BJ Fogg (@bjfogg) runs the Persuasive Technology Lab at Stanford University.
He has an amazing track record of predicting trends in technology and in this interview he shares the story of teaching a class at Stanford in which Mike Krieger, the co-founder of Instagram, came up with the idea.
BJ and I discuss his boyhood. His father had a cellphone in his car in the 1960s and we speculate on what impact that had on BJ’s passion for the intersection between technology and behavior change.
One of the things I admire about BJ is his playfulness and compassion. He is deeply sensitive to what actually works to help people live better lives. I’ve been a fan of his TinyHabits program for years. Check it out at TinyHabits.com. In this interview, he explains what makes good habits and how to practice the habit of habit formation.
BJ is very cheerful and I believe this comes of his practice of celebration, which he describes as a skill that can be trained.
One of the many stories I tell about BJ is of his conferences, of which he has founded many. Mobile Health preceded the wearable trend, for example. In 2013 BJ and his lab founded Design for Dance, which was created to explore new opportunities for people to dance. I now direct and own the Design for Dance event. If BJ has been good at predicting trends, then you’ll want to listen to the end of the interview where BJ describes several domains that he thinks are going to continue to be really big in the coming years, including peace technologies and the future of work, which I’ve begun to explore with previous guests. For practical tips to change behavior, there really is no one better. I hope you enjoy this tactic-filled interview with BJ Fogg.
Books:
- Persuasive Technology by BJ Fogg
- The Principles of Psychology by William James
- Social Learning and Imitation
BJ’s Projects:
—
If you enjoyed this episode of the Robin Zander Show, stay up to date with goings-on and get weekly tactics via the newsletter.