Shared Items

May 19

afootballreport:

Beckham’s boots for his final game

David Beckham plays in the final match of his career today. As he heads into retirement, he carries the pride of Great Britain. Typical Becks.

May 17

fastcompany:

Big philosophical ideas reduced to simple shapes, from graphic designer Genís Carreras .

May 7

fastcompany:

10 buildings that changed America (and architecture

The PBS special 10 Buildings that Changed America, which premieres May 12, explains the origins of some of the country’s most influential building styles.

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fastcompany:

In a new campaign, Reporters Without Borders shows world leaders flipping you off.

All the leaders depicted are of the nondemocratic sort that some might label dictators—the kind who might restrict the freedom that journalists enjoy in other parts of the world with the kind of gleeful “f*ck you” depicted here. 

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Wired:
Peter Thiel, expressing his dissatisfaction with technology’s progress, recently noted, ‘We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters.’ Do you agree with him?


Bill Gates:
I feel sorry for Peter Thiel. Did he really want flying cars? Flying cars are not a very efficient way to move things from one point to another. On the other hand, 20 years ago we had the idea that information could become available at your fingertips. We got that done. Now everyone takes it for granted that you can look up movie reviews, track locations, and order stuff online. I wish there was a way we could take it away from people for a day so they could remember what it was like without it.

Bill Gates in a recent Wired interview with Steven Levy

[via Gary Tan]

(via whitneymcn)

(via fred-wilson)
May 3

(Source: fred-wilson)

April 11
fastcompany: How To Master The Email Introduction Bringing people together is awesome. But like most social interactions there are unwritten rules. First Round Capital partner and ‘superconnector’ Chris Falic spells them out here. Like any good scholar (or leader), Fralic lays out the over-arching goals for email intros: they should help everyone involved, they should make it easy for them tohelp you, and they should build your relationships and reputation along the way. Important stuff, right? Here are some of his tips: Always ask “May I?”: Fralic says to first ask permission from the parties involved before you fire off that connecter message. Why? “This makes it a choice for the recipient and doesn’t create an obligation,” he says. Be personal, not lazy: If you don’t know these people well, then at least do a bit of good-natured Google-stalking before you pelt them with generalities and requests. While in the days of handwritten letters it might have come with the inky territory, you should make sure your recipients know that you are writing for them, not some generalized nonperson. Tell them why they care: In journalism we call it a nut graf—the paragraph that’s the heart of the story. The reason that you care. An email will be (or should be) shorter than an article, but you still need a few sentences for why your reader cares and what’s in it for them. Prompt with presentation: Take the time to distill your message. Then, as Fralic says, bold your ask, underline key words, and put your links in your words. This is hypertext, after all, and spilling them across the page looks sloppy. Respond tactfully: Give the other person some room to breathe, Fralic says. If you’re being introduced via email, don’t inundate them with another message two minutes later. It gets a little overwhelming. Close that loop: If someone’s taken the time to introduce you to a contact of theirs, the least you can do is keep your karma clean and let them know what came of the connection. Do you have any tips?  Read the full story here.

fastcompany:

How To Master The Email Introduction

Bringing people together is awesome. But like most social interactions there are unwritten rules. First Round Capital partner and ‘superconnector’ Chris Falic spells them out here.

Like any good scholar (or leader), Fralic lays out the over-arching goals for email intros: they should help everyone involved, they should make it easy for them tohelp you, and they should build your relationships and reputation along the way. Important stuff, right?

  • Here are some of his tips:
  • Always ask “May I?”: Fralic says to first ask permission from the parties involved before you fire off that connecter message. Why? “This makes it a choice for the recipient and doesn’t create an obligation,” he says.
  • Be personal, not lazy: If you don’t know these people well, then at least do a bit of good-natured Google-stalking before you pelt them with generalities and requests. While in the days of handwritten letters it might have come with the inky territory, you should make sure your recipients know that you are writing for them, not some generalized nonperson.
  • Tell them why they care: In journalism we call it a nut graf—the paragraph that’s the heart of the story. The reason that you care. An email will be (or should be) shorter than an article, but you still need a few sentences for why your reader cares and what’s in it for them.
  • Prompt with presentation: Take the time to distill your message. Then, as Fralic says, bold your ask, underline key words, and put your links in your words. This is hypertext, after all, and spilling them across the page looks sloppy.
  • Respond tactfully: Give the other person some room to breathe, Fralic says. If you’re being introduced via email, don’t inundate them with another message two minutes later. It gets a little overwhelming.
  • Close that loop: If someone’s taken the time to introduce you to a contact of theirs, the least you can do is keep your karma clean and let them know what came of the connection.

Do you have any tips? 

Read the full story here.

March 27
fastcodesign: 5 Weird Habits That Make People Successful And Awesome Argue: to steel your team’s beliefs. Confront:You need to be ready to call someone out. Be ruthless: It’s healthy to have high standards. Seek out rejection: Some people live their lives afraid of rejection. Getting told “no” isn’t the end of everything you hold dear. Isolate yourself: If you ever want to grow internally rather than court external validation, you need to get away from all the people. Reflect. Care for your inner introvert. Read the full story here.

fastcodesign:

5 Weird Habits That Make People Successful And Awesome

Argue: to steel your team’s beliefs.

Confront:You need to be ready to call someone out.

Be ruthless: It’s healthy to have high standards.

Seek out rejection: Some people live their lives afraid of rejection. Getting told “no” isn’t the end of everything you hold dear.

Isolate yourself: If you ever want to grow internally rather than court external validation, you need to get away from all the people. Reflect. Care for your inner introvert.

Read the full story here.

(via fastcompany)

March 20
“ 70% of all mobile searches result in action within 1 hour. 70% of online searches result in action in one month. http://www.mobilemarketingstrategiessummit.com/ (via nakosar)

(via fastcompany)
March 8
phiLOLZophy: Myers Briggs Dating Field Guide

philolzophy:

INFJ-
Why you want one: They’ll sit-inside-and-read-Dostoevsky-with-you-on-a-rainy-day, they’re good curators of interests and they’ll find something interesting to do and plan the whole date out (to the second).
Spoiler Alert: Icy-cold exterior.
Where to find one: Any independent or used…