Mitch Joel's Blog: Six Pixels of Separation, page 86

SPOS #806 – Martin Moore On Reconnecting Leadership With Results

Welcome to episode #806 of Six Pixels of Separation.

Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation – Episode #806 – Host: Mitch Joel. Meet a very animated (and passionate) leader… who demands real results. His business, Your CEO Mentor, creates cut-through content for leaders who want to build their leadership confidence and skills, fast. Co-founded by father/daughter duo Martin Moore and Emma Green, their purpose is to improve the quality of leaders, globally. Together they have distilled Marty’s 30+ years of senior leadership experience and turned it into practical, no nonsense content that helps experienced leaders become exceptional leaders. They host the podcast, No Bullsh!t Leadership, and their book of the same name is a great read. They also run the highly regarded online leadership program, Leadership Beyond The Theory, and work with leaders through a range of bespoke consulting and keynote speaking engagements. Enjoy the conversation…

Running time: 54:47.Hello from beautiful Montreal.Subscribe over at Apple Podcasts.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 Martin Moore.Emma Green.No Bullsh!t Leadership.No Bullsh!t Leadership Podcast.Leadership Beyond The Theory.Follow Martin on Facebook.Follow Martin on Instagram.Follow Martin on LinkedIn.This week’s music: David Usher ‘St. Lawrence River’.

Download the Podcast here: Six Pixels of Separation – Episode #806 – 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 #599

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: 

Earth is getting a black box to record events that lead to the downfall of civilization – cNet. “Because of course it is. I dutifully watched the first season of Foundation—I have mixed feelings, and most of them are spoilers—and then this caught my eye. Nice of us to write the plot for future visitors from afar.” (Alistair for Hugh). These people actually seem like sheep? Is anything even real? – CBC Arts . “Dibs! I get to share this one first! I’m not usually a fan of performance art, particularly when it’s a heavy-handed, grant-backed epic whose point could be summarized in a few short sentences. But I’d watch the hell out of this: 30 minutes of humans mimicking sheep, terrifying children, and generally loping around in blissful ignorance. Heavy-hoofed, maybe, but I’m here for it.” (Alistair for Mitch). What does a Gong Sound Like when Hit with a 1189mph Baseball? – Smarter Every Day – YouTube . “Nerdiest YouTube video that I’ve seen in a long while, and I couldn’t stop watching, so I think: I bet Alistair will like this.” (Hugh for Alistair). People Are Sharing Bad Stock Photos Of Their Jobs That Are So Far From Reality, It’s Hilarious – Bored Panda . “Terrible SEO-driven title, but pretty good fun.” (Hugh for Mitch). The Matrix Awakens: An Unreal Engine 5 Experience – Unreal Engine . “I’m really looking forward to seeing the new installment of The Matrix. With that, I am not a gamer but I have a deep appreciation for how gaming has progressed and become this gigantic and important business/industry. The question every kid wants to know (even going back to days of Pong and the Atari 2600) is this: When will computer games really feel real? This might the answer, and a glimpse into where gaming might soon venture. Photorealistic scenes that will have you questioning which part of this YouTube clip is film and which part of this is game? The answer: This is all game. Seriously. It is. Be prepared to be amazed…” (Mitch for Alistair). Stan Lee Is an NFT Now, And Fans Are Very Upset – Motherboard by Vice . “Famed Marvel creator, Stan Lee, passed away a few years back. If you don’t know his work, just click on his name and read his Wikipedia entry. It’s hard to imagine that one human being had a hand in creating all of those amazing and legendary characters. You don’t have to be a comic book nerd (like me) to appreciate that kind of brilliance and creativity. In a word: Respect. Now, when it comes to the world of NFTs, it seems like you can discover some very interesting projects, but there’s also an ever-growing underbelly of real sketchiness happening in the NFT world. It’s this weird combination of pump and dump, hype, MLM strategies and more. This project seems legit, but the fans are not happy…” (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)

Metaverse, Virtual Celebrities, NFTs And The Future Of Entertainment

Your digital media catch-up is right here.

Every Tuesday – for just a few minutes – I join Heather Backman (my old buddy from her days on CHOM FM) on the air at Jack 103 (Rogers Sports & Media) to give a quick blast about the current state of technology, media and Internet culture. We’re calling the segment Tech Tuesday (and we do it in just a few minutes).

What is Tech Tuesday?

If you ever find yourself wondering… What, exactly, is the point of TikTok? How can I make myself look better on a Zoom? Reddit? What’s that about? How do I help my kids be safer online? Who’s the latest creator and streamer that I should be checking out?

You are not alone.

This is what Heather Backman and I discussed this morning over on Jack 103 FM for a couple of minutes:

Universal To Develop ‘Virtual Identities’ And NFTs For Its Artists In Partnership With Avatar Tech Firm Genies – Music Business Worldwide.

