We all have different reasons for getting up every morning and doing what we do every day.

So why is it that, on some days, it can feel harder than others to get up when your alarm goes off, do your workout, crush a work or school assignment, or make dinner for your family?

Motivation (or a lack thereof) is usually behind why we do the things that we do.

There are different types of motivation, and as it turns out, understanding why you are motivated to do the things that you do can help you keep yourself motivated — and can help you motivate others.

In this post, we’ll dive into the two types of motivation — intrinsic and extrinsic — to learn the differences between the types, the benefits of each, and how to use both types to inspire productivity.

Definitions of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation

What Is Intrinsic Motivation?

Intrinsic motivation involves doing something because it’s personally rewarding to you.

When you’re intrinsically motivated, your behavior is motivated by your internal desire to do something for its own sake — for example, your personal enjoyment of an activity, or your desire to learn a skill because you’re eager to learn.

Examples of intrinsic motivation could include:

• Reading a book because you enjoy the storytelling
• Exercising because you want to relieve stress
• Cleaning your home because it helps you feel organized

What Is Extrinsic Motivation?

Extrinsic motivation involves doing something because you want to earn a reward or avoid punishment.

When you’re extrinsically motivated, your behavior is motivated by an external factor pushing you to do something in hopes of earning a reward — or avoiding a less-than-positive outcome.

Examples of extrinsic motivation could include:

• Reading a book to prepare for a test
• Exercising to lose weight
• Cleaning your home to prepare for visitors coming over

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation: What’s the Difference?

At first glance, it might seem like it’s better to be intrinsically motivated than extrinsically motivated. After all, doesn’t it sound like it would be ideal if you didn’t need anyone — or anything — motivating you to accomplish tasks?

But, alas, we don’t live in such a motivation-Utopia, and being extrinsically motivated doesn’t mean anything bad — extrinsic motivation is just the nature of being a human being sometimes.

If you have a job, and you have to complete a project, you’re probably extrinsically motivated — by your manager’s praise or a potential raise or commission — even if you enjoy the project while you’re doing it. If you’re in school, you’re extrinsically motivated to learn a foreign language because you’re being graded on it — even if you enjoy practicing and studying it.

So, intrinsic motivation is good, and extrinsic motivation is good. The key is to figure out why you — and your team — are motivated to do things, and encouraging both types of motivation.

When Intrinsic Motivation Is Best

Research has shown that praise can help increase intrinsic motivation. Positive feedback that is “sincere,” “promotes autonomy,” and “conveys attainable standards” was found to promote intrinsic motivation in children.

But on the other side of that coin, external rewards can decrease intrinsic motivation if they’re given too willy-nilly. When children received too much praise for completing minimal work or single tasks, their intrinsic motivation decreased.

The odds are, if you’re reading this blog post, you’re not a child — although children are welcome subscribers here on the HubSpot Marketing Blog. But the principles of this study are still sound for adults.

If you’re a people manager, be intentional with your praise and positive feedback. Make sure that it’s specific, empowering, and helps your direct reports understand your expectations and standards. But make sure you aren’t giving too much praise for work that’s less meaningful for your team, or they might lose intrinsic motivation.

If you’re an individual contributor, tell your manager when their feedback is motivating — give them positive feedback, too. By providing positive feedback to your manager when they give you praise that keeps you motivated, you, in turn, will extrinsically motivate them to keep managing you successfully. (Meta, huh?)

When Extrinsic Motivation Is Best

Extrinsic rewards don’t just involve bribery (although bribery can work). In some cases, people may never be internally motivated to complete a task, and extrinsic motivation can be used to get the job done.

In fact, extrinsic rewards can promote interest in a task or skill a person didn’t previously have any interest in. Rewards like praise, commissions, bonuses, or prizes and awards can also motivate people to learn new skills or provide tangible feedback beyond just verbal praise or admonishment.

But tread carefully with extrinsic rewards: Studies have shown that offering too many rewards for behaviors and activities that people are already intrinsically motivated to do can actually decrease that person’s intrinsic motivation — by way of the overjustification effect.

In these cases, offering rewards for activities the person already finds rewarding can make a personally enjoyable activity seem like work — which could kill their motivation to keep doing it.

If you’re a people manager, use extrinsic rewards sparingly to motivate your team to take on new responsibilities or achieve lofty goals. Bonuses, commissions, recognition prizes, and promotions can be an effective way to motivate or reward your team for learning new skills, taking on new challenges, or hitting a quarterly goal. But make sure you’re giving your team members the time and resources to explore skills and projects they’re already excited about independently — without making them a part of their regular responsibilities, which could demotivate them.

If you’re an individual contributor, work for the rewards you want, but don’t over-exhaust yourself in the pursuit of extrinsic prizes. Make sure you’re taking time, in your job or in your personal life, to explore activities that you enjoy just for the sake of doing them, to keep yourself balanced.

Successful content marketing is about creating a connection between your audience and your brand.

This doesn’t mean just throwing content at your audience. It means truly valued creating content — content that serves needs and addresses the biggest pain points. And this type of content is much easier to create when it’s informed and driven by empathy.

As Dr. Brené Brown notes, “Empathy is feeling with people.”

When you put yourself in your audience’s shoes, it becomes easier to acknowledge struggles and think critically about the best solutions. That’s why empathetic content marketing is such a powerful strategy for businesses — both B2B and B2C.

Not sure what that looks like? Let’s walk through nine brands that nail empathetic content marketing across various media.

8 Clever Examples of Empathetic Content Marketing in Action

1) LUSH

Content Type: Video

With the tagline, “Fresh, handmade cosmetics,” LUSH is a beauty brand that is all about natural products. As such, we see its radical transparency showcased in the “How It’s Made“ video series, where LUSH goes behind-the-scenes of some of their most popular products.

Each episode features actual LUSH employees in the “kitchen,” narrating the step-by-step process of how the products are made. Lush visuals (pun intended) showcase just how natural the ingredients are. You see mounds of fresh lemons, tea infusions, and salt swirled together to become the product you know and love. It’s equal parts interesting and educational.

How it shows empathy:

LUSH customers want to buy beauty products that are truly natural. They care about using fresh, organic, and ethically sourced ingredients — hence why the videos feature colorful, close-up shots of those organic lemons and sea salt to drive that point home. Taking customers inside the factory and showing them every part of the process — with a human face — assures them that they can consume these products with peace of mind.

2) LinkedIn

Content Type: Ebook

LinkedIn Marketing Solutions is all about mobilizing marketers to grow their audience, create more effective content, and, ultimately, achieve their goals. Naturally, LinkedIn wants its audience to leverage this service to achieve those goals. While it produces plenty of content related to the benefits of LinkedIn, the team has made a significant push into content that educates all levels of marketer on a variety of topics (as you can see on its blog).

This ebook, The Secret Sauce: Learn how LinkedIn uses LinkedIn for marketing, provides a ton of insider information about how LinkedIn itself uses the platform to achieve its marketing goals.

How it shows empathy:

One immensely effective empathy marketing tactic is education. LinkedIn wants to empower its audience to do work better (and use its product to do so), and this ebook is the single tool they need to understand and confidently use LinkedIn like the pros — even the pros at LinkedIn headquarters.

Through offerings like this, customers learn that they can rely on LinkedIn as a trusted source to guide them in the right direction, and LinkedIn can continue to provide solutions through its product offerings. It’s a win-win all around.

3) The Home Depot

Content Type: Infographic

The Home Depot is a home and garden supply store that caters to all types of builders and DIY-ers — whether you’re a construction worker building a gazebo or a homemaker experimenting with gardening. In other words, their content must cater to various demographics.

As Home Depot is all about the DIY, its marketing focuses on what its supplies can help you do — not just what the supplies are. This “Grow a Living Salad Bowl” infographic teaches consumers to grow their own salads, offering information on how to do it, which vegetables grow best, and what supplies they need — all with minimal branding.

Source: The Home Depot

How it shows empathy:

The Home Depot’s customers dream of being skilled DIY-ers, but need a bit of help working through the unknown, as well as some encouragement. This infographic delivers on these, and inspires customers to take action. 

