25th July 2014

1) So Apple has had a great quarter ( for the iPhone if not for the iPad ) and the company continues to be remarkably huge. A good way to understand how huge it is, is to compare one of Apple’s products to the total size of another company. Or several other companies. 

2) An Interesting perspective – The Great Fragmentation – ‘We Are All Weirdos Now’. An infinity of subcultures outside the mainstream now blossoms on the Internet  – vegans, body modifiers, CrossFitters, Wiccans, DIYers, Pinners, and support groups of all forms. Millions of people are finding their true peers in the cloud, a remedy for the isolation imposed by the anonymous apartment complex or the remote rural location . The latest wave of technology is not just connecting us intellectually and emotionally with remote peers: it is also making us ever more mobile, ever more able to meet our peers in person. 

3) This is great from Letters of Note. The message written in 1969, to be released in the event that Neil Armstrong and co, failed to make it back from the moon. 

4) From Buzzfeed’s Hillary Reinsberg: YouTube’s biggest star is an unknown toy reviewing toddler whisperer. 

5) From MIT – Despite all the excitement about Google’s driverless cars, in actual fact, they won’t be able to effectively navigate urban roads for decades. 

6) Right up my street – 10 Myths about Famous Explorers Magellan Was The First Person To Circumnavigate The Globe? Think again…. Loads more lists at listverse.com 

7) Contrasting perspectives. Last week we reported on a piece from MIT –Forget the Wisdom of Crowds – Neurobiologists reveal The Wisdom of The Confident. 

This , from the NYT takes a slightly different perspective “The lone genius is a myth that has outlived its usefulness. Fortunately, a more truthful model is emerging: the creative network, as with the crowd-sourced Wikipedia or the writer’s room at The Daily Show or — the real heart of creativity — the intimate exchange of the creative pair, such as John Lennon and Paul McCartney.”Joshua Wolf Shenk on The End of Genius. 

8) The 12 Most Overused Business Buzzwords Here are some of them –Hit the ground running, Visionary, Think outside the box, Innovate, Influencers, Pivot, Paradigm Shift, Engagement , Value Add and Game Changer….. 

9) Videos that go viral get a lot of attention ( naturally ) – for example the feminist ad from sanpro brand Always, which is currently causing a stir – Like A Girl . But what about about the ones no-one watches? Introducing the least viral videos on the Internet. 

10) Real ? A couple in a kayak gets to close to a whale and then the whale raises them right out of the water. And not just for a moment either.