(no subject)

[rm]

Right. So for those of you who don't know part time job is doing media analysis on US politics and the banking and financial industries. It's been a rough week.

Right now, I'm working on data about the "collapse" of Canary Wharf.

That is, the inevitable financial real-estate mess as all its tenants go bankrupt. But really? I have to do this? And I can't drink coffee? Are you fucking serious?

Comments

[rm.livejournal.com]

I also tend to disagree with the media sentiments that we're in the throes of another Great Depression (which was worldwide, not just here), but lately it is looking like the vanguard for getting into one if we're not careful.

This is what scares me Working with the media reflection of actual data shows the power of sentiment. Playing on LJ while I'm doing it and watching memes and postings shows me how sentiment works here. If I posted every piece of scary financial news I think people should know, and then every person on my friends list with over 200 friends reposted it, and we assume that trend continues across LJ, and that 90% of the people taking in the information don't know jack about economics, that process alone has the potential to create bank runs.

[lllvis.livejournal.com]

Yup. I had the same idea about 'creating bank runs' given the tone of the news I was hearing yesterday.

[jfargo.livejournal.com]

*nods* The ability to spread (mis)information through the power of our own personal medias, be they blogs, websites, email, or anything else, is amazing. Unfortunately, it seems that it can easily do more harm than good in situations such as these.

[sethg]

I once tried to explain to a co-worker how fractional-reserve currency works. She got an expression on her face not unlike a character in a horror story who is gradually realizing that no, the monsters are not just in her imagination.