Mitch Joel's Blog: Six Pixels of Separation, page 20

TikTok Ban… Is This Happening?

TikTok isn’t just another app.

It’s a cultural movement, an economic powerhouse, and – depending on who you ask – a national security threat.
But what happens when a platform with 170 million U.S. users finds itself at the center of a political firestorm?
For years, TikTok has been the poster child of the social media age – fueled by dance trends, viral challenges, and hyper-addictive algorithms.
But beneath the surface lies a deeper, more complex story.

And it’s all about attention and data (isn’t it always?).

Lawmakers in the U.S. have been warning about TikTok’s ties to China for years.
Under Chinese national security laws, companies are required to share data if the government asks for it.
For politicians, the possibility of that happening was enough to act.
In 2020, then-President Donald Trump called for a ban on TikTok.
Fast forward to 2024, and the Biden administration has continued the fight – resulting in a bipartisan law demanding that ByteDance sell TikTok or face a U.S. ban.
TikTok isn’t alone in collecting and monetizing user data – Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Google all play the same game.

Social media has always been a massive data operation driven by attention.

So, why single out TikTok, while other tech leaders are now cozying up to Trump and his adminisatration?
Critics argue it’s also about power – control over who owns the digital stage.
I think it’s less about power and money and much more about attention.
And, the attention that the current administration got from TikTok and the youth voice during the last election cycle cannot be diminished.

For millions of young Americans, TikTok isn’t just an app – it’s the app.

It’s where they get their news, learn about the world, and shape their opinions.
This is what makes TikTok so powerful as an attention machine and cultural tastemaker.
Algorithms on the platform can amplify content, shape narratives, and influence culture.

The TikTok saga is far from over.

Even as lawmakers push for a ban, TikTok remains deeply embedded in American culture.
One thing’s for sure: this isn’t just about TikTok.
It’s about how we navigate the digital age – who controls the platforms, who owns the data, and what price we’re willing to pay for all of that attention.
Because at the end of the day, TikTok isn’t just an app.
It’s a mirror reflecting the best and worst of the internet age.

And right now, that mirror is cracking under fire – from all sides.

This is what Elias Makos and I discussed on CJAD 800 AM. Listen in right here.

Mitch Joel · TikTok Ban… Is This Happening?

Before you go… ThinkersOne is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

Roland Allen On Notebooks, Writing And Thinking – This Week’s Six Pixels of Separation Podcast

Episode #967 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to:

Roland Allen is a publisher and author based in the UK, with a background in book and notebook publishing. He studied at Manchester University and has written on diverse subjects, including bicycles and bread. Roland has maintained a personal diary for decades and has a particular fondness for stationery. In this conversation, we delved into his latest book, The Notebook – A History of Thinking on Paper, which explores the profound impact of notebooks on creativity and thought processes throughout history (and, wow, I do love notebooks and I loved this book!). Roland shares his insights into how the tactile act of writing engages our senses uniquely, fostering clarity and connection in an increasingly digital world. We discuss the psychological benefits of journaling, the resurgence of interest in handwriting, and how notebooks continue to inspire productivity and joy. His reflections on the utilitarian origins of notebooks and the personal relationships individuals have with their stationery offers a fresh perspective on the value of putting pen to paper. If you’ve ever appreciated the feel of a fresh notebook or the act of writing by hand (or if you can’t walk by a stationary store and not go in… like me), this episode provides a deeper understanding of an often-overlooked tool that has shaped human thought for centuries, and may hold the answer to how you can improve your skills and knowledge in 2025. Enjoy the conversation!

You can grab the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation here (or feel free to subscribe via Apple Podcast or whatever platform you may choose):  #967 – Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast.

Before you go… ThinkersOne  is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond,check it out.

SPOS #967 – Roland Allen On Notebooks, Writing And Thinking

Welcome to episode #967 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast.

