What we read this week (7 Sep)
Written by: Maddie Tags: big data, company culture, creativity, quantified self, waste
On a 5-year-old digital agency’s learnings, a software company’s unusual structure and philosophy, what the Quantified Self has to do with Robert Pattinson, big data and the “digital nervous system,” and the complicated relationship between waste and creativity.
Quote of the week
It sure is hard to see your ideas as hypotheses to be tested, instead of the utterly genius solutions that you’re so certain they are.
Articles of the week
- Made by Many: We are five years old. Here is what we learnt.
Tim Malbon, of the digital agency Made by Many, reflects on five years of learning and building the company, describing the values they’ve developed and adapted since they started out. Great read. - Valve: Handbook for New Employees
The software and gaming company Valve has a 56-page handbook to acquaint new employees with the company philosophy and culture. It’s worth a look to see how companies can operate in entirely different ways. Desks on wheels and a flat hierarchy are key to the way the company works. Also, recent reports say Valve is going to be trying its hand at computer hardware, which could get really interesting. - Acceler8or: Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis: The Quantified Life Is Not Worth Living
A look at the movie Cosmopolis from a Quantified Self perspective. Damn, guess we have to watch a Robert Pattinson movie now. - Strata: Why big data is big: the digital nervous system
Edd Dumbill discusses how digital systems evolve from “exoskeleton” – or acting as a complement structure to physical-world activities – to “nervous system” – embedded, necessary, and creating large volumes of data. - Ribbonfarm: Waste, Creativity and Godwin’s Corollary for Technology
Exploring what waste means, how it can be good and bad, and its impact on creativity.
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