• Salon.com on how blogs "changed everything." The main problems I see with Diller et. al.'s theory that talent is a limited resource are the roles of access and practice. You know that old saying it's not what you know, it's who you know? Much as we'd like to pretend otherwise, we don't operate in a pure meritocracy. Talent is one thing, but I don't think anyone would argue that Usain Bolt, Alex Ovechkin, or Venus Williams would have achieved all they had without diligent practice. You have to work to develop any talent, including writing. So if I don't, for instance, have the right background or the know the right people to be able to write a football column for The Philadelphia Inquirer, but I still want to write about the Iggles and improve what I write by practice, my football blog provides an outlet. Additionally, the web allows writers to be serve particular niches - you don't have to appeal to everyone, which allows more diverse and specialized voices to be heard.
• Dave Fleet asks some thought-provoking questions about self-promotion, community building, creating a following, and engaging in a conversation.
• Mark Cuban (Dallas Mavericks owner) on Succeed By Free - Die By Free. Well, OK, but who says you should even aspire to be "king of the mountain" FOREVER?
• Jared Goralnick on filing, search, and efficiency. I'm generally a top-down person, but he may have convinced me to switch. If only MS's desktop search was, you know, good.
• New study from the super-smart folks at Pew: Trends in Political Values and Core Attitudes: 1987-2009. Among all sorts of interesting findings is this:

Moreover, over the past decade there has been erosion in the percentage of Americans holding conservative views on family, homosexuality and gender roles. The decline in social conservatism is a result of generational change. Younger age cohorts are less conservative than older ones: Both of the younger age cohorts, Generation Y and Generation X, are less conservative than the Baby Boomers. The Silent Generation is the most conservative of all.

Originally posted @ Thanks For Playing