This kind of thing didn’t surprise me, coming from Ted. He’s one of the most vigilant awesomeness advocates I know. But, one thing I realized during that conversation…. if he could get the stack of front-end engineers together with the purpose of producing awesome stuff, there would be almost nothing stopping them except for one thing. The same kryptonite which stops all great developers – marketing.

Competition, Collaboration, Complaining

Marketing is the bane of a developer’s existence. It’s the thing we ignore, but we need.

Marketing is similar to tourism. The locals hate tourists, yet they depend on them for their survival in the modern age. It’s a love/hate relationship. Development is no different. We need marketing, but we hate it too. It’s so fake. So contrived. So finicky. Why can’t the quality stuff just get to the top of the list and get popular simply because it’s awesome? It’s sad really.

But, it’s needed. And, there are plenty of people out there who love to market. They just don’t like developers.

Why do developers have to be so agitating, so controlling, so vigilant and annoying to work with? If marketers could just have an idea and get someone to build it without complaining, the world would be a much better place, right? I mean, marketers know the market. It’s what they do. They know what people want, so the developers should just listen to them.

Ah, conflict. Gotta love it.

So, here’s the point… I live in both worlds. I see both points. I understand both pains because I’ve been both. So here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to shine the spotlight on little projects that developers are creating which are awesome. On the other side, I’m going to highlight some marketers who are pushing some great stuff.

In doing so, I hope to make some connections, smooth out the rough edges, and bring two communities together. There’s nothing we can’t accomplish if we actually get along. My vision is to see developers with great ideas and great talent build awesome stuff, and have a great local marketer pick that up and make it huge. On the other side, I want to see marketers with amazing ideas get their stuff built by some crazy awesome developers. Everyone would benefit from this.

It should be noted that I skipped one major aspect of the community, and that is designers. I didn’t do that on purpose in this article, and I do recognize how different each skill is. I do think design is a major aspect of adoption, usability, etc. Thus designers play a critical role in the awesomeness quotient of a project as well. We’ll add designers to the batter when we get the first two ingredients playing nicely and that’s when the world will explode and finally realize that San Diego has some major powerhouses in all three specializations.

Here’s the boring definition:

A type of lending involving small, non-collateralized loans to low-income, typically self-employed, workers who do not have access to traditional financial lending services.

The more interesting definition includes the belief that microfinance is one of the most powerful methods by which people can be assisted out of poverty. Depending on the community, it could rely on a group-lending model by which multiple entrepreneurs in one group agree to effectively be the co-signers for each other. If one person misses a payment on a loan, it jeopardizes every individual in the group’s chances of getting loans in the future. Other models (namely domestic micro-credit) simply create loans for individuals who, for one reason or another, are unable to get traditional bank financing for their business.

Fascinating, isn’t it?

About the Microfinance Summit

The San Diego Microfinance Summit was created in 2009 by a group of aspiring students from Point Loma Nazarene University, USD, and local domestic microfinance institutions (MFIs). The idea behind it is to (1) bring awareness to the area regarding microfinance, it’s ability to reduce poverty and empower the poor, (2) give a forum to discuss academic and practical issues and controversy surrounding microlending as a whole.

Last year, the Summit was an outstanding success with local media coverage including TV stations and newspapers covering the event. San Diego microfinance borrowers from all walks of life came to participate as well, selling authentic food from far away countries, hand made jewelery, and other wares. It definitely was a sight to be seen.

This year, the Summit and the San Diego Microfinance Alliance are expecting an even bigger turnout and more detailed dialog. There will also be more time this year to network with each other and find out about microfinance opportunities (how you can get involved with MFIs in the area.

Excited yet?

The Microfinance Summit Details

Serendipity. n. an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident.

We are indebted to the English author Horace Walpole for the word serendipity, which he coined in one of the 3,000 or more letters on which his literary reputation primarily rests. In a letter of January 28, 1754, Walpole says that “this discovery, indeed, is almost of that kind which I call Serendipity, a very expressive word.” Walpole formed the word on an old name for Sri Lanka, Serendip. He explained that this name was part of the title of “a silly fairy tale, called The Three Princes of Serendip: as their highnesses traveled, they were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of….”

