Links for 11-09-2009

• Rough Type: Nicholas Carr's Blog: Be everywhere now - "There are those who, in their desire to sell themselves and others an idealized version of progress, are quick to dismiss all fond personal memories as nostalgia. But some of those memories are not sentimental distortions of the past but accurate records of experience. Taylor argues that, when it comes to music or any other form of art, the price of our "endless present" is the loss of a certain "magical power" that the artist was once able to wield over the audience. I suspect he's right." << This is related to although separate from the audience fragmentation that has at the least diluted "Must See TV."
• Spec Work Is Evil / Why I Hate CrowdSpring | Andrew Hyde - Startups. Start Here. - But see also this. Yes, it makes me feel a bit squeemish whenever I see dozens of designs submitted for one low-cost project. One the one hand, OK -- maybe useful experience for some kid starting out -- but, on the other, feels rather sweat-shoppish.
• Global marketplace for creative services: logo design, business card design, graphic design and website design | crowdSPRING
• 423 – Flow-Charting the Ring Trilogy « Strange Maps
• Bullet Trains for America? - A detailed look at high-speed rail challenges.
• FEED » Hello - Razorfish's FEED09 study charting how consumers engage with brands.
• Summering and Lobstering in Westport, Mass. - NYTimes.com - Pretty amusing account of lobstering by summer residents.