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☆ Incognito Mode Isn’t Doing What You Think It’s Doing
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Heidi Mitchell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

There is an urban myth that says online shoppers who doggedly search for certain items on the web get tagged by algorithms that then cause them to see higher prices than others shopping for those same items. The solution for many people: They choose private mode on their web browsers, believing that cloaking their identity can help them get better prices.

☆ Do Oddball Questions Help Companies Find the Best New Hires? Unlikely.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-27 | by ( Heidi Mitchell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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Persons: Dow Jones

The same is true with pretty much any skilled tradesperson these days. Don’t take it personally: There are all sorts of explanations, and only some may be your fault.

☆ Why Slow Motion Really Does Help Sell Luxury Goods
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-11 | by ( Heidi Mitchell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Imagine a car advertisement. Or a beauty-product spot. If it’s for a luxury brand, or for one that is hoping to achieve such status, there’s a good chance it uses slow motion. Why is that? And does it work?

☆ The Best Way to Brag About Your Accomplishments: Don’t Take All the Credit
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Heidi Mitchell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Want to make the best possible impression on someone to boost your career prospects? Share the credit for your accomplishments. That’s the conclusion a team of professors reached in research they wrote up for a paper currently under review for publication. It turns out that when it’s important to impress someone—say, in an interview for a new job or a promotion—simply bragging about your successes isn’t as effective as talking about both yourself and your team, the professors say.

☆ This $10 Accessory Is the Easiest-Ever Way to Prevent Identity Theft
▼ + stars: | 2022-06-24 | by ( ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

While I’m not storing state secrets near my washer-dryer, the fact that more than 1.4 million reports of identity theft were received by the Federal Trade Commission last year, as The Wall Street Journal newsroom has reported, makes me more than a little concerned. Which is why I was intrigued to learn that friend-of-a-friend pro organizer Lisa Zaslow is a big fan of the tiny Miseyo Wide Roller Stamp Identity Theft Stamp. Her teen hands easily gripped the stamp, which reminded me of all those summer evenings labeling her shorts and swimsuits before camp. I enjoyed it so much, I watched the Miseyo Identity Theft Protection Roller Stamp video, which says it unfurls about 100 meters of ink, and refills are cheap (three for $10.99). Now my only concern is not misplacing this tiny security tool; I have long since lost track of that summer-camp stamp bearing my last name.

☆ Smart Thermostats Can Reduce Energy Use—but Not if You Take Away the Smart Part
▼ + stars: | 2022-04-25 | by ( Heidi Mitchell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

For smart thermostats to save energy, you have to let them use their brains. To reduce their energy bills, many Americans have been turning to energy-efficient smart thermostats. But a new study has found that households with smart thermostats wind up using, on average, the same energy as homes without them, and those with the devices may even increase their consumption of natural gas. Smart thermostats are Wi-Fi-connected devices designed to allow users to easily set up energy-efficient home heating and cooling schedules. And some provide energy-usage reports and nudge users to set temperatures at moderate levels.

There’s a lot of hype and confusion about carbon-free energy sources. Here’s a look at five of them: how much they produce, what they cost, and what obstacles they face.

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