Think of the market like the social media echo chamber: they've been filling themselves with hot air for a long time now and reality is saying hello. - Michael W. May
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We need this because for years and years the government has been propping companies up that should have failed. A severe market correction will sift the weak companies out, they will fail and we will be left with stronger companies. Yes some people will suffer in the short term but we will, as a society, all be stronger in the longterm. - Mark VandenBerg
The roses will grow back better after pruning. But we are gonna get scratched up. - Jay Tannenbaum
Any quasi gov entity should not be allowed to make donations to campaigns. But that is just what Fannie and Freddie did. - Bob
in the meantime the country/world are in a bloody mess. - Pete Delucchi
Rochelle, I don't always agree with him, but Mark pretty much said it for me. I think it's a matter of riding out the storm. And frankly, we've got a hell of a ride ahead of us. - Mavericks of Troy, NV!
Yes, it is a correction. In the long term, this economy needs what it is going through. - David Risley
No, Ralph, Hold now, buy in a month or so. - Mark VandenBerg
Every stock market in europe is also dropping. Dosen't look like a correction to me. if it were a correction, we'd have some idea of what we were correcting to. At this point we have no idea what the endgame for this mess is going to be. - Roberto "Maverick" Bonini
A financial advisor friend of mine told me last year that he doesn't invest in the stock markets because all the valuations are over inflated. I guess he'll be waiting for the dust to settle. - Shey
It's not a correction, it's a Worldwide Panic. - Aviv
Haven't had any nasty ones yet. I did have one: Scott Hanselman did ask me to locally host an image I sourced from his site ( it was loading from his server instead of mine). I promptly fixed it. - Roberto "Maverick" Bonini
Embrace the opportunity for conversation and thank them for adding to it. If you have lots of comments on every post - give your commenters a chance to come to your aid before you reply. - Mike Sansone
My initial reaction is sarcasm, then I realize that's not the right thing to do so I either ignore them, or address their complaints in a tactful manner. I really want to be sarcastic though. - Bwana McCall
I always publish them unless they get really offensive. In most cases users can simply make up their own minds about such comments. - Alexander van Elsas
Depends on the laws to which i''m subjected. Either nothing or everything. If we're talking about our apparent mutually shared existence in this universe, then nothing because i withhold judgment on the unknown or i change the rules to suit my beliefs. If i'm not confined to the rules of this universe, nothing can be proven. I'm a little buzzed, just ignore me. - ·[▪_▪]·
That hot dogs don't have have hooves or assholes in them. - Mark Wilson
That half the people on FF want R. Scoble's approval/attention. And that Pete Best was a good drummer. - Josh Haley
Crash Davis: Well, I believe in the soul, the cock, the pussy, the small of a woman's back, the hanging curve ball, high fiber, good scotch, that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent, overrated crap. I believe Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. I believe there ought to be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot, soft-core pornography, opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve, and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days. - todd
Is there a URL to the text of the senate bill? I can't find it... - Jim McCusker
Paul problem is, look who is in the presidents seat and who follows him. I would rather wait to see what happens in Nov. then go from there. - Christopher Welle
And replace them with...? Remember Groucho: Any club that would have me as a member... - Stephen Pierzchala
Funny, I've been working on this since '94. We're almost there. - Faboo Mama
Stephen replace them with those they are campaigning against. This is the wrong time to be voting on things like this if you're up for re-election. - Jesse Stay
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Noise complaint noise. It's like all the duplicate Facebook groups complaining about duplicate Facebook groups. Or an anarchist organization having bylaws. - Kevin Bondelli
" CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (CNN) -- Congress has balked at the Bush administration's proposed $700 billion bailout of Wall Street. Under this plan, the Treasury would have bought the "troubled assets" of financial institutions in an attempt to avoid economic meltdown.
This bailout was a terrible idea. Here's why.