The American Heritage ® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

One of the great things in life is serendipity. I love it. It’s much like emotion in that it’s hard to categorize, difficult to understand, and benefits our well-being consistently. Serendipity sounds like it’s accidental in itself, but if you look at the definition again, you’ll notice that it’s an aptitude, not an accident. In my language and my world, an “aptitude” begs for a system to be made out of it. Or, if nothing else, a pattern can emerge from it.

In a long and entertaining discussion with Steffan Antonas about the use cases of social media and specifically Twitter, we came to the same conclusion. There are many ways to use these new tools, but one of the biggest benefits is the serendipity which results.

Steffan has been able to meet some amazing people and hear some fantastic stories from people who he probably never would have met if it weren’t for social media. He’s talked with intriguing people in completely different countries on subject matters that could easily turn into best selling books. He’s made money by simply being available and talking about things that interest him with people who want his knowledge.

I’ve had similar experiences. When I meet new people in San Diego, often I hear the question, “Wait.. are you the Nate Ritter who did that thing with Twitter and the fires?”. Of course I have to give all the credit for that publicity to serendipity. I’ve also gained financial advantage simply by being known and giving away advice. It’s not simply being nice that creates that gain.

Now, since I like serendipity and finding patterns, and because serendipity has something to do an aptitude for positive “accidents”, I naturally want to put myself in the best possible position where a positive accident might occur. Call it probability if you want. In the past few years, Twitter has been a great place to be when it comes to the probability for positive accidents to occur. I’ve enjoyed the fruits of simply using social media, talking to others, and giving and receiving advice. It’s led to a greater amount of serendipity, and it wasn’t by accident.

However – and this is a big “however” – since the day the Hollywood celebrities started making Twitter popular, there has been a serendipity drain. In short, Twitter’s usefulness has changed. It’s turned from a useful communication tool into a popularity contest and publishing platform. I never wanted another publishing platform and I’ve come to believe the reason the “early adopters” abandon popularized things is because it’s usefulness changed. It’s not about purity. It’s not about being cool. For us geeks, it’s about utility. Masses of people, network effects and such, change the usefulness of a particular tool or service and it’s not always for the better.

So as Steffan and I talked over our fabulous mexican food, beers, and margaritas, we came to the realization that the serendipity we’ve experienced using Twitter has been few and far between lately.

In a moment of brilliance, we both decided to make today, Tuesday October 13th, Unfollow Tuesday. Today, we’re both purging who we follow on Twitter. We’re taking our Twitter experience into a different realm, the one we use Facebook for – friends. Because Twitter’s no longer helping us find those positive accidents, we figured we ought to simply use it as a different tool.

Steffan has the statistics to prove this next thought, but bare with me. We (social media early adopters) know that the number of followers means absolutely nothing. It’s not how many people are supposedly following you that counts. What matters is whether or not they listen and care about what you say (which usually includes conversation) and the serendipity which results. So, if you want to track a statistic, track how many people click on the links you post. Even better, track who clicks on the links you post. Track who you’ve had conversations with and what those topics were. Track follow up actions after you’ve posted something (and who did them).

Those are all difficult things to track right now, but you need to know who the people are who care about what you’re talking about. Only then will Twitter’s serendipity come back. Only then will the usefulness return.

So as I write this lengthy post, I can’t help but think that if you’ve made it this far, taking the time to read my thoughts, you’re probably the kind of person I want to know. You’re probably the kind of person who I would get along with. You’re probably not just another social media marketer. And if that sounds like you, I invite you to jump in on this conversation and let me know what you think. Let’s make this a two way street.

All the other people out there on Twitter who read the first 3 words and scanned the rest of the post to see how long it was… you people I’ll be unfollowing today. Unless you’re entertaining to me, a friend of mine (I have friends who are bored by these long posts too), or we have valuable things to share with each other, the probability for serendipity with you is too low for me to spend time on.

Today, Steffan and I are hereby invoking the Serendipity Pareto Principle with Twitter.

Cheers.

However, there are a few people I’ve been lucky enough to be introduced to and happy to call friends who I’ve estimated are about 5 years ahead of their time.  These people affect my decisions. They affect my opinions. They affect my beliefs of where things are headed.

So, you want to know who these people are?  Here’s one of them.  Chris Messina (aka Factory Joe).  I’m including his most recent talk on identity below.  If you believe I’m even partially smart, and you want to be smarter than me, you need to be listening to what this guy says.  Listen. Absorb. Think. Create.

Identity is the Platform from Chris Messina on Vimeo.

