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:

• The improbable rise and fall of Couchsurfing – The Kernel. “Some communities are mirages — when you try to monetize them, they vanish into the desert. Couchsurfing thrived on intimacy between like-minded, well-meaning people. And then everyone else found out. An object lesson in the tragedy of the commons.” (Alistair for Hugh).
• College Has Gotten 12 Times More Expensive in One Generation – Mother Jones. “The GI Bill and the New Deal boosted America’s fortunes. Now we see the reverse — the widening gulf between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have-nots.’ I can’t wait until the machines write better psychology papers than the teachers can grade.” (Alistair for Mitch).
• What Is Code? – BusinessWeek. “This seems to be the article (or rather, short book – its 38,000 words) everyone is reading this week. If you are a coder, then this is a brilliant example of how to explain your craft to the rest of the world. If you are not a coder, then this will explain to you how most of the (human) world actually works. Also, Paul Ford is one of the most delightful writers around.” (Hugh for Alistair).
• How Things Break – Slate. “I’ve been on a bit of a Muhammed Ali kick lately. The Rumble in the Jungle really is an amazing sporting spectacle (and is available on YouTube in its entirety). But, before the great Ali-Foreman fight, there was Ali-Liston – much less interesting as a boxing match, but resulting in this iconic photo. Here’s the backstory.” (Hugh for Mitch). 
• Man Asks for Photoshop Help, Internet Hilariously Responds – Pleated Jeans. “Need laugh? The Internet never lets you down. Promise.” (Mitch for Alistair).
• Four Columbia House insiders explain the shady math behind “8 CDs for a penny” – AV Club. “I was a ‘member.’ I probably still owe them money. I’m now wondering if my lack of fulfillment has somehow affected my credit rating. I don’t know. I did the classic Columbia House play for vinyl, cassettes and yes, even, CDs. Seems so antiquated now. Was it a smart business model? This is a great read for anyone who loved music in the 80s and 90s…” (Mitch for Hugh).

Feel free to share these links and add your picks on Twitter, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.