Fun Friday Links: Screw Business (As Usual), the Connected Company Defined, and When Seagulls Go A-Thieving

Welcome to Chelsi’s Number One Super Happy Fun Link Time, a weekly collection of cool discoveries from around the Web. Most times the goal is to get you thinking differently about communication, collaboration, culture, and life in general. Other times, LOLCAT ATTACK! Submissions are welcome, and you can send them through one of the usual suspects.

Brian Solis: Screw business as usual!

Feeling a little lost? In this TED talk, Brian Solis succinctly describes the true power of social media and what it means for the world of business: “What this is about is relationships. It’s not about likes or comments or money, as much as it is about people. It’s not business to consumer, it’s not business – it’s people to people.

“The point is that you and I have a voice. You and I have the ability to get together, to do something, to change something. In an era of connected consumerism, social media strategies aren’t going to save your business.”

What is a Connected Company?

We’re going to be talking a lot about connected workplaces in the near future, and this article from Dave Gray falls perfectly in line.

“…connected companies are not an imaginary thing. They are not science fiction. They exist. In fact they are all around us. But we need to learn how to see them. We need to unlearn a lot of the business maxims that we have taken for granted.

And it’s really, really different. In fact, some of the things that will need to happen are almost the opposite of the way things are typically done today. For a change management professional like me, I can see that there’s a mountain of work to be done, and the larger the organization, the more difficult change will be.

But there’s also a lot to be excited about. The connected companies of the future will be great places to work. They will tap into the natural human energy, enthusiasm and passion that is now languishing in gray cubicles all over the world. They will provide an environment where people can make their own paths and fulfill their potential.”

43 Intricate Mind Map Illustrations

There’s enough said in the title here. Check this site out for some beautiful examples (like the one below) of the art of brainstorming.

[Image credit: Ian Gowdie]

GoPro Stolen by a Seagull

A few weeks back the Internet was buzzing over some accidental GoPro footage of a pod of dolphins (it’s beautiful, check it here). Not to be upstaged, a punchy San Francisco seagull jacked one of these little cameras and took it on a quick joy ride.

The Top 50 ‘Pictures of the Day’ for 2012

We live on a gorgeous, amazing planet, you guys. Here are 50 examples that are totally worth your time.