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Six Links Worthy of Your Attention #433

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 Interesting, Tilt the Windmill, HBS, chair of Strata, Startupfest, Pandemonio, 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:

Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose – Epsilon Theory. “I’m not sure what this is. An ad for investment advice? Immunity to manipulation? A historical ramble? It says they’re ‘committed to real change in the practice of investing and the practice of citizenship.’ And I’m a sucker for Asimov. Whatever it is, I stumbled across it and found it intensely interesting and full of wide-ranging citations and philosophy. Maybe you will too.” (Alistair for Hugh).
The Making of a (Fake) Mom Fight – Jezebel. “Filed under ‘mom shit,’ this is a discussion of Kiera Knightley‘s apparent takedown of Kate Middleton‘s media-sanitized birth. ‘Rarely is it said: Of fucking course we’re fighting each other.’ A good read in the #metoo era, making points that are seldom discussed in public.” (Alistair for Mitch).
The Autocracy App – The New York Review of Books. “When social media started out, many of us (me included) thought that it would contribute to growing freedom and citizen empowerment. To some extent this happened; but social media now is also being used as a tool of oppression by autocratic regimes all over the world.” (Hugh for Alistair).
Here’s what the spread of misinformation on Twitter looks like – Poynter. “Hint: a lot less than you thought.” (Hugh for Mitch).
How the Enlightenment Ends – The Atlantic. “How does it end? Not with a whisper? Not with a bang? But… with an algorithm? That’s what Henry Kissinger thinks… yes… that Henry Kissinger. The question (still remains): If artificial intelligence does the job that it is prescribed to do, what makes us think (or believe) that it will stop at some of things that us mere mortals (still) believe is only capable within our own domain?” (Mitch for Alistair).
Why CEOs Devote So Much Time to Their Hobbies – Harvard Business Review. “It’s a total waste of time. That’s what many think about hobbies. Now, re-read that first sentence, but approach it with a positive attitude. That’s the point. Hobbies are supposed to waste time. They’re not supposed to bring you to a certain level of achievement. They’re there simply to satiate something within you (and for it to be something other than what you normally do). I don’t play enough electric bass, because I’m not that great at it. It’s just a stupid hobby, right? Well, hobbies are, increasingly, becoming a core metric in measuring someone’s success. So, the next time you think that your hobby (or the one that a friend is doing) is a total waste of time, maybe that’s actually the whole point of it… and it’s good for you!” (Mitch for Hugh).

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

Mitch Joel

Mitch Joel lives at the intersection of technology, business transformation and consumer culture. He is the Executive Director of Next Era Institute, a strategic intelligence platform helping leaders understand the forces reshaping business, technology, culture and society. The Institute identifies which shifts matter, explores their wider significance and translates them into strategic direction and momentum. Mitch is also a globally recognized keynote speaker. He has delivered thousands of presentations across both B2B and B2C industries to organizations including Google, Walmart, LEGO, Shopify, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Unilever. Strategy Magazine has called him “one of North America’s leading visionaries.” Mitch built his career by working directly inside the waves of change that reshaped modern business. He founded and built a digital marketing agency that worked with some of the world’s largest brands and was later acquired by WPP, where he served as President of a firm operating in 25 countries with almost 3,000 employees. Mitch is the bestselling author of Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete, and the host of Thinking With Mitch Joel, one of the longest-running business podcasts in the world. His writing and commentary appear in outlets including Harvard Business Review, Fast Company and Inc. Magazine. He is a member of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches and was named to the Thinkers50 Radar. Mitch also hosts Groove – The No Treble Podcast, documenting the oral history of electric bass players. Mitch is also Co-Founder of ThinkersOne, a platform that enables companies to bring personalized thought leadership from world-class experts into meetings, events and off-sites in focused 15-minute bursts.