4) Extra

Content Type: Interactive Site

We’ve seen just about every twist on gum marketing possible: sexy encounters, romantic trysts, and more. Extra is pushing past that narrative. The brand realizes that gum is an everyday part of life, a seemingly mundane product, but its omnipresence means it’s there for many of life’s little moments. Hence, the #givextragetextra campaign is all about celebrating those moments — the awesome fishing trip, the road trip with friends, the engagement — by turning them into art.

The interactive site and social campaign encourage you to submit photos of those everyday moments to be turned into sketches, some of which appear on the inside flap of Extra packaging. At the site, you can see the images, watch a video of the artist’s sketches, peruse the gallery, and search to see if your submission has been turned into art.

How it shows empathy:

In many ways, gum is a product meant to enhance intimacy, making your breath fresh for more closeness. In our techno-connected world, those everyday moments of intimacy are often overlooked. This campaign helps customers become more aware and celebratory of those moments. By encouraging them to capture and share those memories — and honoring them through the gum-wrapper art — Extra is helping customers live a more full and present life.

5) Microsoft

Content Type: Interactive Infographic

Microsoft’s security solutions are all about keeping consumers’ data safe. The brand’s goal, then, is to educate and explain why its products are important. That said, data security is not the sexiest topic — not to mention plenty has been said about it.

To give it a new twist, Microsoft created the Anatomy of a Data Breach interactive site, which explains the issue of data security through a relevant lens: the data heist.

The site puts consumers in a hacker’s shoes, guiding them through the stages of a data breach and showing, in detail, exactly how the data is stolen. Coupled with statistics about data security, the messaging is clear.

How it shows empathy:

Consumers know data breaches are a problem, but they don’t know exactly how they happen (seriously, how do these keep on happening? Asking for a friend.) By making an engaging story and using real consumer survey data, Microsoft brings the problem to life in a genuine and accessible way. Through the interactive, customers truly see their vulnerabilities and better understand how to protect themselves.

6) Michael’s

Content Type: Blog

In a world where Pinterest dominates, Michael’s chain of craft stores is making a play to capture its own audience on its own properties. The brand has long provided the standard craft tutorials and product features on its site, but with The Glue String blog, Michael’s is inserting itself into its readers’ lifestyles with a variety of content.

Posts like “Marker 101: How to Choose a Tip” may sound a little silly, but for avid crafters, these are the exact types of posts that are relevant to their lives. The beautiful layout and high-impact visuals only help to bring these stories to life.

How it shows empathy:

Crafting is an exciting hobby, but not without its own frustrations. Providing useful tips and hacks on how to do things better via a free publication helps readers do more of what they love with fewer headaches. Additionally, fans get to share their enthusiasm through social, helping Michael’s extend its reach while helping their audience show their interests off.

7) JetBlue

Content Type: Video

JetBlue is a brand known for superb customer service and humor. At this point, we know where it flies and we know its hook, so its marketing needs to extend beyond the services provided. As such, JetBlue’s content is focusing more on the world of flying and the experiences we all have.

The Flight Etiquette videos are funny PSAs that spotlight some of the most pervasive problems we encounter while traveling: overzealous flight boarding, chatty seatmates, etc. By giving it the sarcastic “How NOT to” twist, JetBlue showcases its humor and brand voice.

How it shows empathy:

There are specific instances that make the flying experience suck for all of us. These videos attempt to remedy these troubles by commiserating with and educating the public.

8) J.Crew

Content Type: Visual How-Tos

J.Crew is a sophisticated clothing brand that has always marketed toward lifestyle, framing its clothes within that context. While it has a devoted following, it’s always searching for ways to more deeply connect with its audience.

The company’s blog is a fantastic outlet for that. Naturally, as design is a core part of its business, it is a major component of publishing. Its clean design superbly showcases J.Crew products, tips, and tricks. And, it consistently uses on-brand visuals to enhance the content. For example, “How to Get (and Dress For) the Job You Want” includes interviews, expert advice, and vibrant visuals to tie together the discussion with some ideas of exact outfits to buy.

How it shows empathy:

Many J.Crew customers go shopping to find a great interview outfit to make the perfect first impression. Giving customers more options to express themselves — and be successful — through clothing helps them achieve that.

Ready to Try It?

Approaching the content that you seek to create as a brand from a perspective that puts others and their wants, needs, and dreams before your own is the smartest way to grow an audience. That’s because, in doing so, you’re showing people that you care about them as humans, first and foremost. And people want to work with (B2B) or support (B2C) people that they like, and companies that they believe “get” them.

You can always talk about your brand and what you’re peddling once there’s a connection and a relationship established. But if you doing things right, people will be drawn to you and you won’t ever have to toot your own horn.

No matter what they say, people do judge emails by their subject lines.

In fact, 47% of email recipients decide whether or not to open an email based on subject line alone. That’s why it’s so important to craft subject lines that are compelling enough to get people to click through.

While they may seem like a small part of your message, they’re one of the very first impressions you have on your email recipients. And they’re a marketer’s ticket for standing out in a crowded inbox.

Do you want your email content opened, read, and clicked? It all starts with the subject line. Here are 17 tips to help jazz them up and boost engagement.

What Makes a Great Email Subject Line

Before we get to our more detailed best, let’s go over some fundamentals of what makes a great subject line. Regardless of your goals, these are the essential elements that your subject line should possess:

• Urgency. Communicating urgency and scarcity in an email subject line can help compel readers to click (or act) — when phrased creatively and strategically.
• Curiosity. If your subject line piques the recipient’s natural curiosity and interest, they’ll have to open the email to get more information. That can result in, well, a higher open rate.
• An offer. At the end of the day, people love new things and experiences — especially when they come free, or at least discounted. Open with that by including it in your subject line.
• Personalization. Marketers have never had more ways to learn about their subscribers’ preferences, jobs, or general (dis)likes. So when you send them content, make it catered toward the individual.
• Relevance and timeliness. Crafting email subject lines that incorporate trending topics or timely headlines can help you establish your brand as an authority within your industry.
• Name recognition. When you understand your audience’s preferences and interests, you can pique their interest by including the names of these recognizable individuals by including them in your content, and mentioning them in your subject lines.
• Cool stories. By front-loading your email subject line with a compelling allusion to a story that the message tells — but can only be read if opened or clicked — your audience is likely to become intrigued, and want to learn more.

How to Write Clickable Email Subject Lines

1) Keep it short and sweet.

Email subject lines will get cut off if they’re too long, particularly on mobile devices. And with 67% of email opens taking place on mobile, we recommend using subject lines with fewer than 50 characters to make sure the people scanning your emails read the entire subject line.

If you’re struggling to keep your subject lines short, think about which words matter less and where you can remove a frivolous detail. For example, if you’re sending an order confirmation, doesn’t “Your order is being processed” look better than “Order #9435893458358 is being processed”? Same goes for your regular emails: Do you really have to include the word “update” or “newsletter” in there? (Actually, a study from Adestra found that emails including the word “newsletter” in the subject line saw an 18.7% decrease in open rates.)

2) Use a familiar sender name.

That name recognition we mentioned earlier doesn’t just apply to the famous — it applies to the familiar.

“If the “from” name doesn’t sound like it’s from someone you want to hear from, it doesn’t matter what the subject line is,” explains Copy Hacker‘s Joanna Wiebe.

Thanks to the amount of spam email people get these days, most people hesitate to open email from unfamiliar senders. No one likes talking to a robot. Think about when you call a company and can’t get a hold of an actual person. It’s frustrating, right? This goes for email, as well.

Never use “noreply@company.com.” I repeat: Never use this email address. Not only does it make it look less personable, it also stops people from adding your email to their address book.

Instead, avoid using a generic email address and send the email from a real person. For instance, we once found that emails sent from “Maggie Georgieva, HubSpot” performed better in terms of opens and clickthrough rate than emails sent from just “HubSpot.” (HubSpot customers: Learn how to personalize the “From” name and email address here.)

3) Use personalization tokens.

