Interesting articles to read #1

I read a lot, and I'm going to start sharing some of the better articles with you. Here are my best articles for issue #1 of these roundups.

Best new articles online

Chris Garrett has an article on how online communities helped his career. He shares 10 tips to help you leverage online networking. Some highlights:

1. Give first - what can you contribute?
2. Follow up - don't leave people hanging
3. Have fun - networking is supposed to be enjoyable

Read the full article on Making the Most of Web Community Building and Participation.

Naomi Klein, author of No Logo, has written a new book called Shock Doctrine. "Its central theory is controversial. There is a rapacious section of capitalism that is seeking out disasters like Hurricane Katrina or the chaos of the Iraq war to push its neo-liberal economic ideology and make 'superprofits' by radical privatisation at the same time." Read more at BBC News.

Kurt Vonnegut's death earlier this year took away a literary great. For a quick sampling of his work, read the 15 Things Kurt Vonnegut Said Better Than Anyone Else Ever Has Or Will. Then read Slaugherhouse-Five.

Business 2.0 magazine put together a list of the 101 Dumbest Moments in Business. Number 2 is travel related, with Northwest Airlines winning this position by laying off thousands of ground workers, but not before issuing some of them a handy guide, "101 Ways to Save Money."

The advice included this gem about dumpster diving "'Don't be shy about pulling something you like out of the trash', making your own baby food, shredding old newspapers for use as cat litter, and taking walks in the woods as a low-cost dating alternative."

CNN Money has a good tips list on staying safe abroad, 12 Tips to Stay Safe While Abroad on Business. This covers topics such as Mugging/pickpocketing, Disease outbreak/pandemic, Anti-Americanism/kidnapping, and Military coup/civil unrest. Now, while I'm all for a bit of civil unrest, better read the list before heading to your nearest soon-to-be war zone.

Scott Adams, creator of comic Dilbert, wrote a comment on taste and how the perception of it differs called Gifted or Defective?. From the page:

"I was flipping through the channels last night and came across Justin Timberlake giving a concert. He’s a hugely successful artist. People all over the world love him. He’s sold tens of millions of CDs. This presented me with a mystery.

To me, Justin Timberlake sounds like a shockingly untalented guy with a lot of musical training. Why do I perceive him that way when millions of his fans do not?"

On a closing note, check out today's Dilbert. It's a great comment on my day job, marketing...

You should follow me on twitter here.