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:

• What To Know About The New Artificial Intelligence Executive Order – Holland & Knight. “Governments are scrambling to put a stake in the ground on Generative AI. The UK had a summit; the US had an executive order; Europe is tying itself in knots to play its role as digital regulator (thanks to the wide impact of GDPR) while not stifling innovation. Among it all, this Holland & Knight writeup was a clear-headed explainer of what the White House order tries to do.” (Alistair for Hugh).
• Fake Profiles And Anonymous Posts: How Social Media Is Upending College Life During The Israel-Gaza War – Forbes. “Last week, I opened FWD50 with a talk that didn’t directly address the horrible events in the Middle East, but rather, called for an investment in government systems we can trust — because if we don’t, we resort to far worse systems. This Forbes piece on the fog of war in a social era, where everyone can publish, and therefore is pressured to do so, was a good look at the world we’re in today, and how it’s playing out on campuses. The goal? ‘[These] accounts don’t necessarily try to change anyone’s mind; they try to heighten polarization’.” (Alistair for Mitch).
• Your Personality Depends On Which U.S. State You Live In – Atlas Obscura. “Fascinating map on the prevalence of various personality traits by US State (red=more, green= less). According to this data, the southeast is agreeable, stable, conscientious, but not particularly open. The midwest is extroverted, stable, and closed. The west coast is open, stable, but introverted. The northeast is open but disagreeable and emotionally unstable.” (Hugh for Alistair).
• What’s The Future Of Books? – Esquire. “Mitch, Alistair and I have all been dissecting the ‘future of book publishing’ forever. You might say we’ve all made careers of it: Alistair runs some of the most interesting conferences out there, and got his start working with a book publisher whose idea was that books are just a (small) part of what readers want and need; Mitch, a voracious reader and writer of books was also one of Canada’s first podcasters, arguably the (new) medium most closely competing for the intellectual space that books once owned; and I run a company that helps educators publish digital books that are native to the web. Anyway, here’s the first article on the future of books I’ve read in a long while.” (Hugh for Mitch).
• The Day The Delusions Died – The Free Press. “Talking about politics is not easy. In fact, it’s not something I am interested in doing on social media. It could be local, national or international politics… it doesn’t matter. I am deeply interested in the topic of politics (I follow the news and have extensive conversations with colleagues and friends about it). Here is what I will say: I am becoming more and more enamored with public thinkers like Konstantin Kisin (whose work I have shared in this space before). Not because I agree with him (or would follow his thinking), but simply that he is doing it.. in public. And, whether you agree with his opinions (or not) we can’t be dismissive of how smart he is (and how well he presents his ideas). Whether it’s on his podcast, Triggernometry, or in an op-ed piece like this one. We can all scream at one another on social media. We can all show up with signs and march in the streets with very binary messages. But, with some research, deep thought and some attention to perspectives that differ from what your previously held beliefs, you might (just might) come to a different way of thinking that might (just might) put us all on a much better, healthier and more peaceful path forward.” (Mitch for Alistair).
• Best Books of 2023 – Book Riot. “It’s that time of the year again… although it does seem like the annual ‘best of…’ lists are being released earlier and earlier. I don’t know about you, but this poly-crisis has really got me down. And when I am feeling down, I have one place to escape to: Between the pages. Especially great fiction (and, yes, I am still a fan of business and non-fiction books). I am also a big fan of the Book Riot newsletter. Here’s a big list of books that I have not read from this past year. I have already put a handful of these titles on my wishlist… and I think you’ll find a few gems in here for yourself as well. Happy reading… and escaping…” (Mitch for Hugh).

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

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