Interesting Links for 23-04-2025

[andrewducker]

1. I just donated towards the Good Law Project's trans rights fund. I urge you to do likewise.

(tags:law CrowdFunding uk transgender rights )

2. Bigots who hate one group increasingly hate all of them. (bigotry now correlated 70% with conservatism)

(tags:bigotry society USA psychology )

3. Gow long does it take to create a new habit?

(tags:habits psychology )

4. The complex origin story of domestic cats: Research points to Tunisia

(tags:cats prehistory archeology )

5. Edinburgh's second home council tax charge raises £2.7m

(tags:housing tax edinburgh )

6. The Gruen Transfer is consuming the internet

(tags:ux socialmedia )

Comments

[nancylebov]

6. I thought I was just bad at finding things in stores, so I frequently buy online. So it's not just me.

[mountainkiss]

Yes, it seems to me that this is a bad strategy. If you create a bad customer experience, then your customers will go elsewhere.

[andrewducker]

And yet almost every big shop sets up their escalators so that you have to walk around each floor to go up multiple levels.

(John Lewis are an exception, but even Marks has their escalators set up in the annoying way.)

[mountainkiss]

Yes and it's really hard to work out which floor you need. And then they are surprised that people desert them for a shopping experience where you type in the name of what you want and have bought it 30s later.

[andrewducker]

Ooh, thank you. You've reminded me there was something I wanted to buy!

*clicks*

[mountainkiss]

Weirdly enough I never need reminding when there is something I want to buy.

[andrewducker]

Definitely not just you!

[magedragonfire]

Even online (or at least, some places) it's gotten terrible, possibly driven by the same phenomenon. Amazon.ca frequently will show me pages of low-quality cheap crud when I go specifically searching for a particular brand or model of a thing. Sometimes their search won't even show me specifically the thing I searched for at all, and I have to find the company's page and manually go looking for it.

[nancylebov]

Yes, I've found that search on ebay is better than searching on amazon. I haven't checked it out, but I watched a video by a man who said ai can sort through the cruft well if you're looking for technical specs.

[magedragonfire]

I mean, my solution to this problem has been to stop using Amazon as much, rather than encourage the proliferation of shit by getting an AI to sort through it for me. It's working out well for me.

[anna_wing]

Does no-one use shopping-lists any more?

[andrewducker]

I do. I add groceries to the app until I've got enough to get free delivery, and then I hit "Purchase" and they arrive that evening (or the next evening if there are no slots left this evening).

[cmcmck]

I still make a weekly grocery list for sure!

[reverancepavane]

There is/was an ABC Show called The Gruen Transfer (now just Gruen apparently) that had advertising industry professionals examine the tricks advertisers are using to manipulate people.

https://iview.abc.net.au/show/gruen

Notably fun as the guest agencies on the show have to make a competitive pitch on a ridiculous topic like getting support from the people for invading New Zealand (some New Zealand companies got their revenge on Australian Tourism ads). Or not so ridiculous such as The Greens election add which sadly the ABC was not allowed to release.

Invade New Zealand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xUYbI64QHI
Australian Tourism: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daJiz-pdm1s
The Greens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_jPNxRDeOk

[andrewducker]

That sounds like fun! I shall take a look if I can find the space/time.

[calimac]

B. has an add-on to FB that causes it to list only the posts of the people on her reading list, and in reverse chronological order. Just like DW, if I understand it.

1. I just donated towards the Good Law Project's trans rights fund. I urge you to do likewise.

[anef]

Well done, and done!