The last few days were spent gorging myself on turkey, stuffing and links. That's right, I caught up on enough reading over the last five days that I thought I might pop.
What's painful for me, however, is good for you. What better way to start a week than ten links handpicked for your thought and enjoyment.
Without any further ado . . . (and in no specific order).
- Will It Copy: Will the Second Life CopyBot help us rethink the way we handle intellectual property?
- The Family Un-Planner: Bush appointed Eric Keroack to the office that oversees the family-planning program. "Until recently, he served as medical director of a pregnancy-counseling organization that runs down contraception and gives out scientifically false health informationâ€â€for instance, that condoms 'offer virtually no protection' against herpes or HPV. Keroack also promotes a wacky piece of pseudoscience: the claim that premarital sex disrupts brain chemistry so as to create a physiological barrier to happy marriage." That is scary.
- The Young Economist: A profile of behavioral economist Ulrike Malmendier. She writes about stuff like how people pay not to go to the gym. Behavioral economics is the best thing going right now. (For a great intro to the subject, check out Marketplace of Perceptions.)
- 'Beer goggles' effect explained: Researchers at Manchester University have worked out a formula to calculate the beer goggle effect. I'm really glad there are people working on problems like this.
- Two Thoughts: George Seiemens' connectivism theory brings many of the principles of the digital world to education. Here he talks about "content as a conduit for conversation," saying, "Content is not an end itself, but a means to forming connections with others. I wonder how well we understand this as educators when we design our courses..." If only the rest of the system worked this way.
- On Saturday, They Rested: Only the New York Times could get away writing an article about how 'real' New Yorkers don't go out on Saturday night. So elitest, yet so good.
- Quick Tips on Corporate Blogging: If you haven't read Organic's Three Minds blog, it's one of the better corporate blogs out there. In this ClickZ article they highlight some of what helped them reach the success they have. My favorite: "We have an editorial policy we share with people inside the agency that's quite simple: if you wouldn't be comfortable sitting around a dinner table discussing the content of your blog posting with your mother, your largest client, your best friend, your boss, and your mentor, then you probably shouldn't post it. So far, this has been a great filter." Simple and straightforward.
- Put Any YouTube Video On Your iPod: Like the title says, this TechCrunch article explains how to pull videos off YouTube and do with them what you will (including put them on your iPod). I had no idea you could do this. Cool stuff.
- Riddling left, right and center: CK's got something big brewing and it's all based on the 'the share economy', which she is kind enough to break down in this entry.
- This Week's Non-Racists: Michael Richards and Clint Eastwood: Last but definitely not least is an article from this week in race, co-written by my good friend Charlton McIlwain. The article breaks down the Michael Richards debacle, follow up apology and how another opportunity to seriously talk about race was squandered.
That's it for now. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.