Mitch Joel's Blog: Six Pixels of Separation, page 91

Influencers Are The New Advertising

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:

Everyone wants to be an influencer – Axios.

“The number of people looking to become online influencers has exploded during the pandemic… Almost anyone can find themselves in a position to become an influencer, and brands are throwing billions of dollars at online content creators… Advertisers ‘don’t want to use the same influencer again and again,’ Keane-Dawson said, which keeps new opportunities flowing. Brands are expected to spend more than $3 billion on influencer campaigns in 2021, and over $4 billion in 2022, according to eMarketer.”

People believe that fame, likes and followers is an occupation. Is this the right play, and are influencers the new ads?

App of the week: Weather – Apple’s new native weather app is new and very much improved.

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

Mitch Joel · Influencers Are The New Advertising – Jack 103 FM – September 28th, 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.

Jonathan Fields On Work That Makes You Come Alive – This Week’s Six Pixels of Separation Podcast

Episode #794 of Six Pixels of Separation is now live and ready for you to listen to.

He is one of the kindest humans that I know. Jonathan Fields (aka the Good Life Guy) is all about delivering insights that spark purpose, possibility, and potential. He’s been on a decades-long quest to discover what makes people come fully alive. Jonathan is the host of one of the world’s top podcasts, Good Life Project (I was a guest on the Good Life Project back in 2013). He’s the author of the bestselling books, How to Live A Good Life and Uncertainty, but we’re here to discuss his most recent venture, Spark Endeavors, where he is the chief architect and driving force behind the world’s first purpose, engagement, and flow archetypes – the Sparketypes. This tool has been tapped by over 400,000 individuals and organizations, generating a rapidly growing, global data-set, and insight-based solutions to help transform how we work, lead and live. This culminates in his just-released book, Sparked – Discover Your Unique Imprint For Work That Makes You Come Alive. 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 #794.

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 #794 – Jonathan Fields On Work That Makes You Come Alive

Welcome to episode #794 of Six Pixels of Separation.

Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation – Episode #794 – Host: Mitch Joel. He is one of the kindest humans that I know. Jonathan Fields (aka the Good Life Guy) is all about delivering insights that spark purpose, possibility, and potential. He’s been on a decades-long quest to discover what makes people come fully alive. Jonathan is the host of one of the world’s top podcasts, Good Life Project (I was a guest on the Good Life Project back in 2013). He’s the author of the bestselling books, How to Live A Good Life and Uncertainty, but we’re here to discuss his most recent venture, Spark Endeavors, where he is the chief architect and driving force behind the world’s first purpose, engagement, and flow archetypes – the Sparketypes. This tool has been tapped by over 400,000 individuals and organizations, generating a rapidly growing, global data-set, and insight-based solutions to help transform how we work, lead and live. This culminates in his just-released book, Sparked – Discover Your Unique Imprint For Work That Makes You Come Alive. Enjoy the conversation…

Running time: 1:03:21.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 Jonathan Fields.Sparked – Discover Your Unique Imprint For Work That Makes You Come Alive.Sparketypes.Good Life Project.How to Live A Good Life.Uncertainty.Follow Jonathan on LinkedIn.Follow Jonathan on Instagram.Follow Jonathan on Twitter.This week’s music: David Usher ‘St. Lawrence River’.

Download the Podcast here: Six Pixels of Separation – Episode #794 – 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 #587

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: 