Roland Allen is a publisher and author based in the UK, with a background in book and notebook publishing. He studied at Manchester University and has written on diverse subjects, including bicycles and bread. Roland has maintained a personal diary for decades and has a particular fondness for stationery. In this conversation, we delved into his latest book, The Notebook – A History of Thinking on Paper, which explores the profound impact of notebooks on creativity and thought processes throughout history (and, wow, I do love notebooks and I loved this book!). Roland shares his insights into how the tactile act of writing engages our senses uniquely, fostering clarity and connection in an increasingly digital world. We discuss the psychological benefits of journaling, the resurgence of interest in handwriting, and how notebooks continue to inspire productivity and joy. His reflections on the utilitarian origins of notebooks and the personal relationships individuals have with their stationery offers a fresh perspective on the value of putting pen to paper. If you’ve ever appreciated the feel of a fresh notebook or the act of writing by hand (or if you can’t walk by a stationary store and not go in… like me), this episode provides a deeper understanding of an often-overlooked tool that has shaped human thought for centuries, and may hold the answer to how you can improve your skills and knowledge in 2025. Enjoy the conversation!

Running time: 1:06:50.Hello from beautiful Montreal.Listen and subscribe over at Apple Podcasts.Listen and subscribe over at Spotify.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.Check out ThinkersOne.or you can connect on LinkedIn.…or on Twitter.Here is my conversation with Roland Allen.The Notebook – A History of Thinking on Paper,.Follow Roland on LinkedIn.This week’s music: David Usher ‘St. Lawrence River’.

Chapters:

(00:00) – The Invisible World of Notebooks.
(02:46) – The Ritual of Writing.
(06:10) – Digital vs. Analog: The Writing Experience.
(09:01) – The Evolution of Notebooks.
(11:49) – Cultural Perspectives on Writing.
(15:07) – The History and Purpose of Notebooks.
(18:12) – The Future of Handwriting.
(21:04) – The Impact of Technology on Writing.
(24:08) – The Art of Note-Taking.
(27:08) – The Journey of Writing a Book.
(37:25) – The Purpose of Notebooks: Thinking vs. Writing.
(39:00) – Exploring the World of Stationery.
(40:20) – Notebook Preferences: A Personal Journey.
(44:40) – The Craft of Writing: Learning from Masters.
(46:19) – The Value of Libraries and Reading.
(48:27) – The Intrigue of Personal Notebooks.
(52:07) – The Superpower of Reading and Note-Taking.
(56:44) – Trends in Notebooks and Stationery.

Download the Podcast here: Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast – Episode #967.

Before you go… ThinkersOne  is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

Six Links That Make You Think #760

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:

