Justin Kan, founder of Justin.TV and SocialCam, recently wrote this article for TechCrunch about the the dynamics of startups. Most importantly he talks about how many startups commit suicide rather than truly fail.
CNN brings us an interesting perspective on the current state and future of social networks. In the article they talk about the ever present trends of tribalism in the digital world, information overload, and how the model is yet to be perfected.
In this YouTube video, Professor Marlitta Hill delivers a brilliant, creative, and controversial lecture to her class on the long stigmatized word ‘nigger’. You can find part 2 of the speech here.
The latest social network, Google+, has been the trending topic for the past week, and in this article from Fast Company, we get their perspective on how this one will play out. Also, a great post from Chris Brogan has a list of 50 things to consider in regards to Google+.
99% brings us a mashup of 9 great interviews from some of the greatest minds we’ve ever seen. In this article we get insight into the minds of creative leaders such as Steve Jobs, Ernest Hemingway, Ansel Adams, and more.
And if you missed last week’s links, check them out here.
In this slide show from Laurent Kretz we learn about why not to start startups and some useful advice if you choose to anyways. Overall its a realistic view about what startups are all about, as he chooses to focus on the less glamorous side of things.
The following is a set of interesting infographics focused on the world if it was made up of only 100 people. In this setting, the graphics focus on education, religion, race, and many more issues that make it easier to comprehend the current breakdown of things today.
In this article from Get Finch, we explore the idea of the redesign and its many intricacies. The article explores the never ending cycle of redesigning, as well as key usability practices for better results.
This simple Google Docs spreadsheet allows for anyone to access each and every TED Talk every created. It organizes the talks by speakers, names, and summaries, while providing a link to each individual talk. A useful resource indeed.
Groupon has been at the center of much conversation lately and one analyst believes that it’s not going to last for long. TechCrunch brings us this intriguing piece about why Groupon is poised for collapse based on its model and negative affects on business.
And if you missed last weeks links, check them out here.
I saw a few commercials for the latest special by Fareed Zakaria on “How to Innovate” which caught my interest, so I set my TiVo as I was going to be travelling. I just watched it the other day and, well, I have to say I was disappointed.
But before we get into all of that, I just wanted to have a quick spiel about the word “innovation”. I honestly hate the word now, I think its lost all meaning and its just thrown around as the shiniest new buzz word that makes you sound good. Nowadays a little piece of my soul withers away everytime I hear the word. Even I cringe now when I have to use it, for lack of a better alternative.
Now back to this CNN special… it had a range of so-called experts in the field that provided little to no insight into the real problems, which included the big names: Eric Schmidt, Steven Johnson, Regina Dugan, Paul Romer, Len Baker, and John Kao. Quite the cast, but not much value delivered in the piece.
To put it bluntly, I feel like you could learn more about Innovation from a simple Google search than watching this program.
He touched on all the obvious areas, such as intersection, research, institutions, niche focus, strategy, centralization vs. open, etc but in the end there was nothing actually insightful about it. Using all the right words doesn’t give you credibility or add value. It was just repeating what many of us familiar with the subject already know.
Really, it seems the whole purpose of the piece was to show how America is falling behind in innovation and how people are worried, but they still have no answers. This is most apparent when you look at the final conclusions from Zakaria at the end of the piece, which were:
Innovation is good.
Innovation comes from many places, private sectors and government.
We can’t be sure if innovation will help the average American.
Really? That’s all you have to say? Thanks a lot Zakaria for putting Wikipedia on TV.
Here’s the video, so you can form your own opinion, but if you’re at all informed about the topic, I’d not waste my time.
Ever wonder what kind of media Malcolm Gladwell consumes? Well in this series called Media Diet from the Atlantic Wire, we get insights into Gladwell’s media consumption, as well as several others, such as Eric Schmidt, Clay Shirky, and more.
Video Games as a solution for education has been a growing trend of late, and Bill Gates is clearly pushing the trend forward. In this article from Fast Company we see how video games are taking a bigger role in the re-design of education for the future.
Eric Schmidt recently interviewed Tina Fey at Google HQ to discuss her new book, comedy, and life. It’s a good interview with some great advice from Tina Fey, and Eric Schmidt was a surprisingly good interviewer.
There’s a few different ways to overcome procrastination: habit, fear, deadlines, but incentives or bribery is apparently the trendy solution. In this article from Fortune, we look at how properly framed incentives can get us to act.
I’m sure everyone has heard about the iPhone tracking scandal by now, but this article from the Economist dives deeper into the issue touching on the responses from Apple and Steve Jobs, the real problems, and the possibility of similar problems on the Android OS.
Also, if you missed last week’s links, check them out here.