Tiny Subversions. “I spent a bunch of time looking at Tiny Subversions’ interesting projects, like Make Someone. I really love the rise of Internet tech artists, who just put interesting stuff on their website for us to chew on. This is no exception.” (Alistair for Hugh). The Very First Webcam Was Invented to Keep an Eye on a Coffee Pot at Cambridge University – Open Culture . “Speaking of Internet weirdness, and the fact that we all live in front of rectangles speaking into cameras now, here’s a piece of early Internet lore. How far we’ve come; I really hope we can reclaim some of the absurd edge cases of the Internet as we race to make it convenient and commercially viable. So few people understand what’s going on behind those apps; this is a good reminder.” (Alistair for Mitch). New Microsoft Study of 60,000 Employees: Remote Work Threatens Long-Term Innovation – Inc . “Remote work, after a few bumps at the beginning of the pandemic, has been pretty good for my little company. We’re hybrid now, built up some really good remote processes. Some of us go into the office for various reasons, but mostly to ‘get out of the house.’ What I have found, however, is that there is certain ‘ hinking’ work that is so much better done in person; that thinking work is the core driver of innovation. Microsoft has done an extensive study of remote work, and found that it’s good for short term work, but long-term innovation takes a real hit.” (Hugh for Alistair).    Airplane! Is Considered One of the Best Comedies of All Time. But 40 Years Ago No One Saw it Coming – Esquire . “Amazing that 1980 saw three of the most beloved comedy movies of my youth: Caddyshack, The Blues Brothers, and Airplane!, which to everyone’s surprise became the sleeper hit of the summer.” (Hugh for Mitch). “Rewilding Your Attention” – Clive Thompson – Medium . “While nostalgia can also spark new ideas and directions, I love this article because it touches at the core of where my ideas come from: the weird. The weird music. The weird comic books. The weird graphic novels. The weird books. The weird magazines. The weird documentaries. The weird podcasts. I have weird habits too. Like wandering the library (or used book store) stacks looking for books that are not in my field of interest. I find it very inspiring to walk around shopping malls (checking out the packaging of products that I would never buy and stores that I would never shop in). We tend to stick to our lanes. This bores me. Find the weird and rewild yourself…” (Mitch for Alistair). Inside the rise of influencer publishing – The New Statesman . “When a publishing house buys a book, there is this inherit promise that they can take an unknown work of text and bring it to a mass audience. This has worked for a long time. Not just in publishing, but in a myriad of media formats. I’ve had journalism/writing students come to me for advice on getting published as well. Both of these models seem so antiquated to me, because of technology and social media. Want to write? Write! Publish online, keep at it and build an audience. This article looks at this angle with an interesting perspective. Why would any publisher take risks when they can simply find writers who have already proved that they can both create content with consistency and find an audience? Now, this begs the question: Is that the best/only way to win at publishing? Probably not, but it’s a smart place to start.” (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): 

TikTok’s Latest Craze (And It’s Not Pretty)

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:

TikTok’s Latest Craze: Stealing Stuff From School – The New York Times.

“It’s all on TikTok. Missing are soap dispensers, bathroom mirrors, paper towel holders, fire alarms and even a teacher’s desk — anything that can be swiped from school and then revealed in a TikTok video, with the hashtag #deviouslicks. In the last month or so, TikTok has hosted close to 94,200 similar videos under #deviouslicks, or #diabolicallicks, according to the website Know Your Meme. The hashtag also seems to have encouraged more serious vandalism, with students taking ceiling tiles, hand-railings, toilets and bathroom stalls.”

Is this “kids just being kids” or a sign that the end is nigh? Schools have had to deal with enough (especially with covid, etc…), but now they’re dealing with viral videos of kids stealing property.

Is this viral video fun or “get off my lawn” because these kids are terrible?

App of the week: WordCounter – Get clarity about how you write, when, where and how much.  

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

Mitch Joel · TikTok's Latest Craze (And It's Not Pretty) – Jack 103 FM – September 21st, 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.

Ben Mezrich On GameStop, Facebook And Other Crazy Stories – This Week’s Six Pixels of Separation Podcast

Episode #793 of Six Pixels of Separation is now live and ready for you to listen to.

