Mitch Joel's Blog: Six Pixels of Separation, page 111

Six Links Worthy of Your Attention #544

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: 

Feynman’s Error: On Ethical Thinking and Drifting  – Dan Munro. “Philosopher Dan Munro wrote this excellent, short piece on the fact that ethics are never ‘ one.’ New things happen; laws change, cultures collide, and ethical quandaries that seemed preposterous are now commonplace. That’s why we have things like amendments in constitutions. It’s a good reminder that we have to keep updating ethics. We can’t leave ‘well enough’ alone, because it quickly becomes ‘unwell’.” (Alistair for Hugh).
Disney security guards have freaking challenge coins and we have to talk about it – Task And Purpose . “Military organizations have long used small tokens as a form of authentication, trust, and more recently, morale-boosting. They’re like secret handshakes you can keep in your pocket or purse. But, as the practice has become more widespread, it’s slid from the secretive to the ridiculous. And, apparently, now there are challenge coins for Disney security guards. Here, have a mouse-hole you didn’t know about.” (Alistair for Mitch).
Canadian officials warn drivers not to let moose lick their cars – CNN . “As if wearing masks wasn’t hard enough, now we have to stop letting moose (meese?) lick our cars. Covid sucks man.” (Hugh for Alistair).
Nilüfer Yanya – Full Performance – Live on KEXP – YouTube . “I haven’t been listening to much music since Covid started, so I decided I needed to make an effort to find some good new (to me) stuff this week. I’ve been loving Nilufer Yanya a lot this week.” (Hugh for Mitch).
Can Shopify Compete With Amazon Without Becoming Amazon? – The New York Times . “Life is always strange. You meet someone who is just out of college – through a mutual friend – who is selling t-shirts online, and would like some advice. You stay connected. You become friends. Then, this friend that sells t-shirts online quickly ascends to build one of the largest companies in the world. That’s been the journey and friendship that I’ve had with Shopify’s Harley Finkelstein. To read an article like this, and watch in wonder, pride, and amazement… there are just no words for it. Here’s a great article about Shopify, and what they’re doing to (really) change the world. I could not be prouder or Harley, Tobi Lutke, and the entire Shopify team…” (Mitch for Alistair).
Mintzberg on Managing – Henry Mintzberg – YouTube . “Here’s another story of strange connectedness. I’ve known famed management thinker and professor, Henry Mintzberg, for as long as I can remember, because I went to elementary school with his daughter. There’s a big gap between that time in my life, and when I begun to appreciate his brilliance and thinking in relation to business. Mintzberg on Management remains one of the seminal books for business, and Henry hasn’t let up since he started publishing in the seventies. In the past few years, we’ve become closer (he’s been a guest on my podcast, he lives nearby, and I’ve both attended and helped him with a few of his projects). Here’s an overview of his work (albeit from several years back), and if you have not read his recent work on rebalancing society (which has nothing to do with business and management, but everything to do with managing our world and our future), it’s really well worth your time to check it out. Henry is one of the great and brilliant minds of our time.” (Mitch for Hugh).

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

Are you interested in what’s next? How to decode the future? I publish between 2-3 times per week and then the Six Pixels of Separation Podcast comes out every Sunday. Feel free to subscribe (and tell your friends ;): 

How To Podcast – 2020 Edition

There continues to be an explosion of interest in podcasting. 

Personally, I can’t think of  better time for a business (or individual) to create valuable audio and video content in a podcast format. In the past years, I’ve had a handful of requests to better understand how I create the Six Pixels of Separation podcast. I answered this question in detail back in 2008 (you can read about it here: How To Podcast) and the again in 2012 (you can read about it here: How To Podcast – 2012 Edition), and I even did one last year (How To Podcast – 2020 Edition). I’ve now posted over 750 episodes of Six Pixels of Separation (every Sunday since May 22nd, 2006) and over seventy episodes of Groove – The No Treble Podcast (a monthly show, where I am slowly trying to build the largest oral history of electric bass players). Along with that, I couldn’t even tell you how many podcasts I’ve been a guest on, but it has got to be in the hundreds (if not close to a thousand).

I’m (still) no professional.

