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Think You Like What You Like? Think Again

by Nir Eyal, May 21, 2013 | Comments

	Placebo Effect in Full Effect A funny thing happens when you lie to people: they tend to believe. Why shouldn’t they? They lie to themselves all the time. Our minds are wired to respond in predictable ways–among them is perceiving the world the way we want to see it, not necessarily the way it is. Perhaps no other phenomenon demonstrates our brain’s ability to make ...
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Temptation

by Nir Eyal, May 7, 2013 | Comments

	What makes us want How do products tempt us? What makes them so alluring? It is easy to assume we crave delicious food or impulsively check email because we find pleasure in the activity. But pleasure is just half the story. Temptation is more than just the promise of reward. Recent advances in neuroscience allow us to peer into the brain, providing a greater ...
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Why business is addicted to habits

by Nir Eyal, April 10, 2013 | Comments

Why business is hell bent on futures

Habits are good for business. In fact, many industries could not survive without them. The incentive systems and business models of the companies that make habit-forming products require someone gets hooked. Without consumer habits, these enterprises would go bust. While most of us think of cigarettes or gambling as habit-forming products, the fact is, a much wider swath of ...

Viral Loops of viral oops?

by Nir Eyal, April 4, 2013 | Comments

Time for some growth hack

MessageMe announced recently that it had grown to one million users in a little over a week’s time. The revelation captured the attention of envious app makers throughout Silicon Valley, all of whom are searching for the secrets of customer acquisition like it’s the fountain of youth. “Growth hacking” has become the latest buzzword, as investors like Paul Graham profess it’s functionally that ...

Designing to reward our tribal sides

by Nir Eyal, February 20, 2013 | Comments

Content algorithm enhancing our group activities... Everywhere?

We are a species that depend on one another. Scientists theorize humans have specially adapted neurons that help us feel what others feel, providing evidence that we survive through our empathy for others. We’re meant to be part of a tribe and our brains seek out rewards that make us feel accepted, important, attractive, and included. Many of our institutions and industries ...

This Will Be the Last Article You Read

by Nir Eyal, January 22, 2013 | Comments

	Avoid the pitfalls of internet articles If the Internet had a voice, I am fairly certain it would sound like the HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey. “Hello Nir,” it said to me in its low, monotone voice. “Glad to see you again.” “Internet, I just need a few quick things for an article I’m writing,” I’d reply. “Then it’s back to work. No distractions this time.” “Of ...
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Ways to get people to do things they don't want to do

by Nir Eyal, January 18, 2013 | Comments

Use behavior design, including progressive disclosure and purposeful incentives

A reader recently asked me a pointed question: “I’ve read your work on creating user habits. It’s all well and good for getting people to do things, like using an app on their iPhone, but I’ve got a bigger problem. How do I get people to do things they don’t want to do?” Taken aback by the directness and potentially ...

How Technology is Like Bug Sex

by Nir Eyal, January 11, 2013 | Comments

	Techy Sexy This week, thousands of people swarmed the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Looking from above, the scene resembled an insect infestation of scampering masses in a hive of the latest must-haves. When considering our complex relationship with technology, perhaps it is useful to reflect upon the plight of one particular bug, the male julodimorpha beetle, who like us ...
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The network effect isn't good enough....

by Nir Eyal, November 12, 2012 | Comments

Helping yourself and users with stored value

Note: I’m pleased to have co-authored this post with Sangeet Paul Choudary, who analyzes business models for network businesses at Platformed.info. Follow Sangeet on Twitter at @sanguit. If there is one altar at which Silicon Valley worships, it is the shrine of the holy network effect. Its mystical powers pluck lone startups from obscurity and elevate them to fame and fortune. The list of anointed ...

Escape from message hell

by Nir Eyal, November 7, 2012 | Comments

Reminders for your reminders... What messages are getting through to you and your contacts?

We are caught in an endless cycle of messaging hell and the pattern is always the same. First, a new communication system is born — take email or Facebook, for example. Ease-of-use helps the system gain wide acceptance and reach a critical mass of users. Then things turn ugly. Some crafty entrepreneur figures out how to exploit the system and starts ...

Mass Persuasion

by Nir Eyal, October 5, 2012 | Comments

So long A/B testing!

“Successful entrepreneurs recommend reading this article about the persuasion techniques companies use to drive engagement.” Scratch that, how’s this? “Tons of people are tweeting this article. Find out why.” OK, here’s one more. “This article will only be on the TechCrunch front page for a few hours before fading into the information abyss.” Perhaps your preference for one of the ...

How investment drives engagement

by Nir Eyal, September 24, 2012 | Comments

Understanding the desire engine

This week, Baba Shiv and I taught a class at the Stanford Graduate School of Business called, “Using Neuroscience to Influence Human Behavior.” The course focused on the science behind how consumers make decisions. During the class, we walked through my Desire Engine framework, a four-step cycle that creates preferences and usage habits. Readers of my blog will be familiar ...

Getting Your Product Into the Habit Zone

by Nir Eyal, September 5, 2012 | Comments

Drive user engagement

As the web becomes an increasingly crowded place, users are desperate for solutions to sort through the online clutter. The Internet has become a giant hairball of choice-inhibiting noise and the need to make sense of it all has never been more acute. Just ask high-flying sites like Pinterest, Reddit, and Tumblr. These curated web portals connect millions of people to information ...

Infinite Scroll: The Web's slot machine

by Nir Eyal, September 5, 2012 | Comments

This is how we scroll!

A few years ago, everyone was clicking. Today, we’re all scrolling. Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, and as of this week, Instagram and Medium - it seems everyone is getting on the infinite-scroll bus. What is it about this magical design pattern that has so many consumer Web companies using it? Not too long ago, users were forced to reload pages to progress from one piece ...

Where Have All The Users Gone

by Nir Eyal, August 27, 2012 | Comments

Simple. Build App. attract User. Profit.......Not so much

Step 1: Build an app. Step 2: Get users hooked to it. Step 3: Profit. It sounds simple and, given our umbilical ties to cell phones, social media, and email inboxes, it may even sound plausible. Recently, tech entrepreneurs and investors have started to look to psychology for ways to strike it rich by altering user behavior. Perhaps you’ve read essays on ...

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