The Guardian

In our weekly link rundowns, I usually try to present three great links you may have missed.

But this week was strong internet.

Five.

• For your next love letter or grocery list or PUT DOWN MY SANDWICH note, wouldn’t you like to use the actual letterhead of Elvis Presley, Albert Einstein, Winston Churchill, Johnny Cash, or whatever Robot Salesmen Ltd is? Thing: Letterheads of famous people
• Most articles about How Google Works are actually about How Much The Author Likes Google. Leave it to Wired to dig into how Google’s system of algorithms, basically a machine made of robots made of math, learned that when a human types hot dog, the goal is almost certainly to see something like this, not something like this. Thing: Exclusive: How Google’s Algorithm Rules the Web
• You’ve already made your mind up on how you feel about this link from Reason. Thing: Everyone Who Knows What They’re Talking About Agrees with Me
• The way people freaked out about Napster, claiming it would end the music industry, is similar to the way people freaked out about VCRs killing the movie industry. Similarly, the way people freak out about sharing personal location information on Foursquare/Twitter is similar to the way people used to freak out about answering machines and listing wedding notices in the local newspaper. Thing: Regarding Foursquare and PleaseRobMe (SIDE NOTE that proves how NEVER SCARED we are: In all the PleaseRobMe hysteria, I up and joined Foursquare myself, and so did Ben. You ain’t a crook, son.)
• Recently the Guardian ran a series of writing advice lists by successful writers. NY Mag distills them all into a single top ten. Thing: The Best Writing Advice of the Best Writing Advice

Also, regarding this post’s stupid, stupid title: here’s proof Johnny Cash would’ve loved Foursquare…

• The Washington Post delivers one of the all-time finest editorial corrections after it was brought to their attention that Public Enemy’s “911 Is A Joke,” released in 1990, was not written in mockery of the events of September 11, 2001. The revised article actually casts PE in a positive light otherwise. The mistaken tune and its lyrics. And who among us could forget the Carlton Banks version?
• The Daily Mirror’s associate editor pledges to put SEO in its place after becoming sick of finding his site awash in traffic but bereft of readers. We say it a thousand times a day just to clean our teeth: good SEO is a tactic, not a goal. Having the galaxy’s highest-ranking website doesn’t mean anything if you’re not connecting with people.
• Self-explanatory! Ridiculous User Interfaces In Film, and the Man Who Designs Them

Special bonus thing.

I continue to marvel at the amount of time certain individuals are able to set aside for making Super Mario levels that play songs. This one features four Marios gallivanting simultaneously on four custom levels. They add up to recreate the four parts of Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now.” Can you believe this?

Lightning round.

We were linked to by the Wall Street Journal a couple days ago!