Matt Langdon - The Hero Workshop

Matt Langdon is the founder, creator, and visionary of the Hero Workshop, a fascinating project-turned-organization who’s aim is “to show young people that by doing the little things every day they can become heroes. Far from having to perform miraculous deeds, they are provided with an attainable goal.”

I’ve asked Matt to write a post for this blog because (a) he’s a fantastic guy doing fantastic work and deserves every bit of credibility and press he can get on this subject and (b) projects like this are typically underfunded, under-noticed, and talked about less than they should be. These things and people need to be at the forefront of entrepreneurs minds. Entrepreneurship does not equal monetary capitalism. This is true innovation and vision – something both established and up and coming entrepreneurs could learn a thing or two about.

Listen to this man’s vision. Join with him if you feel so led. Hanging out with people like this is like learning and being in the shadow of giants (in a great way).

There are too many heroes in the world.

You won’t hear that complaint too often. But I’ve had enough of the guitar heroes, comeback heroes, 4th quarter heroes, and 9/11 heroes. The mass media world has stolen the word from the real heroes and I want to give it back to them. I do want the world to be filled with heroes, but not the heroes they provide us.

What is a hero anyway? Lovelace said it best in ‘Happy Feet’: “Mumble Happy Feet, I’m going to be telling your story long after you’re gone.” Heroes are the people whose stories we keep telling. We tell those stories because they contain lessons for us; lessons to help us be better people. Now, obviously this doesn’t exclusively define heroes because we tell villain’s stories for the same reason – lessons.

There are three things that define a hero and give us reason to keep telling their stories. They must take action for the greater good, and accept any risk involved. Doing only two of them makes them altruistic, a daredevil, or a philosopher.

Taking action is obvious. If you don’t do anything you’re a bystander. The bystander is the enemy of the hero – not the villain. When the hero sees something that disrupts their internal value system, they act to rectify the situation. The bystander shakes their head, or thinks someone else will do something, or figures the risk is to great. The bystander lets the bad thing happen. We see bystanders in the school yards and office buildings allowing bullying to thrive. In fact, we see them enable bullying. Bystanders are common and that’s why we celebrate heroes – they’re not.

I’m not talking about any old action though. It’s not sinking a last minute basket or scoring a hattrick. It’s not getting to the final of a reality TV show. It’s not escaping certain death or surviving cancer. The hero acts for the good of others. This act may benefit the hero in the end, but that benefit is not the reason. Again, the action comes from a disruption of what the hero sees as right.

So far I’ve defined an altruistic person. Risk is where the nice person becomes a hero. Sacrifice fits here too. This risk or sacrifice needs to be perceived. There’s no heroism in being struck by lightning while you were helping get a cat out of a tree. That’s just bad luck.

With all three ingredients, we have a hero. The hero doesn’t need to be famous and the act doesn’t need to be enormous. The girl who offers help to a bullied boy by befriending him risks alienation or bullying. The coworker who calls out the derogatory language risks losing friends at work or facing ridicule – “I mean, who really thinks calling something gay is harmful?” Corazon Aquino was a hero to millions, but she’s just as important as the girl at school who is a hero to one scared little boy. Each story will continue to be told for the lessons they contain.

Frequently we attach the word hero to other types of situations. Our aunt who inspired us by surviving cancer is an inspiration, not a hero. The majority of the people who died on 9/11 were victims, not heroes. Our favorite singer or athlete is talented, not heroic.

So let’s take the word back from the news channels, newspapers, and magazines. Let’s bestow it on those that deserve it, whether big or small. Let’s make them feel proud and when we find ourselves in a situation that needs a hero, maybe we’ll be ready to act for the good of others despite the risk.

***********************

The Hero Workshop

The Hero Workshop
- Finding The Hero Inside

http://thejanuscenter.com/heroworkshop

The Iran elections have changed the face of media and government control by a huge margin, and I think we’ve all understood that shift. To bring it closer to home, tonight I watched the following video – a live streaming video from @nrek that explained the hostage situation on 8th and Beech streets in downtown San Diego tonight.

Helicopters weren’t even on the scene until hours later, but we knew just about everything that was going on long before it was reported.

Here’s the video (albeit of course not as professional as a traditional journalist would produce, but still informational). Well done Enrique. Thanks for spreading the news and being on the cutting edge for those of us who watched tonight.

