Monday, July 28, 2008

The Future Belongs to Those Who Collaborate

With the economy heading into a nosedive, possibly a long one based on some structural reasons we'll get to later, we're probably entering a period in which reduced expectations will be the norm for some time. All manner of ambitious building projects--whether it involves building organizations, physical structures or other something else--will have to be scaled back, either because of tighter credit, slower cash flow or some other form of crimped financing. We think the answer is simple: collaboration. But the trick is choosing the right collaborators, of course. If even such hallowed, deep-pocketed institutions as the Washington Post and Harvard will be in an austerity mode--at least relative to recent boom times--why not team up, as they're doing here. We also like this collaboration between the New York Times and the booming social networking site Linkedin. In coming weeks and months, we'll be on the lookout for similarly interesting collaborations. But we'd also love to hear about some of your favorites.

4 Comments:

At 4:28 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

In order to browse through the wide variety of news sources that you refer to, do you subscribe to many online publications? When I follow your links and want to dig further, it is often necessary to subscribe. Some publications I do subscribe to but must draw limits. Is this a big issue for you?

 
At 5:23 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

In today's first link was an article discussing whether a business can actually be considered evil. Another link I found connected with your Saturday New Republic link was a story on Obama being classified as having the most liberal voting record. Classifications can be not only subjective but deceptive as well. For many, taking a stand is an outward symptom of an ulterior motive.

It is a challenge to grasp true moral clarity in a society beset by political correctness as well. I find it increasingly difficult to point a finger of fault. When I rage, I find it so natural to try to understand the other's position that I feel utterly encumbered by complication. I always appreciate the issues you raise and the discussions that ensue. Am increasingly inspired to challenge myself learn enough to take a more courageous stand.

Here's to increased collaboration towards a future where intelligent discussion thrives.

 
At 5:38 PM, Blogger John Ettorre said...

Dear student: For the most part, I try to avoid links that require registration, let alone paid subscriptions, because I know myself how much of a pain that can be. So if I've accidentally done that too much lately, my apologies. In general, few consumer publications still keep all of their content behind paid walls online, but plenty still put a mix of some free online and others reserved only for subscribers. Where possible, I link to the stuff that's free for readers to click on and further dig into. Occasionally, I read something in hard copy at the library or a bookstore that's so good that I want to use it, but later find it's not available online, so in that case I'll occasionally run excerpts and suggest that people go find it at the library or bookstore. Of course, we should all do our part for the future of sustainable quality publishing by subscribing to a handful of things we really like and find value in, and I do. I hope you do too, but we all have different abilities to do so.

 
At 5:43 PM, Blogger John Ettorre said...

Dear anon, you've said a mouthful.

 

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