Sense of Touch

Housing Analysis: The use and reasonably foreseeable misuse of price to rent ratios

2011-12-13T00:58:00.000-08:00

Housing Analysis: The use and reasonably foreseeable misuse of price to rent ratios

Moldova's Twitter Revolution | Net Effect

2011-12-10T07:57:00.000-08:00

Moldova's Twitter Revolution | Net Effect

Cellphones and text messaging are widely believed to have played a crucial role in fostering theOrange Revolution in Ukraine (or at least, making the protests as widespread and successful as they were); the Berkman Center at Harvard published probably the most comprehensive study of the role that social media played in the Orange Revolution (even though I criticized some of its cyber-utopian assumptions in a recent essay for Boston Review).

Could it be that five years after the famous protests in Kiev's Maidan Square another technology - Twitter - will usher in another revolution in neighbouring Moldova? Will we remember the events that are now unfolding in Chisinau not by the color of the flags but by the social-networking technology used?

If you asked me about the prospects of a Twitter-driven revolution in a low-tech country like Moldova a week ago, my answer would probably be a qualified "no". Today, however, I am no longer as certain. If you bothered to check the most popular discussions on Twitter in the last 48 hours, you may have stumbled upon a weird threat of posts marked with a tag "#pman" (it's currently listed in Twitter's "Trending Topics" along with "Apple Store", Eminem, and Easter).

No, "pman" is not short for "pacman"; it stands for "Piata Marii Adunari Nationale", which is Romanian name for the biggest square in Chisinau, Moldova's capital. This is not the first time that a Twitter "tag" has been used to mobilize young people around a particular event; the most famous previous case has been that of "griots" - the tag used to report on the youth riogs in Greece, which later spread to Europe, arguably also with the help of Twitter (check these two pieces I wrote on the subject of "networked protest" - one for The Economist and one foropenDemocracy).

Ever since yesterday's announcement that Moldova's communists have won enough votes to form a government in Sunday's elections, Moldova's progressive youth took to the streets in angry protests. As behooves any political protest by young people today, they also turned to Facebook and Twitter to raise awareness about the planned protests and flashmobs. Led by youth NGOs likeHydePark and ThinkMoldova, the protests began very peacefully - as a flashmob, where young people were simply supposed to hold lit candles in the vicinity of the square.

However, this morning things got out of hand - and, with or without Twitter's help, the crowd got much larger, reaching as many as 10,000 people, who first picketed Election Commission headquarters, the president’s residence (windows are reported to be broken - and there are alsoreports that this building has been stormed), and other government buildings before storming the building of the Moldovan Parliament, which happens to be just across the road.

Technology is playing an important role in facilitating these protests. In addition to huge mobilization eforts both on Twitter and Facebook, Moldova's angry youth - especially those who are currently abroad (roughly a quarter of Moldova's population are working abroad due to dire economic conditions back at home) - could follow the events on this livestream provided by a Romanian TV station - directly from the square.

I've just spoken to a Moldovan friend who is himself a big technology fan; according to him, there is little to none cellphone coverage in the square itself (turning off cellphone coverage in protest areas is a trick that was also used by the Belarusian authorities to diffuse 2006 protests in Minsk's central square), so protesters have to leave it to post updates to Twitter via GPRS technology on their mobiles.

The related posts on Twitter are being posted at a record-breaking rate - I've been watching the Twitter stream for the last 20 minutes - and I see almost 200 new Twitter messages marked with "pman" (virtually all of them in Romanian, with only one or two in English). In the last few hours there have also emerged several "smart" aggregators of posts on the subject, like this one - they have to contextualize what exactly is happening -- and this one for YouTube videos. Many blog posts are also being updated in real-time - minute by minute - check this one. There are also a plenty of videos on YouTube and photos, including those uploaded to Facebook.

There are also a few moving English-language Twitter posts like this - "in #pman a grenade thrown by the police has torn apart one of the protester's leg"- that would surely be perused by foreign journalists. It's hard to predict for how long this cornucopia of user-generated media would continue; my Moldovan contacts report that the authorities may have required some Moldovan ISPs to restrict Internet connection with the outside world, so the protesters might soon face difficulties in getting their reports out.

