It’s July, and that means the annual confab of the media moguls in Sun Valley. Yeah, I’ve been there. But to ski, in the main (yeah, as a guest of Allen, once, but not during THAT conference). I’d have killed to be a fly on the wall during the first story in this roundup…enjoy the links:

Schmidt and Zuck Peel Away From the Pack in Sun Valley (WSJ) The annual confab starts off with a very interesting connection. Imagine the small talk.

A Networking Primer (Org Theory) Fascinating. “Paradoxically, it’s your acquaintances that matter more when it comes to the problem of search.  The intuition is simple: your goal is to find out stuff you don’t already know.  But the problem is that your close friends, for the most part, already know what you know.”

Apple looking for ‘iTunes Fraud Prevention Specialist’ [Update: Apple yanks job post] (9to5Mac) Welcome to the world of platforms, Apple. More on this in my epic Yahoo post, ready any day now….

LeBron’s Twitter Launch Outplays Promoted Tweet for ‘Despicable Me’ (ClickZ) Well, not sure that means much, but if you know me, you know I’m tracking Twitter’s new platform, which I think is a winner.

Is Social Media Failing to Produce Business Leads? (Open Forum) Yes, and…really no. it’s all about relationships and value. And that Heyward quote is priceless, given we’ve been saying the same thing for five years at FM, and I think I first said “every company is a media company” in 1993 at Wired. Good to see memes keep growing.

Why the wisdom of crowds is bunk and what Web 3.0 really is. (Fark) Well, OK Drew, but honestly? Crowds are not ten friends trying to figure out where to go to dinner. That’s a group ski, and/or a clusterf*ck. Crowds are data. And data can be turned into knowledge. By editors, curators, etc. And of course, THAT is what Drew said. Sorta.

YouTube Steps Closer to Your TV with “Leanback” (ATD) YouTube is making a serious play to be a contender in “Future TV.”

A New Source of Energy: Entrepreneurs (Open Forum) Branson makes a point: “There is no Planet B.”

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Today’s FM campaign of the day is the Alienware Graffiti Contest! These cats can DRAW!

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