Who Is Creating The Non-Human Army – Hank’s Channel – YouTube . “Meanwhile, the inimitable Hank Green looks at bots on platforms like X and Bluesky that appear to simply exist to disagree. The conclusion I’m drawing from this link and my next one below is that … 1. Humans and machines will soon produce content that is indistinguishable, if they haven’t already. 2. A society that must act collectively on things like roads, healthcare, pollution, or wildfires requires common truths. 3. Machines can destroy common truths; therefore… 4. We will need a way to distinguish humans from machines. This will probably be digital identification, and platforms where humans are clearly identified. Anyway: interesting times.” (Alistair for Hugh). The Really Dark Truth About Bots – Benn Jordan – YouTube . “Today I’m all about the bots. Benn Jordan is a musician and music producer, but he casts a wide net. He once built a device that beams targeted sound at someone’s head, reflecting slightly delayed versions of their own words in a way that makes it impossible for them to speak clearly – for the lulz. Recently, he went on a deep dive about the sprawl of fake accounts online: Who creates them, why they exist, and more. It got so far into politics that he feels the need to reassure regular viewers that he won’t do too much more of this. Honestly, every person who wants a functioning democracy should watch this and hold screenings with their friends.” (Alistair for Mitch). Brick – Take Back Your Time – App . “One of the themes of my life in the past decade has been a constant struggle against the siren song of my phone. I am an info junkie, whether it is news, enlightening articles or podcasts, I eat them up like junk food. Not to mention cat videos, the FellingGoneWild subreddit (egregious mistakes cutting down trees), and sundry other nonsense. A number of years ago, I stopped using X and Facebook, which has been a great life quality improvement, but my nighttime routine has continued to be a problem: What I would like to do is read a book, what I usually do is scroll on my phone. I got myself the Brick for Christmas. It’s a little magnet you stick to your fridge, and a companion app that lets you choose what apps to allow at different times, so for me for sleep time: Kindle, Audible, music. I tap the Brick with my phone and everything except those apps are blocked. In order to unblock them, I have to get out of bed, go downstairs and tap the Brick again. I was skeptical, but it has been brilliant.” (Hugh for Alistair). Canada’s Next Prime Minister – Pierre Poilievre – The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast . “Is it all right if we talk Canadian politics for a minute? This will be my last fully political link of the year, I promise. I could list a bunch of disclaimers about sending this link, but I won’t bother. Instead I will say this: The decade of Trudeau reign has delivered the following for our country: Canada now ranks last among OECD countries for productivity growth, GDP per capita, business investment, expected growth in next thirty years, and housing affordability. At the same time we rank highest for household debt. Getting clear information about political positions of the parties is shockingly hard, so I was curious to hear what Pierre Poilievre has to say for himself. My metric for analyzing politicians/parties is: how closely do their positions track mine in identifying priority problems that need to be solved (secondarily, and where I have less confidence in my own instincts: do I think their proposed solutions are the right ones?). Here is an unedited/unfiltered (and very friendly) two-hour interview with Jordan Peterson (whom, FWIW, I find to be a tiresome character).” (Hugh for Mitch). Black Hole Plasma Jets Seen Traveling At Record Speeds Leave Astronomers Stunned – Daily Galaxy . “I wanted to shake things up (just a little) this week. Get us all out of our own heads and the politics, wars and news cycle that seems to be crippling us all (in one way or another). Let’s look together to the stars (and distant galaxies beyond). Let’s think less about the here and now and more about the potential… and the stuff we don’t know. ‘Astronomers have captured a groundbreaking phenomenon at the brink of a supermassive black hole located at the heart of galaxy 1ES 1927+654, 270 million light-years away in the constellation Draco. For the first time, plasma jets have been observed in real-time as they erupted from the black hole, traveling at record-breaking speeds. Adding to the intrigue, rapid X-ray oscillations near the black hole’s event horizon hint at a dynamic environment that has left scientists stunned and eager to uncover more.’ I’m not going to claim to fully understand what this means or how this changes our day-to-day life, but this does remind me that what we know pales in comparison to what we don’t know… and that there are always bigger/unknown forces at play that we don’t even know about and are just beginning to comprehend. So… deep breaths… and enjoy the marvels of the universe as it unfolds before us…” (Mitch for Alistair). Pico Iyer’s Wide-Awake Silence – Nautilus . “I have been reading the work of Pico Iyer for many years. I was fortunate enough to meet him a few times at the TED Conference and he’s been on the podcast, Six Pixels of Separation. As I prepare for his return to the show, I was reading an advance copy of his latest book, Aflame, over this past holiday break and it was one of those books that I did not want to end. From his meditative writing style to the stories he weaves in this one about losing his house to a wildfire (not the current one, but how timely this all is) to what solitude, silence and retreat has done for himself (and others). It’s a beautiful book (one that I highly recommend) and until my conversation with Pico goes live (in the next few months), I would recommend reading this article and picking up his book… lots of wondrous food for thought.” (Mitch for Hugh).

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

Before you go… ThinkersOne  is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement  and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

Notes From The Anti-Social Century

Americans are alone.

Not metaphorically. Not occasionally. Not even geographically.
We’re talking about a seismic shift – a culture that has turned solitude into its default setting.

Here’s a question: When did isolation become aspirational?

Derek Thompson’s The Anti-Social Century article in this past week’s The Atlantic sketches an unsettling portrait (and it is a “must-read” for everyone).
Empty restaurant bars.
Quiet movie theaters.
No investment in libraries, pools and public spaces.
Suburbs and screens pulling us further apart.