Things might get weird. The music business – in an unsurprising way – is doing everything that they can to get involved in the NFT and virtual world space. In short, if Kanye wants to show up at a virtual concert, the music biz wants to ensure that it’s “actually” the real/virtual Kanye. So… get ready for that and even avatar wearables for their fans (think authorized virtual concert shirts and paraphernalia) and this “persistent virtual representation of themselves across the metaverse to engage with fans in expressive and authentic ways.”  Can we imagine a day and age (in the not too distant future) that a band like Coldplay might be playing live in your town while – at the same time – a completely different virtual tour is happening (and you buy different and unique t—shirts for each show).

“UMG’s artists will have the ability to release exclusive avatar wearables for their fans to collect and use to outfit their own avatars in the metaverse… ‘UMG continues to lead and unlock what is possible with Web3 and virtual economies. With our Genies partnership, we created an ideal framework and toolkit to empower our artists in the evolving digital universe.’”

How virtual and metaverse do you want your entertainment to be?

App of the Week: Vocal Remove and Isolation – This free online application will help remove vocals from a song, and then create a karaoke version using AI.

Once the segment goes live on Jack 103, I will post it here for you to listen in, learn, share and engage….

Mitch Joel · Metaverse, NFTs And The Future Of Entertainment – Jack 103 FM – December 14th, 2021

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.

Vanessa Bohns On Influence And Persuasion – This Week’s Six Pixels of Separation Podcast

Episode #805 of Six Pixels of Separation is now live and ready for you to listen to.

I’m really into this book called, You Have More Influence Than You Think – How We Underestimate Our Power Of Persuasion, And Why It Matters by Vanessa Bohns. Vanessa is a social psychologist, an award-winning researcher and teacher, and a professor of organizational behavior at Cornell University. She holds a PhD in psychology from Columbia University and an AB in psychology from Brown University. Vanessa has been a Visiting Scholar at the NYU Stern School of Business and has taught at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Harvard Business Review, and her research has been published in top academic journals in psychology, management, and law, and featured by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, The Economist, and beyond. This is her first book, and it illustrates why we we fail to recognize the influence we have, and how that lack of awareness can lead us to miss opportunities or accidentally misuse our power. 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): Six Pixels of Separation #805.

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 #805 – Vanessa Bohns On Influence And Persuasion

Welcome to episode #805 of Six Pixels of Separation.

Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation – Episode #805 – Host: Mitch Joel. I’m really into this book called, You Have More Influence Than You Think – How We Underestimate Our Power Of Persuasion, And Why It Matters by Vanessa Bohns. Vanessa is a social psychologist, an award-winning researcher and teacher, and a professor of organizational behavior at Cornell University. She holds a PhD in psychology from Columbia University and an AB in psychology from Brown University. Vanessa has been a Visiting Scholar at the NYU Stern School of Business and has taught at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management. Her writing has appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Harvard Business Review, and her research has been published in top academic journals in psychology, management, and law, and featured by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, The Economist, and beyond. This is her first book, and it illustrates why we we fail to recognize the influence we have, and how that lack of awareness can lead us to miss opportunities or accidentally misuse our power. Enjoy the conversation…

Running time: 1:00:39.Hello from beautiful Montreal.Subscribe over at Apple Podcasts.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 Vanessa Bohns.You Have More Influence Than You Think.Follow Vanessa on Instagram.Follow Vanessa on LinkedIn.Follow Vanessa on Twitter.This week’s music: David Usher ‘St. Lawrence River’.

Download the Podcast here: Six Pixels of Separation – Episode #805 – 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 #598

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: 

