Sunday, March 31, 2013

Sunday Reading

Happy Easter! I put together some more interesting articles from the week.

Really cool weather forecasting website called Forecast.io. These guys do great weather visualizations. It's fun to check the weather with their apps.

The Evolution of King James - one of the best sports analysis articles I've ever read. Loved the shot charts that show how much his game has changed.

How to Force Ethics on the Food Industry - written by my friend Graham Mudd's dad. Great article from a former industry insider.

How Can I Get My First Clients - great advice. It's been such a pleasure to watch my girlfriend, Vanessa, do this all on her own. She's built a thriving business and so can you.

Serving the poor, but Operating Like a Business - the One Acre Fund is amazing. It was started by a Kellogg student one year ahead of me. Talk about changing thousands of people's lives for the better. These folks do it incredibly well.

The Key to Happiness is Being Busy - I'm a believer.

Chris Cornell's Seasons - Love this song.

Friday, March 29, 2013

Weekend Reading - Saturday Links

Some Saturday morning reading for you. Hope you like it.

When Yahoo bought that 17 year old's app for $30M, this is the first thing I thought of too.

Great observation by Paul Graham on the best entrepreneurs. (this is good and bad btw)

The people on Ben's Friends network are so courageous. Occasionally I see messages like this and it breaks my heart and makes me so thankful for my health.

The 7 questions you should answer in a startup pitch deck by my friend Tomas at Redpoint. This pretty much goes for any business you are starting. But I wouldn't worry so much about proving it's a huge business. Most big businesses start as a hobby or little project at first, and then turn into something huge down the line. I guarantee you Mark Zuckerberg didn't worry about justifying how big The Facebook would get when he started.

Strikeouts on the Rise - great analysis by the New York Times. If your brain is wired like mine, you'll enjoy the graphics. I love how much statistical analysis is available to sports fans nowadays.

Worst bailout forever. There are some great points about what the botched Cyprus bailout did to the rest of Europe.

My friend Mark Lisanti on John Hamm's...equipment. :)

Baseball season is almost here and Buster Posey signed a contract that made him a Giant for life. Happy day  for this fan.

Buster Posey

5 Pictures Describing What Happened To Your Money This Week | MakinSense Babe

My friend Makin' Sense Babe puts together an entertaining but informative recap of the week's financial news. Thought you might like it.

5 Pictures Describing What Happened To Your Money This Week | MakinSense Babe:



Thursday, March 28, 2013

E-commerce 2.0 // Jeff Jordan

E-commerce 2.0 // Jeff Jordan:

I thought this was a pretty interesting breakdown of Ecommerce and where retail is going.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Seth's Blog: Most people, most of the time (the perfect crowd fallacy)

Seth's Blog: Most people, most of the time (the perfect crowd fallacy):
"some people, some of the time, are going to do amazing and generous work... If we'll just give them access to tools and get out of their way."

This post is so great. I think Seth articulates the foundation of Ben's Friends better than I ever could. We start a network and teach people how to build them - the "tools" in Seth's comment. And then we get out of the way and watch them do "amazing and generous work." It's really that easy.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

the walking dead - Hollywood Prospectus Blog - Grantland

Loved this Walking Dead recap by the Sports Guy. btw - this show is unbelievable. I'm a total scaredy-cat and I've blown through 11 episodes in a week. It's must see tv.

the walking dead - Hollywood Prospectus Blog - Grantland:



Sunday, March 24, 2013

Sunday Reading

I put together some more great articles for you. Hope you enjoy!

Don't Slog Away at the End of a Day - they are talking about programming but this applies to everything. Break things up. Get some exercise, listen to some music or read Twitter. Whatever you need to do to get productive again.

How to Order Wine at Dinner - great advice. I will not apologize for liking Rose.

How Food Get's to Our Table - terrifying, but something we should all watch.

