Categories: Articles

Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention #212

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, Solve For Interesting, the author of Complete Web Monitoring, Managing Bandwidth: Deploying QOS in Enterprise Networks and Lean Analytics), Hugh McGuire (PressBooks, LibriVox, iambik and co-author of Book: A Futurist’s Manifesto) 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:

Facebook’s algorithm — why our assumptions are wrong, and our concerns are right – Culture Digitally. "There’s been a lot of news about Facebook experimenting on us. This was one of the most thoughtful bits I read: ‘together, I think these represent a deeper discomfort about an information environment where the content is ours but the selection is theirs.’ The conflict between a social network’s public perception as a trusted conduit, and its underlying business model, is at the core of the debate." (Alistair for Hugh).
The Putter – Vimeo. "In an age of automation and robotics, making scissors by hand seems, well, daft. But there are a few such craftsmen, and watching them work is akin to poetry. Learn about one of the past ‘putters’ — literally, a putter together of scissors." (Alistair for Mitch)
Visualizing Algorithms – Mike Bostock. "For our weekly links, I review various articles that I’ve found interesting over the past week, and try to pick out the two that interested me most, then figure out which one goes to Alistair and which one goes to Mitch. Occasionally, though, I’ll see something and think, ‘Oh, Mitch/Alistair will love this.’ That’s what happened this week, I saw this amazing article about visualizing algorithms, and thought: Oh, Alistair will love this." (Hugh for Alistair).
How John Oliver and HBO Shattered TV’s Comedy-News Format – Variety. "If you are a Daily Show watcher, you probably recognize John Oliver, who has his own new show, Last Week Tonight. The new show takes the satirical news show and turns it into something like an ‘investigative journalism show presented in a satirical way.’ We’re used to 2-minute funny faux-news segments; Oliver and his team are doing 15 minute, deeply researched segments on a pretty diverse array of kinda obscure topics: the death penalty, net neutrality, food product labeling." (Hugh for Mitch).
Aerosmith made more money on Guitar Hero than from any of their albums – Factually. "I spent over fifteen years in the music industry. I’ve seen a lot of things. Some amazingly cool. Some very dark, dark stuff. When I finally left the industry, it became clear to me that – for the most part – it was an industry that was not going to embrace change or technology. It was disrupted. It continues to be disrupted. I watch the industry closely (mostly through the eyes of people like Bob Lefsetz). With that, when you come across an article with a title like this, it’s hard not to have it stop you dead in your tracks. Think about Aerosmith. Think about their legacy. Think about what they represent in the pantheon of rock and roll. And, ultimately, this is the truth. Let the music do the talking? Hardly. It seems like the video games, t-shirts and sponsorships are what keeps this train rolling all night long." (Mitch for Alistair).
An ‘Unbelievable’ Encounter With Amazon – The New Yorker. "Malcolm Gladwell does comedy. Comedy during a time when his book sales are, seriously, getting decimated as his publisher (Hachette Book Group – which also happens to be the publisher of my books, Six Pixels of Separation and CTRL ALT Delete) is in a heated contract dispute with Amazon that is holding off and delaying shipments of Hachette titles. It’s a strange world where authors are getting royally shafted and, as funny as this is, it’s all pretty disheartening when you really think about it. I say this as both an author who is trapped in the middle of this, while also being a huge fan of Amazon, at the same time. Yes, it’s a mess." (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.