Information You Can Use in Business and Life

"What Facebook Can't Give You"

"What Facebook Can't Give You" is the title of an article in the Wall Street Journal, November 25, 2009, D1, discusses an "old-fashioned social network". It is interesting from several perspectives. Called the "Wednesday 10" a group of men in their late 20's started meeting in 1957. There were approximately 20 men in the group. The reason for 20 was to ensure at least 10 individuals were able to attend the meetings. The concepts found in the article are useful today.

Now when we hear the concept of "social networking" it usually means online software that allows people to converse, share, show, discuss, etc, electronically online without a face to face meeting. Face to face meetings and talking with people are still extremely important and can't be replaced. A few highlights from the article are listed below.

1. The article highlights the need to remember people are also sources of information versus using only online sources.
2. The article demonstrates the value of face to face meetings.
3. The article shows how surrounding yourself with thinking outside your field and knowledge is valuable, "you don't learn anything from talking to sameness."
4. The article shows that times have changed. In 1957 the group was all men of white ethnicity. "In 1957 it didn't occur to us to include women....if we formed it today, it wouldn't occur to us not to include women." Hopefully, that goes for diverse populations as well.
5. There is nothing old fashion about calling and meeting with people, it is just plain smart and rewarding on many levels.

In my opinion, one key thought to keep in mind when social networking is discussed is it includes calling and meeting people. Not much replaces the value of human interaction when you hear and see other people.
 

"The Department of Mad Scientists" DARPA

The Department of Mad Scientists by Michael Belfiore is a glimpse into the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). DARPA's innovations lead to the internet and to GPS. The technologies that come out of DARPA are impactful to the world and keep the USA's military one of the most advanced in the world. I like how DARPA allows for innovation "you've got to fail some fraction of the time or you are not pushing the limits far enough." Interesting reading.

The Visual Miscellaneum

The Visual Miscellaneum by David McCandless is a great book if you like data visualized plus "a colorful guide to the world's most consequential trivia" which I admit I can't get away from.

The categories include thought, science, health, film, web, power,life, music, media and more followed by a visual chart. The "Dangers in Death" visual is interesting, as Mr. McCandless mentions "you're going to go one way. Which way?" "Low Resolution" shows the amount of sensory information reaching the brain per second compared to what technology is delivering. A good book to ponder over. He does give his sources for the graphs if you want to delve further.

Google Labs Living Stories: Online News

Google Labs has is experimenting with the New York Times, and the Washington Post on presenting news to online readers. Right now you have to click on the existing stories and can't input a query of your own. When you do click on a story it has a newspaper like feel to the layout with clustering of topics and a time-line. I tried "The Struggle Over Health Care" story and found the summary at top, time-line and clustering an easy to read format. It is in the development stage and so far it looks promising for the online reader. Google Living Stories

The one question I had was on the title "Living Stories." At first I thought it was a place for individuals to digitally record their stories. Time will tell if the name is changed or if it resonates with users.

Here is Google's summary."The Living Stories project is an experiment in presenting news, one designed specifically for the online environment. The project was developed by Google in collaboration with two of the country's leading newspapers, The New York Times and The Washington Post."