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, Interesting Bits, HBS, chair of Strata, Startupfest, FWD50, and Scaletechconf; author of Lean Analytics and some other books), Hugh McGuire (Rebus Foundation, PressBooks, LibriVox) 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:
- Wikipedia – Long-Term Abuse. “Wikipedia has a blacklist. Some people frequently edit articles, either to make a point or because they’re trolls. Whatever the reason, there’s a page to keep track of these moving targets who often go out of their way to evade detection. ‘Edit-warring vandal who keeps restoring bad edits to TV show articles,’ says one. ‘Persistently introduces factual errors regarding the relationship statuses of the characters [on Friends]’ says another. I wasted way too much time reading this list.” (Alistair for Hugh).
- Negativity Is [Still] Making Everyone Miserable – Slow Boring. “A lament to inaction. There’s something in the water these days: ‘A better world is not only possible, it’s something we are living through. But to make it even better, you need to do stuff, not talk about how bad everything is.’ A reminder that consumption these days is not a passive action, and that social media has made it easy to feel like we’re doing something when in fact we’re just whining from atop a mountain of good fortune.” (Alistair for Mitch).
- The Four Unique Ways Tokyo Approaches Housing Can Offer Lessons For Australia – ABC News. “(I read an article behind a paywall comparing Canada to Tokyo, here’s a free article comparing Japan to Australia, and making the same points). When I was younger ‘expensive city to live’ meant Tokyo, Paris, New York, and London. Not Ottawa and Calgary. Certainly not Montreal. In the late 80s and early 90s Japan went through a huge financial bubble, and real estate was insane. Now home prices in Tokyo are lower than in Ottawa. How did that happen? Among other things, Tokyo radically changed zoning laws, so you could (more or less) build whatever you wanted wherever you wanted. Results: housing prices went down, and prices for everything else went down too: restaurants and stores in Japan are inexpensive compared to here. When rent is cheap, turns out it’s easier to run a small business. Something has to give on real estate prices in Canada, and part of that surely is going to be about making it easier to build, and easier to put businesses where people want them.” (Hugh for Alistair).
- The Overseas Highway: The Us’ ‘Floating’ Highway – BBC. “I was going to send another link about Canada’s panic-inducing dismal economic performance, but I am starting to feel like a broken record on that front. Instead here’s a piece about the crazy 180km long highway in the Atlantic Ocean, connecting the Florida Keys to the mainland.” (Hugh for Mitch).
- How ‘Vice’ Went From A $6 Billion Media Empire To Bankruptcy – The Free Press. “I think I’ve told this story before, but back when Vice was a little newspaper-y startup on the streets of Montreal, I was an upcoming music and culture writer. I was publishing my own magazines, while also doing a lot of freelance work. It’s all luck and good timing, but I spent some time (and too many nights) in the same circles as the founders of Vice. So, watching them grow to what Vice turned into was a wild voyeuristic ride for me (I even wrote a few pieces for them). Towards the end, I was still following their content and quite liked many of the news features, especially the work of Michael Moynihan. Moynihan now tells his side of the story (and if this interests you, also check out the podcast about this article: How ‘Vice’ Went from a $6 Billion Media Empire to Bankruptcy – Honestly With Bari Weiss). And… still… yeah… a wild ride…” (Mitch for Alistair).
- Oh, Whatever, Everything Is Totally Great For Writers Right Now – Chuck Wendig – Terribleminds. “Being a writer is a tough career. In the media, all we see are the success stories. The rich and powerful writers cutting Netflix deals in Hollywood or we hear about the self-published author who became a global sensation. This is not reality. Success in writing rarely looks like that. And that kind of success is the rarest of anomalies… something not even afforded to the one-percent of those who write professionally. I’ve been lucky, but not overly successful with my own writing (if I am to be honest). Still, the pen, the paper, the keyboard, the screen… they call me… and I oblige… day in and day out. When friends tell me that their kids are considering becoming writers, and what my thoughts are… I only have one thought (and I am very honest with these friends): They are choosing a very difficult path (from getting published to earning enough to scrape by). Chuck Wendig has had more success than most, and while his books are incredible adventures, I am a huge fan when he writes about writing. This article is a true gem. It’s tough out there for writers these days, but Chuck takes in all in stride and helps us to move forward. If you do nothing this week but read this, it will be a good week.” (Mitch for Hugh).
Feel free to share these links and add your picks on X, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.
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