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:
- Fertility rate: ‘Jaw-dropping’ global crash in children being born BBC News. “Even in the early days of the pandemic, we were noticing that birthrates were way down. Covid hasn’t helped. I hadn’t really been thinking about this much, but it’s started leaking into my consciousness. If we were together, I’d monopolize the lunch conversation speculating on why this is the case.” (Alistair for Hugh).
- Fast – Patrick Collison. “Patrick Collison maintains a list of big human projects that were built quickly. Most of them happened before 1970, so he links to a number of reasons why we seem to have slowed down at delivering big, heady achievements. It’s an interesting, and somewhat depressing, list. Francis Fukuyama has called the current model of government in the US a ‘vetocracy’ because of how special interest groups have slowed down ambitions.” (Alistair for Mitch).
- Off the East Coast, a Massive Network of Wind Turbines Is Coming—Along With New Risks for Migrating Birds – Audubon. “On birds and wind turbines.” (Hugh for Alistair).
- The Weight – Featuring Ringo Starr and Robbie Robertson – Playing For Change – YouTube. “Music is nice. Here’s The Band‘s Robbie Robertson leading a collection of musicians from around the globe singing the campfire classic, ‘The Weight’.” (Hugh for Mitch).
- The Coachella Backlash – The Lefsetz Letter. “In order to get the full effect of this article, I strongly recommend that you watch the TikTok video in this link (Mandy Lee is wise). This is a really compelling and different argument for what culture can look like. What if it’s not about the content that everyone is there to consume at an event, but rather all about the individuals who are present and how they share out their own content? Such a strange and weird world we have with influencers, who aren’t acting as people conveying information to an audience, but rather building a personal brand that becomes the connection point to this audience. I’m sure there are much smarter people than me, namely psychologists and sociologists, who would have their own perspectives on this. Still, this is incredibly fascinating. What if we no longer go anywhere for the content/art/music, but rather simply as an engine for us to create our own content and brand for the world? Events are now wallpaper?” (Mitch for Alistair).
- Musicians want us to pay closer attention at gigs. Let’s do them the courtesy – The Guardian. “The other week, I had tickets to a concert that I was very much looking forward to. I wound up selling my tickets, because the artist was demanding that people lock their mobile devices in one of their security bags that then get coat-checked for the duration of the show. It was not a tenable thing for me to do, because I have both young children at home and a new babysitter in place. It’s not just that. I am an adult. If the artist is asking us not to use our phones, so that we can all be there – in the moment – I am able to comply. I don’t need to be forced or have my phone taken away from me. Some people can’t comply/control themselves… and I get that. With that, I am often annoyed by how loud people can be during a concert. I’m not saying we need it to sound like a library or religious service, and it’s understandable when friends get together – they have a few drinks and want to enjoy a show together… they talk, sing loudly or are simply enjoying both the music and the friendship. So, it’s a fine line. I have not chosen sides on this issue. I think it’s fair for artists to ask the audience to play closer attention, but I’m not certain they can demand it. That being said, forcing compliance (in this kind of environment) is something that frustrates me. I don’t think artists treating their fans like children is a healthy relationship. What do you think?” (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)