Recently I finished reading What Would Google Do by Jeff Jarvis. Judging by title I didn’t really expect lots of insights from the book but it appeared to be truly visionary and smart. It even made me kind of regret choosing Economics&Business major over Computer Science 7 years ago…
WWGD appeared not to be about Google itself but about the way business, economics, relationships and world in whole change as the result of technologies wide spread and simplification. So, in fact the book covers quite wide range of topics. From Google’s PageRank, to Facebook, new media, customized solutions, customer relations, blogging, Twitter, context advertising, search engine optimization, online communities management, government policies and many other.
In Feb. I participated in Russian version of startup weekend – Harvest, it’s an event which gets a couple of hundred people with various background (project management, marketing, venture capital, web design, web development, programming and others) in order for them to be able to work together for 2 days. Why 2 days? Well, one of the reasons is to make participation possible for those who have full-time day work. Another reason is that 2 days is enough to start doing something, to convert dead idea into real action, to form a team and fill yourself with energy and motivation that you will definitely need in the future.
Actually, I just wanted to share a video with you. It does not have any educational value but it’s full of energy and shows the atmosphere of the event very well. Why share? Probably it will get you inspired and you will find startup weekend event in your city. Sometimes small things lead to really big things you know…
“I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think.”
~ Socrates
Why even think of educational online courses?
In my opinion, full freedom implies self-improvement and the ability to learn new things every day. And you know what? I don’t really think that joining the university is absolutely the best way to do it.
I guess I’m not the only one here who has a feeling that education in the traditional meaning of this word is dying in the 21st Century. Sounds like a bold statement, but it’s true. Even now, in 2010 amount of the information available for free is unbelievable. And it’s increasing exponentially. If you still have doubts I recommend you to watch this truly amazing video:
I’m not sure about you, but it definitely made me think a lot. Old traditional universities with big names won’t disappear overnight, of course not. Degree is still the best available indicator of credibility, top universities still have an opportunity to provide their students with the wide range of various subjects and classes. The point is if you worry about practical knowledge more than about degree and credits there are some alternatives available for you. Probably, you just don’t have that much time to spend on educating yourself in a traditional way or probably you don’t want to settle down in one place for a few years?
ZZE.ST is the blog where I share my personal insights, experiences, lifehacks and researches that made my life more fun & interesting and will probably do the same to you.
My name is Maxim, I'm from Moscow, Russia. Currently (25.02.2010) I combine working in marketing of multinational company, being internet entrepreneur and PhD student at the same time. I also blog occasionally. Before this, I used to be a banker and a freelance web designer. Want to know more about blog & me?