When Nate first asked me to write a guest post for Perfect Space, I jumped at the chance, after all, the business I’m involved in is all about creating perfect relationships in all aspects of one’s life. I thought it’d be fitting to introduce my services and explain how I can help people create and maintain perfect relationships in their lives.

First, let’s step back and talk about that word – perfection.

We joke with one another all the time about our imperfections. None of us will claim to be perfect and parents, whom I work with regularly, make light of the fact that they love their children despite their imperfections. At the same time, we acknowledge that babies come into this world as perfect individuals. So what happens? What or when is that defining moment when we start to become anything less than perfect?

None of us come with operating manuals or instructions like those we receive with just about every new addition we bring into our lives. From washing machines to vitamins, there’s pretty much a set of directions on everything these days. Or warning labels!

Imagine having an operating manual for yourself, complete with instructions on what to do, and who to surround yourself with in order to run at your optimum. Now imagine having a warning label as well, knowing which types of activities and people take energy away from you. I have that operating manual and my life is no longer the same since I’ve been “validated” by those within the Y.O.U. Consulting Group (YCG).

After becoming a Level III Practitioner and applying the Knowledge of Y.O.U. (your own understanding) to my life, I can honestly say that I have finally embraced not only who I am, but what I am, the perfect individual that came into this world 30-some years ago. I know what type of activities rob me of valuable energy and I know who I need to surround myself with, both personally and professionally, in order to be at my best.

The training I’ve completed to become a practitioner  has given me a whole new outlook on life.  Now, I am able to look at others and see exactly what they are and validate and accept them completely. We are each as unique as fingerprints or snowflakes. What works for one may not, and should not, work for another.  It’s this knowledge that keeps us all moving forward on a clean and clear path towards realistic goals.

If you would like to learn more, please contact me directly for details regarding The Ultimate Life Tool, an online assessment which will provide you with your very own operating manual. YCG has worked with companies, schools, couples and individuals to help them optimize their energy, grow their business and stabilize their relationships.

I invite you to watch this video (not related to YCG) to see just what we mean by “validation.” 

Sondra Santos LaBrie is a Certified Parent Educator and founder of Happy Healthy Hip Parenting. She also writes as the San Diego Parenting Examiner. She lives in San Diego with her 5-year-old son and has a perfect relationship with those in her life. She can be found on Twitter as @hip_m0m (and she drives a Nissan Quest).

Micro-finance and micro-lending are changing the world as we know it. It’s not just a new way to help the poor. It’s a new way to invest. It’s more stable than the market. It’s almost as lucrative. And it’s not just a good way to live, it’s a smart way too. I’m going “all in.”

The personal problem (for both you and me) with money and time

So, everyone who knows me knows I’m one of those “idea guys.” If you know another “idea guy” you know what this term really translates into. We start projects and never finish them. I really hate that about myself, as most of us do. So, I’ve been on a mission these past few years to hone in on the ways I can be most productive, efficient, and get the most out of my time. Most of us “idea guys” are terribly lousy at managing our time where it counts the most. We have a distorted view of what’s important, especially in the minutia of day to day tasks.

There are a few ideas and passions I’ve held on to over the years, though. One of those is microfinance, specifically starting my own micro-lending company. However, creating what essentially constitutes the equivalent of a bank is pretty difficult to do these days without prior finance and monetary policy knowledge. I knew that even when I interviewed Chris Larsen from Prosper.com back in 2006. I may have ideas, but I’m also a realist.

So, what’s the next best thing? If I can’t do something today, what can I do today that gets me closer to that goal? Well, of course participating in microfinance is definitely an option. With Kiva.org I can (and have for years) lend my money to the organization and in turn the entrepreneurs. In return I get that nice warm fuzzy feeling and maybe a little whuffie. But, I’m also an entrepreneur, so that can’t be all I can do…. can it?

Other options are lending to others where it’s not really microfinance, but more peer to peer lending in the US and the UK. There’s places like Prosper.com (US) and Zopa (UK). I could also simply give money to people anonymously if I’d rather not lend. And I do. I have done each of these at one time or another, and continue to do so.

Why now?

Now, before I share my new plan, I want to mention why I’ve decided this today. Why now?

There’s a few sources of inspiration, but much of it comes from reading The Snowball, a book about Warren Buffett – his life and his business(es). From that book, I’ve been spurred on to think more about the power of compounding interest and what and where to invest. The end of the book also brings to attention the need for doing more than just making money (albeit, this is coming from a guy who has more than he’d ever care to spend). Tangentially, I’ve been considering heavily the Rule of 70 (or 72 if you prefer).