Remember the personalization we mentioned earlier? Using personalization tokens — like name or location — in the subject line adds a feeling of rapport, especially when it’s a name. Everyone loves the sound of their own name. Plus, it increases clickthrough rate: In fact, research has shown that emails that included the first name of the recipient in their subject line had higher click-through rates than emails that did not.

One example of how brands affix this information to subject lines is when dog walking company Wag! does so with dog names. Here’s one such email that HubSpot’s Amanda Zantal-Wiener received:

That’s great personalization and great timing.

Another personalization tactic that works is to tailor subject lines to the recipient’s location — things like lists of their respective cities’ best outdoor bars and restaurants. 

Just don’t go overboard with the personalization here. That can be a little creepy. But little personalized touches here and there show that you know more about your recipients than just their email address. However, if you can’t (or don’t want to) use personalization tokens in the subject line, use “you” or “your” so it still sounds like you’re addressing them directly.

4) Segment your lists.

While email blasts that go out to your entire list might be relevant and helpful to some people, it won’t be to others — and could cause confusion or frustration. Why is this restaurant sending me a list of the best local steakhouses when I’m a vegetarian? Why is this company sending me case studies when I just signed up for its email list yesterday?

Personalize the experience using information from the actions your customers have already taken — from which forms they’ve filled out, to which industries they’re in, to what their personal preferences are. In email marketing, you can personalize your recipients’ experience using a little thing called list segmentation.

How you segment your lists depends on your business and your goals, but you can read this blog post for 27 ideas for how to slice and dice your email lists for better segmentation.

5) Don’t make false promises.

Your email subject line is making a promise to your reader about what you will deliver in your message. Make sure that you make good on that commitment — and do not try to get your email opened by making false promises. This will irk your audience, and they’ll learn not to trust your subject lines, resulting in a lower open rate and a higher unsubscribe rate.

6) Do tell them what’s inside.

Speaking of making promises, if your visitor has downloaded an offer and you’re delivering it via email, it’s a great idea to use a subject line that says something like, “Your new ebook inside!” or, “Your guide awaits!” This works better than a simple “thank you” in the subject line because it makes it clear that something is waiting inside the email.

7) Time it right.

Sending an email at the right time with the right subject line can make a huge difference in open and clickthrough rate. A prime example? When food publication Eater sends at 6:45 P.M. on a Wednesday evening that said, “Where to Drink Beer Right Now” — just in time for happy hour. Nailed it.

Another favorite example of mine is a classic email from Warby Parker with the subject line, “Uh-oh, your prescription is expiring.” It was sent two weeks before the recipient needed to renew his prescription. By sending an email at the right time, Warby Parker increased the chances of their email getting opened — and included a relevant call-to-action about getting a glasses upgrade, too.

8) Use concise language.

Keep in mind that people scan their inboxes very quickly — so the more clear and concise your subject line is, the better. It’s usually a lot better to be concise than it is to use complex and flowery language — unless you’re going for an elusive subject tone to entice your recipients.

When you’re going for a concise subject line, think first about how your email will benefit your recipients. You’ll want to make that benefit very clear. For example, “Increase your open rates by 50% today” is more appealing than “How to increase open rates.”

9) Start with action-oriented verbs.

Subject lines are similar to calls-to-action, in that you want the language to inspire people to click. Subject lines that begin with action verbs tend to be a lot more enticing, and your emails could be drastically more clickable by adding a vibrant verb at the beginning.

Actionable subject lines will inspire people to click on your email by instilling urgency and excitement. For example, in an email inviting people to a hockey legend dinner, the email subject line might read, “Dine with Bruins legend Bobby Orr,” rather than a more generic (and less actionable) “Local Boston Sports Legend Meal.” The former email uses “Dine” to help the reader envision themselves at a dinner table.

10) Make people feel special.

The psychology of exclusivity is a powerful thing. When people feel like they’re on the inside, it gives them a sense of belonging that could build loyalty and compel them to convert better on your emails.

The right phrasing can make your recipients feel special — and the effect can be magical. A few ideas for phrasing include:

• “For our beloved customers only”
• “An exclusive offer for you”
• “My gift to you”
• “You’re invited!”
• “Private invite”

11) Create a sense of importance.

There’s a phrase that, for many of us, is reminiscent of classic infomercials: “Act now!”

And while we wouldn’t encourage using that exact language in your content, we do agree that communicating urgency and scarcity in an email subject line can help compel readers to click (or act) — when phrased creatively and strategically.

But because you don’t want to be known as “the brand that cried wolf,” use these subject lines sparingly, and try to limit them to when the occasion genuinely calls for immediate action.

12) Use numbers.

A lot of businesses send emails with vague statements in their subject lines — which is why using data and numbers is a great way to get your emails noticed, demonstrate a clear and straightforward message about your offer, and set the right expectations.

Just like with blog titles, using numbers in your subject line is an effective email marketing best practice. You might use numbers to refer to the title of your listicle, the page length of the offer you’re sending, a specific discount, or the numerical benefit of a particular resource you’re providing — like “Join more than 750 others at this event!”

13) Pose a compelling question.

Asking a question in your subject line can also draw readers in — especially if you’re asking a question you know is relevant to your recipients’ buyer persona. This is just one way to pique that curiosity we mentioned earlier. For example, you might try the following: “Are you making these SEO mistakes?” or “Do you know what your website is doing wrong?”

Zillow once sent an email with the subject line, “What Can You Afford?” that linked to a website showing apartments for rent. A subject line like this is both encouraging and a touch competitive: While it gives hope that there are apartments out there that’ll fit within your budget, it also pits your cash against what the market offers.

Another example comes from DocuSign. They sent an email late in the lead nurturing process, with the subject line, “What are your customers saying?” The body of the email contained a bunch of case studies that were meant to help the recipient move closer to actually purchasing DocuSign. This was a smart move: Folks who are further down the funnel are likely more receptive to hearing customer testimonials.

14) Don’t be afraid to get punny.

Most people love a good pun. It’s a great way to delight your recipients and spice up your emails. Some of the best punny email subject lines come from JetBlue, with subject lines like “Land wander-

Some of the best punny email subject lines come from JetBlue, with subject lines like, “Land wander-ful low fares now!”

Quirky — a community-led invention platform — worded one of its email subject lines like this: “Abra-cord-abra! Yeah, we said it.” That second part is conversational and self-referential — and exactly what most people would say after making a really cheesy joke in real life.

If you’re the least bit punny, think about small ways you can slip them into your emails when it’s appropriate. Just don’t overdo it. And remember the rule: When in doubt, ask a coworker.

15) DON’T USE ALL CAPS or overuse exclamation points!!!

A subject line that says, “OPEN NOW AND RECEIVE A FREE TRIAL” or, “50% off coupon today only!!!!!!!!” isn’t going to get you an email open. In fact, it’ll probably get your email ignored.

Why? People don’t like to be yelled at, and using all caps and/or a lot of exclamation points can really rub people the wrong way. In fact, according to a study by the Radicati Group, more than 85% of respondents prefer an all-lowercase subject line to one in all caps.

Not only are these tactics disruptive, but they look spammy. So instead of using disruptive tactics like these to stand out in people’s inboxes, try personalizing your emails, establishing relevancy, and using catchy and delightful language.

16) Use engaging preview text.

While preview text isn’t technically part of your subject line, it does appear right near the subject line — and it certainly deserves your attention.

Preview text provides recipients with a peek at the content inside your email, which email clients like the iPhone Mail app, Gmail, and Outlook will display alongside the subject line. (The exact amount of text shown depends on the email client and user settings.)

When you don’t set the preview text yourself, the email client will automatically pull from the body of your email. That can look messy depending on your email content, and it’s also a wasted opportunity to engage your audience. (HubSpot customers: Click here to learn how to set the preview text of your emails.)

17) A/B test your subject lines.

Although these tips and best practices are a great place to start, what works best for some companies may not work as well for others. It’s all about figuring out what works best for your specific audience. That’s where A/B testing comes in.

While it can be tempting to use your intuition to predict what subject line language will make people click on your emails, you should always A/B test your highest-stakes subject lines, and tweak the wording according to your results. What works best for your audience: Long or short subject lines? Including numbers or not including numbers? Questions or statements?

