I was struck today with Signal’s first link, because it reminded me how infrequently we in this industry connect to larger thoughts beyond our own business (or perhaps, that’s my own failing). In any case, if you have the five or so minutes, read the first link, and keep it in mind as we together build this new culture. In fact, there are a few such links in today’s missive. To them:
Dickens In Lagos (Lapham’s Quarterly )Just good thinking. “The great cities of the developing world are a century or two behind the West, full of the colour and characters of 19th-century novels.” Now you might ask why the hell I put this in Signal. Glad you did. Because the great shift of humanity that Dickens and his kin chronicled in the 19th century is happening again, and it’s happening online. Look back to see forward.
Cancering (Danny Hillis/Edge) I know, two odd links in one Friday Signal, but this is another worthy read, about lateral thinking by someone I’ve long admired, since the Wired days, as a creative technologist who was always a beat or two ahead of the digital world.
Article: The Continued Rise of Blogging (eMarketer) While we were busy Facebookin’, half the online world started engaging with blogs.
In Bing Crosby’s Wine Cellar, Vintage Baseball (NYT) No kidding, one of my heroes presaged the DVR due to his love of baseball. Really, no kidding. This is a great story, plus, it involves a wine cellar. It doesn’t get better. “Crosby, the singer and movie, radio and TV star, had more foresight than the television networks and stations, which erased or discarded nearly all of the Major League Baseball games they carried until the 1970s.” The game – a 1960 World Series match considered one of the best in the history of baseball – will be screened in December. I’m setting my Tivo. And I’ll have some Scotch ready, just like Bing did.
The Problem With TV Everywhere: There’s No Business Model (NewTeeVee) The model for premium television content is totally up in the air. Which is a good thing, in a way. See also Why Netflix Has Already Won the Digital TV/Video War (Ad Age)
The Digital 100: The World’s Most Valuable Startups (SAI) All the world loves a list.
Facebook Sells Your Friends (BusinessWeek) Well, yes, I suppose. In a way. But a worthy multi-page read on Facebook’s advertising business. Eerie how it reads like an article about Google back in 2004.
F.C.C. Opens Unused TV Airwaves to Broadband (NYT) And the folks who usually hate the FCC applaud.
The Internet as Curiosity Machine (The Atlantic)
“We could ask kids deeper questions.” Or, we could teach them to ask more interesting questions.
—
If it suits your information consumption goals, sign up for Signal’s email newsletter on the Signal home page (upper right box). You’ll get an exclusive, email only weekly roundup of Signal.
FM’s program of the day is HP’s next Input/Output interview, with Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh.