The current mess would never have occurred in the absence of ill-conceived federal policies. The federal government chartered Fannie Mae in 1938 and Freddie Mac in 1970; these two mortgage lending institutions are at the center of the crisis. The government implicitly promised these institutions that it would make good on their debts, so Fannie and Freddie took on huge amounts of excessive risk." - Susan Beebe
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I've been promoting this article anywhere I can. Very smart piece. - AJ Kohn
I have to admit, it has a lot of good logic in it... this is such a pickle to be in. I don't like it AT ALL. - Susan Beebe
so despite the wishes of the overwhelming majority of the american public to not allocate $700 billion to this fiasco, the whole back and forth/on and off thing between the republicans and democrats wasn't about the dollar amount at all but rather about the method by which this money is gifted as well as who wanted to get the ultimate credit for making this go through. this gov't is garbage - Cee Bee
I am so fed up with Washington. Garbage is too nice a word. - David Risley
It's all about confidence and it's fair to say that Fannie and Freddie had too much confidence. - Andrew Pass
He's not getting a pass from the commentators at CNN. Unfortunately, some folks cannot look past their immediate economic circumstances. Shame. - Mavericks of Troy, NV!
The arguments for this bailout are similar to those for attacking Iraq: "We've got to do something, right?" - Chris White
exactly. the news became "we have to pass this or else we look like idiots who can't lead the american public" over "we need to take a hard look at whether or not this $700 million gift will change anything at all." the seed of fear was planted when paulson/bush & co pushed to get this done as quickly as possible or else we would all be doomed. so republicans got tax breaks and democrats get the credit for "making it happen," but does anyone feel any better about what just went down? - Cee Bee
and who came up with this figure of $700 billion anyway? seems like it was an arbitrary figure just thrown out there and everyone went along with it - Cee Bee
There is no turning back, because there is too much evidence that must disappear. - Cee Bee
+1 @helen... short-term thinking is what created this mess in the first place. - .LAG
According to Keith Olbermann, a spokesperson at the USFO says the number was just "made up". - Mavericks of Troy, NV!
Let this high fragile lattice of society we've built fall? Wild stuff. - Ernie Oporto
is anybody willing to admit yet that our entire system, our method of doing business, our worldview, is wrong? - Gregory Lent
Hmmm, Gregory. I mean what should I say? I am a green anarchist (primitivist) who earns his money in the internet... When I am that scizo, how scizo must the whole world be? - ※Fu※
fu, congrats on a mature integration of opposites, a sign of higher consciousness ... i have been noticing a kind of public denial that i need to articulate more clearly .. we are upset because our comfort is disrupted, not so upset that we want to transform our lives .. to do this as a society, we have to 'fess up that something is truly wrong with our system, and with us, and take responsibility .. think differently .. the public seems to think this is an anomaly, and not a symptom of something worse .. - Gregory Lent
I'd been thinking something along these lines myself. It sucks, but companies fail and go out of business all the time. That's what bankruptcy is FOR. I know that probably the biggest problem is the public perception problem. But I'm increasingly LESS in favor of a government bailout. - Heather Sillypants Mina
@Gregory Finally, thank you, thank you, thank you. Lets take some responsibility for our actions people. We've lived in such a way to create this problem. We need to live with the repercussions of our actions AND LEARN FROM THEM! - Matt Hilton
"Celebrities in the sometimes humorous, sometimes foreboding video direct viewers to http://www.maps.google.com/vot... for geographically-tailored information about voting and voter registration..." - Anthony Citrano
they should shut up and act. That's what we pay them for. - David Risley
Gee, guess you're right, David. Most other Americans don't bother to leverage their personal power for the greater good, so why should actors... - Anthony Citrano
+10 for Anthony's comment. Use your leverage if you have it to effect change for the better! - Raoul Pop
Anthony-the only internet ads I've seen so far for voter registration have been Sen. Obama backed. The majority of voter registration fraud has been from ACORN-Democrat Supported. - Paul W. Swansen
Anthony- I would hope that voting responsibility would be instilled by example of one's peers and an honest look at the facts. - Paul W. Swansen