With a writing career spanning close to two decades, Ben Mezrich has authored over twenty books, including the wildly successful Bringing Down the House – The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions, which spent sixty-three weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, sold over 2 million copies in fifteen languages, and was adapted into the #1 box office movie, 21. His book, The Accidental Billionaires – The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal was adapted into the movie, The Social Network, and was #1 at the box office, won Golden Globes for best picture, best director, best adapted screenplay, best score, and was nominated for 8 Oscars, winning three including Best Adapted Screenplay. Ben is the only non-fiction author to have two number one box office movie adaptations, which has earned him the title of Sexiest Author on People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive List. Ben also co-writes a middle grade fiction series, Charlie Numbers, with his wife Tonya. Ben also recently joined the writers room for the hit TV show, Billions. Ben’s latest book is, The Antisocial Network – The GameStop Short Squeeze and the Ragtag Group of Amateur Traders That Brought Wall Street to Its Knees. In short, Ben loves chasing the craziest stories that are rocking the headlines. 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 #793.

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 #793 – Ben Mezrich On GameStop, Facebook And Other Crazy Stories

Welcome to episode #793 of Six Pixels of Separation.

Here it is: Six Pixels of Separation – Episode #793 – Host: Mitch Joel. With a writing career spanning close to two decades, Ben Mezrich has authored over twenty books, including the wildly successful Bringing Down the House – The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions, which spent sixty-three weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, sold over 2 million copies in fifteen languages, and was adapted into the #1 box office movie, 21. His book, The Accidental Billionaires – The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal was adapted into the movie, The Social Network, and was #1 at the box office, won Golden Globes for best picture, best director, best adapted screenplay, best score, and was nominated for 8 Oscars, winning three including Best Adapted Screenplay. Ben is the only non-fiction author to have two number one box office movie adaptations, which has earned him the title of Sexiest Author on People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive List. Ben also co-writes a middle grade fiction series, Charlie Numbers, with his wife Tonya. Ben also recently joined the writers room for the hit TV show, Billions. Ben’s latest book is, The Antisocial Network – The GameStop Short Squeeze and the Ragtag Group of Amateur Traders That Brought Wall Street to Its Knees. In short, Ben loves chasing the craziest stories that are rocking the headlines. Enjoy the conversation…

Running time: 58:56.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 Ben Mezrich.The Antisocial Network – The GameStop Short Squeeze and the Ragtag Group of Amateur Traders That Brought Wall Street to Its Knees.Bringing Down the House – The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions.The Accidental Billionaires – The Founding of Facebook, a Tale of Sex, Money, Genius and Betrayal.Ben’s other books.Follow Ben on Twitter.This week’s music: David Usher ‘St. Lawrence River’.

Download the Podcast here: Six Pixels of Separation – Episode #793 – 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 #586

