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What You Need to Read This Week

Looks matter – good graphic design can compel viewers to process information and use software differently.

Wisdom: Business folks believe that conversation solves all problems. Designers believe visualization solves all problems. Engineers believe that optimization solves all problems. Communication mayhem ensues!

If you are going to SXSW or any big upcoming conference, this is a must read.

Startups can startup anywhere but here’s what you will encounter outside of the major startup hubs.

What investors (and press and employees) look for is traction. Traction is real customers for your product or service.

Here are a few tips on getting visitors to click and engage, not just view and go away.

File system links are great for structuring your application for flexibility and space, but do you know that *nix systems have both hard and soft links?

If you’ve read Paul Graham’s essays, you know how much he loves LISP and functional programming, but if one is writing for high performance web services, Java is still one of the fastest languages out there.  How can one take the benefits of LISP and apply them to Java?

This paper outlines a system for building a scalable web crawler. Even for those who are not trying to take down Google, it is a great way of seeing a case study in designing a scalable system.

[Video] Peter Diamandis on Abundance

Peter Diamandis founded the XPrize Foundation and Singularity University. Here’s his talk on why we should be optimistic about the future.

See all of the best startup resources here.