All in all, while it's probably too early to tell whether Moldova's Twitter revolution will be successful, it would certainly be wrong to disregard the role that Twitter and other social media have played in mobilizing (and, even more so, reporting on) the protests. Of course, it helps that young Moldovans are sick and tired of the communist government (for a long time the only one in Europe) and there may be a few reasons to be concerned about voting irregularities but, overall, the Chisinau protests undoubtedly present an interesting case-study that I hope academic institutions like Harvard's Berkman Center and others would take on and examine in detail.

VADIM DENISOV/AFP/Getty Images

Telegraph's Ambrose Evans-Pritchard doesn't like the alleged "Plan B" of the Germans

2011-12-10T04:05:00.000-08:00

Telegraph's Ambrose Evans-Pritchard doesn't like the alleged "Plan B" of the Germans

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard in The Telegraph talks about how dangerous the alleged German "Plan B" (exit of Greece from the Eurozone) is and accuses the German Finance Minister Schäuble of reckless behavior. Yes, the plan is dangerous, as UBS has impressively shown in a new study. Regarding the "Greek case", it has to be taken into account that they have cheated for years before they ran into disaster. Demands for further austerity (there is probably still enough "slack" in the cost structure of the public administration..) make sense. Bailing them once again out without tough demands would lead to enormous moral hazard issues.

Telegraph: Germany and Greece flirt with mutual assured destruction, By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, Sept. 11, 2011

Bild Zeitung populism has prevailed. Germany is pushing Greece towards a hard default, risking the uncontrollable chain reaction so long feared by markets.

First we learn from planted leaks that Germany is activating "Plan B", telling banks and insurance companies to prepare for 50pc haircuts on Greek debt; then that Germany is “studying” options that include Greece's return to the drachma.

German finance minister Wolfgang Schauble has chosen to do this at a moment when the global economy is already flirting with double-dip recession, bank shares are crashing, and global credit strains are testing Lehman levels. The recklessness is breath-taking.

If it is a pressure tactic to force Greece to submit to EU-IMF demands of yet further austerity, it may instead bring mutual assured destruction. read more in the Telegraph011

Keywords: Greek Crisis, European Crisis, European Crisis Resolution

Related:

For good reasons, Wolfgang Schäuble called the political events and the commentaries around them a"cacophony". The expression is now making the round, as a latest article in the German Handelszeitung shows:

Handelszeitung: Merkel stemmt sich gegen die Griechenland-Kakophonie, Sept. 13, 2011.

The article once more points out that Greece has to fulfill the demands of its financiers (EU and IMF) before further action can be taken. Looking at the UBS study and other analysis, a EU break-up is can definitely not be an option. Regarding Greece, it has to be considered that they account for only 2% of the EU GDP. This leaves space for several options, if executed in a clearly defined process.

Set the rules before providing financing!

2011-12-10T04:04:00.000-08:00

Set the rules before providing financing!

In a Sept. 9 post we mentioned that a policy solution in the Eurozone should have priority number one.

Jordi Gual on Vox says something similar:

"The solution must involve a Eurozone arrangement that facilitates the gradual deleveraging of the countries that built up excessive debts. This is in the interest of both creditor and debtor countries. It must be implemented by a combination of financial support instruments which are flexible enough to allow growth recovery in indebted countries, and monitored fiscal adjustment and structural reforms that ensure the long-run fiscal viability and competitiveness of these economies. This is the burden sharing that is needed: creditor countries providing the funding or insurance at reasonable costs, and debtor countries undergoing the short term costs of fiscal retrenchment and reform."

Only hazardeurs finance before they set the rules. Seeing it from this background makes the current discussions about the Greek problem better understandable.

FT's Wolfgang Münchau about the leave of ECB chief economist Jürgen Stark

2011-12-10T03:57:00.000-08:00

FT's Wolfgang Münchau about the leave of ECB chief economist Jürgen Stark

Here is an excerpt of the article (translated from German to English by MarketObservation):

Stark knew exactly what he wanted, but at no time he had a constructive approach to resolving the crisis. Who wants to save the Euro Area with its current members will inevitably end up with Euro Bonds and large-scale purchases of Bonds by the ECB as an interim solution. This is the only way to stabilize the market interest rates. The introduction of a common bond, of course, would have further consequences. A fiscal union, as well as the Europeanization of the banking sector would be needed.

Great post about America's challenges

2011-12-10T03:54:00.000-08:00

Great post about America's challenges

Great Post By a Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing! | Eh? What? Huh?