Read this blog post for an A/B testing checklist you can bookmark the next time you want to run one on your emails. (HubSpot customers: Learn how to A/B test emails in HubSpot here.)

At the end of the day, if your emails aren’t getting opened, they’re not getting seen. You have great content to share — now, you have to prove it in your subject line.

Good luck!

There are a lot of things to be negative about on the internet today.

And between cyberbullying on Twitter, fake news on Facebook, and too many weight loss tea ads on Instagram, it’s easy to feel jaded about social media in particular.

In fact, we surveyed more than 3,000 people around the world, and one-third responded that they feel “awful” after browsing social media — with Facebook taking the crown for most awful feelings induced.

So, in an effort to combat these feelings of awfulness, we’ve compiled 30 of the funniest tweets about social media we could find. And with a healthy mix of snark, mockery, and memes, we think they sum up what it’s like to be a social media user — the good, the bad, and the ugly.

30 of the Funniest Tweets About Social Media We’ve Ever Seen

1) On Optimism

Instagram: My life is a party.

Snapchat: My life is a quirky tv show

Facebook: My life turned out great!

Twitter: We’re all going to die.

— Mikel Jollett (@Mikel_Jollett)
January 8, 2017

2) Life Imitates Twitter

“describe your Twitter feed” http://pic.twitter.com/ifp6izdVCz

— Casey Newton (@CaseyNewton)
September 28, 2016

3) Just Keep Mowing …

how it feels to log off twitter in 2017 http://pic.twitter.com/PsGAAPI7GN

— Ziwe (@ziwe)
June 5, 2017

4) Hot Dog Bae

A photographer took pictures of people before and after she called them beautiful http://pic.twitter.com/Ef5tLvFcd5

— Memes 😈 (@memesl0rd)
July 8, 2017

5) Take the Good with the Bad

Twitter: your jokes suck
Instagram: your face sucks
Snapchat: your life sucks
Facebook: your family misses you and is also racist

— Adrienne Airhart (@craydrienne)
October 29, 2015

6) Social Media Gods Don’t Give with Both Hands

it’s super annoying to me when people are very good at twitter and also really good at instagram come on you can’t have both

— Marissa Emanuele (@HiThisIsMarissa)
April 25, 2017

7) You Had One Job

twitter users: let us edit tweets
twitter: the stars are now hearts
twitter users: an edit button please
twitter: we made everything round

— Haley Byrd (@byrdinator)
June 15, 2017

8) On Twitter Expanding its Character Limit

This account has been asked to test Twitter’s new 280 character limit, but as a 100-year-old brand, we believe our fans most enjoy traditional tweets with brevity, so we declined. We hope to continue to provide a fun, positive place to discuss MoonPies moving forward. Thank you.

— MoonPie (@MoonPie)
September 27, 2017

9) Seriously, Though

I would love to start an interview series with random people from Instagram called “How Do You Afford Your Life?”

— Sam Lansky (@samlansky)
September 25, 2017

10) Time to Check-In on Facebook

When you notice someone using your app and you watch closely to make sure everything works well http://pic.twitter.com/MWLWsvE4je

— Or Arbel (@orarbel)
September 5, 2017

11) Please, Don’t Auto-Play Videos with Sound

I want an app for each website I visit. And I want all of them to have loud videos that play automatically. This is my ideal user experience

— Shuja Haider (@shujaxhaider)
August 28, 2017

12) Change Your Passwords, People

how i’ll feel if my DMs ever leak http://pic.twitter.com/Re6UH60EtV

— corey kindberg (@coreykindberg)
August 28, 2017

13) Personal Branding Is Everything

This is my Twitter brand. http://pic.twitter.com/I0D19IJ6EJ

— liz (@eedollmeyer)
August 27, 2017

14) At Least They’re Honest

I’m a:

⚪️ man
⚪️ woman
🔘 brand

Seeking:

⚪️ men
⚪️ women
🔘 retweets and attention

— MoonPie (@MoonPie)
August 23, 2017

15) Total Eclipse of the Tweet

it’s a big day for circular foods http://pic.twitter.com/qMWfLs0dsS

— [halloween name] (@arb)
August 21, 2017

16) We All Have One

my aunts running to the comment section every time I post a picture on Facebook http://pic.twitter.com/kdZLNG0SdM

— Makeup (@MakeupSuppIier)
September 12, 2017

17) It’s Important to Keep Things in Perspective

Facebook: Essential oils.
Snapchat: I’m a bunny!
Instagram: I ate a hamburger.
Twitter: THIS COUNTRY IS BURNING TO THE GROUND.

— Jeanne Hulme (@jeannes_jargon)
July 28, 2017

18) Short, Sweet, and To the Point (1/47)

The 280-character limit is a terrible idea. The whole beauty of Twitter is that it forces you to express your ideas concisely (1/47)

— James Poniewozik (@poniewozik)
September 26, 2017

19) Seriously, Twitter Users Are Salty About This One

139 characters http://pic.twitter.com/WkfdXL8oLh

— Caitlin Kelly (@caitlin__kelly)
September 26, 2017

20) Caution: Parents on Facebook

Thanks for the clarification, Dad. http://pic.twitter.com/Y2ulMh7sJV

— Ray (@rayy_baybay)
July 21, 2017

21) Hindsight Is 20/20

What was I smoking… http://pic.twitter.com/xZareCENLM

— Eric Peters (@EricPeters0)
July 12, 2017

22) When You Gotta Tweet, You Gotta Tweet

[detective inspecting my body at the bottom of the grand canyon] looks like the victim was tweeting “more like the bland canyon” and fell in

— Bob Vulfov (@bobvulfov)
July 7, 2017

23) Life Comes At You Fast

Me every morning v. me after five minutes on Twitter http://pic.twitter.com/KBEzzVZ9i6

— Sady Doyle (@sadydoyle)
June 21, 2017

24) In a World Where You Can Be Anything, Be Kind

Being on Twitter http://pic.twitter.com/sQbDWShv4i

— clicky but scary (@djclickbait)
June 11, 2017

25) You’re Amazing. Yes, You.

Me looking at my own snapchat stories, selfies and tweets after a long day, just reflecting on how great I am. http://pic.twitter.com/x6002kyihv

— MaKayla MaShelle (@MakaylaMashelle)
June 8, 2017

26) I Wish I Knew How to Quit You

Me: I should do a three day social media detox
Also me: I should ask Twitter what they think of that idea

— M. Keaney Anderson (@meghkeaney)
June 3, 2017

27) We All Have Guilty Pleasures

me: twitter is a cesspool

also me: twitter has provided 98% of my entertainment for the day

— keithlaw (@keithlaw)
June 2, 2017

28) On Technical Difficulties

It’s reassuring that even Mark Zuckerberg’s crew can’t overcome the awkward moments that linger while ending a Facebook Live http://pic.twitter.com/VVqRHKS9iv

— Brian Ries (@moneyries)
September 21, 2017

29) Because I Miss Vine and These Are Hysterical

ok im gonna do a thread of vines tht made me actually lol here we go

— alex 😉 (@firedupbby)
June 7, 2017

30) See? I Told You

8. I HAVE NEVER NOT LAUGHED AT THIS https://t.co/wDVoABKgUN

— alex 😉 (@firedupbby)
June 7, 2017

Do you remember when the music video for “Gangnam Style” was everywhere?

Seriously, it felt like everywhere on the internet, TV, and radio, you could find Psy dancing to the infectious hit song.

What you might not remember about “Gangnam Style” is that it was record-setting: Back in 2012, it was the first video on YouTube to reach one billion, and then two billion views.

It’s just one of many — 127, to be precise — facts about video marketing that Websitebuilder compiled in the infographic below. Read on to learn more fun facts about YouTube, video marketing, and how your audience is evolving — and interacting — with your video content.

Y’all. I don’t even know where to begin.

Have you ever had one of those weeks, or maybe even long weekends, when you genuinely disconnect from or simply don’t have as much time to pay attention to tech news?

