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:
- When QAnon Came to Canada – The Walrus. “For those of us who think widespread education and strong public health are our best defense against misinformation, think again. Plenty has been written about how algorithms that amplify outrage and optimize for engagement (a euphemism for addition, these days.) But less is known about how these trends are leaking into Canada.” (Alistair for Hugh).
- December is for storytelling. Just ask the Federal Reserve – Farrah Bostic. “Farrah Bostic spends her time trying to figure out what people are really thinking. Here’s an ode to the Beige Book, a qualitative study of economic health collected by the US government. This one paints a particularly interesting portrait of economic collapse and recovery in an age of Covid. Tons of consumer trends to dig into here, summarized as only Farrah can.” (Alistair for Mitch).
- Ray Dalio sees ‘flood of money’ with soaring asset prices – BNN Bloomberg. “I keep posting links to Ray Dalio‘s stuff, because I’ve been fascinated and terrified by the things he’s been writing/talking about recently. Dalio, founder of the Bridgewater hedge fund, is one of the most successful financial minds of the past 40 years. His historically informed analysis of what’s happening in world right now (a declining power in the US, and a rising power in China) is worrisome, especially because of how similar struggles have played out in the past. In the US we are seeing a combination of inflated financial assets, inflationary printing of money by central banks, rising inequality, increasingly violent internal political divisions colliding with a competing rising power in China. Yay! He recently did an AMA on Reddit, here’s a rundown of his thoughts.” (Hugh for Alistair).
- Dancers tumble in and out of love as the ground spins beneath their feet – Aeon. “When are they falling in and when falling out?” (Hugh for Mitch).
- How Venture Capitalists Are Deforming Capitalism – The New Yorker. “What happens when there are too many chefs in the kitchen? It’s been a long while that venture capitalists have been splurging on ground floor action with the day’s hottest startups. The promise is of something more than just cash. The idea that they can help a startup scale, find better paths to monetization, access to better employees, and much more. What do founders want? Is this relationship really healthy? Not for the VC and the startup, but for the greater good of the economy? As always, Charles Duhigg has put together a masterful piece on the venture capital world.” (Mitch for Alistair).
- Kevin Kelly on Why Technology Has a Will – Palladium. “I have time for everything that Kevin Kelly says, writes and thinks. His perspective on technology and consumer behavior is legendary (do yourself a favor and spend many hours reading his articles and his books). Here’s a just-published interview with Kevin on the state of technology today and his optimism for the future. We can all use a little optimism these days, can’t we?” (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 ;):