After spending a week in bone-numbingly cold Germany, I have come back to work and here are some of the stories I found that are worth your time. I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I did.
- The trouble with social news: Aldo Cortesi shares his growing discontent with the social news ecosystem and in it, he nails some of the anxiety I have felt about the internet’s new news ecosystem.
- Financial trials of St. Louis Cardinals coach Mike Matheny: What a wonderful story of a baseball coach who lost all his money in the real estate bust and yet managed to keep it together for his family and his team. I have a lot of respect for Matheny, not just for his baseball skills but for coming to terms with this twist of fate.
- Dualtone derby: Okay, I made up the headline, but this story of Grammy Award-winning Nashville label Dualtone is a reminder of why doing things your own way comes with a price that is worth paying. Great story!
- How do hotel reservations work?: In case you ever wondered about it, now is your chance to find it all out.
- The soul of student debt: This is a different, unique take on the student debt that everyone talks about in America.
- The Caucasian king of K-Pop: K-Pop is Korean Pop, as in “Gangnam Style” and stuff, and Brad Moore from Ohio is drumming its beat. Short, sweet piece.
- The D2C Generation: The internet is creating new opportunities for designers who are going directly to consumers and finding success despite selling fewer items.

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