And the data? It’s loud.

In-person socializing has dropped 20% since 2003. Among young men and those under 25, the decline is an eye-popping 35%.
Loneliness, however, isn’t the headline.
It’s not rising as you’d expect.
The UCLA Loneliness Scale shows little change.
Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has called loneliness the next public health crisis.

But the real crisis?

We’re not lonely by circumstance.
We’re lonely by choice.

The bar is closed.

Take the small Mexican restaurant that Derek writes about in his article.
Before the pandemic, its bar was alive with conversation, the kind of place where stories were swapped over margaritas.
Today, that same bar is a loading zone for takeout bags.
No greetings. No chatter. Just transactions.
Now, 74% of all restaurant traffic is for takeout or delivery.
We saw Starbucks shift from the Third Space to drive-through and mobile app pickups.
We’re not just eating alone; we’re designing our lives for it.

This isn’t just about food.

Hollywood, once America’s communal dream factory, has become a private streaming service.
In the 1930s, movie theaters were second homes.
People attended multiple times a month.
Today, the average American watches 19 hours of TV weekly but buys just three movie tickets a year.

The shift is unmistakable.

We’re swapping shared experiences for solitary ones.
And here’s the kicker: It’s not making us happier.
According the article:
Men now spend seven hours watching TV for every one hour spent with other people.
Women spend more time actively engaging with their pets than with human friends.
Solo dining? Up 29% in two years.

We’re not retreating because we’re lonely. We’re retreating because it’s easy.

But easy isn’t better.
AI companions like those on Character.ai are filling the void.
Millions of people spend hours daily talking to virtual friends.
They’re never moody, never busy, never disagreeable.
But they’ll also never challenge you.

Connection isn’t just about convenience. It’s about confrontation. Growth.

Without it, our politics become meaner.
Our communities shrink.

And our reality?

It splinters.
Do we just accept this as the new normal?
Or do we fight for connection?

There are glimpses of a turnaround.

Independent bookstores are thriving as community hubs.
Board-game cafes are making shared spaces cool again.
Schools banning smartphones are taking back face-to-face interactions.
But it’s not enough.

If we want the tide to turn, we need more.

More parks. More libraries. More recreation centers. More public spaces.
And maybe, fewer apps.

The anti-social century doesn’t have to deepen.

But we have to decide.
Do we stay home, or do we step out and build something better?

Because here’s the truth: The choice is still ours.. for now…

This is what Elias Makos and I discussed on CJAD 800 AM. Listen in right here.

Mitch Joel · Notes From The Anti-Social Century

Before you go… ThinkersOne is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

Christine Rosen On The Extinction Of Experience – This Week’s Six Pixels of Separation Podcast

Episode #966 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to:

Christine Rosen is a thinker whose work boldly interrogates the intersections of history, technology, and culture, and she’s someone I’ve long admired for her incisive intellect. Christine’s new book, The Extinction of Experience – Being Human In A Disembodied World, invites us to reflect on what we lose when technology mediates so much of our lives. In this conversation, we unpacked the book’s provocative thesis: that the human experiences most fundamental to our identity – face-to-face connection, serendipity, patience, and risk – are at risk of atrophy in an increasingly virtual world. Christine, whose earlier works include Preaching Eugenics, My Fundamentalist Education, The Feminist Dilemma, and Acculturated, takes a nuanced, critical stance on technology. She acknowledges its benefits but urges caution about its unintended consequences. Together, we explore the blurred boundaries between virtual and real, the societal implications of a two-tier care system, and the surprising resurgence of physical community spaces like libraries and malls post-pandemic. Christine’s historical perspective, informed by her background as a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and her experience as a columnist for Commentary, lends depth to her argument that we must actively choose to reclaim experiences that ground us in the physical world. She shared insights on how tools like AI might aid healthcare but warned of the risks when they replace human judgment in areas like justice or personal relationships. Her reflections on community, loneliness, and the enduring importance of “third spaces” remind us that connection is essential to our humanity. If you’ve ever wondered how to balance the convenience of technology with the richness of lived experience, this conversation is a must-listen. Enjoy the conversation…

You can grab the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation here (or feel free to subscribe via Apple Podcast or whatever platform you may choose):  #966 – Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast.

