Quote of the week
Culture isn’t just one aspect of the game, it is the game.
Articles of the week
- New Republic: Up for Debate: Can Social Media Solve Real-World Problems?
Evgeny Morozov and Steven Johnson battle it out over “Internet-centrism,” or whether the patterns in the way things work on the internet can be generalized to the rest of life. An intense debate, with some critical thoughts on the role and nature of the internet, as well as some fantastic name-calling. - The Awl: Venture Capital’s Massive, Terrible Idea For The Future Of College
In this long and brilliant piece, Maria Bustillos gets to the core of what learning really is as she documents and contributes to the currently raging debates over MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and what exactly they can or cannot contribute to education. Also have a look at Clay Shirky’s reply. - Brian Whitman: How music recommendation works — and doesn’t work
Brian Whitman of The Echo Nest goes into great detail on the complex subject of how good music recommendations are made, what these recommendations are good for, and where there is room for improvement in this field. - The Verge: Why Amazon wants its own currency
Amazon has announced a new virtual currency, Amazon Coins, that will be an alternative to credit card payment in-app purchases for the Kindle Fire. Adrianne Jeffries questions the motives behind this move, explains how it will work, and concludes that the goal is “to shore up loyalty…and maybe avoid some taxes.” - Harvard Business Review: The Rise of the Unbrand
On the trend of products that are less reliant on “brand”, and more reliant on quality, individualization and usefulness. But in the end, a brand without a logo/name is still a brand.
One more quote that goes into the same direction as Louis Gerstner’s: “My experience has demonstrated that most of the great opportunities go to people with magical attitudes. Maintaining a great attitude is far from automatic. It takes real skill to keep it positive.” http://cognition.happycog.com/article/good-work-isnt-enough