Before digging into the details, let me make one point clear (and, it’s the exact same point I made back in 2008, 2012 and 2019): I don’t think that I have the “right” formula. My show is very “indie,” and it’s created and published with a minimal amount of production. I’m not an audiophile, and I have no special propensity towards audio engineering. I see it as a fun (and different) way to communicate and connect with people. I’m ok with the fact that it’s often raw, flawed and basic. I just like collecting conversations.

Here’s how I podcast (but please keep in mind that I am a huge proponent of doing a lot more pre and post production for maximum efficacy):

I don’t do much to prep for a show. Over the course of the week (in-between episodes), I simply look at my social media feeds for smart people saying and doing smart things (especially those publishing a new business or non-fiction book), and I reach out to those who I think might have something unique to say about a specific topic related to business, management, leadership, and innovation. In the past years, I have pulled away from anyone with a book on marketing (I’m just fatigued on those types of books), and I’ve also not been interested in what I call “101 topics” (content geared towards the “how do I get started in…” genre).

Most of my conversation are recorded over Skype using Ecamm‘s Call Recorder. My hardware used to be much more simple (a USB headset directly into my MacBook Pro), but that changed in the middle of this year. I made a major upgrade by purchasing the Rode RodeCaster Pro (which may be the best piece of computer hardware that I have ever owned – big statement, but true). It is a fully portable podcast recording studio that allows you to do a myriad of things (from multiple mics to Aphex audio processing to bringing in your smartphone via Bluetooth to having audio files accessible on keypads and more). I also love that I can record on-board using a SD card (which ensures that I have a backup). I use the Rode PodMic on the Rode PSA1 studio boom arm. My headphones are Sennheiser (but will soon be upgraded to Sony MDR7506). 

If I have the luxury of having a conversation with someone in-person, I record it on a Zoom H5 (which is a handheld portable digital recording studio). I use two Samson Q2U USB/XLR dynamic microphones for remote recording into the Zoom H5.

Once the audio is recorded, I use Audacity to edit the show. I export that file into WAV format, and then put it into a program called The Levelator to equalize the voice levels of myself and the guest. From there, I import it back into Audacity, and then export the file as a MP3. Once this is done, I bring the file into Apple Music to add the cover artwork and some additional show notes. I use Libsyn to host the podcast.

Sound quality and Skype.

Most people (rightfully) believe that Skype has bad audio quality. Many podcasters swear by SquadCast. I think it depends on how you setup Skype. Here are my Skype recording rules:

No wifi. The connections on both sides must be hardwired into the Internet. Wifi causes all kinds of problems.
No video. Even if you are only recording audio, close all of the video capabilities. That’s a bandwidth sucker.
Good headset. No iPhones, no cheap headsets, no using the onboard mic. If the guest doesn’t have a quality headset/mic or studio quality mic (or access to one), I usually pass on them as a guest.
No ringers. I ask that all guests mute all ringers or buzzing that could interfere with the sound quality and flow of the show.
Close all software. Only leave Skype open on both computers (yours and your guest’s). All other software must be shut down/off. Software running in the background can cause lagging and CPU usage challenges.
No shuffling. I always remind guests to hover over the microphone (about a fist’s distance from the mic) and to keep all shuffling down to a minimum. I like the conversation to sound very warm. 

Because I don’t do any audio editing, the whole show is done live… one take (this makes most podcasters cringe – most do multiple takes, edits, etc…). Once the show is done, I write up the blog posting in MarsEdit and hit the publish button on WordPress (which is my blog/podcast platform of choice).

It works for me.

I’m sure many podcasters weep a little when they hear how I record Six Pixels of Separation – no EQ adjustment, no removal of the “umms” and “ahhs”, and no editing to “tighten it up.” Who knows, maybe somewhere in the next one hundred episodes I’ll catch the audio engineering bug, and break out the more complex audio editing software. But, for right now, I’m still just having fun with it.

Mea culpa.

As I said earlier, my way is, probably, not the most professional way to record a podcast… but it is my way. I’m hoping that my passion, knowledge and insights make up for what’s lacking in professional editing skills and audio quality. I’m also quite sure that as podcasting continues to evolve, the demands to produce a higher quality show (in terms of pure production and audio) will force me to figure out an even newer way to take it to the next level.

Until then, happy podcasting.

If you would like to subscribe to podcast, just click right here and you will be notified when the show is live.