How Game Dev Blues Led to a 300 Page Book on an ‘Alien’ Toy From 1979 – fanbyte. “The Japanese word Otaku refers to ‘a person having an intense or obsessive interest.’ And this is one hell of an obsession. Remember Alien, the terrifying R-rated movie? Well, they made a kids’ toy. And then a game developer wrote a 300-page book (Hideous Plastic) about it. That seems pretty Otaku to me.” (Alistair for Hugh). I tried the Elizabeth Holmes schedule, and here is how it went – The Washington Post . “I try to avoid paywalls, but this is worth it. Also, this is how I feel about all that lifehack advice stuff. Fake it ’till you make it wasn’t just a business mantra, apparently.” (Alistair for Mitch). What Slime Knows – Orion . “Did you know that slime mold can tell time, solve mazes and ‘learn’ patterns? What if all this time we’ve been worrying about AI taking over, and the real threat is a slime mold uprising?” (Hugh for Alistair).  What is your job and how much do you get paid? – reddit . “A wild reddit thread with people self-reporting their jobs and salaries. The range is of course astounding, but also the jobs that are surprisingly highly paid (eg: ‘Drive yard truck for Walmart. Make 10k a month or 120k a year’) and those that are paid poorly (eg: ‘Walmart stocker, $15/hour, about $20k a year’), and those just grossly underpaid (eg ‘I am a paraprofessional in an elementary school. I spend most of my time in a self contained Kindergarten – 5th grade classroom of mostly ‘non verbal’ students with autism…. I make around 20k a year. I love my job, but the pay is insulting.’).” (Hugh for Mitch). Top Authors Share Their Must Reads – Pocket . “This may be cheating… so sue me. One of my favorite (and most used) apps is Pocket. It’s where I save, tag, share, curate, and read almost anything and everything online. I don’t know how I would function without it, and it’s where I go – each and every week – to choose what I will be sharing here, within this post. I just love it. So… here’s a slew of links from the writers behind Pocket’s Best of 2021 and the articles/stories that they couldn’t help but save and share…” (Mitch for Alistair).  Yes, Social Media Can Sell Books. But Not If Publishers Sit on Their Hands – Jane Friedman . “This week, The New York Times published a really powerful article about followers/fans and how they often don’t convert into book sales (Millions of Followers? For Book Sales, ‘It’s Unreliable’). This is a rabbit-hole topic for me. No doubt. I see this as: One thing doesn’t equal another. A great speaker may not be a great author. A great YouTuber may not be a great author. Great books often don’t get bought (or read), regardless of who the author is. This idea that an audience giving someone attention for one thing will automagically divert that attention to something else is (somewhat) absurd. In short: I think it’s a magical unicorn that can be a great musician AND a great author. Both are very different skillsets that require a lot of work, luck and time to do well… to do both – at that kind of performance level – is rarified air. The wrong thinking that shines through in this article, is that publishing professionals believe that an audience will follow someone with a following anywhere. They won’t. Many people have commented on this article, but I really like Jane Friedman’s take on it.” (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): 

The Future Of Twitter (A Post Jack Dorsey Experience)

Your digital media catch-up is right here.

Every Tuesday – for just a few minutes – I join Heather Backman (my old buddy from her days on CHOM FM) on the air at Jack 103 (Rogers Sports & Media) to give a quick blast about the current state of technology, media and Internet culture. We’re calling the segment Tech Tuesday (and we do it in just a few minutes).

What is Tech Tuesday?

If you ever find yourself wondering… What, exactly, is the point of TikTok? How can I make myself look better on a Zoom? Reddit? What’s that about? How do I help my kids be safer online? Who’s the latest creator and streamer that I should be checking out?

You are not alone.

This is what Heather Backman and I discussed this morning over on Jack 103 FM for a couple of minutes:

Jack Dorsey Steps Down as Twitter CEO, Board Unanimously Appoints CTO Parag Agrawal as Successor – Twitter.

Twitter founder, Jack Dorsey, announced that he is stepping down as head of the social media platform, effective immediately. Parag Agrawal, Twitter’s Chief Technology Officer will take over. Dorsey is a Steve Jobs-like character who was both CEO of Twitter and Square, his digital payments behemoth. As if that wasn’t enough to rattle the cages of Silicon Valley, Parag has already made some executive changes, while Square is changing its name (much like Facebook did to Meta) to Block. Is this all a PR play or is there something brewing that might be change in the Valley (and for the world)?

“I’ve decided to leave Twitter because I believe the company is ready to move on from its founders. My trust in Parag as Twitter’s CEO is deep. His work over the past 10 years has been transformational. I’m deeply grateful for his skill, heart, and soul. It’s his time to lead,” said Dorsey.

How do you think this will impact the future of Twitter?

App of the Week: Literature Clock – the time of the day set to a moment and time in literature.

Once the segment goes live on Jack 103, I will post it here for you to listen in, learn, share and engage….

Mitch Joel · The Future Of Twitter (A Post Jack Dorsey Experience) – Jack 103 FM – December 7th, 2021

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.

Azeem Azhar On This Exponential Age – This Week’s Six Pixels of Separation Podcast

Episode #804 of Six Pixels of Separation is now live and ready for you to listen to.

Azeem Azhar is on a mission to explain how our societies and ways of life will change under the force of exponential technologies. He is determined to bring together the two cultures of innovation and tech and of business, society and policy and help us understand the real implications of the changes we are witnessing; which he is able to do from the vantage point of a 25-year career as an entrepreneur, investor and analyst in the tech industry. Azeem’s book is called, The Exponential Age – How Accelerating Technology Is Transforming Business, Politics and Society. He brings a unique background to explain the intersection of breakthrough technologies and the economies and societies in which we live. His amazing newsletter, Exponential View, is loved by investors, academics, journalists and nerds like me from around the world. Azeem also hosts the Exponential View podcast, distributed by Harvard Business Review. Azeem is a senior advisor to professional services firm, PwC. He also advises entrepreneurial firms and is an investor in early-stage startups in AI, renewable energy, female healthtech, self-driving cars and marketplaces. 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): Six Pixels of Separation #804.