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 man who cut out his own appendix – BBC News. “You think you’re hardcore? You’ve got nothing on Leonid Rogozov, a Russian surgeon stationed in Antarctica who had to perform his own appendectomy. I learned two things from this story: First, that Rogozov became a national hero on par with Yuri Gagarin as part of the Cold War; and second, that many countries now insist their researchers have a pre-emptive appendectomy before traveling to Antarctica.” (Alistair for Hugh). A real-life Lord of the Flies: the troubling legacy of the Robbers Cave experiment – The Guardian . “I hadn’t heard of the Robbers Cave experiment (or its predecessor, the Middle Grove experiment). In the spirit of the infamous Stanford Prison Experiment, this is a study from a time before we had consistent ethics for sociological testing. And, clearly, the researchers had an opinion that influenced the outcomes. But, it’s a fascinating story—and frankly, feels like modern reality TV.” (Alistair for Mitch). Vincent Racaniello: Viruses and Vaccines – Lex Fridman Podcast #216 – YouTube . “Podcasting has really started to deliver what I always hoped it would: Long in-depth conversations between intelligent people about deeply fascinating topics, digging into and disseminating knowledge in ways that traditional media never could (because the cost was too high). Two of my favorite podcasts over the past year are: Lex Fridman‘s podcast (MIT AI researcher, who has 3 hour conversations with a range of brilliant people – talking about quantum physics, linguistics, consciousness, blockchain, alien life, cosmology, and so many other topics. Always thoughtful and deep. And, This Week In Virology (TWiV), hosted by Vincent Racaniello, was a critical source of real information during Covid, when a group of practicing virologists (experimental and clinical) talk about the studies and news, and helped me understand what was really happening as the science of Covid progressed. This podcast brings the two together, to talk about the fascinating history of viruses, failures of science, policy and communication, vaccine hesitancy, and Covid.” (Hugh for Alistair). The Exponential Age will transform economics forever – Wired . “Everything is changing faster and faster. The curve lines are getting steeper and steeper; we ain’t seen nothin’ yet. However will we keep up?” (Hugh for Mitch). Economics Needs to Reckon With What It Doesn’t Know – The Ezra Klein Show . “What is going on with the economy? Seriously. If the data is true, and one in five hundred US residents have died from Covid (and that’s not even the beginning of the global impact) and other massive issues in our world (lockdowns, supply chain issues, work from home, productivity, etc…) have come to pass, how is it that the economy is booming (and, yes, I realize that governments have handed out cash like never before)? This is something that has vexed me from day one: Businesses that I thought would tank have done well. Businesses that I would have expected to flourish have died during the pandemic. It makes me wonder if I know anything (at all) about business? Well, it turns out that some of the smartest economists in the world are suddenly faced with many ‘mysteries’ about our economy based on long standing models and theories. So, take a listen. This is one fascinating look at economics… and what may (or may not) be around the corner…” (Mitch for Alistair). Is Limitless Choice Killing Us Slowly? – Sway – Kara Swisher . “What would happen is Google and Amazon merged? It seems fictional, and that’s the point. In this podcast, Kara Swisher talks to author Dave Eggers about his latest fiction, The Every… which is fiction… but feels like it could happen (or, is happening?) right now-ish. Eggers is an amazing writer (and, if you have not read his other book, The Circle, you really should). Are these big tech companies ‘apex predators’ already? This is a great conversation about a work of fiction that feels about as real (and possible) as it gets.” (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): 

Would You Buy An Amazon TV?

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:

Amazon makes its own TVs now, and one is always listening for ‘Alexa’ – CNET and Amazon’s new ‘adaptive volume’ will make Alexa speak louder when it’s noisy – The Verge.

“Amazon has long worked with other brands like Toshiba and Insignia to produce Fire TV Edition sets equipped with its own smart TV system. Now the giant online retailer is getting into the TV hardware game itself. The Amazon Fire TV Omni and Fire TV 4-Series are the first Amazon-built TVs, according to the company… The Fire TV Omni’s claim to fame is a built-in far-field mic array that responds to the ‘Alexa’ wake word, much like an Echo speaker. That feature allows you to talk to the TV hands-free – no remote required – to search for TV shows and movies, navigate menus and have a conversation with Alexa to help you figure out what to watch.”

Is Amazon still over-reaching and trying to own your home? 

App of the week: Calendly – eliminating the hassle of back-and-forth emails to schedule a meeting… this is an easy scheduling app.

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

Mitch Joel · Would You Buy An Amazon TV? – Jack 103 FM – September 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.

Juliet Funt On Beating Busyness – This Week’s Six Pixels of Separation Podcast

Episode #792 of Six Pixels of Separation is now live and ready for you to listen to.

She’s known as a “tough-love” advisor to Fortune 500 companies. Juliet Funt is a keynote speaker and Founder of the efficiency training firm, Juliet Funt Group. Juliet is also the author of the newly-published book, A Minute to Think – Reclaim Creativity, Conquer Busyness, And Do Your Best Work. She is an evangelist for freeing the potential of companies by unburdening their talent from busywork, and she has brought her powerful concepts to brands like Spotify, National Geographic, Vans, Sephora, and beyond. According to Juliet: “The global workforce today is so fried that it belongs in a food booth of a county fair. We’re relentlessly behind the curve, dousing fires everywhere, and our 3 a.m. insomnia provides the only unscheduled thinking time of the day.” This pandemic hasn’t helped. Want to rethink your productivity and workflow? 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 #792.

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.