Categories: Articles

Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention #351

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, HBS; chair of Strata, Startupfest, Pandemonio, and ResolveTO; Author of Lean Analytics and some other books), 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:

Exponential growth devours and corrupts – Signal V. Noise – Medium. “Basecamp and Ruby creator David Heinemeier Hansson minces no words in this scathing indictment of the Venture Capital world, where words like ’Engagement’ and ’Vitality’ are ends that justify all means. It’s actually about Uber, and society, and the dangers of spiralling into a Black Mirror caste nightmare. It’s long and angry, and I wish a politician would take it up.” (Alistair for Hugh).
Bear 71 – National Film Board. “Canada’s National Film Board is making interesting VR experiences these days. Check out Bear 71, a documentary about the increasingly dangerous life of a bear in a human world. Plays on mobile devices too!” (Alistair for Mitch.)
The Amazon Rainforest Was Profoundly Changed by Ancient Humans – The Atlantic. “Is the Amazon rainforest an untouched, wild expanse, untroubled by human interference until our modern, mechanized age? Or, have humans been shaping and cultivating the species in the rainforest, effectively gardening this forest for thousands of years? New research suggests it’s less the former, and more the latter.” (Hugh for Alistair).
Bill and Ted vs. Wayne and Garth – Deja Reviewer. “Every once in a while, someone my age says something like, ‘Party on,’ or ’ xcellent!’ or ‘Strange things are afoot at the Circle K,’ or ‘In France she would be called La Renarde’ or ‘Put them in the iron maiden!’ and I have a moment of deep existential confusion, panic even, trying to figure out whether the quote comes from the Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure or Wayne’s World. This article helps clear up the similarities and differences.” (Hugh for Mitch).
When Prince Made a Chambermaid His Queen For a Day – The Daily Beast. “My buddy, Tom Webster, posted this article on Facebook. I had not seen it. It’s a long, strange trip indeed that takes a look back at culture, music, perception, contests, marketing, the music business and what it takes to pull something off (and what it means about us and society). Prince was a true iconoclast. No doubt about that. This article makes you wonder what the people behind him were like (to keep that persona going). Great read!” (Mitch for Alistair).
Why the Internet Didn’t Kill Zines – The New York Times Magazine. “I called them ‘magazines’ when I was publishing them back in the nineties. Upon reflection (and, if I’m going to be candid with myself), they were much more like fanzines. Sure, they had better design and were not printed on a Xerox machine, but the content came from that same ‘zine scene/place. You would think that the Internet, blogs and publishing platforms like Medium would have killed the zine. You would be wrong. Thankfully. This culture keeps pushing on. I wonder how many brands could pull of a zine?” (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.