But then, you come back from that brief reprieve, only for things to look kind of like this:

Source: Giphy

I was going to write a full news recap for you this week. Even when limited to the tech realm, there was a lot that went on, from Snapchat’s bungled “surprise” partnership with Jeff Koons, to product announcements from Sonos, to even more struggles from major tech companies– like Google, Facebook, and Twitter — to curb the distribution and promotion of false content.

But as I reviewed all of the week’s developments, there was one main news item that really caught my eye, besides Google’s major product event on Wednesday (which I covered here): what’s going on with Uber.

Because this item is rather complex and in-depth, I’ve chosen to focus exclusively on Uber this week. It’s intricate, has evolved quickly, and is a lot for anyone to sort through.

That’s why I’ve synthesized what’s happening here, in what I hope is a cohesive, easy-to-digest manner, to help you catch up on things.

With that said: on your mark — get set — drive.

Spoiler Alert: This Kind of Has a Happy Ending

Over in London

Like most weeks, it seems, this was not a good one for Uber. There’s been a bit of a rollercoaster of events since Transport for London revoked its license to operate in that U.K. city, including the departure of Uber’s chief of northern Europe affairs, Jo Bertram.

Uber’s new CEO Dara Khosrowshahi has spent much of his recent time in London to meet with Mike Brown, commissioner of Transport for London. While both parties suggested that these discussions have been mutually beneficial, no formal decision has been made — nor will it be, it seems, until October 13, when a judge is due to issue a decision on the ride-sharing company’s appeal.

Until that process has reached a conclusion, Uber can continue operating in London, where it has roughly 40,000 drivers.

But as interesting a development as that might be, things were even more amplified for Uber in two other categories: its ongoing legal woes with Alphabet, and continuous drama over its board.

The Alphabet Lawsuit

To recap: When we last left off, Alphabet had obtained a significant document called the Stroz Report: a due diligence report named for the firm that prepared it, Stroz Friedberg, ordered by Uber when controversial self-driving technology engineer Anthony Levandowski would be joining its team. Levandowski is accused of stealing trade secrets from Waymo, Alphabet’s autonomous vehicle division, and no longer works for Uber. He has firmly exercised his fifth amendment rights throughout these proceedings.

Earlier this week, the Stroz report became public — and those with the intestinal fortitude to sift through all 34 pages can do so here:

1928-24 by Johana Bhuiyan on Scribd

But for those who don’t find poring over a due diligence report as much fun as we do, there are quick-acting transportation writers like Recode‘s Johana Bhuiyan, who managed to dissect the document before most of us were thinking about getting ready for bed.

Here are the highlights:

• First, after seeing the amount of information disclosed in the report, it’s clear why Alphabet requested more time to review it prior to appearing in court — it’s a lot to get through, even if you don’t have to prepare a legal case. Earlier this week, a judge granted that request, and the trial date has been pushed to December 6th.
• Stroz Friedberg discovered during its investigation that Levandowski was, in fact, in possession of “highly confidential” information from Waymo “stored on five disks on his personal Drobo 50,” which he later destroyed — things like “source code, files, and software pertaining to self-driving cars.”
• The report also found that Levandowski met with Uber executives while he was still employed by Google (owned by Alphabet). Additionally, text messages exchanges with former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick were discovered to have taken place shortly after Levandowski left his post with Google.
• Stroz Friedberg also discovered that Lior Ron, Levandowski’s co-founder of Otto (the company he launched prior to joining Uber), was in possession of similarly proprietary information. Shortly before leaving Google, it was found that he made efforts to destroy digital files, or at least learn how to do so.

While Alphabet maintains that this new information aids its case, Uber has claimed the opposite and says that these efforts to destroy files, for example, prove Kalanick’s insistence that Levandowski and his partners rid themselves of any proprietary data from Google.

It’s worth noting that before the Otto co-founders agreed to join Uber, they required indemnity from any potential legal action involving Google. According to a Recode report from July, that indemnity was “negotiated,” which could explain why neither has been named in the lawsuit. However, the reason why Levandowski was fired from Uber in May largely had to do with his lack of cooperation on the case. As the proceedings progress and the court date more closely approaches, it will be interesting to see if he and Ron remain legally unscathed.

The Board Drama

If you can believe it, this item might be even more complex and difficult to dissect than the Stroz report — so to simplify matters, events have been compiled into a timeline.

September 29, 2017

Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick appointed two new members to its board of directors: former Xerox CEO Ursula Burns and former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain. Each director filled one of two seats of which Kalanick previous had control — however, given Kalanick’s diminished role within the company, these appointments came as a surprise.

Some have suggested that this move by Kalanick was largely a power play among Khosrowshahi’s proposal to restructure the current model that allows those with more shares in the company to also have greater voting power. The new model would enact a one share = one vote formula.

That would also mean the removal of shares held by those to whom they were issued in the company’s earliest days — the same people, therefore, with the highest voting power. Under this proposal, those individuals stand to lose something potentially highly lucrative — including Kalanick, Benchmark (a venture capital firm and investor in Uber that is actually suing the former CEO), and certain employees.

Uber, for its part, later responded to Kalanick’s move with this official statement:

“The appointments of Ms. Burns and Mr. Thain to Uber’s Board of Directors came as a complete surprise to Uber and its Board. That is precisely why we are working to put in place world-class governance to ensure that we are building a company every employee and shareholder can be proud of.”

September 30, 2017

Khosrowshahi issued a short letter to Uber employees, expressing his disappointment and surprise by Kalanick’s board appointments. He reiterated the official statement from above, calling the move “highly unusual.”

October 3, 2017

The board met, primarily to vote on Khosrowshahi’s restructuring proposal, and essentially figure out who would have the most voting and significant decision-making power — and how much of that power would remain in Kalanick’s possession.

The overall goal that would hopefully emerge from what had thus far been a heaping pile of contention was what Recode‘s Kara Swisher called “obvious: To clear the way for a big, new $10 billion stock deal by SoftBank and, eventually, a smooth public offering for Uber next year that will top its current $70 billion valuation.”

In the end, the board voted in favor of moves that would largely continue to diminish Kalanick’s power. Here’s a summary of what emerged:

• The one share = one vote model was approved. That reduces the voting power of both Kalanick and Benchmark, as well as others, who had strong opinions on the matter:

• The company will proceed with its efforts to ink an investment deal with Softbank, which has been in talks to buy a significant portion of the company’s shares. However, in order for that to happen, Softbank required some modification to Uber’s corporate governance — and with the aforementioned approved changes, that leaves more room for the deal to move forward.
• The board approved plans for a 2019 IPO.
• Six new board seats will be added, leading to a total of 17 directors.

A Symbolically Overheating Engine

All of this, of course, makes for quite a story — one that some might say is stranger than fiction. Perhaps that’s why New York Times reporter Mike Isaac has been commissioned to write an extensive book about Uber, and personally, the “pre-order” button can’t appear soon enough.

But it’s an ongoing story, and the book is expected to be released in 2019: right around the time that massive IPO is slated to take effect. Only more questions will arise — including my own, “Who will play all the major characters in the movie version?” — and we’ll be here to monitor, track, and digest the latest developments for you.

If you haven’t already noticed, the HubSpot Blogs got a makeover this summer.

And while your last makeover might’ve included a new wardrobe or hair color, ours was different. We revamped blog.hubspot.com from the inside, out with the help of topic clusters.

And yeah, the beautiful new homepage design, easy click-to-tweet buttons, and video modules help, too. That’s all thanks to my colleague, Carly Stec, who worked tirelessly on the redesign of the HubSpot Blogs, along with talented members of our graphic and web design and SEO teams. To learn more about the new bells and whistles you can see and test out on the blog, read her deep-dive into what’s new.

Even though you can’t see it, there’s a lot that’s new going on behind-the-scenes: We reorganized our entire blog infrastructure according to the topic cluster model, which calls for the grouping of related blog posts around specific topics — instead of writing blog posts to try to rank for different long-tail keywords. It was no mean feat — over the years, we’ve published tens of thousands of blog posts across the Marketing and Sales Blogs, and we recently started publishing new content on our Customer Success Blog.

Now that it’s done — or, at least, well on the way — we’re ready to tell you how we did it. Read on to learn how we changed our blog’s infrastructure, and how the topic clusters are helping us help our readers.