Before you go… ThinkersOne  is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond,check it out.

SPOS #966 – Christine Rosen On The Extinction Of Experience

Welcome to episode #966 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast.

Christine Rosen is a thinker whose work boldly interrogates the intersections of history, technology, and culture, and she’s someone I’ve long admired for her incisive intellect. Christine’s new book, The Extinction of Experience – Being Human In A Disembodied World, invites us to reflect on what we lose when technology mediates so much of our lives. In this conversation, we unpacked the book’s provocative thesis: that the human experiences most fundamental to our identity – face-to-face connection, serendipity, patience, and risk – are at risk of atrophy in an increasingly virtual world. Christine, whose earlier works include Preaching Eugenics, My Fundamentalist Education, The Feminist Dilemma, and Acculturated, takes a nuanced, critical stance on technology. She acknowledges its benefits but urges caution about its unintended consequences. Together, we explore the blurred boundaries between virtual and real, the societal implications of a two-tier care system, and the surprising resurgence of physical community spaces like libraries and malls post-pandemic. Christine’s historical perspective, informed by her background as a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and her experience as a columnist for Commentary, lends depth to her argument that we must actively choose to reclaim experiences that ground us in the physical world. She shared insights on how tools like AI might aid healthcare but warned of the risks when they replace human judgment in areas like justice or personal relationships. Her reflections on community, loneliness, and the enduring importance of “third spaces” remind us that connection is essential to our humanity. If you’ve ever wondered how to balance the convenience of technology with the richness of lived experience, this conversation is a must-listen. Enjoy the conversation…

Running time: 1:06:40.Hello from beautiful Montreal.Listen and subscribe over at Apple Podcasts.Listen and subscribe over at Spotify.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.Check out ThinkersOne.or you can connect on LinkedIn.…or on Twitter.Here is my conversation with Christine Rosen.The Extinction of Experience – Being Human In A Disembodied World.Preaching Eugenics.My Fundamentalist Education.The Feminist Dilemma.Acculturated.American Enterprise Institute.Commentary.This week’s music: David Usher ‘St. Lawrence River’.

Chapters:

(00:00) – Introduction to Christine Rosen and Her Work.
(02:57) – Defining Humanity in a Technological Age.
(06:06) – The Ambivalence of Technology: Optimism vs. Skepticism.
(09:09) – The Role of Critical Questions in Technology Development.
(11:58) – Balancing Innovation and Regulation in AI.
(15:00) – AI in Healthcare vs. AI in Defense.
(18:07) – The Impact of Technology on Human Connection.
(20:56) – The Deterioration of Local Communities.
(24:05) – The Consequences of Living in Public.
(26:53) – Navigating Online Dating in a Digital World.
(30:02) – The Importance of In-Person Connections.
(39:00) – The Role of Technology in Human Connection.
(42:29) – Navigating Confirmation Bias.
(45:50) – Collective Action and Community Solutions.
(49:12) – The Challenge of Parenting in a Digital Age.
(51:06) – The Evolution of Writing and Communication.
(55:02) – Reading Trends Among Youth.
(01:00:59) – Physical Challenges and Personal Growth.

Download the Podcast here: Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast – Episode #966.

Before you go… ThinkersOne  is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

Six Links That Make You Think #759

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:

Wrong 1 – Part 1 Of A Sporadic Series About Wrongness – Neil Stephenson . “I love Neal Stephenson. He has, thanks to some early literary success and the fetishization of his work by well-heeled tech-bros willing to part with shares in return for his proximity, earned the ability to work on whatever he chooses. He has his detractors, and some of his writing has not aged well. Other parts of it – the real-time populist polling of Interface, the domestic terror of The Cobweb – was prescient. I find his thoughts chewy and worth the time. Here’s a post on wrongness. ‘Or, as Charles Sanders Peirce – the subject of this post – put it: ‘Every work of science great enough to be well remembered for a few generations affords some exemplification of the defective state of the art of reasoning of the time when it was written.’ And that last quote: Damn, could not be more relevant in the cancellation of fact-checking.” (Alistair for Hugh). Shell Game – RadioLab . “Evan Raltiff has written a lot about tech. To better understand AI, and how it might replace his work, he decided to go all in, and created a digital clone of himself using a LLM, a voice synthesis tool, and various other parts to cobble it together. Want a peek at knowledge work in 2027? Evan’s lived there for you (this is part of a longer series, but I’m attaching the Radiolab episode that summarizes that series).” (Alistair for Mitch). Tyler Cowen On Everything – Yascha Mounk – The Good Fight . “Economist and smart podcaster in his own right, Tyler Cowan (known to be, maybe, the best-read human on earth) gets interviewed by Yasha Mounk, with powerful insights on AI, declining birthrates, and other things.” (Hugh for Alistair).  G.E. Smith On Eddie Van Halen And Eric Clapton On Saturday Night Live – Archive Of American Television – Foundation Interviews – YouTube . “G.E. Smith was bandleader for Saturday Night Live from 1985 to 1995, the period when I was watching it regularly. I didn’t appreciate G.E. Smith back then, but he is, truly, a gem. If you would like to study oral story-telling, it would be hard to beat this interview (this is a short clip about Eddie Van Halen and Eric Clapton, but you can spend a couple of hours watching the full interview, on YouTube). There is a weight, a grace, and a passion to every word Smith chooses, plus stories upon stories of true music history.” (Hugh for Mitch). The Anti-Social Century – Derek Thompson – The Atlantic . “I’m fairly certain that this latest cover story for The Atlantic is going to be making the rounds in the media and will, likely, lead Derek Thompson to a bestselling book on this topic. In the early 2000s I noticed a weird trend as smartphones began gaining in popularity: People in very public spaces (thinks bars and restaurants) who are surrounded by people in a social setting were off in a corner on their phones… essentially ‘at the bar’ but truly ’not present’. I wrote about it. I spoke about it. I was introduced to thinkers like Sherry Turkle and her amazing book, Alone Together (along with Robert D. Putnam’s Bowling Alone), and realized that as amazing as digital technology is at connecting people it is equally powerful at place-shifting anyone anywhere else. Weird. So… now we’re twenty-plus years beyond that moment and what do we have? A world where we are spending way too much time alone… and I think we all know what happens when people are feeling alone…” (Mitch for Alistair). Meet The Coffee Obsessives Who Go To Any Length—And Pay Any Price—For A Great Cup Of Joe – Mark Ellwood – Robb Report . “Can coffee become the new wine? To what lengths would you go for a great cup of coffee? Make no doubts about, I love nothing more than my morning coffee along with some great conversation. It fills me up and gets me going way more than the caffeine in the cup. I can appreciate someone’s passion around coffee… and I marvel when those people take it to a whole other level…” (Mitch for Hugh).

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

Tyler Cowen on Everything by Yascha Mounk

Yascha Mounk and Tyler Cowen also discuss AI and the state of the world economy.

Read on Substack

Before you go… ThinkersOne  is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement  and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

Truth, Lies, And The Wisdom Of Crowds

Meta is shaking things up – again… and in a big way.

The tech giant, led by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, has decided to scrap its third-party fact-checking program.
Instead?
It’s taking a page from Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) by rolling out “community notes,” a system where users themselves provide context for posts.
Think of it as a crowdsourced truth experiment.

The big question is:

Does this make Meta more transparent – or less trustworthy?
Meta’s decision marks a dramatic pivot.
Since 2016, the company has partnered with dozens of organizations to combat misinformation.
That effort began after the fallout from Donald Trump’s first election, when Facebook (now Meta) was criticized for failing to stop the spread of fake news and foreign propaganda.
But Zuckerberg now says the system created “too many mistakes and too much censorship.”
Mistakes? Sure.

Censorship? Depends on who you ask.

