Anti-depression thinking: what do we do?

I’m watching the economic news this morning flow through FriendFeed and I can feel the fear. The depression. Apple is down 14%. Startups won’t get funded. Etc. Etc. It’s all there, if you want to follow along. Lately I’ve been clicking “Like” on a lot of unlikeable news (that’s how I share interesting stuff with you on FriendFeed).

I’ve been through all the emotions too. Depression. Fear. But now I’m working through all these and I’m wondering what we can do? After all, we don’t have the ability to ask Congress for a bailout. I’d love to see ideas for everyone thrown around here and we’ll sift through the best ones. If you were a big-company executive, what would you do? What if you were a startup CEO? A VC? A geek churning out code?

I know a financial trader in Europe and he told me about losing a lot of money in one morning. I asked him what he did. He said he kept working the problem and by the end of the day he had made it mostly back.

So, let’s work the problem together. Here’s my challenge to Techcrunch, GigaOm, ReadWriteWeb, Center Networks, Mashable, and all my other thought leader friends.

Work the problem. Give us some things we can do right now. Feel free to link your URLs in the comments here. Make sure your blog is on FriendFeed, I’ll also share the best ideas there.

UPDATE: we are discussing this over on FriendFeed too.

Comments

  1. Josh says:

    I’m a start-up. a blogger. trying as hard as any company to succeed. I don’t complain about someone not giving me money so I can ‘get out of a rut’.

    Instead, I keep working my ass off. This ‘downturn’ is all speculations. It’s all ‘fail, fail, fail’ – the market needed a correction. Yeah, businesses tank, but businesses making better decisions take them over. That’s how it goes.

    oh, hey, guess what, there’s some cheap(er) stocks out there right now… Can’t get VC? try your hand at a solid company stock. It couldn’t be any riskier than the mess Carter, Clinton and Frank got us into.

  2. Josh says:

    I’m a start-up. a blogger. trying as hard as any company to succeed. I don’t complain about someone not giving me money so I can ‘get out of a rut’.

    Instead, I keep working my ass off. This ‘downturn’ is all speculations. It’s all ‘fail, fail, fail’ – the market needed a correction. Yeah, businesses tank, but businesses making better decisions take them over. That’s how it goes.

    oh, hey, guess what, there’s some cheap(er) stocks out there right now… Can’t get VC? try your hand at a solid company stock. It couldn’t be any riskier than the mess Carter, Clinton and Frank got us into.

  3. [...] for coming together and working on real solutions together.  You can join a fantastic discourse on Robert Scoble’s blog (or link through to his FriendFeed profile to join the discussion).  Now is the time to invest and [...]

  4. Mudassir says:

    Well, I believe start ups always take sometime but once the ground is set then the curve would be really smooth and upwards.

    Mudassir
    http://www.socialmediaplex.com

  5. Mudassir says:

    Well, I believe start ups always take sometime but once the ground is set then the curve would be really smooth and upwards.

    Mudassir
    http://www.socialmediaplex.com

  6. Colin says:

    At a more basic level, I suggest we return to basic investment approach that has been lost by many, too young to know the difference – no disrespect intended. In the 50′s and 60′s rule #1 was to maintain balance bewteen equities and safer investments if you are concerned about risk. Consider cash and government bonds (widows and orphans was the category).

    Stock market investment is not safe. Repeat after me … not safe. its also a long haul investment, not a short term one.

  7. Colin says:

    At a more basic level, I suggest we return to basic investment approach that has been lost by many, too young to know the difference – no disrespect intended. In the 50′s and 60′s rule #1 was to maintain balance bewteen equities and safer investments if you are concerned about risk. Consider cash and government bonds (widows and orphans was the category).

    Stock market investment is not safe. Repeat after me … not safe. its also a long haul investment, not a short term one.

  8. [...] Robert Scoble asked the tech blogosphere’s ’thought leaders’ to weigh in on this issue of the economy (and included Mashable [...]

  9. [...] characters participating in the specific tendril of web masturbation that is Robert’s “what to do” post have come up substantially empty.  So, I’ll see what I can come up [...]

  10. [...] Robert Scoble asked the tech blogosphere’s ’thought leaders’ to weigh in on this issue of the economy (and included Mashable [...]

  11. [...] Robert Scoble asked the tech blogosphere’s ’thought leaders’ to weigh in on this issue of the economy (and included Mashable [...]

  12. Dominic Son says:

    Focus on yourself. Don’t let the world tell you are in a ‘depression’, that’s your own call.

  13. Dominic Son says:

    Focus on yourself. Don’t let the world tell you are in a ‘depression’, that’s your own call.

  14. JP Adams says:

    “Work The Problem” is a cool phrase Scoble. Its actually a neat mantra for entrepreneurs.

    Its important to remember the micro side of the problem. Reach out to your friends and offer help. Pick up the phone, ask your friends how their doing, and offer recommendations on how you can lend a hand.

    I wrote twice about this on my blog.

    1. “Don’t Be A Dick”
    http://tinyurl.com/3gm2ag

    2. “Crisis And Friendship”
    http://tinyurl.com/4rj9bv

  15. JP Adams says:

    “Work The Problem” is a cool phrase Scoble. Its actually a neat mantra for entrepreneurs.

    Its important to remember the micro side of the problem. Reach out to your friends and offer help. Pick up the phone, ask your friends how their doing, and offer recommendations on how you can lend a hand.

    I wrote twice about this on my blog.

    1. “Don’t Be A Dick”
    http://tinyurl.com/3gm2ag

    2. “Crisis And Friendship”
    http://tinyurl.com/4rj9bv

  16. Bunster says:

    Depression can be finding a religious leader or guidance to speak to.

    I think depression is due to neglect by the surrounding, the person should go to the nature e.g the beach and feel the wonders of nature.

  17. Bunster says:

    Depression can be finding a religious leader or guidance to speak to.

    I think depression is due to neglect by the surrounding, the person should go to the nature e.g the beach and feel the wonders of nature.

  18. Bunster B says:

    The working poors, in contrast, have no choice. They are location-dependent, have a below-average education, don’t know how to make money with money, have to move out of their houses or flats. And they depend on a good economy for their jobs.

  19. Bunster B says:

    The working poors, in contrast, have no choice. They are location-dependent, have a below-average education, don’t know how to make money with money, have to move out of their houses or flats. And they depend on a good economy for their jobs.

  20. [...] Scobleizer: “Anti-depression thinking: what do we do?” “After all, we donÕt have the ability to ask Congress for a bailout. IÕd love to see ideas for everyone thrown around here and weÕll sift through the best ones. If you were a big-company executive, what would you do? What if you were a startup CEO? A VC? A geek churning out code?” http://scobleizer.com/2008/09/29/anti-depression-thinking-what-do-we-do/ [...]

  21. the trick is to prepare ourselves mentally for the worst that could come. naice blog.

  22. the trick is to prepare ourselves mentally for the worst that could come. naice blog.