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Six Links Worthy of Your Attention #478

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 (Rebus Foundation, PressBooks, LibriVox) 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 Lonely Work of Moderating Hacker News – The New Yorker. “Can anyone manage an online community? Reddit gave a voice to many—including hate groups. Facebook can’t block fake news. Twitter devolves into a shouting match. And yet somehow, Hacker News prevailed. Started by the founder of Y Combinator as a way to try out new coding models, it was initially for startup developers. But now, it encompasses far more. Turns out this is a lot of hard work, design decisions, and careful consideration.” (Alistair for Hugh).
Here Are the Funniest Moments From Ron Burgundy’s Late Night Takeover From ‘iPhone Glasses’ for Teens to Impressions – Time. “If there’s any debate about the greatest comic of our time, Will Ferrell just ended it. In a tour-de-force of ‘live’ (clearly pre-recorded) appearances across every late show in one night, his self-aware, bumbling mix of standup, interview, ventriloquism and more took over the airwaves. Appearing as his alter-ego anchorman Ron Burgundy, it’s clear he’s a comic’s comic—just imagine the kind of insider clout it takes to make that happen. And thanks to the wonder of YouTube, you can watch them all.” (Alistair for Mitch).
Banks are now paying people to borrow money — and that’s a really bad sign for the global economy – Financial Post. “Something is pretty messed up in the world when borrowing money from the bank means the bank will pay you interest instead of the other way around.” (Hugh for Alistair).
Bill Hader channels Tom Cruise – DeepFake – CTRL Shift Face – YouTube. “One my late-night vices is watching comedians do celebrity impersonations on YouTube. I stumbled on this one, and was blown away, I watched it a few times before I figured out what was really going on. Watched it many more times since then.” (Hugh for Mitch).
How aggressively cute toys for adults became a $686 million business – Vox. “I’m not a collector of stuff. I used to be. Lots of stuff. Comic books, books, CDs, you name it. I liked having a collection – and everything that goes along with it (searching out for rarities, visiting stores, the whole deal). It has been a while since I’ve collected anything (I’ve been more of a minimalist over the past several years). Recently, started collection Funko Pop Vinyls. I’m particular. I’m (mostly) collecting the dolls that are bass players (there are a lot of them), writers (there are a few of them) and then some special ones (like Dr. Seuss or Mister Rogers). I love them. The kids love them too. Here’s why I’m not alone, and why I may be an early adopter (yet again) of what is becoming a growing cultural phenomenon. Go ahead… do it…. Buy some.” (Mitch for Alistair).
Why Is Joe Rogan So Popular? – The Atlantic. “Well, The Atlantic beat me to it. I was wondering when someone would write a major piece on Joe Rogan. We often talk about artists as a ’triple threat’ (their ability to be successful at singing, dancing and acting). What would we consider Joe Rogan to be? He’s a successful actor. He’s one of the best play-by-play commentators in sports today (not just in mixed martial arts and the UFC). He’s a high-level-performing comedian (sells out major theaters, and has massive Netflix stand-up comedy specials). He’s one of the biggest podcasters in the world (from both an audience size and money perspective). It doesn’t end there. He’s also a highly ranked martial artists, and much more. I can’t think of anyone else who has tackled so many diverse industries, and can maintain such a massive level of success in all of them. Can 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.