Categories: Articles

Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention #122

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 (BitCurrent, Year One Labs, GigaOM, Human 2.0, the author of Complete Web Monitoring and Managing Bandwidth: Deploying QOS in Enterprise Networks), Hugh McGuire (The Book Oven, LibriVox, iambik, PressBooks, Media Hacks) and I decided that every week or so 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

How Curiosity Got A Name… – @SarcasticRover. "The Sarcastic Mars Rover novelty account is usually, well, sarcastic. But this time, even its otherworldly smugness couldn’t cut through the story. Here’s an interview with Clara, the girl who gave Curiosity its name. As a father of a young girl, I can only hope that my daughter gets some of Clara’s nerdy enthusiasm. It’s Ada Lovelace Day as I write this, and Clara’s story reminds me that geeks make the world go round–and they come in all shapes and sizes." (Alistair for Hugh).
Ibis hotels to have robots paint art while they track your sleep: no, that’s not creepy at all – Engadget. "In an interesting example of quantified self and new interfaces, the Ibis hotel is using bed sensors and robot arms to paint pictures of your sleep patterns. We’re in an explosion of visualization, sensing, and data, and it’s fascinating to see what designers and artists cook up." (Alistair for Mitch).
A Space Shuttle on the Streets of Los Angeles – The Atlantic. "A set of pics of the Space Shuttle Endeavour, getting towed along the streets of LA, to its final resting place. Truly the end of an era. It’s hard to say whether these are inspiring or depressing. ‘My name is Ozymandias, king of kings: Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!’" (Hugh for Alistair).
Amazon in talks to buy TI mobile chip arm: paper – Reuters. "Rumour has it that Amazon wants to buy the mobile chip maker Texas Instruments; the chips already power the Kindle Fire tablet, and speculation is that Amazon wants to move into the mobile phone space, to compete not just against the iPad but also the iPhone. This sets up the battle of the next decade: Apple, that wants great content in order to sell devices; Amazon that wants great devices in order to sell content. Google, of course, has a different kind of strategy – still around search and advertising, but with their Android OS, it’s clear that mobile is where the fight is happening. Looming in the wings is Facebook – and lest we think things are done, don’t forget that 5 years ago it was MySpace and Yahoo fighting for top slot in the world. Prior to this month, who even gave Samsung a second thought as a ‘player’? Nokia’s Windows phone has yet to make a real dent in the world, but I’ve heard good things; as for RIM/Blackberry, who knows where they will land, but surely it will not be near the top. Truly, we live in interesting times." (Hugh for Mitch).
The World Around Us – Eric Schmidt Zeitgeist Americas 2012 – YouTube. "I spent the earlier part of this week at Google Zeitgeist. It’s gymnastics for the brain (like the TED conference). Eric Schmidt, the Executive Chairman of Google, always gives a rundown of how he is seeing the world, and it is a sight to behold. He tackles everything from politics and the economy to what we can imagine technology will become. He is both poised and insightful. I look forward to his comments each and every year. So, here they are…" (Mitch for Alistair).
The World to Watch – Global Economics Panel – Zeitgeist Americas 2012 – YouTube. "This was one of those panels that makes you sit back and realize how little we know about the world that surrounds us. We’re engrossed with the U.S. Presidential election and local politics, but what’s happening at the global level and how is it affecting business? I left this panel and made a commitment to myself that I would spend a lot more of my time paying attention to how things are unfolding outside of this continent. It’s an important watch." (Mitch for Hugh).

Now it’s your turn: in the comment section below pick one thing that you saw this week that inspired you and share it.

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.