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 #804 – Azeem Azhar On This Exponential Age

Welcome to episode #804 of Six Pixels of Separation.

Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation – Episode #804 – Host: Mitch Joel. Azeem Azhar is on a mission to explain how our societies and ways of life will change under the force of exponential technologies. He is determined to bring together the two cultures of innovation and tech and of business, society and policy and help us understand the real implications of the changes we are witnessing; which he is able to do from the vantage point of a 25-year career as an entrepreneur, investor and analyst in the tech industry. Azeem’s book is called, The Exponential Age – How Accelerating Technology Is Transforming Business, Politics and Society. He brings a unique background to explain the intersection of breakthrough technologies and the economies and societies in which we live. His amazing newsletter, Exponential View, is loved by investors, academics, journalists and nerds like me from around the world. Azeem also hosts the Exponential View podcast, distributed by Harvard Business Review. Azeem is a senior advisor to professional services firm, PwC. He also advises entrepreneurial firms and is an investor in early-stage startups in AI, renewable energy, female healthtech, self-driving cars and marketplaces. Enjoy the conversation…

Running time: 1:01:24.Hello from beautiful Montreal.Subscribe over at Apple Podcasts.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 Azeem Azhar.The Exponential Age – How Accelerating Technology Is Transforming Business, Politics and Society.Azeem’s newsletter: Exponential View.Azeem’s podcast: Exponential View.Follow Azeem on LinkedIn.Follow Azeem on Twitter.This week’s music: David Usher ‘St. Lawrence River’.

Download the Podcast here: Six Pixels of Separation – Episode #804 – 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 #597

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: 

Bank transfers as a payment method – Bits About Money. “This is a really dry, but really fascinating, look at what payments really are. ‘A payment is a message, with new information, about a debt, with a certain confidence level associated with it.’ It’s not, as you might think, simply sending money from one place to another. Reframing how I think about payments helped me unlock a better understanding of many concepts in finance and tech, and might help you too.” (Alistair for Hugh). Someone Unearthed A 1997 Wired Article Predicting ’10 Things That Could Go Wrong In The 21st Century’ — And Nearly All Of Them Came True – digg . “It’s hard to predict the future. But this ancient (in Internet terms) set of predictions is pretty spot on. What one prediction do you think is going to come true 25 years from now, Mitch?” (Alistair for Mitch). Why ‘Slap Shot’ Captures the 1970s Better Than Any Other Sports Movie – Rolling Stone . “I wonder what will be the film/comedy touchstones in 40 years’ time. But there was a period from late 70s to mid 80s where comedy films were either really great, or I was really impressionable. Slap Shot, made in 1977 was a bit before my time, but when I first watched it, probably 1986, well let’s say it made an impression on me and just about every kid that I knew. I was still watching it by the time I hit university, and I can still reel off reams of dialogue from the film (a bunch of it in French — the Quebecois translation might even be better than the original). Anyway, here’s to a film classic.” (Hugh for Alistair). Victorian headless portrait – Wikipedia . “I should have sent this for Halloween, but…: In the 1890s the newish technology of photography created a bit of a fad in England, where clever photographers created images of headless people (often holding their own heads) by splicing together two negatives. Take that, Photoshop.” (Hugh for Mitch).  We Are Not All Journalists – Douglas Rushkoff – Medium . “Douglas Rushkoff is such a brilliant mind. I often get frustrated that he/his work isn’t even more famous. This is a great little article with deep, deep insights. In this piece he takes on influencers and anyone who is too busy creating content on social media to experience what they’re actually capturing… ‘It was like a wedding where everyone was a wedding photographer, but no one was a guest. No one knew how to party for its own sake.’ Do we know how to live or do we know how to capture moments in time? What have we become?” (Mitch for Alistair). ‘I am not gonna die on the internet for you!’: how game streaming went from dream job to a burnout nightmare – The Guardian . “I’ve noticed this weird trend. It usually involves YouTubers… ones that have significant followings… it’s like they constantly have to be one-upping themselves, and then they wind up recording a video talking about how down or burned out they are, because they can’t figure out what their followers want any more. It’s kinda sad. The life seems so romantic: Make some fun videos and make millions of dollars (and don’t forget the fame that comes along with it). There’s a dark side to everything. Here’s another example: Imagine getting paid to play video games. It sounds like the life. For the ones that make it? It can be a nightmare…” (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):