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: 

• The Billion User Table – 1729. “Congress wants to break apart big tech. While there are plenty of reasons why, it boils down to one thing: The size of their user table. Every social network and e-commerce giant has a database of their users. It’s how they’re valued. And, as the decentralized web approaches (no, really, that’s absolutely going to be a thing in a few years that we’ll take for granted), we don’t have to break up tech giants—just change how we regulate the user table. This is a brilliant article for both of you to read, but Mitch already got his music for the week (see the next link…).” (Alistair for Hugh).
• The Temptations and Black Sabbath – “Get Ready for the Grave” – Bill McClintock – YouTube. “YouTube has spawned a bunch of mashups, not just of songs, but of videos. Given that you love a good bassline, this one’s for you, Mitch.” (Alistair for Mitch).
• ‘We’re in trouble:’ Ag expert warns there’s no adapting if this summer’s ‘heat dome’ becomes the norm – Down To Business Podcast – Financial Post. “Having spent my early career working on climate change issues, I’ve always been surprised that more isn’t made of the potential impacts on agriculture. Human civilization has developed during a time of climate stability — enabling agriculture. If the climate gets significantly more chaotic, globally, crops everywhere could fail. It wouldn’t take much to tip us out of our relative equilibrium. If that happens….” (Hugh for Alistair).
• “Trolls need kind words the most” – Eurogamer. “A fascinating game where people just leave short messages for strangers, and what it can teach us about angry people.” (Hugh for Mitch).
• Can culture degenerate? – Aeon. “I find myself paying more attention to politics these days. I don’t think this is a good thing. Why? The divisive nature of fellow humans is very obvious when party lines come into play. On a random morning walk the other week, it got me wondering about the potential devastation that this could have on culture. Shortly thereafter, this article popped into my feed. The world can be a weird and mysterious place when that happens. Is culture subjective? ‘Looking toward today’s new writing, thinking, music and art, what do you make of contemporary culture? Do you see a thriving and innovative scene, replete with original forms and vibrant content? Or do you see something simple and stagnant, marked by dead-end ideas that either repeat the patterns of the past or offer only feeble attempts to craft a new aesthetic vision? In other words, is culture better or worse now than it used to be?’ This is a great read and will force you (and me) to introspect and/or to amp up the ‘get off my lawn’ rhetoric.” (Mitch for Alistair).
• American Shoppers Are A Nightmare – The Atlantic. “I am a mall rat and a retail nerd. I find it hard not to pull examples from retail when I give my presentations and I’ve never met a shopping mall that I didn’t want to explore. I just love it so much (I’m weird like that, I know). From independent and quaint mom and pop shops to the biggest malls in the world. From global brands to someone setting up their first Shopify account. I love it (and embrace it) all. When we think about business (or, in this case, retail), it’s easy to to think about how much the landscape has changed (this pandemic has really pushed that trope to an extreme). With that, what about the customers? The shoppers? Is the customer always right? I don’t think so. I believe that the right customer is always right. But, after reading this article, I’m left wondering if everyone is a nightmare… and if that’s the reason retail (and other businesses) have it so rough and tough?” (Mitch for Hugh).

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

Are you interested in what’s next? How to decode the future? I publish between 2-3 times per week and then the Six Pixels of Separation Podcast comes out every Sunday. Feel free to subscribe (and tell your friends):