Categories: Articles

Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention #401

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:

The Evolution of Trust – Nicky Case. “I’ve been doing a lot of consulting work around legislation and making rules that stick. Turns out laws aren’t nearly as effective as systems that reinforce the kind of behavior you want. But to get this right, you essentially need to find a way for two competitors to interact in a way that produces the best outcomes, and that means game theory. And–spoiler alert–gameplayers are jerks. This amazing animated journey through game theory and trust will probably dash any hopes you have of humans working things out. But you should still play it.” (Alistair for Hugh).
Why are we teaching humans how to code and machines how to learn? – LS:N Global. “This is perhaps one of the most important questions in modern time, but we don’t ask it enough. Algorithms get better at anything that can be scored and iterated–including most of what we teach in schools. At the same time, metacognition (thinking about thinking) is a critical skill, but most of the people who work in that field are applying their knowledge to better algorithms, not better students.” (Alistair for Mitch).
‘Black Panther’ offers a regressive, neocolonial vision of Africa – The Washington Post. “What’s not to like about the blackalicious new Marvel pic, Black Panther? Well, if you want your fun spoiled, here’s something you should read.” (Hugh for Alistair).
The Cute Robot That Follows You Around the City – The Atlantic. “A robot made by Vespa is a robot I want to spend time with.” (Hugh for Mitch).
Slow Thought: a manifesto – Aeon. “When was the last time someone told you to slow down and take your time? Really. Think about it. Think about our current culture. Think about how we connect. Think about how we’re always connected. Do you ever come home and have, literally, nothing to say to your partner because you have been connected and texting all day, even though you didn’t see them? There are many cultural issues that are changing us human beings because of technology. One pillar of this technociety is getting things done faster and making better decisions because of technology (you know the whole ‘ one fast and break things’ business). Well, what if we really need what this article is talking about? Slow thought. Before you answer, slow down, read this… and just think about it.” (Mitch for Alistair).
Live by the algorithm, die by the algorithm: How LittleThings went from social publishing darling to shutting down – DigiDay. “I wonder how people feel about this? Do you feel bad that a small publisher can’t survive the Facebook algorithm? I do. On the other hand, if your business lives and dies on how Facebook works their own algorithm, this has to be a ‘known known.’ So… yeah… this sucks… but it was kind of inevitable, no?” (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.