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: 

• I wrote a story for a friend – The Egg And The Rock. “If you finish Minecraft—by defeating the Ender Dragon, which is as close as an open-world game gets to closure — you get to read a story by Julian Gough. He wrote it for the game’s creator, Markus (AKA Notch). But he still owns it – the rights weren’t assigned to Notch, or to his company Mojang, or to their acquirer, Microsoft. So he made it free for everyone.” (Alistair for Hugh).
• Severe Cow Warning – Interesting Bits. “I am breaking my rule here by posting a self-link, but it’s really just me summarizing a bunch of articles and a very enthusiastic TikToker. The short version: A bunch of cows went rogue, evading cowboys and drones and terrorizing a small Quebec town, and nobody seems to be able to do much about it. It’s a story that’s all over French media, but hasn’t found the audience it quite rightly deserved.” (Alistair for Mitch).
• From Bowling Alone to Posting Alone – Jacobin. “Emerging from the enforced isolation of the pandemic has been a challenge for many of us. I consider myself a social introvert; or a personable misanthropist; or something similar. That is to say, my most comfortable mode is to be alone. I still enjoy social activity, but I really have to make an effort to make it happen. I’m also a creature of habit. So, the rhythm of the pandemic was actually nice for me. A very small bubble of a couple of friends, with regular probably-against-covid-rules supper became a pattern that it’s been difficult to break out of. But I feel compelled to break out of it — even if it was comfortable it was isolating, and I notice as I emerge from that cocoon that renewing interactions with friends has had a great impact on how I think about the world. Still, with all the Zooming and emailing, as well as the online (rather than in-person) buying I seem to do, it’s easy to drop back into a kind of low-level loneliness, a lack of physical interaction with others. Loneliness, without much surprise, is becoming a real issue.” (Hugh for Alistair).
• Open AI Beta. “Mitch, Alistair, Julien Smith and I recently had our first post-Covid lunch together, something we used to do a couple of times a year, and something I guess we haven’t done since 2019. A big part of the conversation was about GPT3, the AI system from OpenAI. So, I asked GPT3 to summarize the article above, From Bowling Alone to Posting Alone, and here is what came back with: ‘This article discusses how the internet has changed the way people interact and form social connections. It argues that, while the internet has enabled people to stay better connected than ever before, it has also created a new form of ‘social isolation’. The article points to the trend of ‘posting alone’, or people sharing their experiences online without any real-life social interaction, as an example of this new form of isolation, and explores the implications for society.’” (Hugh for Mitch).
• The Bird Site Is F*#ked – Chuck Wending: Terribleminds. “I’ve posted his work here before… and I am fairly certain I will do it again. Whether you agree with his position or not, Chuck Wendig is both an amazing author of books and an equally amazing commentator on the state of the world (which includes a lot of content on creativity and writing). Here, he rants and raves about all things Twitter. A little taste of his stylings? Here is how he describes Elon Musk: ‘a billionaire narcissist with skin thinner than shaved prosciutto stretched precariously over a honeydew melon.’ Big ups to Ann Handley for bringing it to my attention.” (Mitch for Alistair).
• How a Great Audiobook Narrator Finds Her Voices – The New Yorker. “I, personally, recorded the audiobook version for both of my books. I had some experience in radio and I had been podcasting for a while. Still, there’s nothing like a great voice reading a long book. It’s really not the same as doing a radio hit or having a conversation for a podcast. This is a beautiful feature that focuses on the craft of audiobook narration and the process by which renowned narrators – like Robin Miles – finds her various characters’ voices. These artists do extensive research in order to bring a book’s characters to life. They dives deep into the book’s setting, references the author’s other works, and listens to other audiobook narrators to get a better sense of the tone and style they should employ. Miles also immerses herself in the story, visualizing the characters and the settings they inhabit, in order to fuel her imagination and create a more authentic performance. Now, you can better understand the process of creating distinct voices for the characters in these audiobooks. This is how the best of the best in audiobook narration bring the characters and stories to life and create a captivating performance that transports the listener into the world of the book. So fascinating…” (Mitch for Hugh).

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