The Six Things That Make Stories Go Viral Will Amaze, and Maybe Infuriate, You

What is it about a piece of content—an article, a picture, a video—that takes it from simply interesting to interesting and shareable? What pushes someone not only to read a story but to pass it on? Jonah Berger has been studying these questions.

Don’t!

The secret of self-control

Priced to Sell: Is free the future?

Chris Anderson’s book, “Free: The Future of a Radical Price,” is essentially an extended elaboration of Stewart Brand’s famous declaration that “information wants to be free.” The digital age, Anderson argues, is exerting an inexorable downward pressure on the prices of all things “made of ideas.” Anderson does not consider this a passing trend. Rather, he seems to think of it as an iron law: … [ Read more ]

Reinventing Invention

Malcolm Gladwell discusses the shortcomings of today’s hiring practices. He cites examples of professional sports, teachers, lawyers, and pilots. [Hat Tip to Guy Kawasaki]