The “Friday Menagerie†is a handful of links & tweets & other goodnesses from around the web that I gather throughout the week and then corral into a post. Stuff I loved, found fascinating, got a kick out of, etc. Please to enjoy!
A photo I took in Phoenix in February. Gorgeous.
When Links Were Young
- You know what rocks? Intersections. Not necessarily the kind with stoplights (though I’m sure there are some rockin’ crosswalks somewhere), but the kind where one topic meets with another topic in ways I wouldn’t expect. To wit, I give you Yuli Ziv’s article on what social media and the Aquarian Age have in common. Being new agey is definitely not required to find this article intriguing–if you are, you’ll likely dig it, to be sure, but even if you’re not, the overlap Yuli sees in the arenas of social media and new age philosophy are idea-sparking. I love seeing through other peoples’ lenses, don’t you? Hat tip to Gala Darling for the link.
- For anyone who’s lost a job and found it hard to describe to others what the experience of being jobless was like–not just the money stress, but the identity aspect of it, the way your days actually become different, and you feel like a stranger to the world and the time rhythms you once lived within–this article will hit home: Losing It by Dominique Browning. I related so intensely to her hunger for Saturdays (when others were also not working, thus making her “no different from anyone else”), and to finding “The pace of my life had become so slow that I was struggling to keep up with it.” Yeah. Makes no sense until you’re right in the middle of it–but Dominique does a great job narrating the experience.
- This one’s a blast of fun (if you’re a rap fan): Rap Songs Represented in Mathematical Infographs. My favorite? “Feeling of Well Being Based On Occupation” with “Gangster” rating 100% or “Damn.” Each infographic links to the corresponding rap song’s video, so if you come across one you can’t place, you can find out what the heck it’s referencing.
- Tom Davenport hits the ol’ nail on the head in Web 2.0 versus Service 1.0. He observes that social media can sometimes “make us aware that we can communicate with just about anyone — but it doesn’t mean that the other party will actually listen or respond.” He takes big corporations to task for having the right Web 2.0 exterior (being accessible via social media) but not actually acting responsively to the feedback they purportedly welcome or solicit. Important concept to ponder for Big Corp folk as well as IttyBiz folks.
- When you’re surrounded by creative minds firing off hot ideas all around you, it’s easy (and understandable) to question just how creative you really are. Tim Piotrowski astutely points out the creativity in everyday problem solving, using a few real-world instances as illustrations. From pancakes to job hunting, Tim demonstrates that creativity is more abundant than we sometimes remember.
- “Should I? It could be good. I don’t want to hurt their feelings. Maybe I’ll make a pro/con list? Well, it won’t kill me, maybe it will make me stronger? I feel so guilty about not wanting to do this!” Sound familiar? It rang familiar enough to me that I considered writing Dyana Valentine and telling her to please stop recording my innermost thoughts. But the rest of her article on No-gotiation was really great, and I poked around her site and developed a total fancrush on her, and have decided that as long as she uses my innermost thoughts for great content like that, I’m okay with it. Record away, Dyana.
Tweets On Fire
- Instead of just throwing more time at your work, increase the quality of the time you spend working. @jonathanmead
- Struck by how much more intelligent my dog is in the presence of food incentives. (Kinda wish I worked the same way.) @thirdhandworks
- Every time I open up Google Docs to work on something, I get all tingly about working in the cloud. @sparkyfirepants
- Your current safe boundaries were once unknown frontiers; go out and explore… @RabbiShaiSpecht
- Stop waiting. This is it. @ElizabethPW
- The more I study successful people I respect, the more I realize that they’re experts at doing simple things consistently. @willieljackson
- Are you overlooking people already in your tribe because you’re trying to get more? Don’t under-serve *and* over-reach. @CharlieGilkey
This Week’s Jukebox
You can visit the Friday Menagerie Jukebox playlist anytime, all week long!
If you’re viewing this in a feed reader, you may need to click through to see the videos.
01. When You Were Young by The Killers
02. Sex On Fire by Kings of Leon
03. Vienna by Billy Joel
04. Come Undone by Duran Duran
05. Promise of Summer by Jackopierce
06. By Your Side by J. Rawls & Middle Child
07. Romeo & Juliet by The Dire Straits
If you liked this post, you might also dig:
I’m Marissa, can-do-ologist, perpetual Curious George, and daily adventurer. 
Pingback: Tweets that mention The Friday Menagerie: Collection #5 -- Topsy.com