Mindfulness or being aware of your self and your surroundings is an important skill to practice regularly. This article from Zen Habits goes over 9 simple rituals that you can practice to implement mindfulness into your everyday routine.
Ever wanted to explore the human body, level by level? From the skeletal structure to the nervous system? Well this new development from Google Labs allows you to see each system and explore the body as a whole.
Even smart people can be stupid at times and these are 8 great examples of how they are. Some examples are confusing being busy with being productive and striving for perfection. For details and the other 6, check out the article.
There’s tons of information available at our finger tips nowadays, but the hard part is finding content that is relevant to you. LinkedIn recently launched LinkedIn Today, essentially a customized e-newspaper that has your interests at heart.
An insight from the Patent Director makes it clear that patent filing is not the same as innovation. He states that it is essential that we find a better way to measure innovation in real terms. The question is, how do you measure innovation?
And if you missed last week’s links, check them out here.
What are the keys to innovation? It can be as simple as thinking back to the good old days when we were in kindergarten. In this article from the Harvard Business Review we look at what we can learn from kindergarten.
Don’t have time to read a document? A book? An article? Well Topicmarks claims to have developed the perfect algorithm to give you a short and sweet summary of any text you input. Now I can’t say its perfect, but its an interesting tool to check out.
I really enjoyed the video, but not necessarily for the content itself, which was overall quite good and talked about major themes for the future of art. Why I really enjoyed it is because it got my head buzzing with all sorts of ideas and I love anything that can trigger my creativity.
Recently there have been a number of generators coming out, making fun of some of the trends we’re seeing today. This one is a startup simulator that pokes fun at the formulaic manner we see many of these web start-ups pitching themselves nowadays. Other recent ones have been the Malcolm Gladwell Book Generator and the Mflow Random Album Generator.
Many of us are glued to Google, Facebook, and texting, which are all new habits that many couldn’t live without. Slate.com explores this phenomenon and explains the role of th brain in all this and why its dangerous.
Enjoy! And if you missed last week’s links check them out here.
Technology is getting bigger and better, day by day, as the growth is exponential and nearly impossible to keep up with. Despite these major advances in technology, I’m curious as to how much tech savvy is necessary to really be able to understand the fundamentals of technology and have the tools to be able to learn any new software or hardware that may be developed in the future. Furthermore, how robust does a technology really need to be able to create valuable innovative content? Not as much as you think… check out this brilliant animation created with Google Docs Powerpoint.
So as you can see, something as simple as Powerpoint can be used to create animations that are comparable to much more complex software programs out there. In my opinion, someone capable of creating such a presentation should have the ability to learn and utilize newer technologies as they are developed. The question then becomes how much technology is necessary as part of our education to develop the needed foundation for learning new technologies independently. I feel its much less than we may think, as this generation and those following will grow up with these technologies as part of their everyday lives. What do you think?
A look back over 2010 through the lens of ideas from The New York Times. The article touches on economics, biology, engineering, medicine, sports, literature, and more. Also check out the The Words of the Year.
Demo Slam by Google is a platform that allows anyone to share their technology demos with the world. The premise is to create a competition between demos every week to spice up typically boring demos and it does a fantastic job in doing so.
An interview with David Rand from Harvard goes into how a persons relationships effect them. More specifically, he reveals how people that are happy or sad can spread those feelings, so be mindful about who you spend time with.
At TEDWomen 2010 Sheryl Sandberg, COO at Facebook, spoke about the rarity of women in leadership positions. She sheds some light into this dilemma and how we can make progress towards balancing the sides for the future.
We need to make decisions or else we miss out on opportunities. Seth Godin discusses this concept further and pushes us to take a chance, quit browsing, and buy something, as he puts it.
The following slideshow is a rundown of various ideas, thoughts, and projects on the web today compiled by Google’s Creative Labs. There’s a wide variety of topics in the presentation including media, art, technology, politics, and more, all under the theme of creativity. Its a bit long at 120 slides, but definitely worth a click through, check it out below.
What were your favorite topics from the compilation?
In need of a mindmapping tool? Bluemind is the ideal solution, its lightweight, easy to use, and gets the job done. I’ve been using it for the past few weeks and love it (sorry for all the Mac users out there, but this is PC only).
This TED Talk by John Hardy completely takes the idea of a Green School to the next level. Check out this amazing school in Indonesia and what it’s all about.
A music adventure, that’s how the team at thesixtyone.com (picture above) describe their new service. Here, you’re able to discover new artists, in a seamless, easy to use experience.
It used to be Google, but ever so slowly, Facebook is taking over everything. A great article by Brian Solis examines how Facebook has moved into Google’s territory.