For years, Republican lawmakers have blasted Meta for allegedly silencing conservative voices.
Now, with President-elect Trump poised to take office again, Meta’s timing feels… strategic?

The X Effect.

Like X’s “community notes” program, Meta’s new approach will rely on user contributions to flag and contextualize posts across Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.

The idea?

Empower the crowd to police the platform.

The reality?

Crowdsourcing truth is messy.
On X, community notes have been praised for adding transparency to misleading posts, but they’ve also been criticized for inconsistencies and inaccuracies.

Can Meta do better?

Or is this just shifting responsibility from professionals to amateurs?
There’s no ignoring the optics here.
In the lead-up to this shift, Zuckerberg has been cozying up to Trump and his allies.
He’s publicly expressed regret for removing COVID-19-related posts under government pressure.
He’s praised Trump as “badass” and even dined with him at Mar-a-Lago.
Meanwhile, Meta’s newly-appointed head of global affairs, Joel Kaplan, has called Trump’s upcoming presidency a “real opportunity” to recommit to free expression.
Add UFC CEO and Trump ally Dana White to Meta’s board of directors, and you’ve got the makings of a strategic realignment.
The transition will also see Meta’s trust and safety team moved from California to Texas, signaling a geographic and cultural shift within the company.

The stakes couldn’t be higher.

But what happens when the pendulum swings too far the other way?

What’s Next?

Meta’s decision to ditch fact-checking raises fundamental questions about Big Tech’s role in public discourse.
Are these platforms arbiters of truth – or just neutral arenas for debate?
And if they’re the latter, who holds them accountable when the debate goes off the rails?
In an era where trust in institutions is at an all-time low, Meta’s gamble is bold.
The question is:
Will it pay off—or will it backfire spectacularly?

And… what will happen in Canada where news is currently banned?

This is what Elias Makos and I discussed on CJAD 800 AM. Listen in right here.

Mitch Joel · Truth, Lies, And the Wisdom Of Crowds

Before you go… ThinkersOne is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond, check it out.

Tom Asacker On The Psychology Of Desire And Human Behavior – This Week’s Six Pixels of Separation Podcast

Episode #965 of Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast is now live and ready for you to listen to:

Tom Asacker has been challenging my thinking for years, ever since we first connected in the mid-2000s when his book, A Clear Eye For Branding, offered a fresh perspective on marketing and branding. Over the years, Tom has continued to push boundaries, diving into the intersection of belief, behavior, and what truly drives us. His latest book, Unwinding Want – Using Your Mind To Escape Your Thoughts, is a natural progression of his work, building on the insights he explored in earlier books like The Business Of Belief, Sandbox Wisdom, I Am Keats, and Your Brain On Story. In this conversation, Tom and I delved deep into the paradox of desire – how what we think we want often reflects our conditioning rather than our true selves. We discussed how marketers manipulate emotions, the societal constructs that shape our decisions, and the role of personal agency in breaking free from unconscious patterns. Tom shares profound insights about the human experience, such as how recognizing our conditioning can help us make more authentic choices and how the pursuit of comfort can sometimes rob us of meaningful experiences. He also touched on how AI mimics the human mind’s patterns, creating an eerie reflection of our own thought loops. What I’ve always appreciated about Tom is his ability to merge intellectual rigor with practical wisdom, challenging us to reexamine not just what we want but why we want it. If you’ve ever found yourself questioning whether the life you’re living is truly your own, this episode – and Tom’s work – might just give you the tools to find out. This is a great discussion to kick off 2025 (Happy New Year!). Enjoy the conversation!

You can grab the latest episode of Six Pixels of Separation here (or feel free to subscribe via Apple Podcast or whatever platform you may choose):  #965 – Six Pixels of Separation – The ThinkersOne Podcast.

Before you go… ThinkersOne  is a new way for organizations to buy bite-sized and personalized thought leadership video content (live and recorded) from the best Thinkers in the world. If you’re looking to add excitement and big smarts to your meetings, corporate events, company off-sites, “lunch & learns” and beyond,check it out.