So, Paul, you didn't bother to read the story before making your comments. How constructive. - Anthony Citrano
Also Paul, I agree with you fully about peer example, but you surely know how rare that is. A vast majority of Americans will eat with you, they'll go to the mall with you, and they'll watch TV with you. But they sure aren't going to talk policy with you (beyond "rah, rah, my Team rocks!") and they most certainly are not going to be your voting buddy. - Anthony Citrano
I would be seriously excited to live in a nation where it is considered just as cool to have a basic command/curiosity about national policy issues as it is to know every intricacy and twist in the plotline of the reality TV show du jour... yes, yes i would. if these guys can help bridge that disconnect, i am all for it. and that ain't politics, that's a basic love of liberty. - Anthony Citrano
@Jeremy-Voter Registration Fraud. Not the voter purging which is available to both Democrat and Republican to take advantage of. - Paul W. Swansen
and i *love* entertainment. above is not meant as an indictment of it in the least. life should be fun and entertaining and whimsical and colorful and pretty - and their industry provides a great deal of salacious distraction and delight which i readily consume. - Anthony Citrano
It's been argued out and discussed by experts since it was first mentioned. If you haven't heard experts discussing it, you weren't paying attention. - Andrew Burd
They are stuffing unrelated crap into this bailout. FAIL. - David Risley
Oh, they do that all the time. That's how we got to $10.03 trillion national debt and $73 trillion fiscal gap. - Morton Fox
We should crap Congress and start over again. Pisses me off everytime they vote on something. - David Risley
It's official, we live in a communist country. They can tap your phones, imprison you for no reason, and now they can own the companies you work for without your vote or your input. - Douglas Karr
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Hey folks, just means we have to light up the Congressional phone lines and email boxes tonight and tomorrow. - AJ Kohn
and I believe we elected them did we not? - John Head
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@EdShaz I think she's lipsyncing... they should let the ugly one get on film. - Douglas Karr
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@Aaron: What you imply is that people who are only reading the headlines are smarter than the experts like Fed Chief, Warren Buffet etc. All the naysayers, please can your conspiracy theories and start believing in your country. Somebody said, "Democracy died". Really? Do you even know what that means in real life? Shame on you. This is the greatest of all countries. Not many countries can rise from the mess like this, US can. Americans should be proud of it.. - Ashish Rangole
@ Ashish Rangole Bravo! I applaud you. But don't you know; America is the ONLY nation where a hint of national pride and gratitude is filthy and jingoistic? All others? It's ok. Here you have to trash the country to be 'elite' and Euro friendly. My grandparents kissed this soil. Literally. - Ed Shaz/NextInstinct
Actually, I think it is a case of losing all faith in our represenatives that they have our best interests at heart....if they ever did - Douglas E. Welch
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Amen, brother. Scoble's retweets are the juice. - John McCrea
Scoble - laughing at your comment. @chrisbrogan has had a similar effect w/ me in the past. One mention and voila, many new followers. @Louis, I'd say that you start to hit critical mass at 100 but they obviously have to be the right 100. At 500-1,000, you can start to get some very effective research/survey results from your followers. - Aaron Strout
John, you don't even need one follower, thinking about it. The world is moving to http://search.twitter.com so you can get found with very few followers there. - Robert Scoble
Thanks Mr. Scoble. I just found someone to chat with about my executive dashboard project. - Mattb4rd
Robert: so true. I am addicted to Twitter search. It is vital to my work (and fun). - John McCrea
@Aaron, this is not a post I wrote, but one from Mukund at BuzzGain. And yes, I agree that Twitter Search is more important than Twitter's Web interface at this point. - Louis Gray
I'll have to agree with Scobleizer - I visit Twitter Search more than Twitter itself these days. I learn way more from that interface. - Chris Luckhardt
Haven't we been here before. 1st we all create content. Then, Search organizes the content. I suppose "Twitter Words" is next? - Alan Edgett