Now, to get past all the financial mumbo jumbo, I’ll get to the point. I’ve tried everything I can think of that’s still honorable (and sometimes even in the gray areas) to make money without going into debt. I’ve not wanted to get into debt because I (personally) usually have a hard time getting out of it. But, that’s usually because I choose risky operations for the money which I borrow. I wouldn’t worry about it so much if I invested my money and time in more stable income-producing operations. But, now I’ve gotten off track again. So, the point is… exponential gain and affiliate marketing.

*poof* and now you’re gone, I’m sure.

For those of you who are still here… here’s the plan.

The plan

First, let me just say that affiliate marketing has some huge advantages to it. You can start small, risk a little, and when you find a winner of a campaign, scale to where you’re making $1000 per day (profit). Yes, it’s possible. No, I’m not going to sell you a product or anything else. But, just trust me, it can be done both ethically and without much risk.

It also has some very big disadvantages too. There are millionaires who play this game and it’s not for the weak minded or emotional. You will get beat and lose your shirt if that’s you. Don’t go into that game without a lot of study (not buying e-books), consultation, and very small tests at first with money you are perfectly happy to lose. For newbies, you’re speculators. You’re gamblers. Realize that fact until you find the patterns and you’ll not be in the poor house. And last, this kind of work is not the most powerful use of your money. It is not able to be used directly in compounding anything exponentially. So, we need a two-part system.

Now, what I’m going to do is actually take all the proceeds of my affiliate income (since we don’t live on this source of income) and funnel every penny of profit (after taxes) into micro-finance.

But why would you do that if the micro-finance organizations aren’t giving you a return on your investment? (you might ask)

Ah hah! But wait… there is ONE micro-finance organization that actually does pay you interest (right now, and I’m sure there will be more in the future). That one place is MicroPlace.com.

MicroPlace.com was started by the same guy who founded eBay – Pierre Omidyar. The man is not only wealthy and innovative, he’s got a heart the size of … well, it’s really big. The organization is funded primarily by the Omidyar Network and has the right idea.

I’ve just invested in 3 people like Jessica Maria Corea Gutierrez who is a Candy Maker with only $745.00. With this investment, I’ll make %6 annual return (as long they stick to the repayment plan) and help them on their way to becoming self-sufficient.

Jessica Maria Corea Gutierrez

Jessica Maria Corea Gutierrez is a candy maker in the small community of San Martin located a few miles outside of Tipitapa. She is a member of a “solidarity group” comprised of two other women. Together they have recently taken out their first loan with NICA Fund partner agency FODEM. Jessica explains that before she took out a loan her situation was “critical”. She lacked the income to be able to afford to pay for all of her children’s shoes and school supplies, which ultimately forced one of her children to have to drop out of school.

Jessica says that with her loan she has been able to purchase larger quantities of the ingredients needed to make her candy such as milk, cinnamon, and vanilla. With increased output she has been able to multiply her candy sales. Now her son is able to return to his studies.

Many members of the community of San Martin have few other work options than to travel to Managua and work in the free trade zones. Jessica is thankful that her microcredit loan has provided her the opportunity to remain working in her community and has dreams that her children will one day be able to pursue their educations beyond secondary school.

Here’s how I envision it:

• The non-exponential work (optionally, just saving some money and skipping to #2)
  1. I pay Google (or whoever) for traffic
  2. Google delivers the consumer to my website
  3. I deliver the consumer to the producer
  4. Consumer delivers money to producer
  5. Producer delivers product to consumer
  6. Producer delivers commission money to me
• The exponential work
  1. I invest profits into microplace (or other micro-lending organizations)
  2. Entrepreneur gets funds and creates or enhances their own business and profit
  3. Entrepreneur pays back interest and principal on the loan to the organization
  4. Organization takes their share of the interest for operating costs and expansion
  5. Organization gives the rest (interest and principal) back to me
  6. I reinvest once again in the organization and more entrepreneurs

Ok, so that was a bit more in depth than you probably needed to see, but it maps out my plan nicely. First, with affiliate marketing, I have the ability to expand a good business rapidly and capitalize on trends in marketplaces where people have money to spend. Next, I reinvest that money into areas that have less money to spend but earning an interest.

