Don Tapscott – Wikinomics
Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything has a premise that is pretty easy to understand and clarified in the introduction. “More minds and new technologies are allowing more people to share information and ideas, collaborate and innovate in ways the world has never seen, all of which will lead to more rapid and innovate change in the way we live our lives and interact with each other.”
Throughout the rest of the book, we discover examples of how this is happening and how the author believes that open sourcing will continue to expand and grow. First published in 2006, before the rapid rise of Facebook, Wikipedia (from which the title draws it’s inspiration), Twitter, YouTube, and many other social platforms, the book is possibly more relevant today than when it was first published almost five years ago.
User-generated content, social media, mass collaboration, crowd-sourcing and open sourcing are now more popular than they were even two years ago. This trend, and I agree with the author here, will continue to grow and impact almost all aspects of our increasingly digital lives. Mass collaboration is now part of our future, and I believe (as the author does), that we can all benefit greatly from this important and continuing trend.
Don Tapscott does an excellent job of illustrating the very real possibilities associated with the new social and collaborative capabilities provided by the web. These are real innovations that are currently cutting apart the music, media, financial services and just about every other industry. Entrepreneurs ignore these developments at their own peril.
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R.E.M. – Oh My Heart
“To our Fans and Friends: As R.E.M., and as lifelong friends and co-conspirators, we have decided to call it a day as a band. We walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all we have accomplished. To anyone who ever felt touched by our music, our deepest thanks for listening.” R.E.M. Oh my heart.
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Turning Stumbling Blocks Into Stepping Stones
To Jhoon Rhee from Bruce Lee
Jhoon Goo,
Greetings from Los Angeles where, like many places in the States, business is not too good. Don’t misunderstand me that this is a pessimistic statement, though the fact is just as it is, but like anybody else, you have your choice of reacting to it. Here I ask you, Jhoon Goo, are you going to make your obstacles stepping stones to your dreams, or stumbling blocks because unknowingly you let negativeness, worries, fear, and so forth, to take you over?
Believe me that in every big thing or achievement there are always obstacles, big or small, and the reaction one shows to such obstacles is what counts, not the obstacle itself. There is no such thing as defeat until you admit one to yourself, but not until then!
My friend, do you think of the past in terms of those memories of events and accomplishments which were pleasant, rewarding, and satisfying. The present? Well, think of it in terms of challenges and opportunities, and the rewards available for the application of your talents and energies. As for the future, that is a time and a place where every worthy ambition you possess is within your grasp.
You have a tendency to waste a lot of your energy in worry and anticipation. Remember my friend to enjoy your planning as well as your accomplishment, for life is too short for negative energy.
Since the India trip my back is so-so. Silent Flute is still on with Warner Bros. We are waiting to hear the next step, and should know within ten days – approval of a new budget, setting up another survey trip, and so forth. Aside from Silent Flute, I will do a guest appearance on a new TV series Longstreet for next season. Then there is another movie that I will do (one of the three leading characters) should the presentation be approved, and that we should know within ten days or so, too.
Of course, the damn thing is I want to do something now! So I have created a TV series idea and I should know within a couple of weeks. In the meantime, I am working on another idea for a movie to do in Hong Kong (Chinese movie). So action! Action! Never wasting energy on worries and negative thoughts. I mean who has the most insecure job as I have? What do I live on? My faith in my ability that I’ll make it. Sure my back injury screwed me up good for a year but with every adversity comes a blessing because a shock acts as a reminder to oneself that we must not get stale in routine. Look at a rain storm; after its departure everything grows!
So remember that one who is possessed by worry not only lacks poise to solve his own problems, but by his nervousness and irritability creates additional problems for those around him.
Well, what more can I say but damn that torpedo, full speed ahead!
From a martial artist with a screwed up back but who has discovered a new powerful kick!
- Bruce Lee
Source: Bruce Lee’s handwritten letter to Jhoon Rhee. Jhoon Rhee Archives.
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Hugh Hendry on BBC HARDtalk
Hugh Hendry is a Scottish hedge fund manager and founder of Eclectica Asset Management. This is a 3-part interview on the BBC’s HARDtalk, where he talks about the financial crisis, European debt, short selling, and running a hedge fund. Excellent interview.
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Diget – Social Media Meets Financial News
Financial and business news has long been the domain of eminent organizations like The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, and more recently, Bloomberg. However, the growth and array of financial content on the web has been staggering, making the task of managing and consuming this content an ever more daunting task.
That’s where Diget is designed to fit it. Diget is a community edited financial news site with links and opinions from around the web. It enables anyone to submit content, share their opinion, and discover new insights through the power, and leverage, that comes from community driven content.
Diget is designed to help users quickly evaluate the top stories from a wide-array of news sources, share their opinion, and rate the content for other users. The main aim of the site is to add a social slant to financial news, so that anyone can better understand, engage, and share the most relevant and compelling content.
Many visitors to the site will only be interested in the latest and most popular stories, while others will help edit, rate, and discuss these stories, adding value to the content, and sharing insights in the process. Social media helps users sift through content and personalize their experience. That’s what makes it compelling. It also helps users better engage with content, through a social lens that helps sort and personalize the content.
While sharing links to content on the web is nothing new, it still has the potential to become a much more mainstream activity. In fact, I believe, the simple act of sharing content with others has incredible growth potential. Specifically, content that is category focused, frequently updated, and community edited.
Diget is aimed at users who are rabidly interested in the economy, investment, and global business, and have an opinion to share on their area of interest. It’s the community that drives the debate. And let’s be honest about it, predicting the economy, and how to survive during tumultuous times is always open to debate.
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Coldplay – Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall
Coldplay – Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall is the first single from their fifth album. Brilliant.
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Well, You Gotta Have a Dream
Starting something is always easier than finishing it. I think it’s simply a reflection of the fact that we are all creative by nature. We all love to think up new things. We all love to dream. No matter how big, nor how small.
It’s also because, I believe, due to the nature of change. Making a change is easier than making the change stick. Certainly much easier than the long, arduous hours that come with ensuring that the change has some legs to it.
I’ve started something new. Something I’ve been thinking about starting for some time. I just wasn’t sure how to make it into something real. Idea, check. Dream, check. Plan, check. That’s the fun part. Tinkering with your idea. But it doesn’t make it a reality. That takes work. Work when you’d rather be playing. But that’s the nature of change I guess.
The new site I’ve started is called Diget. Diget is a community edited financial news site that is a fun and informative way to stay on top of what’s happening in finance, the economy, technology, business, and investment trends. Diget is a community driven news site where anyone can submit content, discuss and debate it’s value, rate it, and share their personal insights on what’s going on in the economy and finance.
We are living in uncertain economic times. The world is becoming increasingly complex. Exponentially. My dream is that Diget will help anyone interested in what’s happening in the world of business, finance, and technology, better sift through content, and better make sense of what we see happening in global markets.
Well, you gotta have a dream. Otherwise, how else is it gonna come true?