, and the palms. My wife was saying something about how beautiful and relaxing the view was -
I, on the other hand, felt curious about something else.
The flags on the poles got my attention… Here is the chain of questions and thoughts that my mind was going through:
What purpose do these flags serve?
Who puts them up and takes them down?
What do they represent? The country? The province? The town? The hotel?
I bet these flags get many “views” from the visitors and passersby.
I wonder how many people see these flags per day/week/month.
I wonder if you could walk along the beach and talk to the hotels/places who “own” these flags to ask how much would it cost to put up a flag of my own.
What if you could arrange such '“advertising display” with multiple hotels in hot touristy spots and then sell this space to advertisers.
I wonder if it’s possible to get some data on the number of visitors from the hotels, as an aggregate, without personal information.
I wonder, if you could actually segment the visitors based on some customer data (where they live, family composition, age, etc.) to allow for more tailored placement of advertising.
I wonder, if a platform for selling this “advertising space” could work - advertisers can browse available “inventory” based on location, customer profiles, and availability, and “buy” ads through the platform.
Additional services of printing/manufacturing of these flags might worth exploring. Even a premium service of adding a dedicated company pole for extra money.
Hotels earn extra income without any effort (assuming there are rules and guidelines to avoid conflicts of interest, and other unwanted situations). Advertisers can increase their exposure. The platform earns commission as a middleman. Visitors may see some valuable info without being annoyed (the flags footprint is minimal).
…while my wife was enjoying the view.
This doesn’t mean I cannot enjoy the moment. I can and always do. However, it was another very interesting moment of realization of how my mind is wired. I always see opportunities like this. For better or for worse 😜
💪 My work
⚽️ Kids activities in Luxembourg
I mentioned this idea a few months ago, finally managed to launch it and will be publishing the behind-the-scenes for the paid subscribers shortly. Used Airtable for data and Softr for the no-code builder.
Made a post about the launch in one of the Facebook groups for expat parents in Luxembourg and have got a pretty good response and new clubs to add to the directory. It’s moving along.
🏴☠️ How to Amazon
I decided to start sharing foundational usability and conversion rate optimization tips for people selling on Amazon Marketplace. The newsletter on substack is the main channel: 1 conversion tip per week for everyone, plus 1 extra tip per week for paid subscribers.
Also, planning to create more How-to videos for Youtube to help sellers better navigate Seller Central (Amazon’s platform for managing sales on their marketplaces) and also showcase programs and features to help sellers grow their business.
Also, thinking about ideas for a podcast, perhaps interviewing successful sellers and suggesting tools and services that help sellers grow their businesses.
📈 [Name hidden]
Still working on the website content, but the idea is to run productized services for Amazon sellers to help them optimize their listings, content strategy, conversation optimization, etc. The main value proposition - grow sales, reduce costs, and increase customer satisfaction for a fixed monthly fee. I’ll publish the announcement a bit later when it’s ready to be shared.
The idea is to have 2 work closely with each other - How to Amazon creates content and the Agency provides relevant services. Obviously, an experiment, so we’ll see how it goes.
🎙️ Podcast
The new pod is up!
+ 5 more episodes are already recorded - some fascinating conversations are coming 🔥
#30: Instructional Design, Internationalization, and Engagement with Sofia Caroline.
Sofia is a Learning Experience Designer at Amazon in India. We discuss:
Her career journey.
The transition from a non-tech job as a classroom teacher to a tech job as an instructional designer.
What learning experience designers do and the skills they need.
The design process they use.
The challenges of designing for international audiences.
Tips for keeping audiences engaged,
and much more. Enjoy 🤙
Preview:
💟 Interesting finds
Retro audio recorder from Teenage Engineering. Love it! Clicking through their other products, definitely an interesting brand with amazing-looking products. I feel the inspiration from Dieter Rams, Braun, and other minimalistic design products from the last century.
The psychology behind design. Our brain is fascinating. It’s so flawed and lazy. This is a fact. The smart thing to do is to educate yourself on these nuances, so you are aware of why people tend to think this or that way. I can’t recommend this enough - understand the human brain.
Why AI Will Save the World. This a good long-read from a famous tech pioneer, thinker, and entrepreneur Marc Andreessen. I respect his thoughts and achievements. However, even from the title itself, you can feel the bias toward AI and optimism. The reality is - nobody knows how it will turn out. Nobody. Though it’s hard to argue the global competition issue. Even if the West adds controls on the developments and usage. The other countries will likely keep doing what they are doing, so the risk of FOMO is not a question. And the cost of missing out is hard to overestimate. It’s a difficult dilemma.
Managing your time – from a senior IC at Google. A detailed explanation of the framework to prioritize time and effort at work. Tim is an ex-Amazonian, now at Google. Very good deep thinker.
Beach house mix. This track has been my focus mode background music for the last few weeks. Overall, this DJ has a lot of tunes that fit my taste. And the video track is very appealing, too. Makes me want to chill on the beach with them 😆 🏝️