random musings for thinking people

It's time for another update on how my foray into the realm of writing is going. At the end of July I talked about my experiences in blogging to date and set some new goals for the rest of 2008. To recap, those goals are:

1. Establish and maintain a clear focus and purpose
2. Build a loyal base of subscribers
3. Raise my profile and reputation

Let's look at my progress towards these goals.

By the Numbers

I'm pleased to report that my traffic stats have improved in every metric in September as opposed to August. My traffic levels are still very small and almost statistically zero in internet terms, but any growth is good. Here are the graphs... [click to read the full article...]

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There are obvious downsides to bankruptcy, such as the financial inconvenience, the restrictions and the stigma of failure. But as an entrepreneur, the thing I struggle with most is the self-doubt I never had before. Sure, it's good to admit mistakes and be humble, but I'm talking about something deeper. When I started my business, I knew with absolutely certainty what I wanted to do, that I had the ability to do it and that it would work. Having the whole thing come crashing down around you puts something of a dent in anyone's self confidence, no matter how passionate or ambitious. Here's how it all started... [click to read the full article...]

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On Monday September 29, 2008, the US Congress shocked everyone by voting down a $700billion rescue package for investment banks. I'm not going to get into the details of that, it is already being well covered by the zeitgeist. But it is clearly a historic moment, and I predict it will the one people look back on as the day when the debt-based financial system became terminally ill.

The financial system used throughout the Western world has been rotten from the day it was first introduced. In this system, money can only ever be created by making a debt. The more a society produces, the more debt it gets itself into. The US national debt today stands at $9,896,734,646,582, or $32,467 for each citizen of the United States. It grows at an estimated $2.42 billion every day. (Australia's national debt is currently $585 billion.) It doesn't take a genius to know that that money is never getting repayed. In fact, it's impossible. If you add up every single bit of money in the entire country right now, it will be less than the debt.

In a debt-based financial system, there is always more debt in existence than there is money to pay it. Consider any bank. If everyone goes to withdraw their money at the same time, there won't be enough. The bank has bigger debts to its customers than it can possibly afford to pay.

The current financial crisis has come about because banks have been lending money to people who can't pay it back. The debt to the bank becomes worthless and then the bank can't pay its own debts so it collapses, and all the money it owes people becomes worthless too. If employers can't get money from their bank to pay the money they owe their employees, the employees can't pay their debts. If people can't pay their debts to the landlord, the landlord can't pay the mortgage so the debt to the bank becomes worthless and around we go again. It's not a recession - it's a depression.

[click to read the full article...]

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My experience with most resumés is that they don't work very well. For the person writing their resumé it's hard to get across the depth and breadth of their life experience and character - most resumés read like a travel itinerary rather than, say, a eulogy. From an employer's perspective, resumés tell you very little - it really takes a face-to-face interview to learn about a candidate and assess their suitability for a position.

This strikes me as wasteful and misleading. For instance, I personally have plenty of desirable qualities and experience as a prospective employee, I'm pretty good at selling and not half bad at writing, yet whenever I try to write a resumé for myself using the usual structure I end up coming across as an unstable, indecisive serial underachiever. I certainly wouldn't give myself an interview. My experience as an employer in selecting people to interview and subsequently hire from their resumés seems to suggest I'm not the only one whose resumé isn't a true reflection of themselves.

So what to do? I propose a different kind of resumé, one that better reflects a person's full life experience and character rather than just a list of where they've been. After all, in a work environment that increasingly demands multiple skills and certain intangible qualities, an employer's focus is more likely to be on a candidate's accumulated wisdom and expertise than any individual achievement. My preferred resumé format would aim to map the candidate's life from three different viewpoints - discipline, timeline and personality.

[click to read the full article...]

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Time for a political edition this week! Don't groan - we all know politics is important - I try to make it interesting and accessible on this blog. Less than 6 weeks out from the end of what will undoubtedly go down in history as the worst US Administration ever, here are some things you need to see...

How US elections work

In Australia we have what is widely regarded as the fairest electoral system in the world. Mention preferential voting to folks overseas and they will probably look at you like you're crazy. By contrast, the US system is very different indeed. Here's a short cartoon which explains how it works.