Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention #395

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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 (Solve for InterestingTilt the WindmillHBS, chair of StrataStartupfestPandemonio, and ResolveTO, Author of Lean Analytics and some other books), 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: 

  • Boxwars – YouTube. “I’m new to this, but it’s been around for a while. It combines the best parts of renaissance fairs, burning man and cosplay. Make elaborate costumes (and aircraft carriers, and more) out of cardboard. Work for weeks on them. Then smash it all and have some beers. This made me inordinately happy.” (Alistair for Hugh).
  • Raising a Social-Media Star – The Atlantic. “My daughter came home from school last week saying one of her classmates had hundreds of followers. ‘I want followers,’ she opined, not really knowing what they were. We’re raising kids in a weird world. Here’s a good piece on being the parent of an online celebrity.” (Alistair for Mitch).
  • Babe, What Are You Doing? – Jezebel. “I’ve read more than I should have about Grace and Aziz Ansari. This is the first article that I think got to the nub of the uncomfortable issue, which is, regardless of what ‘ ide’ you’ve landed on: we need to start to have sensible conversations about this uncomfortable stuff.” (Hugh for Alistair).
  • Globalization is stuck in a trap. What will it be when it breaks free? – The Globe And Mail. “Whether or not you agree with its conclusions, this is the best article I have read that explains the economic history, and present, of globalization, and where the Trump/Brexit movement comes from.” (Hugh for Mitch). 
  • TV, retail, advertising and cascading collapses – Benedict Evans. “I live a strange existence. The marketing, communications and media industry has given me so much joy (and such an amazing career). At the same time, it often feels like a house of cards that can collapse at any minute. Not because of the business, but because of how fast technology is being adopted by consumers, and how it (fundamentally) changes how they buy things… and what they engage with. It’s easy to look at a specific channel or media outlet (as we often do), but what if it is all cascading in a very dangerous way?… which I hope that it is not!” (Mitch for Alistair).
  • Why is the cover of Fire and Fury so ugly? – The Guardian. “Can you read this article and take it all in without pandering to a political side? It’s very hard these days. Still, this was one of the more interesting reads on book design, why it matters, the effort that is put into this art form (and, make no mistake about it, it is a serious art form) and whether or not that even matters. If a book publisher knows that they have rocket ship on their hands, do they care about the cover? Put your politics aside and enjoy the ride…” (Mitch for Hugh).

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