I have been reading this book "The world is flat" by Thomas L Friedman, which has led me into thinking - so what's the next big thing, the next great idea, that someone is going to come up with in this flat world ? A message that is oft repeated in the book is that, individuals have now become powerful through the tools available online. They can now leverage the power of the internet to turn their next great idea into a global business.
While having lunch with my boss today, he told me this story about his grandpa and what a simple, peaceful & stressfree life he had led. He'd wake up every day, have a hearty breakfast, go to the farmland & plough the field with the oxens until noon. Eat a healthy meal in the middle of the field along with his grandma. Have a short nap for an hour or so & again the plough the field until evening. Return home around dusk, have a bath with water from the well. Finally, have a great dinner around 7 & retire to bed by 8 or so..
My boss also told me, how in those days they didn't use money at all They would just trade things (bartering). They had a room full of grains, rice, wheat etc., which his grandma would trade for clothes, utensils, shoes, service (maid) and even ice-creams.
And where are we today, with all our currencies, exchange rates, equities, bonds, mortgages, securities, mutual funds, debit cards, credit cards, ponzi schemes, sub-prime crisis and accounting frauds (satyam). Good god! What a mess!!
So, I thought may be we should just bring back the bartering system. Do it online. Make it a global business. Trade anything for anything, from anywhere to anywhere, between anyone to anyone. Is this one of those "next great idea"s. My wise brain told me, no it can't be. Isn't it possible on eBay already? There had to be someone who has already thought about it! Well, a Google search revealed that online bartering has been around for the last ten years.
So, I'm hunting for this next great idea. Only to discover that everytime I'm late by a decade or so!!
While having lunch with my boss today, he told me this story about his grandpa and what a simple, peaceful & stressfree life he had led. He'd wake up every day, have a hearty breakfast, go to the farmland & plough the field with the oxens until noon. Eat a healthy meal in the middle of the field along with his grandma. Have a short nap for an hour or so & again the plough the field until evening. Return home around dusk, have a bath with water from the well. Finally, have a great dinner around 7 & retire to bed by 8 or so..
My boss also told me, how in those days they didn't use money at all They would just trade things (bartering). They had a room full of grains, rice, wheat etc., which his grandma would trade for clothes, utensils, shoes, service (maid) and even ice-creams.
And where are we today, with all our currencies, exchange rates, equities, bonds, mortgages, securities, mutual funds, debit cards, credit cards, ponzi schemes, sub-prime crisis and accounting frauds (satyam). Good god! What a mess!!
So, I thought may be we should just bring back the bartering system. Do it online. Make it a global business. Trade anything for anything, from anywhere to anywhere, between anyone to anyone. Is this one of those "next great idea"s. My wise brain told me, no it can't be. Isn't it possible on eBay already? There had to be someone who has already thought about it! Well, a Google search revealed that online bartering has been around for the last ten years.
So, I'm hunting for this next great idea. Only to discover that everytime I'm late by a decade or so!!
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