How We Used Topic Clusters to Transform Our Blog

Why: We Wanted to Create a Better Experience

We’ve told you before and we’ll tell you again: search has changed. And as it turns out, the way we were creating our editorial calendar, targeting keywords, and publishing blog posts last year wasn’t optimized for the way people are searching for information this year.

So we blew up our entire blog infrastructure.

Just kidding (kind of). Here’s the story:

Before Topic Clusters

HubSpot Director of Acquisition (and general SEO genius) Matthew Barby introduced us to the idea of topic clusters — and why they’re so important to creating a good experience for searchers — as well as helping content rank in search more effectively.

You see, as technology has evolved and changed, so too has the way people search for the information they need on search engines like Google. Voice search on devices like Apple’s Siri, Amazon Echo, Google Home, and Microsoft’s Cortana has changed the way people search because, instead of typing, they’re having a conversation to find the information they need.

In fact, 20% of Google searches on mobile or Android devices are now conducted via voice search. And what’s more, search engine algorithms are getting smarter, and using machine-learning technology, now, when searchers ask questions or input keywords, search engines can interpret the meaning of terms to try to find the best possible answer.

What this all means? Well, your time spent writing blog posts designed to rank for specific, long-tail keywords could be better spent elsewhere. Namely, on creating topic clusters.

Because your blog (and ours too) was dedicated to trying to rank for specific long-tail keywords in search, the infrastructure was a little … messy. Here’s a visualization of what it looked like:

So, yeah. While we had thousands and thousands of blog posts about everything marketing, sales, and advertising under the sun, they weren’t organized — and some of the posts were even competing with each other because they were so similar. Think about it — when we had 10 different blog posts about “Instagram tips,” some of them had overlapping content and similar URL structures that started to compete with each other in search engine results pages (SERPs).

After Topic Clusters

The goal of organizing our blog using topic clusters was so our infrastructure would look a little more like this:

How was this beautiful feat of blog architecture achieved? By using pillar pages and internal links to create those topic clusters.

Under the topic cluster model, instead of creating blog posts designed to rank for specific, long-tail keywords, we organized our blog posts into specific topic areas — anchored together by one webpage that provided a broad overview of the topic, which then hyperlinked out to more specific, deep-dive blog posts that made up a topic cluster.

Having trouble visualizing it? Here’s what it looks like now:

• Topic: Instagram Marketing
• Pillar Content: Instagram Marketing
• Cluster Content: The Anatomy of a Perfect Instagram Profile, How to Write Good Instagram Captions: 8 Bookmarkable Tips for Perfecting Your Copy,

• How to Use Instagram Stories: A Simple Guide for Marketers 

And, as you’ll notice, each of these blog posts hyperlink back to the pillar page, and some hyperlink within each other. This helps share domain authority so all blog posts within a cluster start ranking for the specific keywords they’re written for — which all work to help the entire topic cluster succeed in SERPs.

But how did we actually make all of these changes? This project was spearheaded by HubSpot Senior Content Strategist Leslie Ye, SEO and Acquisition Marketer Brittany Chin, and Search Marketing Manager Victor Pan. It took many months of diligent work — in fact, it’s still ongoing on some of our blogs — and we’ll give you a rundown of how we’ve done it.

How: We Organized Our Blog Posts, Identified Content Gaps, and Manually Removed Every Internal Link We Could Find

Step One: Organizing

When the team decided how to get started restructuring our entire blog, there was a little problem: They realized that, with more than 12,000 blog posts across the Marketing, Sales, and Agency Blogs, it would take many, many hours to put this new structure into place — and even longer to start seeing SEO results to see if the topic cluster model worked.

So they started with the Sales Blog — having published roughly 2,500 blog posts when this project began, it would be a significantly faster and easier feat to restructure this younger blog — the learnings from which we could use for restructuring the Marketing Blog down the line.

The first step of this process was organizing entire Sales Blog’s database of blog posts into different topic clusters — the team identified the myriad different topic areas blog posts explored and organized them into topics that were broad enough to write about in 20-30 different blog posts, but not so broad that a pillar page couldn’t dive into the topic in any sort of depth.

For example, we don’t have a “Sales” topic cluster — that would be way too broad. But we do have a “Sales Email Templates” topic cluster — it’s broad enough that we can cover it thoroughly in this pillar page, but we can also dive deeper into it in blog posts like this one.

So, as you can imagine, this process took a little while: We had to audit all of our content and separate it into groups of blog posts that all centered around a specific topic. Then, we had to identify our pillar pages and content gaps.

Step Two: Identifying

The beauty of the topic cluster model is that it forces you to evaluate your database of content and make sure you’re providing all relevant information about a particular topic to your reader. So it’s important to conduct thorough keyword research about your topic (once you’ve identified it).

The key things you need to identify during this content audit are:

1. What is your pillar page?
2. Where are there content gaps?
3. Where are content duplicates?

1) Pillar Page

A pillar page covers the topic thoroughly and broadly, so a visitor could answer any basic questions about the topic. It shouldn’t delve too deeply into answering specific questions — that’s what blog posts are for.

Do you have a blog post that meets this criteria? If so, great — you have the content you need to create a pillar page. If not, you need to create it.

2) Content Gaps

Once you’ve conducted your keyword research, choose the keywords related to your topic that have the highest search volume. Then, determine if you’ve already written a blog post about that keyword, or if you need to write a new blog post.

Remember, you might already have content that addresses the keyword, but you might need to use on-page SEO strategies to target a blog post for that keyword.

3) Content Duplicates

You may have several blog posts that cover topics in an overlapping way that are ranking for the same keywords and competing against each other. Combine the information in these posts on the highest-ranking URL, and redirect the other blog posts towards it.

Step Three: De-Linking and Re-Linking

Possibly the least glamorous part of this process was de-linking. The team manually reviewed every blog post and removed all of the internal hyperlinks so, once the pillar pages were created, we could internally link only within the topic cluster — to improve the domain authority of every blog post and webpage in the cluster. (In fact, Barby recommends one hyperlink per 150 words.)

This took a while — and luckily, we didn’t have to do it for the Marketing Blog. We learned a lot about the topic cluster structure over the course of implementing it on the Sales Blog, and the team was eventually able to automate interlinking among topic cluster pages. (Phew!)

The Results: Slow, Steady, and Positive Growth

We’ve already started to see improvement in search rankings for various keywords across the HubSpot Blogs that we’re tracking. In our most recent analysis, we’re experiencing positive month-over-month growth in the number of keywords we have ranking on the first page of Google SERPs, and we have hundreds more keywords closing in on the second and third pages — with projected growth expected in the future.

If You Build It …

The thing is, when it comes to SEO, the results don’t come quickly, and they’re not always sticky — for example, while running this experiment, we also dealt with a seasonal downturn in organic traffic in the summer, and a decrease in traffic that we partially attribute to the growth in popularity of Google’s Featured Snippet — which eliminates the need for searchers to click on links to get the information they need.

You know, like this one:

The thing is, Google is always changing, and while topic clusters aren’t the foolproof solution to earning the number one spot in Google SERPs forever, implementing this architecture sets your blog up for more traffic — and better rankings — as more people start searching in these new and different ways.

As Ye puts it, “basic SEO practices get you on the field. Topic clusters help you level up.” This new strategy is a lot of work to implement, but it gives you a foundation for future success in 2018 and beyond.

To learn more about topic clusters, check out more resources from the team that made it happen:

• Topic Clusters: The Next Evolution of SEO
• Search Has Changed. Here’s How Your Content Needs to Evolve.
• What Is a Pillar Page? (And Why It Matters For Your SEO Strategy)
• How to Structure Your Editorial Calendar in the Age of the Topic Cluster Content Model 

As a rule, San Francisco is beautiful in October.

Yesterday was no exception. Outside of the famed SF Jazz venue, it was sunny, with a just-right amount of crispiness in the air.

But inside the venue, there was shade — lots and lots of shade.

