Head over this way to read a post on whether Blink or Moneyball was more relevant to the founder’s skill set. I am more of a Blink guy. I rely on my instincts, right or wrong.

Remember the Influencers in Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point? Duncan Watts doesn’t believe that a few influential people create trends.

Mind you, Watts does agree that some people are more instrumental than others. He simply doesn’t think it’s possible to will a trend into existence by recruiting highly social people. The network effects in society, he argues, are too complex–too weird and unpredictable–to work that way. If it were just a matter of tipping the crucial first adopters, why can’t most companies do it reliably?

Both sides of the argument make sense to me. I’d side more with Watts than Gladwell at this point, but I’m giving him only a slight edge.

This world of the Internet, if we know anything from its brief history, it likes nothing more than to build someone up only to topple them. Who has an AOL account these days? Not that long ago, AOL was the single most powerful player on the Internet. Who has a MySpace account these days? MySpace sold for billions of dollars not that long ago. I’m very reluctant to crown Facebook king of the future. They certainly are flavour of the month. This is not a world that respects loyalties and longevity.

Malcolm Gladwell on social media.

I’ve seen Malcolm Gladwell speak and he’s quite good. So it was with interest that I read , The secrets of Malcolm Gladwell. It’s nothing groundbreaking, but I did find this last bit quite interesting. I tend to be the guy who doesn’t prepare (spontaneity is fun!), and I am believing that needs to change.

“I know it may not look like this. But it’s all scripted. I write down every word and then I learn it off by heart. I do that with all my talks and I’ve got lots of them”

…

He is not giving a speech or a lecture – he is giving a performance. And like any good actor, he knows that you have to learn your lines.

I think I’m under oath to reference Malcolm Gladwell and his (third) exchange with Bill Simmons after I’ve already told you about the first two.

I read Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell. Meh. Not a whole lot fascinating about it. A few points I thought worth writing down.

• “In transplanting the paesani culture of southern Italy to the hills of eastern Pennsylvania, the Rosetans had created a powerful, protective social structure capable of insulating them from the pressures of the modern world.” [currentblend co-op]
• “practical intelligence” – knowing what to say to whom, knowing when to say it, and knowing how to say it for maximum effect.
• autonomy, complexity, and a connection between effort and reward…the three qualities that work has to have to be satisfying.

Charlie Rose interviewed Malcolm Gladwell and discussed meaningful work. Gladwell says…

Meaningful work is one of the most important things we can impart to children. Meaningful work is work that is autonomous. Work that is complex, that occupies your mind. And work where there is a relationship between effort and reward — for everything you put in, you get something out…

If you are convinced that the work you are doing is meaningful, then curiosity, there’s no cost to it. If you think there’s always got to be a connection between what you put in and what you get out, then of course you’ll run off with a great excitement after an idea that catches your idea.

Someone new to be fascinated by: Nathan Myhrvoid. Master French chef? Check. Former CTO of Microsoft? Check. Award winning photographer? Check. Monthly meetings with Malcolm Gladwell? Check. Involved with paleontological research? Check. Owner of 18 US patents? Check.

I’m sure there’s more, I’m just starting to feel bad about myself. I’m 30 and can hardly remember to change my underwear.

I’m late to the game on this one, but finally finished reading The Long Tail by Chris Anderson. Overall, it’s an interesting read (with some interesting points I’ve highlighted below), but it didn’t really revolutionize anything for me. I may have been a little too aware of the “plot” since it’s been released for a while. Here’s the link to the wired article that started it all. (If I had to to it again, I’d save yourself some time and just read the article, and not the book)

One interesting thing is my timing of finishing this book just as Anderson’s book Free has been getting some reviews. Malcolm Gladwell, Fred Wilson, Seth Godin and Mark Cuban have all weighed in on his new book.

• (more…)

In the past, I’ve wondered (outloud to some friends) how difficult it would be to become a professional golfer. Before I dive in, I’ll throw some assumptions (and my golf pedigree) out there.

money is available, but in limited quantities / access to a golf course and practice facility / access to exercise facility / golf equipment is current technology / weather would allow year-round golf / I’ve played golf since I was 5 / My handicap as of September 2008 is 1.4 / I played golf in high school, but not in college

Before I tick-off the professional golfers who are serving their time on the mini-tours and struggling to get by, I’m not saying I can or ever would be able to compete on the professional level. (As an aside, I know many struggling professional golfers who are great players; with the way I currently play, there is absolutely NO WAY I can compete with them, they are that much better). I’m just asking the question, how close could I come to that competition if I took a year off and completely focused on my game?

There’s been a few attempts from people to do similar things. ESPN featured Kathryn Bertine on a two-year quest to make the Olympics (spoiler: she failed).

This also brings up something I’ve been meaning to take a closer look at: deliberate practice and the 10,000 hour rule. While I won’t dive into what these both are right now, expect to read more about these ideas.

[Deliberate practice]  is activity designed specifically to improve performance, often with a teacher’s help; it can be repeated a lot; feedback on results is continuously available; it’s highly demanding mentally, whether the activity is purely intellectual, such as chess or business-related activities, or heavily physical, such as sports; and it isn’t much fun.

…

Gladwell repeatedly mentions the “10,000-Hour Rule”, claiming that the key to success in any field is simply a matter of practicing a specific task for a total of 10,000 hours.

I don’t know if this is possible, but it’s fun to think about. Like I said I know plenty of guys who are struggling on the mini-tours and can mop the floor with me on the course, so I’m highly hesitant to say it’s possible. Thoughts?