Think About Innovation Like a CEO - cool article by one of my favorite Kellogg Professors. Great advice to remain vulnerable to possibility.

Excuse Us While We Kiss the Sky - a story about Urban exploration in London.


Saturday, March 23, 2013

The HoosierCat Report - Latest HoosierCat Podcast —- Hoosiers, Cal, & More NCAA Tourney (3.23.13)


Tom has been teaching me how to podcast. We talked NCAA basketball including our CAL Bears and Indiana Hoosiers.

We did it while I was on a walk so if it sounds like I'm having a heart attack, don't pay any attention to that. :)


The HoosierCat Report - Latest HoosierCat Podcast —- Hoosiers, Cal, & More NCAA Tourney (3.23.13)

Lots of Links

I put together some stories from the week for you. :)

Speculation Regarding A Possible Smartband from Apple - Neven Morgan is a great blogger. Some cool out of the box thinking here if you like Apple's products.

The Rise of Bitcoin - A few years ago some eccentric software developers started a new online currency called Bitcoin. It has the advantage of not being controlled by irresponsible central bankers. But will it survive the ups and downs of a new currency? Who knows. But it has some real advantages.

Lights, Cameras, Revolution - A new system of cameras that follow basketball players everywhere on the court and software analysis of those movements is turning basketball into a "Moneyball" sport. Pretty neat.

Boredom is Burdensome - true dat.

Changing My Operating System - Derek Sivers is one of my favorite bloggers. Read the whole thing.

Golden Gate Bridge

Friday, March 22, 2013

Kiva Piloting Microlending For U.S. Small Biz, Clinton Says It’s ‘A Very Big Deal’ | TechCrunch

Kiva is getting into small business lending in the US. Very interesting. I bet the default rates go way higher than in their traditional micro-loan sweet spot of developing world micro-loans. I think the U.S. is different culturally.

Will be a fascinating experience. Good for Kiva for trying something new.

Kiva Piloting Microlending For U.S. Small Biz, Clinton Says It’s ‘A Very Big Deal’ | TechCrunch:

Thursday, March 21, 2013

The Pastry Box Project | 13 March 2013, baked by Rebecca Murphey

The Pastry Box Project | 13 March 2013, baked by Rebecca Murphey:

"And then you asked if you could ask me a question and you seemed very careful about it and I said sure of course you can, and you said:

“Are you ever intimidated?”

Yes. Oh god, yes. A thousand times yes, I am intimidated every day by everything I don’t know and everything I need to learn and all of the people I am so lucky to know who are so much smarter than me. Anyone who was up on that stage or any other stage who tells you they’re never intimidated is either lying or broken. "

Monday, March 18, 2013

Deliver Big Impact on a Small Budget - Scott Orn - Harvard Business Review

Big day for Ben's Friends. I wrote an editorial that ran in the Harvard Business Review today. Check it out. It's about making a social impact on the cheap!

Deliver Big Impact on a Small Budget - Scott Orn - Harvard Business Review




Friday, March 15, 2013

More Cool Videos

More videos. Lot's of good stuff on the Internets these days.

A Test for Parkinson's With a Phone Call - fantastic. Healthcare is changing.

Adam Savage from Mythbusters on Making - creative dude. Some good stories about the "maker" movement.

Postal Service in Studio at KCRW - so glad this band is getting back together, plus they added Jenny Lewis. Seeing them at the Greek Theater this summer.

Louis CK Goes Off on Heckler - he's the best.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Scott Orn Links to Interesting Articles

I'm on vacation, chilling and catching up on lot's of interesting reading. I put together some cool links for you below.

Did eBay Just Prove That Paid Search Ads Don't Work - wowzers. I can't wait to see the follow-up analysis on this from other retailers. Maybe eBay is a special animal and doesn't need Google lik everyone else does.

Pixar's 22 Rules to Storytelling - also a great guide to an interesting life.

We've Been Looking at Global Pandemics All Wrong - some great simulations that show how our advanced travel networks are going to make the next pandemic a doozy.