The event had many names, ranging from the “Google Hardware Event” and “Pixel 2 Event,” to simply, “Made By Google.” By any other name, it was a large-scale unveiling of the latest generation of Google hardware products, ranging from phones to virtual reality (VR) headsets. And coming on the heels of similar events from both Apple and Amazon, that’s where the shade came in: Google

And coming on the heels of similar events from both Apple and Amazon, that’s where the shade came in: Google wanted to make sure that its new products were easier to use, more competitively priced, and not ruined by advance leaks.

Jabs were thrown. There was talk of the “other” guys, so to speak. And I have to admit: the things unveiled were really cool.

But mirror, mirror, on the wall: which product release is the most fly of all? Naturally, I have my own opinions on the matter — but I want to let you decide. That’s why we’ve recapped everything that was unveiled at the event, along with some of my own thoughts on each new release and what it indicates for future developments in tech.

Everything Unveiled at the #MadeByGoogle Event

1) Pixel Buds (My Vote for Coolest Product Reveal)

Price: $159

Bear with us, as I know that earbuds are, traditionally, far from the “neatest” thing to premiere at events like these, especially since — unlike Apple’s, for example — these aren’t completely wireless. But watch this live demo from yesterday’s event, and you’ll see what I mean:

Come on. How cool is that? And how helpful might it be in a time when businesses have a growing international presence and relationships? That is — if the technology functions as it was designed, as USA TODAY’S Eli Blumenthal put it:

Pixel Buds promise real-time translation, which if it works in real life as well as it does in this demo would be incredible.

— Eli Blumenthal (@eliblumenthal)
October 4, 2017

The Pixel Buds — as with most of the devices debuted yesterday, which you’ll see below — also come equipped with Google Assistant, which can be activated by pressing the right earbud. And, like many of Assitant-ready devices, it can remind you about calendar items and let you know if you’ve received a new text message.

Sound familiar? That’s because these features are, in a way, drawn from both the Apple Watch and AirPods.

2) The Phones: Pixel 2 and Pixel 2 XL

Price: Pixel 2 — $649 | Pixel 2 XL — $849

Here’s where some of the shadiest remarks (to the delight of the audience, I might add) began to appear. During the product demo and explanations of the latest generation of Pixel phones, Google’s VP of Product Management casually uttered:

“We don’t set aside better features for the larger device.”

It was a jab, of course, at Apple, whose iPhone X comes with somewhat significantly better features (and a higher price tag) than its smaller iPhone 8 and 8s. But as for the Pixel’s own new features, the spotlight seemed

But as for the Pixel’s own new features, the spotlight seemed to be on its continuously impressive camera. It comes with portrait mode capabilities — which, yes, also apply to selfies — with a single lens. That also contrasts from the “other guys,” like the latest Apple device cameras, which require two camera lenses to pull off the same photo quality.

But perhaps an even more significant feature of the latest Pixel generation is Google Lens: an AI-powered visual recognition system that recognizes objects like art, landmarks, and local businesses just by having the camera pointed at them. This technology had been alluded to earlier this year, and now, Pixel owners will be the first to preview it.

Source: Google

“But wait — there’s more!” as the saying goes. Those who buy a new Pixel model will be treated to a Google Home Mini, which I’ll get to next.

3) Google Home Mini and Max

Price: Mini — $49 | Max — $399

First, let’s go over some of the new features of the Google Home and the Assistant technology that comes with it.

Google Home and Assistant Features

This portion of the event made it clear that Google has followed the recent trend of making in-home personal assistant technology a family affair. With more of these devices boasting the ability to recognize and maintain accounts for multiple users, at some point, there has to be a kid-friendly option. That was the inspiration behind a host of new features, like telling a bedtime story. But it’s not all fun and games — with the new Broadcast feature, you can also push a daily morning reminder to devices placed in kids’ rooms, for example, that “it’s time to get ready for school.”

(Anyone else really glad that wasn’t a thing when they were in school?)

The efforts to make features more seamless across various Assistant-equipped devices seem to be progressing, as well. Many of these seem to fall under the category of helping users maintain a routine using the Made By Google family of tools — for example, one presenter spoke of a feature that allows users to remotely send a voice message via their phones that will then be broadcasted on Home devices. It’s a great way to let your family know that you’re on your way home with a pizza, or to freak them out.

Plus, it sounds like a great way to freak out anyone standing near your Home device — just in time for Halloween. http://pic.twitter.com/QGct2UdTWt

— HubSpot (@HubSpot)
October 4, 2017

What didn’t come as a surprise, but was still nice to see, was the Google Home and Assistant’s integration with Nest, a manufacturer of smart home and automation devices. Now, among other tricks, you can ask Assistant to display video from a security camera feed if you’ve been alerted that there’s movement in your home. (The Nest CTO used the extremely lovable example of using this feature to find out that the movement near her front door was not an intruder, but rather, her pet pig.)

Mini

The Home Mini is essentially Google’s response to the Echo Dot. (The prices are just about equal, with the latter priced at $50.) There isn’t really much to say about its features, as I covered most of that with the Assistant recap above, but in my humble opinion: It’s a bit prettier than its Amazon competitor. According to the presentation, the design team tested about 157 shades of gray before selecting the one that will go to market, along with two other color options. Plus, it’s covered with durable fabric, giving it a bit less of an industrial look-and-feel than the Echo Dot

Max

It was only a matter of time before Google threw its had into the compact home speaker ring. Enter Google Max: the first speaker powered by Smart Sound, an AI-powered learning system that helps users play and identify songs. For example, if you hum the tune of a song that you don’t know the name of, Smart Sound is designed to recognize — a feature that I’ll believe when I see (and hear) it for myself, despite DJ Diplo’s successful experience with it.

Max can be paired with a number of music streaming services. In fact, music seemed to be at the center of several product features unveiled yesterday — including the Pixelbook, up next.

4) Pixelbook

Price: $999

A note on the price: We’d like to point out that this price tag is, while a bit higher than some might like, the same one that’s been assigned to the iPhone X. What seems different between the two, however, is that the Pixelbook is a bit of a hybrid of many of the products unveiled yesterday.First, let’s go over some of the new features of the Google Home and the Assistant technology that comes with it.

To state the obvious: Yes, it’s equipped with Google Assistant, which is really its primary appeal. It streamlines the Assistant features so that they can be seamlessly accessed from one’s laptop or tablet — however you wish to define it.

That’s also where the Pixelbook Pen comes in: a stylus device that allows users to draw on their devices, whether for note-taking or circling words and items that they want to look up. While it’s not exactly the first of its kind, it does happen to come with handwriting recognition. Like so much else that was demonstrated at the event, at its core is machine learning and AI — a reflection of one of CEO Sundar Pichai’s opening remarks:

“In an AI-first world, I believe that computers should adapt to people in their everyday lives.”

The Pixelbook Pen is priced at $99.

5) Daydream View

Price: $99

If I’m being honest, this portion of the event was a bit more lackluster than others. While the new Daydream View content library will come with more games and videos — including IMAX films — the focus here was really on the Pixel’s augmented reality (AR) features, and how, in some instances, they can be paired with the headset. Similar to some competing product reveals earlier this year, the AR technology can be used to test how furniture will look in home spaces, for example.

Plus, new AR experiences have been created in partnerships with media companies like Netflix, to help users bring characters from their favorite TV shows to life. And here’s a unique twist: Instead of the user just interacting and controlling with these characters, the technology is designed to allow the characters to interact with each other.

Source: Google

6) Clips

Price: $249

Here’s another moment of truth: This product is … bizarre. I’m not alone in that assessment:

This is a very deeply weird product https://t.co/CWCHPRMtYY

— Sean O’Kane (@sokane1)
October 4, 2017

It seems like no one is entirely sure what the Clips — essentially a square-shaped camera — is supposed to do, or what sets it apart from other devices in its category. Its main boasting point, according to the presentation, is that it allows users to capture moments while also experiencing them.

What?

Yeah, we thought you might as that. Okay, here’s how we understand it: It’s a camera, but it’s not on your phone, which means that it’ll capture moments like a baby’s first steps without you being preoccupied with trying to catch it on your mobile device. You can place it on a surface where these moments can be recorded, but it conspicuously lights up so that those around it know that it’s currently capturing visuals. So, what makes it different than, say, any other camera?

