A great video from Brain Pickings founder Maria Popova on the role of the storyteller in creating wisdom. Love this quote:
A great storyteller helps people figure out not only what matters but why it matters
Beautiful animation to boot:
▶ Wisdom in the Age of Information
via @swissmiss
Obvious title aside, I love these profiles of individuals reading The New York Times. Personal reading habits interest me. They are a great bellwether of media consumption, as well as distribution of the news and information that moves societies.
It’s interesting to note what people seek out in the Times, how they interpret what they read, and what they share with others. Anna Deavere Smith is a sensational actor. Her focus on foreign policy and race shows through in her performances. Now I know where she gets her material.
It’s also interesting to note the format people choose for their news. It’s obvious from this profile that Smith reads a printed paper, as it was from a profile I read of Delia Ephron the other day. I think some of it’s habit, but I also think there’s increased focus and comprehension. I’m eager to see profiles of younger, equally influential readers. I wonder what role print plays in their consumption relative to screens. Something tells me I know the answer.
Another funny observation: how guilty we feel when we can read the paper in one sitting. It’s not a race, but there is a definite sense of accomplishment in attaining currency, however the reader defines it. That feeling isn’t limited to news junkies. I think it has to do with the infinite feeds that have taken over internet media.
Last but not least, I’m still in awe of the power of the NYTimes editorial page. In an era of multiple voices and multiple opinions, it’s amazing to see how much influence a Times editorial still holds, how much power and authority it commands. Amen.
Watched a great trailer this morning on how creativity can thrive in a digital age.
Made You Look is a great exploration of the return to the tactile and tangible craft of making things. It could be photographs. It could be books. It could have a digital signal. It could not. The point is to create things that remind us of our purpose, our history, our existence. One great quote from the trailer:
“If everything that we create…if that just exists in a digital cloud…then I think that’s an incredible shame.”
Can’t wait to see the whole documentary. . On a big screen. In a movie theater. With popcorn.
via It’s Nice That
If you love secretly love radio but are ashamed to admit it…
If you love oral history, or what we now call storytelling…
If you love your job, or if you’re at your desk today wishing you could find the energy and purpose to love your job…
Then…this is for you.
Studs Terkel was an NPR interviewer before that meant anything. His subjects and his style defined how we talked about our lives, our accomplishments, our realities well before memoirs became a genre, well before reality shows depicted everything in too much detail, and way before social media made everyone a biographer. It might surprise you to learn that I actually wrote my Cornell application essay about him. His stories about work inspired me in their honest depiction of why people become who they become, how work shapes them, and how they shape their contributions.
These stories have been available in print for 40 years, but the raw material that inspired them has never been released. It makes for fascinating listening. You’ll hear voices that have long since disappeared, yet whose ambitions and desires sound real and very current.
Here’s the link again: http://n.pr/1rKYRwT
Enjoy!
Her work may not be to everyone’s taste, but Miranda July always makes a statement. This time she’s commented on the abundance of messaging apps.
Her message: All this time spent communicating through screens has stopped us from actually communicating at all.
Her solution: An app! That delivers messages for you. Face-to-face. Like Postmates. For your social life.
See how it works here:
It’s Nice That : The brilliant Miranda July launches a messaging app with a charming twist.
There are so few good examples of brand content out there. That’s why this series by AV Undercover and Geico resonates.
Take great artists. Ben Watt and Bernard Butler!
Make ‘em cover great songs from the past. Wang Chung!
Great lunchtime entertainment. Dance Hall Days!
See the palettes used to film your favorite movies, one frame per minute.
A brilliant meditation on the role of color in triggering emotions and making memories. Great user experience to boot. Check it out: http://thecolorsofmotion.com/films
Make some popcorn!
There are those who still believe business is the best way to change society. For them, and for me, the idea of a challenger is near and dear.
The role of the challenger is to disrupt conventional business models. Challengers offer ideas and value propositions that better meet human needs, remaking industries in the process.
The challenger isn’t monolithic concept, though. There are many different kinds of challengers. So many, in fact, that they deserve an almanac. That’s what this book is.
What started out as a great Kickstarter project has manifested itself as a Bible of sorts. The almanac tells the stories of businesses born out of a desire for change. From the stories emerge 10 narratives, or 10 different types of challengers. This reader can easily identify with each and every one of them.
It was a real pleasure to read The Challenger’s Almanac. Grab a copy if you can!
Last Wednesday, I stumbled across a lovely book at McNally Jackson.
For may, economics is known as the dismal science. It doesn’t have to be that way.
Beautiful Economics is a new theory. By integrating arts and humanities into everyday life, we can profit in more ways than just cold, hard cash. Some people call this design thinking. Some people call this left-brain problem solving. For me, the right word is creativity.
The two companies I admire most – Polaroid & Apple – positioned themselves at the intersection of arts, humanities, and technology. You know the results: 1) technologies that became tools for individual expression; 2) machines that became famous for their innate beauty and creativity; 3) economic integration rather than disruption.
It’s so satisfying to see someone put the theory of Beautiful Economics to paper. Check it out.
Bryan Fuhr 