Six Links Worthy of Your Attention #499

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 Engoodening of No Man’s Sky – Internet Historian – YouTube. “No Man’s Sky was an incredibly ambitious, generative space travel game. The anticipation was incredible. But when it finally launched, it had only a sliver of what was promised. The developers were lambasted as liars, charlatans, and worse. But wait—it turns out there’s another side to the story. This is a fascinating video, even if you have no idea what the game is, showing both sides of a Sisyphean effort.” (Alistair for Hugh).
• Here Are 20 Headlines Comparing Meghan Markle To Kate Middleton That May Show Why She And Prince Harry Are Cutting Off Royal Reporters – BuzzFeed News. “I haven’t paid any attention to the Royals—just like I ignore Kardashia—even though I’m British. But when Mathew Ingram shared this piece, I understood why Meghan and Harry are cutting ties. The Monarchy is a life of paid luxury, and all you have to give is your soul and independence. The double standards in this article show just how viciously the press will twist events to suit the narrative it’s selling.” (Alistair for Mitch).
• India’s About to Hand People Data Americans Can Only Dream Of – Bloomberg. “Some time ago I read an amazing scifi novel, The Quantum Thief, by Hannu Rajaniemi, which among lots of other mind-benders, posited a future where everyone manages their privacy through a mechanism called gevulot: each person can reveal the exact amount of information about themselves that they want in every interaction with another person. Cashier at the bookstore: just the book you want; lover: how you like to be tickled. And, any information you’ve shared with someone can be deleted from their brains if you decide you don’t want the info shared any more. It’s not quite gevulot, but India is rolling out, well, the future I guess, where soon clients of banks will be able to access and, if they choose, share with other parties, a vast swath of detail about their financial history, enabling easier access to credit and other things.” (Hugh for Alistair). 
• The Man Who’s Spending $1 Billion to Own Every Pop Song – Marker – Medium. “Remember how the Internet was the death of the music business? Well: ‘Valuations of the major labels are currently at an all-time high — they generated $14 billion in 2019 alone.’ It’s all about the royalties, baby.” (Hugh for Mitch).
• Neil Peart, Maples, and Oaks – Tom Webster – Medium. “Normally, I would never take something that I posted on Facebook and put it here, but it’s in my heart and it’s important to me… My buddy Tom Webster has put into words what many have been feeling since hearing about the death of Neil Peart from Rush. I have tried to write some thoughts down, but it’s all still such a jumble. Between 1989 and 2000, I interviewed Rush (and interacted with Ray and the team at SRO Management) on countless occasions. The entire operation was always a class act. I did meet Neil a few times. Never interviewed him. This past year, I spent some time with Geddy Lee, and interviewed him for the No Treble podcast that I host. I don’t know who knew what about Neil’s cancer, but if Geddy was living with that reality while celebrating his new bass book, I can’t imagine the torn emotions. I wish the entire Rush family peace and health. This is what their music gave me from a very young age. Rush was always there. Always a part of my life. I have a t-shirt that says, ‘when in doubt, listen to Rush’ that I picked up two year ago. I’m listening to Rush…. I always will… Neal wasn’t just a drummer. He was a musical drummer. He didn’t just keep a beat, he drove the song. He was mechanical and emotion. He was on the beat and he was in the music. The music that is now in all of us…” (Mitch for Alistair).
• Can Amazon Finally Crack the Bestseller Code? – The New Republic. “Everything that the sun touches belongs to Amazon. That’s what it looks like. No matter where you turn. If a product sells well, Amazon is inclined to create their own version of it (Amazon Basics, etc…). So, why not do the same with books? Amazon is now publishing commercial fiction by famous authors without the major publishers. They are going direct and doing everything that they can to promote these authors and books. So, is this healthy competition for the publishers or the end of times?” (Mitch for Hugh). 

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