The Most Uplifting Stories of 2023, How To Buy Souvenirs and My Next Book

The Most Positive and Uplifting News From 2023 ... In An Infographic

Just in time for the end of the year, the team at Information is Beautiful have put together an infographic with all the "positive trends and admirable global breakthroughs of 2023." On the list is everything from promising new medical treatments to city-wide pronouncements that are likely to make a major impact to improve local environments.

Looking at the range of news stories and worldwide initiatives, you might just start to feel a little better about the future of humanity in the coming year. We still have lots of problems, but browsing this visualization of stories brings hope that we can solve more problems than we create and that the future doesn't have to be a disaster.

Remember, the only future we can make is the one we can imagine. So these are the kinds of stories we should all be reading and sharing as we bring 2023 to a close.

How To Buy Cultural Souvenirs From Your Vacation In An Ethical Way

On a recent trip to Australia, I reached out to an local tattoo artist for a session. After learning it was inappropriate for someone without a native background to get an indigenous design, I opted for one that was a mix of Australian and Indian patterns instead. This is just one of the ways a Condé Nast article recommends to avoid unintentionally exploiting or appropriating a culture that you visit on your next trip - a timely reminder as many of you may be taking some type of holiday next week.

Aside from always choosing to buy directly from native artists instead of middle men, the article also suggests that when you bring a piece of a culture home, it becomes your responsibility to share the true story behind it. To prepare, make a note of the place, people and backstory details of what you bring back so you can retell its story authentically.

Souvenirs should be more than just proof that you've been somewhere. They can also be powerful tools to help celebrate the people and cultures you encountered as well as help others to discover and support them directly. That's true whether you have that experience inked on your arm or hang it on your wall.

Inside the New York Times Big Bet On Gaming

The team of editors at the New York Times that's currently breaking new ground isn't one that you'd expect. Gaming has become such a major surging area for the media company that some staffers believe the organization itself is quickly morphing into "a gaming company that happens to offer news." The brand has long been associated with games through it's popular crossword puzzles, but expansion into online gaming plus their acquisition of the hugely popular daily Wordle game has propelled them to another level.

The number of daily users for the app has more than doubled over the past year, and their in-house team of puzzle masters and gaming editors has become one of the most important at the company. The obvious question is whether they can convert any of those gamers to become subscribers. Still the growing focus of the venerable media brand into this new media area will be a shift other news organizations will likely be watching closely in the coming year.

Pizza Hut Celebrates Delivery Drivers With A Free Pizza Doormat

During the holiday season last year, Pizza Hut was navigating a big shortage of delivery drivers and making quick moves to address the problem. This year, that experience inspired a clever new holiday campaign idea where they are helping homeowners to offer a gift of a free pizza to their delivery drivers via a holiday doormat with a QR code for a free pizza.

There aren't many campaigns that celebrate the delivery workers who bring us our food and deliver the rest of our gifts. If you can find a day when these doormats aren't sold out already (I haven't had much luck unfortunately), then definitely pick one up and try to do something nice for the delivery people in your life.

How Sound Boxes Are Accelerating Digital Payments Across India

Digital payments are easier than ever in India, but what if you're a street vendor who accepts them but doesn't read or write? How could you confirm you've been paid and someone isn't just trying to trick you? For years this has been a barrier to adoption of digital payment, but now a smart solution involving low cost digital speakers that can audibly confirm when payments have been made to help prevent fraud and streamline daily transactions might be shifting the entire market.

These "sound boxes" are not only helping to accelerate the pace of adoption for digital payments, they are also offering a lucrative revenue stream for financial services companies in India who don't make a cut off all transactions and instead must make up the difference elsewhere. For consumers, their experience with street vendors can be faster and more secure. It's a product that truly does seem to offer a win for nearly every party involved.