Competition, memory, and the power of asking

Greetings from Lake Tahoe. 

Here’s your 3 insights in 3 minutes. 

💻 Competition

Everyone wants to develop mobile apps. 

Yet there’s WAY more competition there compared to Chrome extensions. 

The numbers are wild. 

iOS Apps: 1 billion users and 3.2 million apps = 277 users per app

Chrome Extensions: 3.2 billion users and 200k apps = 16,000 users per extension

So with 3x more users and 16x less apps, chrome extensions are 58x less crowded. 

As Peter Thiel says, “Competition is for losers.”

H/t to Rick Byth for this comparison breakdown. 

🧠 Improved Memory

The generation effect is this idea that we remember and understand things more when we put them into our own words. 

I'm pretty sure that's true (wrote it off of memory in my own words).  

Okay, I just looked it up. It's "a phenomenon whereby information is better remembered if it is generated from one's own mind rather than simply read." Pretty much what I said right? 

It's crazy how useful this trick is when you actually do it. 

Best way I've found is when you're learning something (ex: reading a book) imagine you're explaining the best part or recap to a friend in your own words. 

This forces synapses to fire in your brain and reinforces the idea so you remember. 

By the way, writing is an excellent tool for this too. 

🤔 Just Ask 

I came across this quote and keep thinking about it:

It hits for me since the majority life I operated from “I can figure it out, I don’t need help!” which likely comes from the fear of looking dumb.

But I’d rather look dumb, than act dumb (aka not asking for help). 

Salud, 
Mitchell 

Ps. Country song for Kevin Hart