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, Solve For Interesting, the author of Complete Web Monitoring, Managing Bandwidth: Deploying QOS in Enterprise Networks and Lean Analytics), Hugh McGuire (PressBooks, LibriVox, iambik and co-author of Book: A Futurist’s Manifesto) 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:
- Netflix’s “Streamageddon”: Why Do Streaming Video Services Still Suck? – Flavorwire. "Netflix delivers movies in two ways. First, or by DVD; and second, by streaming. But the differences don’t stop there–one is a long-tail play that delights film buffs, while the other is a numbers game and a mathematical popularity contest. As this Flavorwire piece explains, balancing commercial commitments with diversity isn’t easy. There’s a good lesson here for anyone in publishing." (Alistair for Hugh).
- This DJ Shadow mix was “too future” for Miami – Consequence Of Sound. "DJ Shadow is a giant of progressive mixing and mashups. He’s always pushing the envelope, and sometimes, that rips through the edges of crowd-pleasing mass-market tastes. So when he was prematurely ushered from the decks by promoters who found his set too futuristic, he put it online. Pundits are divided: is the mark of a great DJ someone who knows how to please a crowd, or someone who can school them in what’s new? You decide." (Alistair for Mitch).
- Settled – xkcd. "I’ve heard Alistair say, on a couple of occasions: ‘Who knew that the killer app for cameras was an internet connection?’ Along those lines, Randall Munroe, the mind behind the comic xkcd makes an observation about cameras, phones, and UFOs." (Hugh for Alistair).
- Woman’s work – Columbia Journalism Review. "An important essay about journalism, and Syria. A heartfelt essay, with a most astounding (and depressing) factoid: risking your life to bring the reality of Syria to western news outlets will net you: $70 a story." (Hugh for Mitch).
- 9 Facts About Quantum Computing That Will Melt Your Mind – Business Insider. "You had me at: ‘quantum particles can exist in two places at once, move forwards or backwards in time, and even teleport by way of what physicists call quantum tunneling. This is the stuff of science fiction to us, but in the quantum world it’s business as usual. And scientists can’t really explain it.’ So, um, yeah… chaos and technology is coming to computers. Buckle up!" (Mitch for Alistair).
- Authors Guild Warns Of ‘Dark Underbelly Of Mass Digitization’ – The Daily Online Examiner. "You know, if we can just stop the digitization of books and force everyone to buy a physical, paper copy, the whole industry would bounce right back and that would be much better for authors. These people are delusional. It scares me, because I saw the music industry ignore digitization. There is an 800 pound gorilla in this conversation that these traditional, antiquated groups and organization always fail to acknowledge: they would not be crying had they cannibalized and disrupted the industry themselves. Their frustration comes from someone else (Amazon, iBooks, Kobo or whomever) who has developed a new technology and market and commanding money. I hate it when art and the protection of artists is actually shrouded in greed, money and control. We have to ask the really tough questions: what’s best for the author… and the reader." (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.