Top Sources

Lane Beckers Top 10

At Adaptive Path, we're not content to be just a design company, or just a technology company, or just a technology design company. We're always on the lookout for new approaches, new influences, new disciplines; and we'll take good ideas from anywhere w...

At Adaptive Path, we're not content to be just a design company, or just a technology company, or just a technology design company. We're always on the lookout for new approaches, new influences, new disciplines; and we'll take good ideas from anywhere we can find 'em. It's a big world, there's a lot of great thinking going on, and the Web brings such frequent and intimate access to it all that it's almost a crime to pick only ten. That said, these sources below are where I get some of my best ideas. TECHDesign Observer.Design world luminaries like Michael Bierut of Pentagram and Jessica Helfand of Winterhouse on the state of the design world today, and on the act of designing and what it means. Sometimes agonizingly insiderly, more often thoughtful, provoking, and thought-provoking.FRIENDS & COLLEAGUESPeterme. Peter Merholz is many things: a good friend, a co-founder of Adaptive Path and, most pertinently here, the guy who invented the word "blog." Back when there were only ten weblogs. One was Peter's. Always ahead of his time, always says what he thinks, with a site as interesting and wide-ranging as he is.Jeff Veen. Jeff Veen's yet another Adaptive Path co-founder (there are a lot of us; safety in numbers). Jeff's the tallest and, in terms of pure design skill, probably the best known for work he's done on sites like Blogger and our very own Measure Map (now a Google product). As go Jeff's thoughts about designing for the Web, so goes the Web design industry. Also, he's really into biking.RC3.org. Rafe Colburn helms RC3.org. The thing about Rafe is, he's been around the weblog world almost as long as Peter, and though he isn't as well-known, Rafe's site has always represented the best of what a personal blog can be. Well-written, articulate, thoughtful, concerned, opinionated, global and local, reasoned and reasonable: One man's bright view on the world, offered up for your consideration. Isn't that really what the Internet's all about?VENTURE CAPITALVentureblog. The first and still the best of the venture capital blogs. I track and read most of them, but this is the only one I would recommend to people who aren't actively involved in the VC world. Dave Hornik, apartner at August Capital and an investor in (among other companies) SixApart and VideoEgg, is the man behind the blog. His insights into the topsy-turvy world of SiliconValley and the products that emerge from it are always intriguing. ADDICTIONSPreshrunk. If there's one thing the Internet's good for, it's feeding bizarre addictions you might not have even known you'd had if you hadn't found them on the Web. That's how it is with me and the boutique tee shirts, a thriving online niche industry, where prices can go as high as $50 (not including shipping) for a medium all-cotton American Apparel tee just because somebody screenprinted something clever across the side. Preshrunk, a weblog that does nothing but point to the latest and greatest shirt sites, isn't helping. Valleywag. Page six for the Silicon Valley set. You can ask whether or not it really makes sense to do the E! Entertainment thing on a bunch of khaki-panted, buttoned-up Mountain View engineers, but it seems to be working because I check in daily. Doesn't hurt that Adaptive Path has made several appearances on it, sometimes under somewhat salacious circumstances.ACTUALLY IMPORTANTWorldchanging. Just so you don't think I'm a completely louche, technology-obsessed, money-hungry, shopaholic publicity hound, let me point you to Worldchanging, run by the truly impressive Alex Steffen and his talented crew. Worldchanging believe that, as they put it, "Another world is not just possible, it's here. We only need to put the pieces together." They focus on the ways in which people and the things they make can be put to the best possible use, walking thatmfine line between pragmatism and idealism. This makes me believe we might actually be able to pull ourselves up out of this mess. Admirable work. Editors Note: Adaptive Path founder Lane Becker is often found lounging with a glass of wine in hand. Email him for an invite to your next party .Related Top 10 Sources:  Geekstars | Web2 | Thinkers Of The Web