Funny how often I've been asked the EXACT same questions. We've been having a nice discussion about this as well (1.6k views and 70 comments now) around a great article that was written by a member. http://tinyurl.com/3h8mdz - Leif@Biznik
None - they all spend so much time reading twitter (and FF :) ) that nothing gets done! - Chris
depends on targeted/anticipated impact and target audience. - Hayk Hakobyan
@Scoble - technically one, but realistically I have to go with @aaron - Mukund
The real question is, how many twitter followers does it take to change a lightbulb? - Jan Dawson
your message is more important, how to write compelling copy in 140 characters - Dan Rockwell
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impact? the summize purchase was great but tweetscan deserves a plug - & no one has monetized even the text aspect of twitter yet - ($800/MB is valuable bitspace controlled by telecom - SMS is hugely profitable) so ... impact? twitter matched to transactions are a way off - using bandwidth for scale & ROI on time to tweet are a bit too abstracted to make much sense of impact suggested in the article - Wes Schadenfreud
Can't speak for the first statement because I was not conservative before I was unemployed, but I disagree with the second. I'm far from conservative and I've been mugged AND assaulted. - Trish R
Where would an unemployed mugger fall on the spectrum? - Alan Simpson
@Alan - you make him campaign manager (Rick Davis) :-) - Shout out 2Jody
I really can't see why being mugged would make me feel a need to defend marriage from the gays, kill brown people, and screw poor people. - Eric
Alan: I think that's a high-finance NYC banker, isn't it? - Robert Scoble
Eric - I was mugged by a poor gay couple with brown skin - Alan Simpson
Unemployed and mugged, hallmark of Bush presidency - imran
I've been unemployed, never been mugged and I'm not liberal - Shey
Strangely enough, eric, as a conservative I help poor people by giving them an opportunity instead of insulting them with a handout. - Craig Eddy
I like - Any given liberal will become a conservative in 30 years even if none of his political thoughts have changed. - Emotion Tad
All the conservatives I know who were laid off, started their own businesses and are far better off than when they were employed. - Craig Eddy
@Just Yup, it's called maturity, and is usually preceded by responsibility. Responsibility in your actions and the results they produce, not blaming someone else, or expecting the government to bail you out. Labels are always too narrow, but to me, thats the mindset difference. - Dan Nimtz
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I like most of these definitions of conservatives. It's more or less how I feel as well. At what point, though, do you have to add in the insanely intolerant gay-hating moralist bit? That's the part that has alienated me from the Republican party. Marginalize them and I'll come back. - Emotion Tad
If you're not somewhere down the middle, you're out of touch with reality. - LarchOye
Or you are an elected official, you are out of touch with reality. - imran
Tad - good point. There was a time when I thought the "Maverick" who was once McCain could do a great job of bringing back conservatism to the Republican party, but that was the pre-2000/2001 McCain. I'm a conservative with a liberal heart, and don't necessarily appreciate government's incompetence thrusting me into the Democratic party, but then the two party system we have now is hardly how I would view democracy to be in a perfect world, so I'm forced into the lesser of two evils. - Shout out 2Jody
Hey, there's Shey...where you been? You missed the old school rap meme. Sorry to hijack this thread. - Alex "Maverick" Scoble
Jody: I'm a libertarian at heart... but there comes a time when the free market simply cannot provide for the needs of the people. The Interstate Highway system is a good example. There's no way in hell the free market would have EVER built the interstate system. - LarchOye
I want the government out of my bank account AND out of my bedroom and personal affairs. The GOP totally FAILS at this. (and yes, we all know the Dems want my bank account) - Emotion Tad
The free market would have built it (look at the railroads) you just would have had to drive different cars depending on which road you are going on...and there's no guarantee that you'd get them to all connect. - Alex "Maverick" Scoble
I'm a bleeding heart liberal and I take full responsbility for my actions, I am as mature as I need to be and neither do I expect the government to bail me out. But I also believe in helping my neighbor, trying to give everyone a fair chance and caring about the community in which I live. Individually, labels as a whole matter very little as we all try to do the best we can with what we've got. I don't believe Republicans/conservatives are heartless individuals who don't care. I just don't happen to agree with a lot of the ways in which they try to help. - pea does NOT ♥ pain
