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 (The Book Oven, LibriVox, iambik, PressBooks, Media Hacks) 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:

• When algorithms control the world – BBC. "We’re increasingly dependent on computers to manage our lives – from picking our route to work to testing the air we breathe and the water we drink. This BBC news piece is a good round-up of just how pervasive algorithms are, including mentions of a great TED talk on the subject and even new tools Hollywood is using to pick winning films." (Alistair for Hugh).
• Silly name, silly company, silly product? – The Economist. "Ever wonder about those fake umlauts and interstitial dots in product names? Well, you’re not alone. Adding strange punctuation to products is a way to defend a trademark, and maybe even make the product sound exotic — but those weird characters (known as diacriticals, if you please, and including the macron and the interpunct) are a pain. The comment thread on this one is just as informative." (Alistair for Mitch).
• How Visa Protects Your Data – Fast Company. "A look at the measures taken by Visa to protect consumer data." (Hugh for Alistair).
• ‘Men Who Plan Beyond Tomorrow’ Seagram’s Ads, 1940s – Retronaut. "A series of print ads from the 1940s from Seagram about the future. Some awesomely prescient ones too." (Hugh for Mitch).
• Remodel Your Meetings To Create Internal Entrepreneurs – Fast Company. "One of the biggest challenges facing every startup is how to not devolve into a big, massive – and yes, slow – organization. Part of the magic has to do with the structure and culture or the organization from its early stages of development. When people think of structure, it’s hard to not to have a ton of big, long (and boring) meetings. When people think of culture, we all want organizations that are filled with passionate, entrepreneurial people. The truth is that almost every company (from startup to major multi-national) will grapple with meetings and the creation of a culture of entrepreneurship from within. Here’s another way to look at these massive challenges." (Mitch for Alistair).
• Technology Will Take on a Life of Its Own – Foreign Policy. "I was on a flight home from Chicago the other day and came across the September issue of Foreign Policy magazine. The cover had a baby’s hand holding a robot’s hand (that’s usually enough cliché to keep me away), but thankfully this article on Alvin Toffler (and his wife, Heidi) grabbed my attention. There are few articles that I consider worthy of tearing out of a magazine to hold on to: this is one of those rare exceptions. It is filled with concepts from technology that all of use need to be thinking about – today and tomorrow. While I don’t love the nomenclature given to this phase in technology by the the writers (The Hybrid Age), I do love everything that’s happening right now and the amazing new opportunities that it will bring." (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.