Zoom Shaming And More On CHOM 97.7 FM

Every Monday morning at 7:10 am, I am on air at CHOM 97.7 FM radio out of Montreal (home base). It’s not a long segment – about 10 minutes every week – to decode the future. We discuss everything that is happening in the world of technology, digital media and culture. The good folks at CHOM 97.7 FM are posting these segments weekly on i Heart Radio, if you’re interested in hearing more about what’s happening in the transformation of our digital world. I’m really excited about these weekly hits, because this is the radio station that I grew up listening to, and it really is a fun treat to be invited to the Mornings Rock with Terry DiMonte morning show. The segment is called, CTRL ALT Delete with Mitch Joel.

This week we discussed:

Zoom Shaming. Is that a thing? Yes, we are all judging people by where they live, now that we have to allow our bosses and co-workers into our personal spaces. The actor, Lukas Gage (best known for his role in HBO’s Euphoria), posted a video this weekend on Twitter of him prepping for an audition on Zoom. The director (without realizing that he was not on mute) was insulting Gage’s apartment. Folks, two things: You never know who’s listening… and consider everything that you do and say online as public record… and if you can’t follow that simple rule: make sure your mute button is on. 
The annual holiday party is (usually) a great time of year for a company to get everyone together in a room to celebrate. What will the holiday party of 2020 look like? Zoom is an obvious answer, but what happens when we have our teams day-drinking, alone at home, while staring at Zoom? I hazard to guess what new indiscretions we are going to see. What will be the Zoom version of photocopying your butt? Or, Did Jeffrey Toobin already let that cat out of the bag, as the saying goes? Wired has some better ideas.
When we talk about the future of work, it’s hard to not think about WeWork. For all of the negative press that they’ve had in the recent-past, one might think that this could be their moment of redemption. Big companies might start letting go of their leaseholds, while taking on more WeWork-like options. Well, the Montreal start-up, Breather, now has WeWork breathing down their necks. WeWork – through their app – is allowing anyone to book a desk in a shared workspace for $29 per day or reserve a private meeting room starting at $10 per hour. 
App of the Week: Star Wars Intro Creator (and, if you’re a Star Wars fan and not watching The Mandalorian, there’s something wrong with you

Margaret Heffernan On How To Map The Future Together – This Week’s Six Pixels of Separation Podcast

Episode #750 of Six Pixels of Separation is now live and ready for you to listen to.

With a book titled, Uncharted – How to Map the Future Together, you would think that Dr. Margaret Heffernan is a futurist as well. Margaret produced shows for the BBC for over thirteen years. She then moved to the US, where she spearheaded multimedia productions for Intuit, The Learning Company and Standard & Poors. She was Chief Executive of InfoMation Corporation, ZineZone Corporation and then iCast Corporation. All of this earned her a spot as one of the “Top 100 Media Executives” in The Hollywood Reporter. She is the author of six books. Her third book, Willful Blindness – Why We Ignore the Obvious at our Peril, was named one of the most important business books of the decade by the Financial Times. Her TED talks have been seen by over twelve million people, and in 2015 TED published Beyond Measure – The Big Impact of Small Changes. She is a Professor of Practice at the University of Bath, Lead Faculty for the Forward Institute’s Responsible Leadership Programe and, through Merryck & Co., mentors CEOs and senior executives of major global organizations. She holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Bath. So, how do people and businesses grow, explore and innovate while being undaunted by uncertainty? Listen in. Enjoy the conversation…

You can grab the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation here (or feel free to subscribe via iTunes): Six Pixels of Separation #750.

Before you go… if you enjoyed this, please subscribe (all new content arrives in your inbox). It’s easy, it’s free and it’s right here.

SPOS #750 – Margaret Heffernan On How To Map The Future Together

Welcome to episode #750 of Six Pixels of Separation.

Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation – Episode #750 – Host: Mitch Joel. With a book titled, Uncharted – How to Map the Future Together, you would think that Dr. Margaret Heffernan is a futurist as well. Margaret produced shows for the BBC for over thirteen years. She then moved to the US, where she spearheaded multimedia productions for Intuit, The Learning Company and Standard & Poors. She was Chief Executive of InfoMation Corporation, ZineZone Corporation and then iCast Corporation. All of this earned her a spot as one of the “Top 100 Media Executives” in The Hollywood Reporter. She is the author of six books. Her third book, Willful Blindness – Why We Ignore the Obvious at our Peril, was named one of the most important business books of the decade by the Financial Times. Her TED talks have been seen by over twelve million people, and in 2015 TED published Beyond Measure – The Big Impact of Small Changes. She is a Professor of Practice at the University of Bath, Lead Faculty for the Forward Institute’s Responsible Leadership Programe and, through Merryck & Co., mentors CEOs and senior executives of major global organizations. She holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Bath. So, how do people and businesses grow, explore and innovate while being undaunted by uncertainty? Listen in. Enjoy the conversation…

Running time: 56:52.
Hello from beautiful Montreal.
Subscribe over at iTunes.
Please visit and leave comments on the blog – Six Pixels of Separation.
Feel free to connect to me directly on Facebook here: Mitch Joel on Facebook.
or you can connect on LinkedIn.
…or on Twitter.
Here is my conversation with Dr. Margaret Heffernan.
Uncharted – How to Map the Future Together.
Willful Blindness – Why We Ignore the Obvious at our Peril.
Beyond Measure – The Big Impact of Small Changes.
Margaret’s other books.
Margaret’s TED talks.
Follow Margaret on Twitter.
This week’s music: David Usher ‘St. Lawrence River’.

Download the Podcast here: Six Pixels of Separation – Episode #750 – Host: Mitch Joel.

Before you go… if you enjoyed this, please subscribe (all new content arrives in your inbox). It’s easy, it’s free and it’s right here.

Six Links Worthy of Your Attention #543

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: 

The woman who fell from the sky – Reuters. “Star City is home to Russia’s space program. None of the people who live there are ‘normal.’ And until recently, it was the only path for humans to get to space. But a virus doesn’t really care whether you’re a high-ranking official. Here’s what happened when Dr. Natalya Lebedeva had to contend with Covid. Great long-form reporting, and an amazing design. Plus Russian Brutalist Space Architecture.” (Alistair for Hugh).

Should Spotify Be Responsible for What Joe Rogan Does? – Vulture . “As podcasting gets lucrative, and platforms like Spotify try to lock in anchor talent, they’re condoning what happens on those shows. Get ready for a lot of philosophical hand-wringing on platforms and editorial oversight. Yes, this feels like journalism school to many people. But as we see the rise of uber-open (Parler) and uber-careful (Telepath) platforms—2021 will be the year of the Great Internet Platform Schism, I think—this kind of discussion is going to get complicated fast.” (Alistair for Mitch).
Untitled Goose Game – House House . “I’m not a gamer, but this one somehow seems appropriate in 2020.” (Hugh for Alistair).
Mundane Halloween – Twitter . “A bit late for this, but Japanese website dailyportalz hosts a ‘mundane halloween’ contest, where you dress up as something mundane, which is a delight. I particularly like ‘Man at the entrance of a used clothing store, but you can’t tell if he’s a customer or a clerk.'” (Hugh for Mitch).
The Glorious, Almost-Disconnected Boredom of My Walk in Japan – Wired . “I’ve probably shared this here before. If I did, apologies. It just showed up again in my feed (thanks, Tim Ferriss), and it’s both a beautiful piece of writing, and something powerfully relevant as we face the reality of what this pandemic has in store for us in the coming weeks and months. Walk, be bored, and get good at being alone. This will make you/me/us stronger.” (Mitch for Alistair).
Best Business and Leadership Books of 2020 – Amazon . “When the year comes to a close, I do look forward to certain ‘best of’ books (especially in the non-fiction and business category). My reading habits for 2020 were pretty much stuck in the toilet. I try. I push. I read a page here and there, but I’ve let myself down. I’m working on it. So, if you’re hunkering down, here’s a great place to find the best of the best for 2020…” (Mitch for Hugh).

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

Are you interested in what’s next? How to decode the future? I publish between 2-3 times per week and then the Six Pixels of Separation Podcast comes out every Sunday. Feel free to subscribe (and tell your friends ;): 

Parler, Free Speech, And More On CHOM 97.7 FM

Every Monday morning at 7:10 am, I am on air at CHOM 97.7 FM radio out of Montreal (home base). It’s not a long segment – about 10 minutes every week – to decode the future. We discuss everything that is happening in the world of technology, digital media and culture. The good folks at CHOM 97.7 FM are posting these segments weekly on i Heart Radio, if you’re interested in hearing more about what’s happening in the transformation of our digital world. I’m really excited about these weekly hits, because this is the radio station that I grew up listening to, and it really is a fun treat to be invited to the Mornings Rock with Terry DiMonte morning show. The segment is called, CTRL ALT Delete with Mitch Joel.

