Teaching 'Social Leverage' Skills, Not 'Financial Leverage' Tricks!

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  • on November 13th, 2008

This tape is so hard that $0 price targets are now being set. Some yutz analyst who had a ‘HOLD’ on GM all the way from $33 to $3 got some religion and will now be famous on CNBC for catching the last three points. In fact, the last $3 points will not happen because as Fred says, our current regimes are more about BAILOUT than BUSTUP .

Wall Street must continue to look and act busy. It is YOUR job to shut out the noise.

People say that this is a sign of the bottom. Could be. It could be Google ANALists throwing in the towel on the stock .

I bought size in RIMM, Apple and Google today again. I twittered the trades this morning. Although I flipped most out during the day and at the close because of the gynormous gains. I am way too negative on RIMM and there is absolutely no reason to own it, so I finally do again.

I am waiting for negative price targets for the final bottom likely next year at this point. In the meantime, I will pick at the wreckage in tech names that I love and brands with perfect balance sheets and buy a few all-time highs.

I do think we have some serious room to rock the shorts, but unemployment, mood, serious portfolio losses and hundreds of thousands of bankruptcies need to get further through the system. We need to buy time.

I am surprised at the lack of social chaos to date. I am very happy about it. It seems we are teetering on the edge, but have held together. As ‘FLY’ eloquently says:

I drive through highway tolls, exclaiming out loud “poverty is making me commit crimes and shit,” as I skip the toll. And, I send in my bills late, then ask for “payment programs,” due ot severe economic hardship. I envision a day where Steve (my neighbor) and I discuss the current state of NYC sales tax and how it affects regular folks, over a nice barrel of flaming garbage.

There is lot’s of good news in Technology. First, Valleywag is close to dead . That means TechCrunch is close. Mahalo even closer. It proves one thing…nerds have had their run. They were never stars and we will find out how few are actual businessmen. I suspect few of the Web 2.0 A list will make it through 2009.

Twitter is THE new tool of the web. The NOW web as a few smart people were telling me in New York. Microblogging is an art form and so a new regime is about to take over the web.

The real A list is not about how you start companies and write blog posts, it’s about creating shareholder value and getting good exits for your partners. The A list of 2005-2007 are just noise makers and today’s geeks need to focus on product building. CEO’s need to concentrate on their fucking customers, not how many links their personal blogs get.

In my speech today at Start-Up Empire I focused on three things entrepreneurs must focus on right now:

1. Noise Reduction – Focus on a few voices that have been honest and correct

2. Social Leverage – Learn it, embrace it and freaking use it. Avoid Financial leverage as your crutch.

3. Get the product ready and out the door. Get customers. Save your ‘freemium’ ideas for better days.

Until we are all willing to take the pain and start to save and invest again, Being ‘Too Small to Fail’ is all you have got.

We also need to get rid of Sarbanes and Get tough with the unions.

We need to BustUP and not BailOUT. We need leaders with balls and a plan to get people trained to do the jobs that are needed now, not continue to build products nobody wants with financing nowbody ever pays for in the end.

We need to teach ‘Social Leverage’ skills, not Financial Leverage tricks.

The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment. I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog, please see my Disclaimer page for my full disclaimer.

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