2011-12-10T01:56:00.000-08:00

Great Post By a Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing! | Eh? What? Huh?

Gary, from Follow Your Bliss, wrote a great post about his role as a Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

Below is a portion of his post:

I am a teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing. I am not a sign language interpreter. Over the years I have encountered those who are confused about the difference between the two professions. This has happened in both my professional and personal life. For folks unfamiliar with issues related to deaf culture or deaf education using the terms interchangeably is certainly understandable. Yet, the two call for distinct qualifications, demands and experience. They do not have to be mutually exclusive but the path towards certification in each is not the same.

My role as a teacher is similar to that of any other educator, only I use American Sign Language (ASL). Read more . . .

I encourage you to visit his blog. He sounds like a wonderful teacher and his students are super lucky to have him. :)

2010-07-07T03:35:00.001-07:00

Peter Shalson Biography http://www.junowebdesign.com/biography/peter-shalson-biography petershalson shalson biography uk

2009-12-12T03:26:00.001-08:00

SEO Tips for Small Business: How to Get Good Links - www.smallbusinesscomputing.com

The Best Affiliate Marketplace on the Net!

2009-06-08T05:02:00.000-07:00

Why I think PayDotCom is the Best Affiliate Marketplace on the Net!

If you are familiar with Clickbank.com (R), or even if you are not but you want to make profits online, then you will want to check this out ASAP ...

While I like Clickbank, and they are a great marketplace... they are limited to many restrictions to sell products or earn affiliate commissions...

Well, there is a GREAT NEW SERVICE now...

It is a new FREE marketplace where you can sell any product you want.

Yours OWN product...

- OR - (the best part)
You can become an INSTANT Affiliate for ANY item in their HUGE marketplace.

It is called PayDotCom.com!

Click Here to Sell Your Products or Become a Super Affiliate

Did I mention it is 100% FREE to Join!

This site is going to KILL all other marketplaces and I by now, almost EVERY SINGLE SERIOUS online marketer has an account with PayDotCom.com

So get yours now and see how much they offer...

OH! - Also, they have their won affiliate program now that pays you COLD HARD cash just for sharing the site with people like I am doing with you...

They give you cool tools like BLOG WIDGETS, and they even have an advertising program to help you get traffic to your site.

If you want an ARMY of affiliates to sell your products for you, they also allow you to have Free placement in their marketplace!

Even better... If your product becomes one of the Top 25 products in its category in the marketplace (not that hard to do)...

...then you will get Free advertising on the Blog Widget which is syndicated on THOUSANDS of sites World Wide and get Millions of impressions per month.

So, what are you waiting for...

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Make Money Online with LivePerson

2009-03-28T21:55:00.000-07:00

What if there was a way to make money online by utilizing your own skills and talents that you use in the real world?
Well, there is an option to do just that, it is called LivePerson.
At LivePerson you can register for a free account and then your information is added into their directory.

From there people can connect with you who need advice on a topic that you are listed as an expert in. As a registered expert of LivePerson, you charge people by the minute for your advice and LivePerson collects around 35% of the fee.
I think registering with LivePerson as an expert in your niche can help a lot with paying a few bills and giving you some added financial comfort.

Also too, you can earn even more money by joining their affiliate program. You can earn up to $100 dollars for every paying customer you refer to their site. Even if you were to only able to refer just one person a week, that is $400 dollars. I am not sure about you, but I can do a lot with an extra $400 in my pocket.

Free Domain Name Registration

2009-03-28T21:32:00.000-07:00

How to register a Dot TK Domain name for FREE:

1) Click Here to go to the Free Dot TK Domain Name registration page.
2) Enter URL of your target page first in the text box found on the registration page.
3) Click the "next" button located just right of the text box.
4) Now enter your desired Dot TK domain name.
5) Giving email address is optional. But I suggest to put email address and register yourself so that you can make changes to your doamin name and get traffic statistics.

Benefits of using free Dot TK domain names:

1) Good domain names will bring a lof of visitors to your website. Many good Dot TK domains are still available to register for free. You can also register very good domain names of your desired niche for completely free.
2) You can hide your affiliate link using free dot tk domains. This will help you a lot in online marketing.
3) Protect your email identity with Dot TK's disposable email aliases.
4) Dot TK's Tiki Net program may give you some traffic although some traffic will divert from your site to other sites at the same time.
5) Keywords rich domain name may help in Search Engine Optimization.
6) You can participate in Dot TK's affiliate program named as Ambassador program to earn some money.

