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:
- A Man Goes To A Public Restroom – And Gets Trapped In A Time Paradox – Stalled – Omeleto – YouTube. “It looks like we’re doing more time travel links this week as well, so here’s a one-man short film for you. (Alistair for Hugh).
- Gore-Tex Is A Marketing Gimmick – FortNine – YouTube. “Breathable? Technically, yes. Waterproof? Technically, yes. Accidentally stretched Teflon with a great marketing campaign? Absolutely. Interesting case study of positioning and channel monopolies.” (Alistair for Mitch).
- The Ars Guide To Time Travel In The Movies – Ars Technica. “After our links got sent out last week, there was a flurry of emails talking about good time travel movies. One of my favourites is Primer, filmed for $7000(!), and another great – under the radar – film is Source Code. Alistair recommended the Spanish flick Timecrimes, which I’d never heard of, and I’m looking forward to. Here’s an article rating movies on a (poorly labelled) grid, measuring scientific accuracy (x axis), and entertainment value (y axis). They’ve obviously made some serious errors (Primer is VERY entertaining, thank you very much), however Alistair’s recommendations are both in the more scientific and more entertaining quadrant. And, you can’t quibble with 12 Monkeys up in the top right.” (Hugh for Alistair).
- AI Thinks Different – Sean Carroll’s Mindscape. “Theoretical physicist and philosopher Sean Carroll takes on Generative AI, what it is and what it isn’t, and gives the very best analysis I’ve read/heard yet about why ChatGPT may seem intelligent, but is most definitely not, and why natural language models can’t be ‘intelligent’, in the way that we usually mean ‘intelligent’. Even if they are great at faking it. He’s not pooh poohing AI or ChatGPT, but does a fantastic job of explaining the inherent limitations in natural language models.” (Hugh for Mitch).
- The Rise Of The Meta City – Harvard Business Review. “I have always been a fan of the work (and writing) of Richard Florida, but it was the headline of this article that grabbed me first (then, knowing it was from Florida, I knew it would be meaty). So… this is a subject that I can’t get out of my brain. Digital technologies advance, remote work is a constant, people moved during the pandemic, and beyond the physical stuff we are thinking differently about what our work is (and how important it is in the grander scheme of things). So… what does this mean for office space and corporate headquarters? Maybe that question is too small? Maybe, the real question becomes: What is the competition like for talent when offices are no longer a major factor? And how does this impact cities as we have known them to be? Welcome to the era of the Meta City: ‘a web of cities that operate as a distinct unit and are attached to a major — often global — economic hub. The various communities that make up the Meta City may be in different time zones and noncontiguous locations, but they function together as a coherent network with a distinct structure and logic. The Meta City combines physical and virtual agglomeration, in seeming defiance of the laws of physics, making it possible to occupy more than one space at the same time. As a result, urban areas within the Meta City network can share economic and social functions.’ We’re looking at you, Miami, Dubai, Austin…” (Mitch for Alistair).
- A History Of Bookmaking, From Scrolls To Scrolling – Hyperallergic. “I’m not sure if you have been naughty or nice this year, but if you play your cards right, you just might find this book under your Christmas Tree this year. And, even if you don’t… this could be the ideal stocking stuffer for the book lover in your life. Hugh and I are both huge fans of books and why they matter. This article sure got the juices flowing… If you ever wonder about how we came to turn pages, this one is for you.” (Mitch for Hugh).
Feel free to share these links and add your picks on X, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.
Before you go… ThinkersOne is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.
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.