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: 

• The ‘begpacker’ phenomenon shows how fake poverty has become a status symbol – Quartz. “This is a pretty complicated and controversial topic, which falls somewhere between immigration law and Instagram Nomadism. The ‘gap year’ has always been incredibly privileged, but this is another wrinkle. I came across this when I learned that Thailand is reciprocating European rules on visitors having to pass a means test—and Europeans then freaking out that they might not be able to visit Thailand if they don’t have €15,000 in their bank.” (Alistair for Hugh).
  
• The Wine Happiness Edition – Why Is This Interesting? “Can money buy happiness? Well, yes, argues Felix Salmon from this long-lost post, because we enjoy expensive wine more – even when we know it’s confirmation bias. ‘Even if you think that this is all just a case of the Emperor’s New Clothes, and that the whole concept of fine wine is at heart a con, the correlation between price and pleasure still holds up.’ Cheers!” (Alistair for Mitch).
• Computer Scientists Break Traveling Salesperson Record – Quanta Magazine. “In which there is some progress on the famous (well, I’ve never heard of it, but I bet Alistair has) and hard to crack computer science problem, on how to optimize a sales person’s journey to multiple cities.” (Hugh for Alistair).  
• I’ve spoken to around 1,000 companies over the last 6 months about their plans for remote work going forward Here are a few things I’ve learned. – Chris Herd – Twitter. “Here’s a Twitter thread on companies and remote work. Not sure how validated the data are, but certainly resonates with my experience.” (Hugh for Mitch).
• The Home Office Reveal – Life & Muse. “If you’re looking for a new line of work, have you considered helping individuals design, redesign and optimize their home office? I’m not joking. From the physical space, to materials, to furniture, to audio and visual technology, to the software needed, this is real. I’m constantly helping business professionals  make better choices about what a great home office is (and can be). Tobi Lutke from Shopify shared this one, and it’s full of gems and gold. I especially liked their idea to use Philips Hue Play Light Bars. As I started looking into that product, it make me realize how the entire Hue line is a great home automation idea, and one that can also really control (and change) your office lighting (and vibe) on the fly (and cheap). I was busy looking at photography and live event lighting solutions (silly me). Gorgeous stuff in here…” (Mitch for Alistair).
• The Map – Gary Hustwit. “If you know anything about me, you know this: I love a good documentary. I love quirky documentaries even more. I’ve been a huge fan of Gary Hustwit from back when I first saw the amazing movie, Helvetica (yes, a documentary about the Helvetica font). From there, he created more inspiring films like, Objectified, Urbanized, Rams (about famed design Dieter Rams) and many more. With that, Gary’s done some corporate videos (that look and feel much more like a documentary than a corporate video). His latest is called, The Map. It’s a 10-minute look at how digital agency, Work & Co., created their ‘live map’ (or redesign) of New York City’s iconic subway map. If you want a master class in what content marketing can (and should) look like, it’s all right here for you. If this doesn’t sweep the advertising and content marketing awards, I don’t know what will…” (Mitch for Hugh).

Feel free to share these links and add your picks on Twitter, Facebook, in the comments below or wherever you play.

Are you interested in what’s next? How to decode the future? I publish between 2-3 times per week and then the Six Pixels of Separation Podcast comes out every Sunday. Feel free to subscribe (and tell your friends ;):