Reading that has changed my thinking and behavior

Many of us do a lot of reading in the course of a week. There is a myriad of newspaper articles, blog posts, emails, and books that we can choose to skim or dive into, but which ones really make a lasting impact on us? While not every piece of writing is meant to dramatically change our thinking or behavior, I do believe we should be seeking out those that challenge and even change the way we do things. The following pieces of writing have left a lasting impact on me and many of them have dramatically changed the way I look at the world and interact with it.

“Ads Are the New Online Tip Jar” by Seth Godin
After reading this blog post from Seth, I now view online ads completely differently. Instead of avoiding them like the black plague, I now find myself actually clicking on some. My click, which is free and easy, is a great way to reward good writing and chip in a little money to the writer for his/her hard work.

The Long Tail by Chris Andersen
The power of the small pieces combined. Did you know there is a whole world of small niche markets out there that are dramatically changing how the market looks? It starts with the iTunes model, but affects every sphere of business. The Long Tail shows that today you don’t have to be everything to everyone - you need to be everything to your audience.

“There’s A Better Way To ReTweet!” from TwiTip by Miles Tinsley
Miles made an excellent point about adding original content and thought to a ReTweet instead of just passing it along. I like this method because it is good way to show the author/blogger that you actually read their article and comprehended it (the traditional “RT” method could just look like an attempt to suck up due to the lack of thought and effort).

“The Hedgehog Concept” from Good to Great by Jim Collins
Companies (very) often fail because they loose focus on their Hedgehog Concept. What can you make the most money at, dominate the market at, and be very passionate about doing? Don’t do anything outside of the intersection of these three things. Try to broaden your vision too much and you will loose focus.

What have you read that has changed the way you think?

Just In Case You Still Thought It Was A Waste of Time

The Internet is forever changing the way we do everything. If you need a little more proof that things will not be reverting anytime soon look no further than this week's headline from the UK. The British government is now recommending that Twitter, podcasting, blogging and social media become part of the mandatory curriculum in elementary schools.

There are still a lot of hard core skeptics that think this "social media thing" will soon pass just like all the other trends and fads. "It's a waste of time, pointless, not worth the time to learn."

That's what they said about the television and even the internet.

Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social networks may not be around in years to come, but the ideas are here to stay. The choice and consequences are pretty simple. Knowing that things are going to continue to move in this direction, you can start to learn about it now and think about how it will affect your business/industry/career/life. You can then have a head start and start to evolve those areas. Since you are reading this blog, you have probably already decided to go this route. The other option is that you can avoid and reject change. Ignore it long enough and you might become the next music industry or newspaper industry.

Social media and Web 2.0 are here to stay.

A Bright Idea

Terrible pun, I know. With students spending more and more time online, Brightstorm goes to where they are. Brightstorm launched to the public today and offers up short, entertaining educational videos to students. It is backed by young entertaining teachers in a format that won't bore students.

While this site is great for students to check out on their own, I can't help but think that teachers might integrate some of these videos into the classroom. Most of them are short and can deliver content in an amusing way. Browse the site and check out a few of their videos.


My favorite video that I've seen from the site has to be Hamlet in 60 seconds.