JFK - 50 years after

I am not a JFK worshiper and hardly even follow American politics (until recently when I moved to the US).   But he clearly had a lasting impact on America.   And it is the 50th anniversary of his death.

So I read a short eBook on Kennedy.  Kennedy Baby - the Loss the Transformed JFK by Steven Levingston.

Of course the loss was speaking of Patrick Kennedy who lived only 2 days.

It was captivating in morbid sort of way.   The loss of a child is tough for anyone but doubly so for a couple that was so solidly in the national spotlight.  Jackie and JFK had a tough family.

It centered mostly on his family life - not his politics.  

I learned that Jackie was a painter.  I did not know that (I always like books where I learn something new).

There was a ton of research put into the book.  It was well written.  Good quick read.

Dealing with Information Overload - Social Media Filtering

There are way too many sources of good information.  We could spend many more than 24 hours per day just trying to keep up.

 

One way to "keep up" is to let others whom you respect do the filtering.  I find this is a great way to use Twitter.  Follow some people who tweet/point out interesting articles.

 

I find some bloggers also have link rich content and essentially jury the articles and universe of information to point out what is relevant.  Of course the more the person doing the filtering filters the way you want, the greater the value it has.

 

I love it when people forward interesting articles.  It is a great way to keep in touch with people and it adds value.

 

I am often approached by people who want a social media footprint but are unsure what to do.  My suggestion is to always try to add value.  One way to add value in social media (Twitter, Blogs, even Facebook) is to be one of those filters for people.

Some interesting stuff:

 

I spend my time evaluating start up businesses (and after we have invested - trying to assist them) so I found this article on evaluating startups interesting.  Did not completely agree with the title of "forget business plans".  Personally I feel a business plan is critical for setting direction and directing actions.

And an interesting article that older entrepreneurs have more success.  Perhaps there is still hope for me.

A Ted talk on The History of Violence.  Reassuring that violence seems to be declining.  My personal fear is the gap between wealthy and poor could cause that to increase.  We need a strong middle class.

I thought this blog post on big data on the Primal Fusion Blog was interesting.

And prepare to get zen.  I thought this TED talk on Gratitude was good.  An attitude of gratitude is one attribute of successful people.  

 

And of course I am grateful for the grandkids - Josh and Victoria(yes, I filtered through the pictures):