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, Interesting Bits, 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: 

• Yugoslavia’s Homebrew Computing – Cory Doctorow – Twitter. “Yugoslavia wasn’t as compliant as other countries behind the Iron Curtain, so it was cut off from those countries’ efforts in the early age of personal computing. They built their own—with fascinating consequences such as broadcasting programs as audio that could be loaded from a cassette, and turned into content. This thread by the always-fascinating Cory Doctorow sheds some light on an incredible history.” (Alistair for Hugh).  
• Papyrus – Saturday Night Live – YouTube. “I’m saying as little as I can to avoid spoiling the surprise. But this video from a while back came up in a recent discussion about branding, and it’s too good not to share.” (Alistair for Mitch). 
• The Hidden Life of Viruses – Nautilus. “The viruses among us.” (Hugh for Alistair).
• 10 Theses About Cancel Culture – Ross Douthat – The New York Times. “Cancel culture explained… almost.” (Hugh for Mitch).
• Helvetica – Gary Hustwit. “One good turn deserves another. If you’re going to post about fonts, I have to add the amazing (and serious!) documentary about everyone’s favorite font (fight me on this), Helvetica. From this documentary, Gary Hustwit and his team went on to create a myriad of amazing documentaries that traipse between art, design and culture. If you have not seen this movie, you really should. Bonus Covid Points: If you’re a member of your local library (and, if you aren’t, what are you waiting for?), many of our public libraries offer Kanopy as a free movie streaming service, and Helvetica is available there. If you don’t have access to Kanopy, Helvetica is still worth paying for. Especially, if you’re a typography nerd like me.” (Mitch for Alistair).
• The Embarrassing 1,000-Year History of the Male Power Ballad – Mel Magazine. “I’ve always had this fear/paranoia that I would be hit by a car, rendered unconscious, and people would grab my iPhone to figure out who I was… and then see my embarrassing playlist of cheesy music that I love. What can I say? I’m a sucker a power ballad. Especially those from the hair metal days. Judge me. Go ahead. I don’t judge my earholes (as I once heard Sarah Silverman say). Still… it’s admittedly embarrassing. Here’s a great essay on this, exact, issue. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m in the mood for either Whitesnake’s ‘Is This Love’ or Asia’s ‘Only Time Will Tell’.” (Mitch for Hugh).

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