This week we discussed:

This may be the tech that I really want to play with this coming holiday season. There’s a new device called the SoundBeamer, that can put music in your head… no headphones required. Yes, a personal sound bubble that looks like a speaker, but only you can hear the output from it. Imagine, it’s not just for music… think about taking Zoom meetings, or working in an office with many people around. I have to see this technology in action. It’s almost hard to comprehend.
We had to see this coming. More conservative people in the United States feel like Facebook and Twitter are suddenly not the right place for their thinking (they don’t like all of the labelling and warnings that we discussed last week). Enter: Parler. A Twitter clone that is attracting a lot of conservatives and voyeurs for this social network founded “as an idealogical alternative to Facebook and Twitter,” according to The Verge. It has raced to the top of the App Store. Is this a viable alternative? When does the FCC and other media oversight from the government step in? Are we going to continue to let the leadership of these apps define free speech, and the facts? It’s getting messier online… and much more divided. 
App of the Week: Profile Pic Maker – make an awesome profile pic from any picture.

Mitch Joel · CTRL ALT Delete – CHOM 97.7 FM – November 16th, 2020

You can also listen in via I Heart Radio.

Before you go… if you enjoyed this, please subscribe (all new content arrives in your inbox). It’s easy, it’s free and it’s right here.

Lee LeFever On Building A Lifestyle Business – This Week’s Six Pixels of Separation Podcast

Episode #749 of Six Pixels of Separation is now live and ready for you to listen to.

In the early days of blogging and podcasting (2004/2005), I spent a lot of time teaching business professionals about digital marketing and media. One of the more confounding technologies to explain was RSS – the way in which someone would subscribe to a blog/podcast, and how they would be notified when something new was published. RSS stood for Really Simple Syndication, but it was really hard to explain. I came across a video on YouTube that was called, RSS In Plain English, by a company called, Common Craft. They used a whiteboard and paper cutouts to explain RSS, and followed it up with countless other videos. These videos became so popular that their format was then copied by many until it became a genre unto itself. Lee LeFever was the founder (and maker) of those videos. Known as the “explainer video genre,” Lee (along with his wife, Sachi) have continued on growing this business. In 2012, he published his first book, The Art of Explanation, and more recently his sophomore effort, Big Enough – Building a Business that Scales with Your Lifestyle. Big Enough will help you chart a different kind of career path. If you’re interested in entrepreneurship, business strategy, and e-commerce, this show is perfect for you. Enjoy the conversation…

You can grab the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation here (or feel free to subscribe via iTunes): Six Pixels of Separation #749.

Before you go… if you enjoyed this, please subscribe (all new content arrives in your inbox). It’s easy, it’s free and it’s right here.

SPOS #749 – Lee LeFever On Building A Lifestyle Business

Welcome to episode #749 of Six Pixels of Separation.

Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation – Episode #749 – Host: Mitch Joel. In the early days of blogging and podcasting (2004/2005), I spent a lot of time teaching business professionals about digital marketing and media. One of the more confounding technologies to explain was RSS – the way in which someone would subscribe to a blog/podcast, and how they would be notified when something new was published. RSS stood for Really Simple Syndication, but it was really hard to explain. I came across a video on YouTube that was called, RSS In Plain English, by a company called, Common Craft. They used a whiteboard and paper cutouts to explain RSS, and followed it up with countless other videos. These videos became so popular that their format was then copied by many until it became a genre unto itself. Lee LeFever was the founder (and maker) of those videos. Known as the “explainer video genre,” Lee (along with his wife, Sachi) have continued on growing this business. In 2012, he published his first book, The Art of Explanation, and more recently his sophomore effort, Big Enough – Building a Business that Scales with Your Lifestyle. Big Enough will help you chart a different kind of career path. If you’re interested in entrepreneurship, business strategy, and e-commerce, this show is perfect for you. Enjoy the conversation…

Running time: 1:00:07.
Hello from beautiful Montreal.
Subscribe over at iTunes.
Please visit and leave comments on the blog – Six Pixels of Separation.
Feel free to connect to me directly on Facebook here: Mitch Joel on Facebook.
or you can connect on LinkedIn.
…or on Twitter.
Here is my conversation with Lee LeFever.
Big Enough – Building a Business that Scales with Your Lifestyle.
The Art of Explanation.
Common Craft.
RSS In Plain English.
Follow Lee on Instagram.
Follow Lee on Twitter.
This week’s music: David Usher ‘St. Lawrence River’.

