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 Internet Is Just Investment Banking Now – The Atlantic. “Ian Bogost’s latest piece perfectly describes what the Internet is becoming. ‘Before software ate the world,’ he observes, ‘finance already had.’ If the first version of the web was about marketization and the second, monetization then the third is about securitization. ‘The golden promise of Web3… is that every aspect of human life, as recorded by computers, will be collateralized.’ Yikes.” (Alistair for Hugh).
- Deathclock. “I was expecting a series of questions and actuarial tables. Nope. This is just a simple visualization of your remaining time, in weeks. With all the chaos in politics and a million tiny interruptions, here’s a simple reminder. Seriously considering making this my default browser page.” (Alistair for Mitch).
- Mick Jones – Train In Vain – Isabela Cordaro – YouTube. “Mick Jones, punk legend and songwriter from The Clash, ‘the only band that matters,’ drinking a can of Stella, and playing a quiet Train in Vain solo to a crowd of 30 or so at the Rock n Roll Library in Portobello Road, London, and loving every minute of it.” (Hugh for Alistair).
- Mystical Photographs Taken Inside a Cello, Double Bass & Other Instruments – Open Culture. “Amazing photos from inside musical instruments.” (Hugh for Mitch).
- It’s Not Your Fault You’re a Jerk on Twitter – Wired. “We need to be careful with this article. We need people to still be responsible for the things that they say and do. Calling this ‘polarizing times’ is really a muted way of saying that the world has gone nuts… and we don’t even know who the nuts are anymore (hint: it could be you! It could be me!). So, is this all social media’s fault? Is this a function of politics? Are we all still in this low depressive haze from the pandemic? How are your nerves these days? Mine are, admittedly, frayed. So… we need to be able to look within and better understand both why so many things are triggering us and making us want to tweet about it. We also have to make some tough decisions about cancel culture too. Are we just going to be full-on accusatory and burn it all down, or will we accept that humans make mistakes (sometimes big and bad ones) and – with that – not every crime deserves the death penalty… or does it?” (Mitch for Alistair).
- In Defense of Slow Reading – Book Riot. “At one point during the pandemic, I couldn’t bring myself to read a book. It was just too… much. I don’t know why. When that mood shifted, I found myself trying to race through books (as if I had some kind of goal to catch-up with), and then something shifted again. I decided to slow down. Like… really… slow… down. It helped. A lot. I can’t recommend it enough. So, instead of reading nothing or trying to race through a book you have been meaning to read, just slow down. Read a page or two.. here and there. Trust me… it makes it all the more satisfying… If we’ve had slow food movements and more, why not slow reading?” (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):
Mitch JoelMitch 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.