There are two criterion which I am simply hoping exist that make this a good transaction for everyone. The first I can control. The second I cannot.

1. The products or services which I get paid a commission on, and the companies I promote should be honorable and ethical. Without this criteria, I’m just helping move the poverty from one person to another. That’s not helpful.
2. The entrepreneur should be profitable, over and above the cost of the loan. If they aren’t the purpose of the loan was not fulfilled (to help them get self-sufficient).

A word on making money vs doing good

There seems to be this notion, or itch, that if we were truly doing right in the world to these entrepreneurs, we’d just give them the money or loan it to them with no interest due. Although that seems wonderful and idealistic, there are problems with that notion.

First, it’s very well known that giving money to people, on average, creates social and economic problems – especially if it’s given to people who don’t have a plan already in place on how they will be managing it. There’s the entitlement theory that creeps in and a relaxed (if any) sense of ownership and pride. If you’ve been in a startup before you know how that hunger for success needs to be there. Without it, you’re dead. With it, you’ll grow fast, innovate, own your ideas, and squeeze every bit of value from every penny you have in the bank. Then when you succeed, you feel huge. But the pressure to perform is so much less when we’re just given a million bucks with no necessity to repay. We feel like it’s ours. We can do whatever we want with it, including squander it.

Second, the idea that we shouldn’t make money while we do good things has no foundation. It seems to itch us the wrong way for some reason. However, most of the reasons I’ve heard so far usually have to do with the problem of incentive and motivation. The problem with this thought process is this; If I were only focused on the money, I wouldn’t put it into the micro-finance world. There are much better places to put your money than into micro-lending in terms of ROI. So, if it’s sacrifice you want, consider that those who choose to receive a gain from their assets have other options. Usually they (we) have chosen this route because it’s helpful. The ROI is equal to sustainability and growth.

The crux of the matter always seems to come down to this one question. If I could help one person with $10, wouldn’t it be better to help 99 more people with $1000? If the answer is yes, but you don’t have $1000, how do you get there?

Thus, the plan. Make money you can invest. Invest it letting compound interest work it’s magic.

Now, because of micro-lenders paying back interest, I think we have a better plan. Or perhaps just a different meaning, for “compound interest.”

Discuss.

do you have a facebook yet?

Last night Facebook launched their Comment Box which at first glance doesn’t look too amazing. But, there are some hidden nuggets (both gold and fools gold) that need to be dug out and examined a little. I’m not going to go in depth here, but I did want to skim the surface and say why I almost – but inevitably couldn’t – switch over to the new Facebook Comment Box for comments on my sites.

Why did they create a comments box?

Let’s be honest here. It’s because they want your content. Their recent fit of insanity which compelled them to release a TOS which uniformly gave them all rights to your content forever. They did recant from that heresy pretty quickly, but still. It’s like saying “you’re ugly…. just kidding, no offense.” They showed their hand and it’s indicative of something else going on.

What’s great about using the Facebook comments box?

Obviously, I already have comments enabled here, so it’s not about that. But, there is one huge benefit to using the Facebook comments box. It’s obviously not the comments themselves. It’s marketing. We all want to have our content spread into more places. The more pervasive our content is, the more we’ll gain in influence. Influence begets influence.

Why I won’t be using the Facebook comments box (yet)

I won’t be using it (yet) because the comments on a blog help with SEO positioning and I have a thing about relational data. When someone comments on a post of mine, I want to keep those comments for myself. It’s the same reason I didn’t use Disqus or the other comment widget providers out there.

I would love to use it for the marketing purposes, so if there were a way to sync the data (and for my blog to keep ownership of my copy of the comment), then I’d be all over it. I love the marketing power, expanded influence into one of the largest social networks in the world, and potentially the SEO (if somehow the link shows up in an SE indexed page). But, right now, the con outweighs the pros. I just can’t give away the content.

Uh oh…

One last note on this development is my belief that Facebook has effectively surpassed Disqus and others. I’m sure by usage they haven’t yet as it hasn’t even been 24 hours since the release. But, mark my ASCII, they will.

I’m not a believer in the “[x] killer”. There can definitely be many services that do similar things in the same space. I just think Disqus has proven that people like to have one login and web property owners are ok with giving up those comments to others under the right conditions. With those two items, Facebook just poised itself to trash Disqus growth considerably. The only thing Disqus has on Facebook right now is that they actually do allow for synchronization of comments. So, to each their own.