So, what makes it different than, say, any other camera? Tada! It comes with machine learning capabilities and self-adjusts according to familiar faces and subjects that you capture the most and, therefore, the device has learned to recognize.

Source: Google

And so concludes our selection of highlights from Shade — I mean — Made by Google. Did I miss your favorite moment? Feel free to tweet me to let me know.

Hiring good people can be difficult, time-consuming, and costly. If you’re in a constant cycle of hiring, I don’t have to tell you about the time warp it can cause — but what about the cost?

The more interviews you do, the more you spend. And the more time you spend absorbed in lengthy interviews the more likely you are to take shortcuts and make mistakes. And according to Dr. John Sullivan, the hiring process is getting even harder:

“Aggressiveness, the need for counteroffers, higher rejection rates, and a renewed focus on recruiting the currently employed will all return to prominence.”

What if I told you I could help you be more efficient with your time, and get the information you need to make decisions for next steps — in about half the time you’re currently committing?

The advantage of reducing your hiring time will add to your bottom line, perhaps more than you realize. A report from UrbanBound illustrated the time demands, and how costs can add up:

“Onboarding can be an extremely time-demanding project. It can cost up to 1/3 of an employee’s salary to onboard and train new hires, especially when that employee’s job description does not have to do with onboarding. Therefore, if a small company has a flawed onboarding plan, they risk having a bad retention percentage which can be extremely costly.”

Considering this, it’s logical to believe organizations would be better off spending less time overall on interviews, but more quality time during that initial conversation. So, how would one shorten the time commitment and reduce overall costs, and give a better interview in the process? Consider my process for a 30-minute phone interview, below.

How to Run a 30-Minute Phone Interview

I know what you’re thinking … 30 minutes seems really short when you are trying to find a fabulous candidate, how do you make it worthwhile? You’re probably asking yourself:

• What questions do I ask?
• How do I prioritize the questions?
• If I run such a tight agenda, how will we connect?

Okay, maybe not that last one. But if you structure a simple agenda, prepare quality questions, and are disciplined throughout your time in front of candidates, I believe you can answer all of your questions after just a few interviews. Let’s start with time management.

Managing The First 5 Minutes

If you’re going to pull off an effective interview in 30 minutes or less, you have to be organized and efficient. You’ll want to start strong and there’s no better time than the first five minutes.

4 Things to Cover in the First 5 Minutes

• Introduce yourself: “Hi, I’m the Managing Partner of Revenue River Marketing. We’re growing quickly and I’m looking for the very best marketers in the country.”
• State your intent: “We’re hiring for position XYZ and I’m looking for a specific type of candidate. I’d like to move quickly so we can both decide if there’s a good fit for us.”
• Set the agenda: “I’d like to spend 10 minutes asking you a few questions, then I’ll give you an equal amount of time to ask me anything you’d like.”
• Confirm buy-in: “How does that sound?” (If they say anything other than ‘absolutely’ or ‘I’m ready’, I’d be concerned. Anyone who just starts rambling clearly isn’t picking up on your goals.)

The Next 10 Minutes: Getting Answers to Key Questions

If you’re going to get through enough quality questions in 10 minutes, you’ll want to ensure you’re on point with your preparation. You’ll want to prepare a set of direct questions and count on the candidate being perceptive enough to answer with brevity.

I’ve noticed that observing how candidates handle the pace of this section can be very telling. If the candidate decides to grandstand during replies to your questioning, it’s a clear disqualifier.

Instead of interrupting to get through your questions efficiently, I advise you let them talk. They’ll cost themselves the chance to answer the remainder of your questions, and likely a chance at employment with your organization.

Conversely, a good candidate understands that you’ll ask follow-up questions if you want more detail. Some of our very best hires have quickly and artfully answered our most direct and pointed questions with quick-witted responses.

While I can’t provide the exact types of key questions you should ask for your own specific position, I can give you a sense of qualities you want to look for that are predominantly universal for any job.

Giving Them 10 Minutes to Pass the “Test”

Now it’s time for your candidate to impress you with their prepared questions. Your goal for this ten-minute segment is to see how prepared the candidate is and how much they want this job in particular. You want to know if they’re just looking for any job they can find, or if they’re truly interested in a career with your organization.

Good candidates prepare well. They study your website, your bio, your team, and your offering. They have a list of specific questions that demonstrate their understanding of your business, and hopefully even some observations on how they believe they can add value.

Many candidates won’t realize how important this segment of the interview is, and they’ll reveal something about themselves you missed previously. The candidates that used active listening during the first five minutes will operate at the same pace you did and respect the agenda.

Insight to Gain during Candidate Questioning

• Did they study your website? Test them on it.
• Do they understand what you do? Ask them questions about it.
• Are they more interested in compensation or job duties?
• Are they more interested in benefits and vacation or company growth trajectory?

Remaining 5 Minutes: Wrapping Up with Next Steps

Something to remember during this initial interview is that the goal is not to hire, but to qualify for next steps. Each candidate is either ready for another interview or they’re being ruled out. You’re not hiring them today, so don’t overdo it. Just get through the critical questions you think need to be answered and wrap things up.

You likely won’t have exactly five minutes here, but that’s okay. Let them know your plans for next steps and let them know your expectations for follow-up.

Follow-up should always be the responsibility of the candidate and never on the executive. I’ve been surprised by some great interviews that were followed by poor follow-up and their responsibility here allows them to demonstrate their skills further, one way or another.

5 Important Qualities To Focus On in a 30-Minute Phone Interview

1) Coachability

Employees that aren’t coachable struggle to get through tough times, and those who are receptive to instruction improve quickly. As Derek Lauber from Lightbox Leadership puts it, “Hiring for coachability can help you find those individuals with the traits necessary to becoming long-term valuable members of your organization.”

Example Question: What would you do if you found yourself struggling to meet your objectives after 90 days?

2) Transparency

You can substitute in the word “honesty” here. I love asking questions that allow the candidates the chance to prove they’re not completely honest. A transparent workplace is important in maintaining a positive culture, and you don’t want to let any bad seeds take root. Jessica Miller-Merrell of Glassdoor advises, “When one person is not aligned with the organization, it is significantly more likely that everyone below them will be out of line as well.”

Example Question: Why shouldn’t I hire you? (Please don’t tell me because sometimes you care too much)

3) Desire

People that really want something for themselves work harder than people who just want to live a life of leisure so I look for people who are hungry. These are the people you want in your organization, pure and simple.

Example Question: Why is this position the direction you want to go with your career?

4) Organizational Skills

The modern workplace is a massive game of dealing with distractions– organization creates efficiency and that means better productivity. In “Organizational Skills in the Workplace,” Rick Suttle advises, “Planning is a needed workplace skill, and it is particularly important as person advances into more supervisory or managerial roles.”

Example Question: How do you plan your day/week, and what tools have you used to do so?

5) Humility

The best players on any team have humility — ego and selfishness can cause cancerous behavior that can destroy what you’ve built. As John Baldoni put it in HBR, “Humility is more than an important characteristic for leaders, but for employees as well. It is this trait which allows leaders and employees to work well individually and as a team. A humble employee is aware of his own limitations and is willing to accept –- and give –- help as needed.”

Example Question: Those are some impressive results. To what do you owe that success?

Additional Questions & Comments

You’ll also want to spend a couple minutes on some resume specific questions. You should prepare a few direct questions about their resume you can mix in with the others. Here are a few questions I like to ask to see if I can get someone to complain, make excuses, or show inconsistencies for the character traits I’m targeting at this time.

• How was your relationship with your boss at this job?
• Which of these positions do you feel held your career back?

These can be clear indicators of disqualifiers for your role, so don’t shy away from them.

With Practice Comes Perfection

After you’ve used this 30-minute phone interview script with a few candidates you’ll perfect the process and refine your style. Once perfected, cutting your initial interview time in half with these concepts will save time and money while improving results during this step in the hiring process.

Start by spending a little more time setting up your own script, and you’ll be sure to benefit once you’ve applied these tactics.