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 Paradox of Genius: Why Long-Term Thinking Wins – NfX. “The paradox of startups is that you need relentless tactical focus, but you need to hitch that wagon to a long-term vision of how the world is changing. This great post by James Currier summarizes a conversation (linked in the piece) with Kevin Kelly, who has been thinking about the future more than anyone else that I know. It’s a fascinating list of points that try to connect the here and now to the future species we’re becoming.” (Alistair for Hugh).
• The End of Silicon Valley as We Know It? – O’Reilly. “The only person who can compete with Kevin on long-term speculation is Tim O’Reilly. It’s thanks to Tim that I got to spend a late night talking with Kevin and Ray Ozzie about how to detect sentient life in the universe (spoiler alert: Look for extropy, the inverse of entropy, where energy is being converted into concentrations of organization and structure). Tim’s success rate at predicting tomorrow – from digital government, to open source, to rethinking venture capital – is unparalleled. So, if you want to understand the changes that COVID, tech, global competition, and alternate financing models are having on the Valley, this is as good of a roadmap as you’ll get.” (Alistair for Mitch).
• The Sovietization of the American Press – National Post. “Can we post about politics at all? Well… I will, because this is about media? Anyway, the ongoing polarization of our societies does seem to be butting up against big media’s ‘issue framing’ restrictions. Certain topics are only ‘allowed’ to be talked about in certain ways in mainstream media (think immigration in the USA: it is possible to object to open borders without being a racist; but the topic on the mainly-left only seems to get presented as an either or question). There is a sense that media is back in comfortland in the US, where policies that were abhorrent last year are suddenly fine.” (Hugh for Alistair).
• Bruce Cockburn – If I had a Rocket Launcher – Austin City Limits – YouTube. “Incredible live version of an old 80s Canadian legend’s classic tune. Amazingly, there are just two musicians on this stage.” (Hugh for Mitch).
• Bitcoin’s Greatest Feature Is Also Its Existential Threat – Wired. “The other week, I launched my own ‘Creator Coin’ on Rally.io (it’s called the $WRITE coin). If I’m being honest, I’m no expert on cryptocurrency and what the potential might be for me to maintain my own coin. At a simplistic level, it sounds ‘interesting’ to build a unique economy around writing and writers. Still, lots to learn. And, learning is what I am doing. What’s the point of cryptocurrency? How do we get beyond the enormous hype that it currently has? Does it make sense for money to no longer be regulated (or backed) by governments? Is that even possible? This article looks at some of these questions. And, as it always seems, it will leave you with more questions than answers…” (Mitch for Alistair).
• The Buzzy, Chatty, Out-of-Control Rise of Clubhouse – Wired. “This past week, Clubhouse (the drop-in social audio app that is all the rage these days) celebrated it’s first anniversary. Still, it’s invite only. Still, it’s iOS only. There are claims that as many as 15-20 million people have downloaded the app. It is worth over one billion dollars (if you believe the large investments these startups get based on their valuation). I’m still tinkering with it (my username is mitchjoel, if you want to follow me), and I have a great time recording live podcasts on the platform. Still, for everything I like about Clubhouse, there is much more about the platform that makes me wonder how safe it truly is (and how ‘credible’ many of the so-called influencers on the platform actually are). With that, if you can step away from the drama, it’s a fascinating concept, and step forward in live audio consumption and creation. Will it stick? We shall see.” (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 ;):