Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention #223

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Is there one link, story, picture or thought that you saw online this week that you think somebody you know must see?

My friends: Alistair Croll (BitCurrent, Year One Labs, GigaOM, Human 2.0, Solve For Interesting, the author of Complete Web Monitoring, Managing Bandwidth: Deploying QOS in Enterprise Networks and Lean Analytics), Hugh McGuire (PressBooks, LibriVox, iambik and co-author of Book: A Futurist’s Manifesto) and I decided that every week the three of us are going to share one link for one another (for a total of six links) that each individual feels the other person "must see".

Check out these six links that we’re recommending to one another:

  •  20 GIFs That Teach You Science Concepts Better Than Your Teacher Probably Can – From Quarks To Quasars. "Every time my daughter asks me a question, I realize I can go to the Internet and show her as much as she could possibly want to know about it. In many cases, it’s no substitute for the real thing — but it is absolutely staggering how much we have access to today that simply wasn’t available ten years ago. This page of animated GIFs explain some biology, physics, and math better than I could have imagined." (Alistair for Hugh).
  • The Deep Convergence Of Networks, Software And People – Normative."Tim O’Reilly sent this around a few weeks ago. It’s one of the more thoughtful looks at how we are reshaping what we are and what we value, and how emergent behaviors are a fascinating part of tomorrow — but are much harder to design ahead of time, because they’re out of our control. Iteration is mandatory because prototypes are impossible." (Alistair for Mitch).
  • Instant Gratification – The American Scholar. "Facebook et al are getting better and better at predicting what we will click next, and design their systems to show us that thing… so that we click. Facebook has been around for only ten years. Imagine what Facebook (or its heirs) will be able to predict in 25 years… when we’ve poured another couple of decades of behavioral data into networked computational systems that will be orders of magnitudes, if not quantum levels, more powerful than the behemoths that run our Internet today." (Hugh for Alistair).
  • The Ultimate Retaliation: Pranking My Roommate With Targeted Facebook Ads – My Social Sherpa. "If only Twist Image‘s Facebook team could offer their clients such detailed ad targeting on Facebook!" (Hugh for Mitch).
  • What’s Up With Ello, the Anti-Facebook Social Network? – Mashable. "Are you on Ello yet? Everyone is talking about Ello. Ello could be the next Facebook. Then again, Ello could be the next… I dunno… how many online social networks have failed in the past decade, thinking that they’re going to be the next whatever? I joined Ello. This way, if it explodes in popularity, I will look smart and prescient. I also joined Ello, just in case it fails. This way I can say, ‘yeah, I got in early, but couldn’t figure out the true value.’ In conclusion, all I really have to say is: FIRST!" (Mitch for Alistair).
  • Science Shows Something Surprising About People Who Love to Write – Arts.Mic. "I love to write (I know, you’re not surprised). This article claims that writing does more than improve your vocabulary. Apparently, writing leads to ‘strong physical and mental health benefits.’ I’ll take that. It bothers people (I think), when I tell them that I blog because I enjoy the process of writing. It surprises many, when I tell them that I am less interested in promoting the content and doing the back and forth in the comments (I don’t mind doing it, but I really love to just read, think, see, do and write). My friend, Ann Handley, has a great new book out called, Everybody Writes. Now, she (and I) can let you know that it’s not just good for your success in business, but it’s good for your health too!" (Mitch for Hugh). 

Feel free to share these links and add your picks on Twitter, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.