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Six Links Worthy of Your Attention #646

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:

Hummingbird Clock. “Easily the most annoying website I’ve experienced lately. Alternating Current power fluctuates around a particular frequency, but it ‘hums’ tiny variations. And this can be used to pinpoint time, which makes it possible to learn when something was recorded. Dystopian? Sure. Science? Yes! Here’s a site that explains and demonstrates it all.” (Alistair for Hugh).
When Everything Happened So Much – Slate. “Bring back Weird Twitter. It was a fun time, before we used it to score points. The mass stampede to Mastodon may be a move to a federated web — Web 3 by way of Web 1 — or it may be yet another button to tap. But maybe it’ll give us a taste of the weird performance art that heralded the dawn of microblogging, a day we didn’t measure our worth in likes, followers, or subscribes. Bring back horse_ebooks!” (Alistair for Mitch).
Remembering an “effervescently affable man” – Kurt Vonnegut at 100 – The Critic. “It’s a bit surprising to think of it this way, but I would guess that no writer has been more influential on me than Kurt Vonnegut. I say that with a little bit of embarrassment: Vonnegut is (was?) tailor-made for left-leaning, book-loving 15-year-olds who like to mix their sense of teen-aged despair with a good dose of wry (often potty( humour. Breakfast of Champions was the first book of his I read, which included his delightful drawing of an asshole (get the t-shirt here). I read his war novel, Slaughterhouse 5, probably ten times from ages 15 to 25, and each time, as I got older, I understood better the trauma that underpinned the book. His essays, particularly those collected in Palm Sunday, shaped much of thoughts on writing, and, frankly, life. In addition to being funny and sharp and amazingly irreverent, Vonnegut was always deeply kind in his writing. Something we should all try to be. This year Vonnegut turned 100.” (Hugh for Alistair).
The Case Against the Twitter Apology – The New Yorker. “Twitter surely is the best document — maybe cause? — of how we’ve all gone bananas. Long, insightful essay on the fraught world of the apology in the Age of Twitter.” (Hugh for Mitch).
Twitter tells advertisers that user growth is at ‘all-time highs’ under Elon Musk – The Verge. “Lots of Twitter talk this week… that’s for sure. This is an interesting take, with a slight slant. I’ve already stated my case for Twitter, but I found this fascinating. On one side you have major mass media and certain ‘influencers’ calling this ’Twexit’, on the other hand, there is independent data that is suggesting Twitter is growing by new users and usage – at an all-time high. The real questions are this: Who is leaving? Who is joining? Who is ramping up their usage? And, the answer to those questions will dictate the future of Twitter… a united social media or a deeply polarized and divisive platform. All of this is very concerning… especially as Elon dances with the thought of bankrupcy.” (Mitch for Alistair).
Social Media Is Dead – Motherboard by Vice. “Oh… don’t get me started on any article with the title, ‘XYZ is dead.’ I know where this is headed… and, yes, it goes there. Frustrating? Absolutely! But still, an interesting read. It reminds me of how purist and precious we can be with our words and the buckets that we put ideas into. Social media is changing… and will change… that’s for sure. Social media is dead? Pa-lease. The ability for individuals to use technology as a means to both connect and share ideas is a concept that will always be a part of our social fabric. Whether we like the new way of doing it in comparison to the past or not.” (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.