I spent some time today throwing out/recycling a bunch of accumulated stuff around the house.   I recycled the last vestiges of my optimism from the dot com boom of the late 90's:  my copies of Fast Company magazine.  Back in the day, this magazine was a must read guide to the boom.   I remember picking up my first copy, the September 1997 issue.   I was hooked from that first issue.   The articles in that magazine were a big factor in convincing me to leave my job at Utah State University and get a job with my current employer. 

The plan back in early 1998 was to get a job with a traditional "brick and mortar" company as a way to add credibility to my resume, then go get rich at some dot com company.  It was all derived from the first article I read in Fast Company, Brand You. Didn't turn out that way.

Last week was my 7 year anniversary at the "brick and mortar" company.   Once I got there I really liked the work.  More importantly, I divulged my plan to leave to someone there who became my mentor in many things.  He was the CFO of the company and could see the bubble for what it was, even in 1998.  He predicted the bursting of the bubble, the worthless stock options and the unemployment of so many who followed the plan I was pursuing.  I stayed and have had no regrets about my decision.

Sometime around 2000 I let my subscription lapse.   Fast Company seemed to be so much hype.   Some of it I still use, the "Brand You" concept works at a personal level, and I still preach it to my employees, but the perennial corporate brand articles lost their savor once I signed on to the Cluetrain Manifesto. 

The stack of magazines was tossed in the recycle bin without much sentimentality.   Hours later I came across this article that sums up why Fast Company lost my attention.  On the way back from bin I stopped at the mailbox to get my this weeks New Yorker magazine.  That magazine hasn't failed me in the 17 years I have been reading it.