Father Hacks Donkey Kong for Daughter - very cute.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Videos I've Enjoyed Recently

I cut the cable cord about 8 months ago, so now I watch tons of online video. It's really great and just as entertaining as everything on TV besides Jeopardy and the top 5 TV shows, or so. Here are some things I've watched lately that I enjoyed.

Impromptu Billy Joel Concert at Vanderbilt - awesome.

Your Next Computer Will Live on Your Arm - new gesture control device that looks incredible.

The Verge on 3D Printing - 3D printing is one of the coolest things I've seen in a while. My friend, who is really into it, thinks that we will be printing our tennis shoes in a few years! This is a quick little update on some new releases in the industry, but it gives you a taste.

House Eats 3 - some of my favorite ESPN personalities are incredible eaters. They filmed a food eating contest at the Super Bowl. It's totally gross and sophomoric, but hilarious.

Jeremy Grantham on the Economy & Debt - one of the smartest investors in the world on Charlie Rose.  It's a full episode, enjoy.

Louis CK HBO Special Trailer - funny, but also a public service announcement because he's the funniest human being in the world.

Is There Life After Work? - NYTimes.com

Good reminder...

Is There Life After Work? - NYTimes.com:

"I didn’t have to be on my BlackBerry from my first moment in the morning to my last moment at night. I didn’t have to eat the majority of my meals at my desk. I didn’t have to fly overnight to a meeting in Europe on my birthday. I now believe that I could have made it to a similar place with at least some better version of a personal life. Not without sacrifice — I don’t think I could have “had it all” — but with somewhat more harmony."

Three Days in Austin, a SXSW diary - Grantland

Mark Lisanti is the best. This time describing south by southwest, a giant tech and movie conference.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/9043195/three-days-austin-sxsw-diary

"There's a palpable sense that my iPad is too big and my iPhone too small. I am here from a dot-com but not of the dot-com. I'm here to see movies."

Monday, March 11, 2013

Candidate for Pope axed over trashy Facebook photos

Made my day!

Tim O'Reilly (@timoreilly)
And you thought it was just teenagers... m.newyorker.com/online/blogs/b… Candidate for Pope axed over trashy Facebook photos

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Friday, March 8, 2013

"“Figure out what it is that makes you really enjoy your work, and then make sure you get to do it.”

Terrific advice. It's why I still try to great as many people as possible on the Ben's Friends Support Network. That interaction is what got me hooked in the first place. I loved making people feel better in a small way. It's what I enjoy the most, so I keep doing it every day.

The Pastry Box Project | 8 March 2013, baked by Karen McGrane:

"“Figure out what it is that makes you really enjoy your work, and then make sure you get to do it.”

Many people, as they advance in their careers, move away from doing the thing that got them into the field. Designers stop designing, and start managing people. Developers stop coding, and start managing resources and budgets. One day, you look up from your computer monitor and ask yourself “Is this really what I want to be doing?”"

Thursday, March 7, 2013

AdventuresinCapitalism | Non-Farm Payroll Games...

Interesting perspective below. I don't agree with the "monstrosity" label, but the observation that Obamacare will force more people to get a second job is interesting.

AdventuresinCapitalism | Non-Farm Payroll Games...:

"As a result of the monstrosity that is known as the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), there are unintended consequences. One of the most predictable of these is the provision that any firm with more than 50 employees must offer affordable health insurance to employees working for more than 30 hours a week. As businesses adapt to this rule, I would posit that many companies will now be adjusting the work-week to 29 hours. What do employees do who were expecting a 40 hour week? They get a second job and just like that, you get huge job growth."

Saturday, March 2, 2013

Friday, March 1, 2013

Lessons on Leadership

Great post. This was my favorite line. 

medium.com/on-leadership/707c6cdd7540

"A leader's job is to absorb anxiety and instill confidence among employees."