What do you think?

So, that’s my review. But, I’m curious what you think about all this? I know I didn’t hit on everything, so feel free to add points and counter points in the comments below.

Cheers.

Panhandler vs Business man (via Ectofranz on Flickr)

Hey, if you don’t like it, vote with your money.

When people stop paying for the things a company offers they’ll stop offering it.

The Almighty Dollar

These are just a few cliches we hear when times are good. We tell our friends that the collective “we” have the power to decide whether a company should be producing certain things or not. But that’s not the complete truth is it?

In the midst of governments bailing out industries and financial institutions we, the people, have lost our power. We no longer get to decide with our dollars. The government gets to decide with our dollars.

Now, before you run off and tell your mommy that Nate’s getting political and throwing around an anarchist agenda, let me explain. We still have the power, but most people don’t understand where to flex their muscles.

If the government is going to bail out companies that fail (and I mean “fail” by our self-defined, capitalist standards), and many citizens are going to support these financial policies, then we have to understand why. What are the biggest reasons for this support?

One word: jobs.

The auto industry says they employ one out of ten Americans. And some economic teachers and thinkers believe that if those employers go away then our economy tanks. While that may be true, look at where the power lies. Let’s follow the trail.

The power trail

• Trend: The world is getting more and more conscious about saving energy, like gas.
• Fact: Currently, the large majority of manufactured cars for the U.S. depend on gas to be a functional product.

Here’s how it’s supposed to work:

1. An American gets a job at an auto plant.
2. People buy the cars that auto plant produces.
3. The worker gets paid.
4. Hopefully, when the worker retires, the company has saved some money to pay their pensions.

Here’s how it actually works:

1. An American gets a job at an auto plant.
2. The auto company produces cars.
3. Other Americans don’t buy said cars.
4. Auto maker complains to government, citing employees paychecks (and trickling down, the economy) as the country’s problem.
5. The government agrees with the economic problem and pushes said American’s tax money into the auto company’s hands to pay for the employees.
6. Employees keep producing cars that said Americans don’t want.

Of course you might have already thought that through and agree that a bailout is pretty ridiculous. You might agree with me that it’s crazy to be in business if you can’t make a profit, which includes the costs of paying your employees and selling a product the market wants. Failing is ok. Succeeding is more fun, sure. But, all of that is capitalism.

But, even if you don’t agree with me on the end result, look at where the power lies in both areas. Jobs. And I don’t mean jobs that the companies offer. I mean jobs that people apply for and work at. Now, here it comes – the kicker.

Wait for it….

By working for failing companies these employees have chosen the path of the welfare check. Maybe not the literal one, but definitely the figurative one. They’re being supported by tax payers (FTF).

Detour

Let’s even break it down to the tiny towns across middle America that work for these companies with no other industry to support them. What do you do then? Answer: move away from them.

If a small town in middle America was supported by one company, a start-up tech company for example. And that start-up produced typewriters. Would you work for them? Do you really feel that you have no other choices presented to you? Is your only option failure (either having a job from a company that will fail, or not having a job at all)? Absolutely not.

If that’s what we’ve come to, a nation of people who can’t see beyond their front yard and can’t be creative problem solvers, then we have a bigger issue than our current financial crisis. We have a major problem with our citizen mentality which needs to be bailed out.

Back on track

So, what’s my point? My point is that each person has an incredible amount of power by deciding who they work for.

If you work for someone else, you might not have realized this yet, but you have just as much power as your employer. You and your employer enter into a contract together. She will give you some money in exchange for your labor. She doesn’t give it to you because you’re nice. She gives it to you because she wants something that you can provide. Stop. Let me say it again. She’s paying you for something that you can provide.

You, the employee, have just as much power as the employer.

“But wait,” you exclaim. “They could just fire me if I do something they don’t like.”

Yes, that’s true. But guess what? You have the same power. If your employer does something you don’t like, you can quit. And employee training costs money. It hurts. It also sends them a message (if done properly) just as much as an employer firing an employee sends a message.

Wrapping up

This is just a small portion of my full argument, but the end result is that when we, the people, understand that where we spend our time (in exchange for money) is where the biggest power lies, we’ll be able to say we’re capitalists again.

Until then, we’ll just be paying to support failing industries, governments that pay themselves too much for the work they do, and for useless wooden arrows to be produced.