1. "Asleep at the Wheel of Creative Destruction." Umair Haque calls out Silicon Valley, saying the VCs have been too busy funding yet more widget companies to help people waste more time than radical innovations. "Here's a simple question. How many new industries or markets have venture funds created in the last decade? By my count, exactly two (search and cleantech - and cleantech is still a maybe," he writes. "Sure, that number might be low by a few percent - but not by an order of magnitude, which is what putting the creation back in creative destruction demands." Bonus: five problems VCs should have solved.
2. "Facebook Connect Boosts Signups." Shiv Singh is excited by the possibilities of Facebook Connect for brands. He says early reports that 100,000 people signed up for Facebook Connect on sites like Hulu and Digg are a good sign. The promise is for users to take their social networks with them across the Web. "I believe marketers are missing an opportunity by not looking at Facebook Connect seriously," Shiv writes. "Its not just about making a website more social, its about allowing for social influence marketing by having people talk about your brands and products with their friends and influence each other." Q: What brand implementations have you seen out there? I know the Doghouse thing from Saatchi (and Razorfish) used it, but I haven't seen others.
3. "Things I've Learned in My Life So Far." This is a somewhat old video from Stefan Sagmeister about an exhibit and book of his life lessons. My favorites: "worrying solves nothing" and "having guts always works out for me." Easier said than done. See ones others have contributed too.
I think a lot about that "worrying solves nothing" quote ... Good stuff.
Posted by: Noah Brier | January 17, 2009 at 21:30