That's Capital

Meant to post this earlier. Via Time Magazine, a thoughtful and provocative essay on emerging models of work, especially in this country. The Way We'll Work - The Future of Work - TIME Basically, it looks at how expectations of what constitute work and "jobs" are going to shift in the near (and perhaps distant) future given less expansive economic growth. Some of it is depressing, but not all. My partner at That's Capital, Titus Levi, sent me another older (2008) Toronto Star article that explores similar ideas. Titus, having relocated from Los Angeles to Guangdong, China (adapting to his... Read more →

An intellectual profile of Financial Times columnist Martin Wolf. What's useful to follow is the man's philosophic journey, breaking the old dictum that liberalism is an indulgence of the young. More specifically, Wolf became more critical of 20th century capitalism as we moved toward the millennium, based purely on his experience in the world of economics. Call Of The Wolf | The New Republic Shared via AddThis Read more →

In a post last week, I looked at why media organizations, unlike Madison Avenue, have been able to really exploit the power of digital technology, suggesting it's easier to use to generate content than money. Well, that's true, unless you consider money content. Above is a nice little video from the Wall Street Journal about emerging forms of money, with sub-cultures creating their own digital currencies. Watch it, as it's fun. It also reminds me of something else in last week's post, namely the digital game "Beatle's Rock Band." Yesterday, WBUR Radio's OnPoint had a great show on the audience... Read more →

The Next Financial Crisis | The New Republic Shared via AddThis Read more →

This week Ad Age published a piece by Weber Shandwick strategist Chris Perry on how marketers have not yet found the key to leveraging social media. Perry writes "what if social media and its inherent benefits are so revolutionary, so potentially game-changing, that it takes time for people to figure out how to best use them? More fundamentally, what if organizational silos and constraints limit its potential to address a new brand-building equation?" He illustrates his thoughts by looking back to the military adoption of airplanes in the early part of the 20th century. Put into service by the U.S.... Read more →

At age 52, a former Army intelligence officer (who also worked teaching college-level dance, selling antiques, and creating puzzles) started a new business. Called Phoenix Commotion, it was based in Huntsville, Texas. Even that detail offers sweet insight into the fertile possibilities of what human imagination can generate. To cut to the chase, the man started building homes from junk. Beautiful homes from the refuse of others. If only more economies could grow like this. Read it here. It's uplifting, fun, inspiring. Read more →

"Go out and play." That's a headline from the San Francisco Chronicle. I sometimes fantasize about waking up to find the network out and life totally unplugged. Literally and figuratively. This little outage, unable to easily access all my mail, brings the fantasies unhappily to fruition. Oh, not that unhappily. But it does remind you how much of life is networked now. Haven't posted for months and months. Takes an outage to inspire me. Next time such urges strike, I may not be able to log on. But honestly been seeing an array of things in the news that continues... Read more →