Download the Podcast here: Six Pixels of Separation – Episode #749 – Host: Mitch Joel.

Before you go… if you enjoyed this, please subscribe (all new content arrives in your inbox). It’s easy, it’s free and it’s right here.

Six Links Worthy of Your Attention #542

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 If? Radiolab. “I love Radiolab (I think Hugh introduced me to the show; my daughter and I have explored that, Reply All, and Decoder Ring, in car rides together). And, while I’m continuing our ban on politics, I think this episode is timely. Recorded in the summer of 2019, this podcast on the presidential transition is ‘part war game, part choose your own adventure,’ it”s ‘a deeply illuminating stress test on our laws, our institutions, and on the commitment to democracy written into the constitution.’ Time to dust off some hypotheticals.” (Alistair for Hugh).
‘It’s the screams of the damned!’ The eerie AI world of deepfake music – The Guardian . “It’s that time of year when insipid musical earworms leak out of malls and Zoom calls. And now, there’s an infinite number of carols waiting for us, thanks to algorithms. Google‘s Project Magenta is using AI to generate new music, trained on 1.2M tracks. The results are … interesting. Like a skipping AM radio playing something you know you’ve heard somewhere. The legal consequences of this are remarkable—we know what copyright and infringement are, but at what point does that extend to the content on which we train a data model? Well, you don’t have to think much about that. Just light up the virtual fireplace, pour some digital nog, and enjoy the balmy November weather. Interesting times.” (Alistair for Mitch). 
Japanese town deploys ‘Monster Wolf’ robots to deter wild bears – CNN . “Maybe your problem isn’t so much too many bears in your life; maybe your problem is that you just don’t have enough robotic giant wolves with glowing red eyes.” (Hugh for Alistair).
The cheap pen that changed writing forever – BBC . “I’m an ink gel man myself, and while I have a theoretical affection for fountain pens, I’ve never been able to avoid losing them for long enough to make them worth it, and have never been particularly sad when they got lost. But, it was the ballpoint that changed penmanship, and that still rules the roost. And, at one time, the ballpoint pen was a radical invention.” (Hugh for Mitch).
DIY Blackout Blinds for Photo and Video Shoots – Learn Online Video . “I’ve been spending a lot of time, money and brain energy on optimizing my video skills. I was pretty competent (after doing this kind of work for over 20 years), but the world has changed, and the tools and technologies have evolved as well. Lighting is the hardest. Compared to audio and video (for those who think that is hard), lighting is a million times more complex and nuanced. So… I’ve been learning, but also struggling. I find that I look more like Casper The Friendly Ghost than a human being. After watching several YouTube videos, I realized that I needed to start with a blank canvas… which, in the world of lighting, means pure darkness. This is a problem for my office, because it’s a lot of windows and natural light. So, I went down the rabbit hole and found this video. I am not handy (by any means). This may be the first ‘project’ I have ever done (not joking). It was fun, fast, super-easy, and it really works. I can now blackout my entire room – and the cost was under $50 plus maybe an hour of time in labor? It’s also further proof that there are some of the smartest people in the world with great solutions to problems on YouTube.” (Mitch for Alistair).
A Toy, a Tool, a Piece of Art: Sarah Haas on What a Book Can Be – Literary Hub . “Some know this. Many do not. One of Hugh’s favorite questions is: ‘What is a book?’ The answer becomes more opaque over time. The more digital we get. The more that paper becomes removed from the book (think eBooks). Welp, here’s a big, grand exploration of what a book can be… and what kind of object it actually is…” (Mitch for Hugh).

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

Are you interested in what’s next? How to decode the future? I publish between 2-3 times per week and then the Six Pixels of Separation Podcast comes out every Sunday. Feel free to subscribe (and tell your friends ;):