I don't want a hand out, but I do sometimes need a safety net when irresponsible executives lay me off because they failed to manage properly. - Alex "Maverick" Scoble
A socialist is a conservative who needs a bailout (until the money's in his pocket). :) - steplow is Steve
@pea♥: Well said. I'm a liberal because I strongly believe in equality of opportunity, human dignity, and meritocracy. This has utterly nothing to do with my personal circumstances, whether we're talking about crime or unemployment. - Eric
A truism is a cliche which has been repeated. - Chris Baskind
Unless it's a horse of a different color. - Rob Sterling
A liberal is unemployed. A conservative spouts nothing but inane cliches. - (teh)Kenny
I am a conservative who was a liberal who was actually mugged. On FF I am a conservative who is mugged by liberals. Somehow my inner child got molested. But I'm on the mend! - Jay Tannenbaum
Good question ... @waynesutton just tweeted that LinkedIn usage is up... I would have to assume it depends on the service. - Clay Newton
Increase. LinkedIN and FaceBook for professionals. Increasing numbers of blog posts to get name out, etc. - Stephen Pierzchala
If it gets measurement standards then yes. - Steve Rubel
I say it increases becused everyone is going to talk about it on twitter,facebook,friendfeed and the online news and newsbots! - Victor
Increases. Social networking is more useful than ever as people look for opportunities, jobs, etc. - David Risley
Increases big time. As people lose jobs they start using these types of things. - Alex "Maverick" Scoble
We would first have to wait and see if we are in a recession, which could be a while because you need two quarters of negative growth, we have had none so far. - Spencer Scott
That's a generally accepted way to figure out if you are in a recession, but no the only one. - Alex "Maverick" Scoble
I agree with Alex. When people are laid off, they look for opportunities to help them find jobs. Social media is networking with others. - imabonehead
Increase: Entertainment costs will get cut Tweeting is free. - Geoff Schultz
That is the way a recession is determined. But because it's political season people want to 'change' their definition to benefit themselves. - Spencer Scott
Increases. Remember, blogging started during our last downturn when everyone was laid off or under employed. - Robert Scoble
Increase, what else are you going to do the whole day? Unless you used a corporate Laptop and they took that back - dionysus
I have to agree with Scoble it will increase for sure. What are the tangible indications that this will prove true though? - Jeremy Campbell
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More people looking for new job opportunities, new business opportunities, and more investments means a higher volume of communication. It is likely that innovation in the communication space will also increase as we constantly move towards the most efficient model (we hope). At least until the socialist politicians get a hold of it. >.> - pitlord
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I believe that people communicate more when they are in trouble, normally getting in touch with old forgotten friends, looking for new ideas, tips, etc. Social media usage should increase a lot now. - Christian Oliver
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I'd say it increases. People looking for alternative options to big $ advertising not to mention people looking for jobs etc - Trish
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This would only be a valid question if social media had reached something like a saturation point. But as it's still gaining penetration, a recession should not lower it at all - but could slow growth. - Louis Gray
Increase.. cheap easy way to communicate. Also people will be at home more - Britney Mason
Increases. Need for connected rises. We're certainly seeing a surge over at Plaxo. When giant companies are collapsing over any given weekend, who can afford not to be as wired up as possible? - John McCrea
Increases, becomes less frivolous, more the the point. - Trevor Lee
It will probably increase, people will start to travel less.. and need alternatives for social interaction - Aad 't Hart
Decreases. When ad dollars dry up and investors demand ROI and profitability all of this will become pay to play. - Adam Turetzky
"Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev will join forces with Russian tycoon Alexander Lebedev to launch a new political party independent of the Kremlin, the billionaire businessman said on Tuesday." - Andrew Baron
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