On CNN.com the front page has a list of "Latest News." In there is a story about Google's announcement of a contest of ideas. Google will pay up to $10 million dollars to fund a good idea that will impact on many people.
I personally think this is a great idea. Why not solicit the public for a great idea to back and help a number of people at the same time.
The thing I find interesting though, is that while Google is a search engine it is also its own media machine. Go to news.google.com and there is a list of breaking news, tech stuff, entertainment and a host of other categories of stories to read. However, Google doesn't list its own idea search until it's buried eight stories deep in the tech section. I find that odd and bad marketing. But, the contest is pretty cool.
CNN
Google's link to the story about itself.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Financial Sense
Today I read another article about the falling out of the American economy and who's to blame.I have noticed a lack of personal responsibility for peoples personal finances. I am currently 24 years old and for the last three years I have known that the housing prices in the St. George, Utah area could not last the rapid increase for any length of time.
As the housing market has fallen out over the last 18 months the finger has been pointed at every organization besides the individual. This is still true, I distinctly remember sitting in a chair in front of a loan officer of my local credit union about to sign on a loan to buy a vehicle. The loan was mine, all I had to do was sign on the dotted line. However, I went through the thought of, "Can I make this payment, plus insurance, plus the gas to drive it and still have money to go out to eat every once and a while?" The answer was no. I had to take responsibility and walk away from the loan and get a less expensive vehicle.
If more people had taken a look at how much they make and what expenses they have we may not have seen the huge expansive growth that we've seen in the last couple of years but we would not be seeing the very unstable market of today.
As the housing market has fallen out over the last 18 months the finger has been pointed at every organization besides the individual. This is still true, I distinctly remember sitting in a chair in front of a loan officer of my local credit union about to sign on a loan to buy a vehicle. The loan was mine, all I had to do was sign on the dotted line. However, I went through the thought of, "Can I make this payment, plus insurance, plus the gas to drive it and still have money to go out to eat every once and a while?" The answer was no. I had to take responsibility and walk away from the loan and get a less expensive vehicle.
If more people had taken a look at how much they make and what expenses they have we may not have seen the huge expansive growth that we've seen in the last couple of years but we would not be seeing the very unstable market of today.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Gov. Sara Palin
It wasn't until the summer of 2007 that I actually started paying attention to Presidential elections. I had a persuasion class in which we were asked to start to analyze stump speeches and take a look at the messages that individuals were trying to convey. Since then I have started to listen more to what people are saying, what news organizations are saying, to what talk radio is saying, and to what candidates are saying. After all of this listening I decided that it was time for me to do something. I went and found the local Officer Selection Officer for the United States Marine Corps. I filled out my application and was later selected as a candidate eligible to go to Officer Candidate School and be evaluated for my leadership potential as a company grade officer. I continue to listen to messages of those presidential hopefuls with a new interest as the decisions of the new President will have a direct impact on my life, even to where I might live.
Last week was the first time that I watched the Republican National Convention to any extent. I was not able to watch Gov. Sarah Palin live on TV but I was able to watch her on CNN.com the following day. (http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/09/03/sot.palin.entire.cnn ) I was throughly impressed by Palin's speech. She was strong, stable and spoke with conviction about a number of issues that are very complex. She spoke about new energy as though she had dealt with the issue before. She did it all with a sense, not of holier than thou but that she was your average citizen who lives a life that people can relate to. She believes in America and more importantly she recognizes that this is country is still an experiment in self-government; and that it can still fail. I've never been more impressed with a political figure than I was watching Gov. Palin deliver her speech.
Last week was the first time that I watched the Republican National Convention to any extent. I was not able to watch Gov. Sarah Palin live on TV but I was able to watch her on CNN.com the following day. (http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/politics/2008/09/03/sot.palin.entire.cnn ) I was throughly impressed by Palin's speech. She was strong, stable and spoke with conviction about a number of issues that are very complex. She spoke about new energy as though she had dealt with the issue before. She did it all with a sense, not of holier than thou but that she was your average citizen who lives a life that people can relate to. She believes in America and more importantly she recognizes that this is country is still an experiment in self-government; and that it can still fail. I've never been more impressed with a political figure than I was watching Gov. Palin deliver her speech.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Ductus Captus
Ductus Captus is Latin for Leadership through Ideas. I've come to the conclusion that I have a lot of ideas or opinions (which might be more appropriate) that others don't agree with at first. However, after some pondering on it, it makes sense and people tend to agree with me. Perhaps it's because I'm right or it might be the that people's minds really are malable and can be shaped.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
