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Six Links Worthy of Your Attention #441

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, FWD50, and Scaletechconf; 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:

The Digital Maginot Line – Ribbon Farm. “Renee DiResta has been a constant fighter in what she calls a ‘warm war,’ a new digital front. And she likens current government responses to the Magniot line—a World War II defensive measure that was considered impenetrable by World War I standards, but fell to the Blitzkrieg. We should have seen this coming: As she points out, ‘As early as 1970, McLuhan wrote, in Culture is our Business, ‘World War III is a guerrilla information war with no division between military and civilian participation.’’ Beautifully written, monumentally important.” (Alistair for Hugh).
Working Girl Turns 30 – Hollywood Reporter. “Despite the salacious subtitle, this is a great history lesson. An oral history of making a movie whose core story is front and center in modern politics. I love these kind of collected narratives, and I’d completely forgotten the film, but read through the lens of the #metoo era, it’s fascinating.” (Alistair for Mitch).
Millennials are killing countless industries — but the Fed says it’s mostly just because they’re poor – Business Insider. “How many articles have you read about milllennials and their apparent lack of interest in the trappings of consumerist society: how they don’t buy cars or houses or mayonnaise the way people used to, and how corporations are concerned about how these trends will impact their bottom line. Well, the Federal Reserve (bastion of, er, socialist propaganda?) has done a study with an explanation: millennials are on average poorer than previous generations, and that’s why the don’t buy stuff. Who would have thought?” (Hugh for Alistair).
Episode #150 – Fleetwood Mac – Go Your Own Way – Song Exploder. “I have some guilty musical pleasures from my eighties childhood: Sade, Supertramp, and… Fleetwood Mac. And one of those songs that always makes me happy when it comes on the classic rock radio is Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Go Your Own Way.’ I love the way the song layers together; and I always wonder how that layering comes about. Well, the podcast Song Exploder does what it says on the tin: explodes out a song, and lets the creator talk through how it was put together. In this episode, Lindsey Buckingham talks about how this song was written in the wake of his break-up with Fleetwood Mac member, Stevie Nicks, and what it was like having one of the main vocals on the song sung by the woman the song was written for.” (Hugh for Mitch).
How to Configure Your iPhone to Work for You, Not Against You – Coach Tony – Medium. “What an in-depth review of the things that we should all do with our smartphone to stop it from stealing our attention, robbing our time and killing our efficacy. It’s not just a cry to turn off notifications, etc… it’s a guide on how to have a healthy/healthier life. One that we all desperately need. I’m well-known for being a staunch advocate that we should not allow our technology to control us, and it’s our responsibility to figure out how to control our technology. Those that know me, can attest. My phone doesn’t ring, buzz or vibrate… with one exception (a silent ping if it’s my spouse). Kill the distractions of technology. Here’s your guide… and hat-tip to Tim Ferriss for pointing to this piece.” (Mitch for Alistair).
Startups Aren’t Cool Anymore – The Atlantic. “What happens now? We told people that the company job model is antiquated. We encouraged people to break out and do their own thing. Become a solopreneuer, become an entrepreneur, build a startup! It’s exciting! You don’t need a boss! Everyone who is really making money is doing the startup grind! Join the revolution! Umm… not so fast. Well, now what? If those big corporate gigs aren’t exciting and starting up ain’t what it used to be, what is the future of work? What do we want people to do ? Sit around and wait for automation to take their jobs and for the government to provide a universal basic income? Let’s rage against this article… Make Startups Great Again! Who’s with me? Can we make some hats with that saying on it?” (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.