Six Links Worthy Of Your Attention #142

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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, the author of Complete Web Monitoring, Managing Bandwidth: Deploying QOS in Enterprise Networks and Lean Analytics), Hugh McGuire (PressBooks, LibriVox, iambik) and I decided that every week or so 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:

  • Le Quebec Vu Par Les Montrealais – Gab Roy. "Every day, the Quebec government finds new ways to incense English citizens and remove things even the UN considers to be basic human rights. Every morning, my wife and I–both bilingual anglophones–plot our escape from the language craziness that is Quebec. And yet every evening, I proudly read to my daughter in French and drive her to bilingual daycare even though the government is busily trying to take away our right to educate her in the language we choose. So sometimes, it’s nice to remember that Montrealers are as different from Quebec as Quebeckers are from Canada." (Alistair for Hugh).
  • Create More Value Than You Capture – eCorner. "I’ve been lucky enough to work with Tim O’Reilly and the organization he created over the past few years. Tim has been a proponent of open source, and. DRM-free books, and citizen government, and more. But he also defined brands like Web 2.0 and created the first commercial website. Somehow he manages to balance the aspirational and the commercial sides of technology. This podcast, from a recent event he spoke at, gives some insights into how he pulls it off." (Alistair for Mitch).
  • Moshers, Heavy Metal and Emergent Behavior – MIT Technology Review. "These ?ndings o?er strong support for the analogy between mosh pits and gases." (Hugh for Alistair).
  • Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling – Aerogramme Writers’ Studio. "In the end, everything is about story-telling. Disney‘s animation studio, Pixar, is pretty good at story-telling. Here are the 22 rules for writing for Pixar." (Hugh for Mitch).
  • Scientists One Step Close To Human Mind Meld – PSFK. "We often talk about technology in relation to the stuff we used to read about and watch from the science fiction genre. Star Trek really did have a ton of technology that we’re currently using. Tell me smartphone don’t look like their communications devices or that Uhura wasn’t rocking a bluetooth headset decades before they became a reality. Currently, there’s a contest for scientists to develop a real-life tricorder to diagnose human beings. So, that’s the physical stuff with lights and buttons, but what about Spock‘s ability to have a mind meld with another species? Think that’s possible for humans? Read on… and, whether someone can meld with your brain or not, this is sure to blow your mind." (Mitch for Alistair).
  • A Revolutionary Marketing Strategy: Answer Customers’ Questions – The New York Times. "Over the years, I have become both fast friends and a fan of Marcus Sheridan (you can hear more here: SPOS #285 – How To Be A Marketing And Sales Lion With Marcus Sheridan). He’s done some pretty amazing things in a world where people with his business lot in life would sit around and complain about their situation. Selling pools is not an easy job. The question is this: how did Sheridan become such a powerhouse in that industry and pull off the transition from using social media to sell pools to becoming a marketing and sales advisor and world-class speaker? This article in the New York Times details his ascent. What I find most interesting is this: most people in the digital realm have heard of Sheridan, but when he gets major traditional ink in the New York Times, suddenly literary agents come calling and everyone’s ears perk up. He’s an amazing guy with an amazing story, so this is a great primer, but watch him go below… he rocks the stage too." (Mitch for Hugh).

Now it’s your turn: in the comment section below pick one thing that you saw this week that inspired you and share it.