Welcome to Conspire’s Super Happy Fun Friday Link Time, a weekly collection of cool discoveries from around the Web. Most times the goal is to get you thinking differently about communication, collaboration, culture, and life in general. Other times, LOLCAT ATTACK! Submissions are welcome, and you can send them to conspire@mindjet.com for consideration.
Digital Ubiquity
The folks over at TED believe it’s their responsibility to share “ideas that matter” with the world, and they manage it with incredible finesse. By giving speakers from every walk of life a platform to discuss issues that speak to the many incredible facets of humanity, they’ve inspired thousands of people to think differently, explore courageously, and learn passionately (myself included). Mashable has rounded up “15 of the most inspirational, tear-jerking and downright beautiful TED talks out there,” covering subjects from schizophrenia to vulnerability and the power of love. Grab the tissues and enjoy.
Source: Mashable
Increasing Employee Happiness
I can tell you from personal experience that while the whole work perk thing sure is nice (especially here in the Bay Area), spoiling employees isn’t ultimately what’s going to keep them happy. Instead, it’s things like sincerity, kindness and a culture of shared success that keep people coming back every day. Oh, and the possibility of getting an office puppy.
FastCompany took to the internet to find out what it is that keeps the average worker coming back to the office willingly; and, since it can’t always be about the artisan coffees or beanbags, some of the answers may surprise you.
Source: FastCompany
Go Go Gadgets Are a Reality
There’s something about Saturday morning cartoons from the ’80s and ’90s that’s sadly a thing stuck utterly in the past — maybe it was my childhood predilection for plot lines that lasted more than a single episode (or maybe I’m just sad that getting up at 6am on the weekends is no longer a privilege). That aside, some of the super rad technology featured on Inspector Gadget — one of my all-time favorites — actually turned out to be not-so-crazy after all, and Vanity Fair has the lowdown on which inventions went from animated to actually available.
“We sifted through the original show’s 86 episodes to see what this crystal ball of technology foretold. The results are a surprising collection of then fantastical products and concepts that we couldn’t imagine living without today. But perhaps the most forward-thinking model might be the show’s core relationship: a computer-obsessed child doing her best to explain technology to her forever clueless parental figure.”
I’d totally Skype with Dr. Claw if I could.
Source: Vanity Fair
The post Fun Friday Links: Digital Ubiquity, Keeping Employees Happy, and the Real-Life Technologies of Inspector Gadget appeared first on Conspire: A @Mindjet Publication.