Latest news with #BullRush
Scoop
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Here. Together. Now.
Press Release – NZ Improv Festival The New Zealand Improv Festival is proud to present their 2025 programme Here. Together. Now. celebrating the stories of Aotearoa,the connections between us, and the joys and innovations of improvisation, this September 26 through October 4 at BATS Theatre in Wellington. Featuring an expansive programme of thirty-four workshops and twenty-two shows across the Festival, there's something for the newest improv watcher to the more well-hewn, with performers and directors coming together from across the motu and around the world to explore performance on BATS' stages for nine nights only. Bull Rush, currently featured at Basement Theatre in Auckland every Friday night joins us for their side-splitting, sexy, scintillating improv. Local comedy favourites Ginge & Minge present Redemption, where game players give their comedy ideas a second chance. Māori and Pasifika improv group Kōrero Paki return to the stage for their third outing of mean kōrero and wild comedy; and these three shows are just a selection of the bounty that's on offer. 'Coming into our third and final year as co-directors of the Festival, we really wanted to dig into what makes improv special as an art form.' Festival Co-Directors Jim Fishwick and Matt Powell say, 'In a time where political and corporate forces seek to pull us apart, we want to demonstrate the power of improv to bring people together in the moment, performer and audience alike, to create new things that no individual could have made by themselves.' With some of the key improv principles of listening, acceptance, and support feeling more important now than ever, our 2025 Improv Fest programme will warm the heart and tickle the funny bone, and we can't wait to see how things unfold. The New Zealand Improv Festival runs from 26 September through 4 October 2025. Tickets for the New Zealand Improv Festival are available now. Check out our show programme at BATS's website, and sign up for our workshop programme too.
Scoop
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scoop
Here. Together. Now.
The New Zealand Improv Festival is proud to present their 2025 programme Here. Together. Now. celebrating the stories of Aotearoa, the connections between us, and the joys and innovations of improvisation, this September 26 through October 4 at BATS Theatre in Wellington. Featuring an expansive programme of thirty-four workshops and twenty-two shows across the Festival, there's something for the newest improv watcher to the more well-hewn, with performers and directors coming together from across the motu and around the world to explore performance on BATS' stages for nine nights only. Bull Rush, currently featured at Basement Theatre in Auckland every Friday night joins us for their side-splitting, sexy, scintillating improv. Local comedy favourites Ginge & Minge present Redemption, where game players give their comedy ideas a second chance. Māori and Pasifika improv group Kōrero Paki return to the stage for their third outing of mean kōrero and wild comedy; and these three shows are just a selection of the bounty that's on offer. 'Coming into our third and final year as co-directors of the Festival, we really wanted to dig into what makes improv special as an art form.' Festival Co-Directors Jim Fishwick and Matt Powell say, 'In a time where political and corporate forces seek to pull us apart, we want to demonstrate the power of improv to bring people together in the moment, performer and audience alike, to create new things that no individual could have made by themselves.' With some of the key improv principles of listening, acceptance, and support feeling more important now than ever, our 2025 Improv Fest programme will warm the heart and tickle the funny bone, and we can't wait to see how things unfold. The New Zealand Improv Festival runs from 26 September through 4 October 2025. Tickets for the New Zealand Improv Festival are available now. Check out our show programme at BATS's website, and sign up for our workshop programme too.
Forbes
02-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The Evolution Of Decision-Making In The Digital Age
Trent Hoerr is founder and CEO of BullRush. getty In today's digital world, how we decide what to buy, read or watch has radically changed. What once involved careful consideration is now driven by speed and instant gratification. With constant connectivity, infinite content and personalized recommendations, decision-making has shifted from deliberate planning to near-instant responses. As consumers grow used to speed, convenience and customization, the challenge becomes how to design products that align with this new decision-making behavior while maintaining transparency and trust. In this article, I'll explore why fast decision-making is rising and how businesses can adapt their products, platforms and strategies to align with this behavioral trend. The digital age has transformed how we decide. Constant connectivity and personalized interfaces mean users are bombarded with choices and encouraged to act instantly. Whether scrolling through a streaming service or shopping online, decisions are often made in seconds, driven by visuals, headlines and smart suggestions. This rapid behavior is reinforced by platforms that reduce cognitive effort—like one-click purchases or auto-play features—creating a loop of fast, sometimes impulsive, micro-decisions. To meet modern consumers where they are, businesses must design for speed while still promoting trust, clarity and value. Why are people making decisions so fast? The answer lies in cognitive overload and the need for efficiency. With so much data to process, the brain prioritizes ease and speed. Instant gratification has become a psychological norm. Services like Amazon capitalize on this by offering tools like predictive search, voice shopping with Alexa and AI-powered recommendations. These systems simplify decisions, steering users toward products that are statistically most relevant, sometimes even before they realize what they want. This decision simplification is built on behavioral science principles. For example, some e-commerce platforms use the Zeigarnik Effect—the tendency to remember incomplete tasks—to encourage customers to return to their carts and finish purchases. Here are a few areas where companies are pivoting their design strategies with quick decision-making in mind: 1. Advertisements And Targeted Marketing: Targeted marketing has fueled a culture of instant decisions, where algorithms track behavior to deliver personalized content that provokes impulsive actions. Tactics like time-bound promotions, click-to-purchase checkout flows and short-term price drops reduce friction in decision-making and spur impulse buying. 2. Social Media And News: Today, users scroll, click and share within seconds. Headlines alone are often enough to provoke emotional reactions, frequently without verifying the content's accuracy. This raises concerns about misinformation and shallow engagement. As decisions become faster, the risk of uninformed or manipulated choices increases—an area where ethical product design and responsible AI implementation become critical. 3. Real-Time Trading And Finance: In the financial world, the high-frequency trading (HFT) and cryptocurrency markets depend on real-time data and algorithmic decision-making. Here, milliseconds can mean the difference between profit and loss. While human traders still exist, most rely heavily on data dashboards, predictive models and AI alerts to guide decisions. The challenge here isn't just speed—it's accuracy and foresight. These systems mirror the broader consumer environment where users demand quick, reliable insights. In my role at BullRush, I've seen firsthand how the demand for faster decision-making is reshaping user behavior, especially in trading, where timing is everything. Gamification can make complex decisions more intuitive and engaging. For instance, my company attempts to help ensure users are constantly challenged to think fast and act smarter by offering fast trivia on market questions and the ability to place timely stop-loss orders. Gamification isn't just entertainment—it's a tool for helping customers build decision-making muscle. By turning decisions into games, companies can foster faster interaction and stronger user loyalty. To stay relevant, companies must embrace the shift toward speed and personalization without compromising user autonomy. Here's how: • Design for speed. Create intuitive interfaces that guide users to decisions quickly—without overwhelming them with unnecessary options. • Use data responsibly. Leverage analytics to guide user behavior, but be transparent about how data is collected and used. • Incorporate AI and machine learning. Predict user needs in real time, but ensure algorithms are explainable and fair. • Gamify the experience. Keep users engaged with rewards, streaks and challenges that encourage quick decisions. • Maintain ethical standards. Fast doesn't mean reckless. Respect privacy, build trust, and safeguard against manipulation. Decision-making is only getting faster as technology evolves. From online shopping to social media, users now expect seamless, personalized and immediate experiences. But speed alone isn't enough. To build lasting value, businesses must guide this pace with intention, combining ethical design, smart data use and behavioral insight. The real opportunity lies in creating fast experiences grounded in trust. Companies that balance speed with strategy, personalization with privacy and efficiency with ethics won't just thrive, they'll lead. Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?
