Friends of Dave #112: The Real State of Emergency
In a week with so much stuff going down, I'm at a sudden loss for words...
Valentine's Day...Amazon backing out of its deal to build an HQ in NYC...GE backing out of its deal to build an HQ in Boston....the President's declaration of a "State of Emergency"....the return of El Nino and weird weather patterns....so much to talk about, right?
The real state of emergency, Friends of Dave, is that I don't have much to say this week. I had a bunch of things going on and some ideas swirling in my head for a good preamble, but in the end, couldn't get anything together that I thought you would like.
So instead of wasting your time with some crappy prose, here is the best I could come up with for you instead:
Click here to listen (I promise it is safe)
Don't read too much into it...it just seemed like an appropriate (and hopeful) alternative...
Check out the links below Friends. I know there are a bunch of them but you will definitely find some good stuff there. And if you like podcasts (I've been lax on getting another FoD podcast out, I know!), worth checking out the "Dear HBR" link I shared -- some decent discussions on common business related topics from the Harvard Business Review.
Long weekend and February break for some of you -- enjoy it!
XOXO
Dave
AI and Fake News: Think About These...
AI experts and politicians are worried about deepfake technology. A mashup of Jennifer Lawrence and Steve Buscemi shows how advanced it is.....and pretty creepy.
The AI Text Generator That's Too Dangerous to Make Public
Researchers decided that a system that scores well at understanding language could too easily be manipulated for malicious intent. Those of you familiar with the company Narrative Science will definitely like this one.
In the age of fake news, here’s how schools are teaching kids to think like fact-checkers
The real problem is that we haven’t developed the skills to absorb, assess, and sort the unprecedented amounts of information coming from new technologies. We are letting our digital platforms, from our phones to our computers and social media, rule us.
Fact-checkers practice “lateral reading”—meaning that they verify information by parsing a variety of resources. Great read -- and something adults should be doing as well.
A Few For Your Day Job...
INFOGRAPHIC: The Jeff Bezos Empire in One Giant Chart — www.visualcapitalist.com Jeff Bezos is the world's richest person with $137 billion - here is the surprising breadth of companies and investments he owns outside of Amazon.
If You Think The Customer Journey Is Linear Or A Funnel, New Research Suggests You Are Wrong
According to Gartner, the assumption that B2B buyers’ purchase decisions progress in a linear fashion from marketing to sales is fundamentally flawed. In reality, the customer journeys through a maze in search of information, alignment and validation.
LISTEN: "Dear HBR" Podcast Series Addressing Common Workplace Dilemmas
Came across this cool, easy to digest series on LinkedIn. It's hosted by college classmate and current senior editor of Harvard Business Review Dan McGinn. Dan is both a great guy and fantastic writer, and this podcast series covers a variety of workplace management topics that I am sure each of you have come across at some point. I have listened to a few of these and they held my attention -- worth checking out and passing along.
Your Weekly Dose of Randomness...
How an Olympic Hopeful Robbed 26 Banks on His Bike
Tom Justice was once a cyclist chasing gold. Then he began using his wheels for a much different purpose: stickups.
American parents say their children are speaking in British accent after watching too much Peppa Pig
No, Millennial parents, they are just doing it to annoy you. Pay back is a bitch after making your parents watch Barney with you for all of those years....
German scientists are simulating future climate change to save wine
That's because saving kale or avocados would be ludicrous....
The Insulting 'Vinegar Valentines' of the Victorian Era
Enjoy the clapbacks and subtweets 1800's style....
And The Last Word....
WATCH: A retired couple won millions using a lottery loophole — www.cbsnews.com
It was completely legal and it won them millions. Watch how Jerry Selbee and his wife Marge cleverly figured out how to crack the code on certain lottery games across several states. Trust me, you will appreciate the industrious approach they took to beating the system. No doubt it will also soon to be made into one of those movies you end up watching on an airplane...
BONUS: If you liked that one and have some more time, here is an article for you about the darker side of state run lotteries and how they prey on those who feel compelled to buy scratch tickets. This is one is not a feel good story, but an insightful look at the dirty business element of lotteries.