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You have arrived at the web home of Noah Brier. This is mostly an archive of over a decade of blogging and other writing. You can read more about me or get in touch. If you want more recent writing of mine, most of that is at my BrXnd marketing x AI newsletter and Why Is This Interesting?, a daily email for the intellectually omnivorous.

December, 2005

2005: Links in Review

I know I've been fairly MIA for the last few weeks, but I've been on vacation and haven't had much internet access. I hope you have not all deserted me for greener pastures. (If you have, then I guess I'm talking to myself at this point.) Anyway . . . as a way to make it up for you I've got my first year-in-review post and this one is plump with my favorite links of the year (a la Kottke's Best Links). So here goes nothing . . .

Links 'O the Year

In no specific order (except possibly chronological).

  1. The Big Fish: It's the incredibly long and fascinating story of Suck.com, one of the first great websites. A great look at the web in its infancy and at some interesting people trying to do something with a medium that may never be repeated. (Related NoahBrier.com post: Hyperlinkology)
  2. Balls Out: In 1970 pitcher Dock Ellis threw a no-hitter for the Pittsburgh Pirates . . . on acid.
  3. I Caught Sight of: Matt Webb argues that the web is modeled after San Francisco circa 2001, making a lot of good points along the way.
  4. How Mark Felt Became 'Deep Throat': This is the article Bob Woodward's been waiting to write, and Nixon fanatics' waiting to read, for the last 30 years.
  5. The Choirboy: If this story were about anyone it would be incredible. The fact it's about Lawrence Lessig's abuse at the hands of a choir school director seems to take it a step further and make it that much more disturbing.
  6. Apocolypse Soon: When Robert McNamara tells you the world is in danger, it's probably worth listening.
  7. What Goes Up . . .: The music industry moves at dizzying speeds today. In this article, the Guardian discusses the trend and ends with a faux-timeline depicting the "firework" career of a fictional band.
  8. . . . But Seriously: Another Guardian article about music. This one discusses people's musical skeletons in the closet.
  9. Covering Teen Wolf: One Coach's Guide: I've mentioned this over and over, but it's seriously the funniest thing I've read in ages. An excerpt: "As coach, you need to recognize that your job isn't to do the impossible; you're not going to stop Teen Wolf entirely, but you can try to contain him by making him play your team's style of basketball. Discipline and defensive fundamentals help: nose on the ball, feet moving, channeling him into traps—careful with those, though. Soon as Teen Wolf gets two guys on him, he tends to find the open man. He's a heads-up ballplayer with great court sense, so if you're going to bring a trapping zone against Teen Wolf, make sure you have solid weak-side rotation and your defenders are communicating."
  10. Change or Die: Fast Company on just why it's so damn hard for people to change and some suggestions on how we might go about changing that.
  11. Open Letter to Kansas School Board: I don't think there's anyone that hasn't read it yet, but this is the letter that started the whole Flying Spaghetti Monster/Pastafarianism craze.
  12. Users Don't Care If You Are the Best: This one has a lot of personal importance because it's impacted a lot of my work this year. Kathy Sierra of Creating Passionate Users writes about how companies should stop talking about how great they are and start talking about how great they make their customers.
  13. Forget-Me-Not Panties: The grand prize winner of the Contagious Media Showdown provides the world with a way to keep track of your girlfriend at all times. To quote the site: "Unlike the cumbersome and uncomfortable chastity belts of the past, these panties are 100% cotton, and use cutting-edge technology to help you protect what matters most."
  14. The Remarkable Opportunities of Unbundled Media: I read this article and something clicked in my head. New technology is forcing things to become unbundled: Gone are the 30 minutes shows with 5 commercial breaks and the album with 13 tracks, replaced with Tivo and iTunes. (Related: NoahBrier.com entries on Unbundling)

Well, that's it for now. Hope you enjoy all the reading. I've still got some other year-end wrap-ups coming, so be prepared. Also, thanks for sticking around for another year, it's been a great one.

Happy New Years to everyone and if we haven't ever actually talked (via mouth, email or comments), then how about you get in touch with me and tell me who you are? Consider it a New Year's resolution.

December 31, 2005
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Noah Brier | Thanks for reading. | Don't fake the funk on a nasty dunk.