Bluehost Review

2009-01-10T19:36:00.000-08:00

For an individual or small to medium business website, Bluehost is an excellent host. They provide a great service for customers who have a limited budget to spend on hosting each month but are looking for a highly reliable hosting solution.

Hosting plans are hosted on high performance Intel Xeon Servers, they also utilize UPS Power Back-up as well as a Diesel Back Up generator at their datacenter. Currently Bluehost is offering some very good features such as a free domain name to get you started, UNLIMITED storage and UNLIMITED bandwidth per month, Bluehost's $6.95 per month plan.

The network is monitored 24/7 to provide customers with even more peace of mind with their hosting services, this insures that your sites are online 24/7, and if a problem does occur, it is dealt with quickly.

CLICK HERE TO VISIT SIGNUP FOR BLUEHOST.COM NOW

Lunarpages Review

2009-01-06T17:47:00.000-08:00

Lunarpages is the shared hosting portion of Add2Net Corporation who provide managed and unmanaged dedicated server hosting. Their plans range in pricing from 7.95 to 22.95 and higher with dedicated servers.

Lunarpages was founded in the summer of 2000 when Add2Net Corporation expanded its hosting offerings to include shared hosting. For the previous 3 years, Add2Net had been successfully providing large scale managed and unmanaged hosting services.

Getafreelancer.com Review

2008-12-19T22:54:00.000-08:00

For work from home Getafreelancer.com is one of several sites you can use to find work.
It's very easy to understand, though if you are new to freelancing world, it can be confusing initially.
Buyers (customers, usually companies) are in need a specific skill, for example; an individual setting up a website may be in need of a computer programmer for specific coding to make his site behave a certain way, or, a company may require an entire online directory presented in an excel spreadsheet.

The buyer will post the project, a brief description of the work they need doing and the skills they expect the freelancer to have.
Providers are the freelancers, not only individuals but companies as well, all in search of a project.
The site works on a bidding system; the Buyer posts the project and the providers then bid on how much they will charge to do the work.
The currency on this site is US dollars and the lowest amount in which you can bid for work is $30.

If you were to bid $100 for a project, another freelancer may offer to do the same work for $75, a third freelancer may then bid to do the work for $30.
The lowest bidder doesn't necessarily win the project, when you bid you have the opportunity to tell the buyer why you are the person who should be awarded the project.
I have won projects in the past being the highest bidder. It depends what the buyer is looking for.
So you've been awarded a project, what now?

If you are a freelancer then this is your livelihood and future work always depends on the standard of work, on how quickly you do the work and on the feedback you receive as a result of it.
Always keep in close contact with your buyer, stay online and be available at any time, they are after all paying your "wages".
Once you have completed your project you will be wanting to be paid and there are a few payment methods available, Moneybookers and Payoneer (a new system whereby you can apply for a GAF debit card and have your payments credited to it).
Only the providers pay a fee, usually about 10% and debited from your onsite balance.

At the end of the project and once payment has been made, both parties have the opportunity to leave feedback for each other.
Getafreelancer is a genuine site that brings together buyers and providers. They do not require you do purchase anything to use the site, though you can upgrade to a gold member if you wish to do so. Upgrading will give you 150 bids each month, whereas a free member will have about 15 a month. That is really the only difference.
I would recommend this site to anybody searching for a work at home job, with 44 different categories of work available there really is something for everyone.
The only requirements being that you have a computer and skills to offer.

And besides GAF, another great site that I gladly recommend is oDesk.com.

Magazine Tonality

2008-05-24T21:14:00.000-07:00

Having a blog of your own? Why not. But having your own online shop is even better! It takes less than five minutes to sign up, a few more to personalize your shop and finally, a pleasurable stroll through Zlio's directory of over three million items to fill your newly-created virtual e-store.

And at the end of the day, you get a commission on every sale generated through your store (2 to 15%, depending on the supplier).

The most important thing, then, is to generate traffic on your shop (mine's here, by the way!)
Or in addition, you can rely on your family and friends - indeed, if you refer someone to Zlio, Zlio gives you a free bonus of 10% of that person's commissions, for ever, and 5% of the commissions of anyone they refer in turn!
By the way, I thought I might mention that my referral link is click here, in case you'd care to click on it!