A Delightful Resource - Free Audiobooks

I stumbled upon this resource today. In my quest for interesting content delivered to, played on, and optimized for the iPhone, I consulted my favorite oracle - Google. Via said oracle, I found openculture.com. There are many links to differing libraries that can download iTunes files directly, and can also deliver up .mp3s to be heard on computers and non-Apple devices. While I am still truly delighted by the iPhone, particularly the power of this "small screen" computer and its power to modify the way we (and software) interact, I acknowledge that there are many, many devices out there. If you are interested in audio books for the road, or for background brain-food, check them out.

So take a look at the eBooks and other resources on Open Culture. My applauds to the folks contributing to it.

iPhone App Creation - Plus Mashup Land

I'm working on a small skunkworks project that brings in elements of iPhone app development, Mashups from social networks, Google's OpenSocial API, and interesting black box calcs. Interesting challenges flow the gamut, from UX interaction architecture diagrams, to database schema work, to API access code, to output targetting (taking the user where they desire to ultimately go) - all while trying to maintain and respect the minimalist approach of Web 2.0 development. Fun, challenging, but quite rewarding thus far.

It finally got a name - Generation F

For quite some time, I have been thinking about the societal change that is rolling upon the first world with dramatic and awesome power. The change is primarily technological in nature (though not because I often see much of the world through that lens). It is however how technology, and adaptions to relationships, are modifying/morphing/expanding due to the reach and persistent communication that technology has enabled. This change is evidenced through one entity - if a generation could be called an entity.

The name of what I am speaking was recently coined "Generation F". This is the generation that has grown up with technology and connectedness as a fundamental element (like H, Hydrogen or more pointedly, like a molecule O2 - Oxygen). This connectedness that is a basic and "always-on" part of life is profoundly shaping the expectations, aspirations, and leadership potential of this new generation. Jim Collins wrote about this in the April issue of Inc Magazine, where he sees a profound talent and optimism in the incoming generation - who tragically ironically are the inheritors of bad policy, crushing domestic debt, and environmental burdens greater than any of us can imagine.

I for one am applauding and cheering for Generation F. Let your light shine guys: change the world creatively, passionately, deeply, and help to transform the darkness and disease that threatens us all into light-giving life that serves mankind.

From a business context, Gary Hamel has a great write up that describes the difference in expectations and attitudes that we business leaders must be aware of - the rolling wave is here, whether we choose to see it or not. http://blogs.wsj.com/management/2009/03/24/the-facebook-generation-vs-the-fortune-500/