Categories: Articles

Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention #357

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:

Jungletown – Viceland. “Documentary filmmaker Ondi Timoner first showed up at Startupfest, a conference I chair, years ago, working on a film about a founder and his quest to build the next Facebook. She adapted that into a video series; she’d had success with things like We Live In Public and won at Sundance. This year, I launched a conference in Panama, and found out Ondi had been working on a show there too. It’s about a bunch of kids who try to set up a sustainable village in the jungle. Its announcement sparked a Twitter firestorm — is this white privilege writ large, or a slow descent into Lord Of the Flies? Whatever it becomes, with Ondi at the helm, it’s likely to be an interesting ride.” (Alistair for Hugh).
The Master Would Approve: The Cast of MST3K on the Surreal Joys of its Return – Paste Quarterly. “When I first moved to San Diego in 1995, I was confronted by a bizarre wave of US shows: Aeon Flux on MTV stands out, as does MST3K. Over the years, I eschewed MP3s, but scoured torrent sites for episodes of this weird, hackneyed, subversive program. And now, after much Kickstarter and some Netflix support, it’s back. Here’s what it was, how it happened, and why you might like it.” (Alistair for Mitch).
The Other President – This American Life. “A fascinating insight into Putin’s (former) chief propagandist, who implemented a program of ‘managed democracy’.” (Hugh for Alistair).
What is Technology Doing to Us? – Sam Harris Podcast. “I’ve been enjoying listening to Sam Harris‘ long conversations with smart people lately. This fascinating discussion with Tristan Harris (former Design Ethicist at Google) projects out the impacts of the ‘persuasion technology’ that underpins, well, just about every consumer-facing tech/web business. The impacts are profound, especially when you consider the enlightenment concepts of democracy, free will, and rational decision-making driving society.” (Hugh for Mitch).
“Mission-driven” leaders are losing their mystique – Quartz. “Silicon Valley is learning something, as a journalist, that I have known since the late eighties: words matter. You can’t be out in the world with a mission statement about making dents in the universe, if there’s a ton of activating happening at the c-level and management team that says otherwise (and makes you look bad). Living and breathing a mission-driven business isn’t easy, but technology puts you under the scrutiny and microscope of everyone. More than that, when one domino falls, it makes everybody, everywhere look for the next one. It’s corrosive and the valley better beware.” (Mitch for Alistair).
The Oral History Of TED, A Club For The Rich That Became A Global Phenomenon – Wired. “As someone who has been attending the TED conference for close to a decade, it’s tough to read that headline. I’m not sure that it’s a club for the rich, so much as it is a place for people who will spend a lot to invest in themselves. That’s my take. Still, on Monday, I will make my annual pilgrimage to the TED conference in Vancouver. As usual, the energy is high and I can’t wait to have my brain put in a blender and then dumped out on to a trampoline (because that’s what it feels like). Prepping my Field Notes as I type this and I’m super-excited to see where this year’s journey will take me. This is a good primer on the event and global sensation that is TED (with a bad headline).” (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.