Categories: Articles

Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention #391

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:

Security robot bullied and forced off the street in San Francisco – Dezeen. “Here’s an interesting dilemma: Do you feel bad for the robot that got smeared in feces and BBQ sauce? Or the homeless people it was automatically removing from the surrounding sidewalks? In an age of automation there are few easy answers.” (Alistair for Hugh).
Insurance Companies Are Now Offering Discounts if You Let Your Tesla Drive Itself – Futurism. “I’ve long maintained that insurance companies, despite their reputation as slow-moving, ponderous, risk-averse organizations, are actually a force for technology adoption. By quantifying risk they put a price on inaction — so if some kind of new tech means less damages, they’ll back it. This is true for everything from mining (why send a human to do work a drone can do below ground?) to governance (a CEO can’t possibly parse all of the mishaps and wrongdoings of a global company) to tree felling (lumberjack is one of the deadliest jobs). So maybe the self-driving car doesn’t catch on because it’s desireable, but because it’s negligent not to use it.” (Alistair for Mitch).
The Would-Be Amazon of Sex Toys Became the Radio Shack Instead – Bloomberg BusinessWeek. “Passing this along for no other reason than the headline.” (Hugh for Alistair).
Definitely Not A Top Ten List: The Best TV Shows of 2017 – The New Yorker. “Is it cheating to provide a best of list as a link at the end of the year? Well, I’m going to do it anyway: It seems like the stakes have gone up for TV shows… we’re so inundated by… stuff… to read/watch/listen to, and we’re all so busy, that OK stuff just doesn’t make the cut. I mostly like the same kind of stuff Emily Nussbaum likes, and I’m looking forward to watching some of this over the holidays.” (Hugh for Mitch).
Dozens of Companies Are Using Facebook to Exclude Older Workers From Job Ads – ProPublica. “Ageism is a thing. Some don’t believe it to be true. I do. I see it – each and every day – from my perch in this melange between marketing and technology. Out with the old and in with the new. We blame Facebook for many of society’s woes. Should we blame them for ageism too? Candidly, I’m not sure where I sit on this issue. If a company takes an ad out on Facebook for an entry level position, are they being blatantly unlawful because they are targeting this ad based on an individual’s age? Tough call, but it’s happening… and nobody is happy about it. Scrooge this.” (Mitch for Alistair).
If work dominated your every moment would life be worth living? – Aeon. “If there was one word that brewed to the top of the workspace lexicon this year, it would be ‘hustle.’ Everyone is all about the hustle. What? Don’t have a hustle? What about a side hustle? Don’t have one of those? You could be a sucker and on the losing end of the modern work ethos. That’s me being sarcastic, but this theme is real. From connectivity and smartphones to this entrepreneurial positioning, we’re constantly working. So… and here’s the big question as the vast majority of us do take a few weeks to slow down and enjoy each other’s company… if work is taking over your life, do you really have a life worth living?” (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.