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 (BitCurrent, Year One Labs, GigaOM, Human 2.0, the author of Complete Web Monitoring and Managing Bandwidth: Deploying QOS in Enterprise Networks), Hugh McGuire (PressBooks, LibriVox, iambik) and I decided that every week or so 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:
- Library Services in the Digital Age – Pew Internet. "I’m in Seattle today, presenting to the American Library Association about what it means to be a library scientist in an era of Big Data – where everyone is a (bad) librarian. Just in time, Pew released a study of the role libraries play in the era of the Web, detailing everything from racial usage to the library’s role as a technology ‘petting zoo.’ Good reading in its own right, but also as a predictor of some of the pivots that publishers may be making in the coming decade." (Alistair for Hugh).
- Harper Reed Goes A Week Without Internet: Obama Campaign Tech Guru Shares What He Learned – The Huffington Post. "Harper Reed was pretty busy last year. As the CTO for the Obama For America campaign, he was pretty much always online. I chatted with him briefly at Foo Camp last summer, and he was upbeat — but it was clear that a lot of hard work went into the platform he’d build. Once everything was done, he decided to take a sabbatical from technology, something I’ve been thinking a lot about lately. Here’s what happened." (Alistair for Mitch).
- iPad Hack Statement Of Responsibility – TechCrunch. "I wish that there were more stories like this from the bankers behind the financial crisis." (Hugh for Alistair).
- Jeff Bridges, Bernie Glassman, H. Jon Benjamin and Mike Wiebe – Bullseye with Jesse Thorn. "Do you like the The Big Lebowski? Zen? Jesse Thorn’s podcasts? Listen, and
find out." (Hugh for Mitch). - Remembering Aaron by taking care of each other – Clay Shirky. "I wish I could say that I knew all about Aaron Swartz, but I did not. Still, that did not stop me from paying close attention to the tributes and memorials for this very young man who was dealing with a lot more than many of us are capable of understanding. On January 11th, he took his own life. Sadly, I’ve known a few people who have committed suicide. The only true lesson that I have ever taken away from those experiences is that it’s hard to find a logical answer to an illogical act. Famed new media thinker, Clay Shirky (Here Comes Everybody and Cognitive Surplus), is known for his depth and wisdom in communicating the changes in our world. In this piece, Shirky elevates the subject of suicide in a profound and powerful way. The ultimate message: all of us should be doing a better job of taking care of one another." (Mitch for Alistair).
- The Book of the Future, Sliced and Diced – The New Yorker. "Books are just content… right, Hugh? Apparently, there was an event last week in New York City called, Digital Book World. It featured sessions like, Making Book Trailers Jump Off the Screen and Bootstrap: The Modular Subscription. Not a physical object bound with paper to be found at an event like this, I guess? In this interesting The New Yorker piece, you start to realize that being an author means a lot more than just writing books, magazine or newspaper articles. Digital offers something a lot more than just a new platform." (Mitch for Hugh).
Now it’s your turn: in the comment section below pick one thing that you saw this week that inspired you and share it.
I’m starting to believe “pop-up marketing” (Is that a term yet? Can I trademark it and get filthy rich?!) is the future of our industry. Think about all the factors at play here – consistently uncertain economic environments, technology that develops and matures faster than most brands can handle, an over saturated and information-clobbered marketplace, and consumers that demand interesting and creative engagements. I’ve been thinking A LOT about the potential to build and grow a brand built solely on fast-moving and adaptable marketing techniques that require staying on top of trends, taking advantage of temporary space, capitalizing on existing buzz, and a constant creative evolution (all of which must be based on the “Move fast and break things” edict). Tough sell, but could easily be a momentous game changer.
My inspiration for this rant: http://www.scribd.com/doc/95242094/miLES-Reinvent-Your-Hood