PatMan's Peregrin

There is a rising tide of opinion in this country which could destroy society as we know it (according to the nay-sayers) – on the other hand, it could be the salvation of the nation.

I’m talking about pot. Weed. Marijuana. Mary Jane. Bud. Whatever you want to call it, it is the focus of an intense debate here in the US. On the one hand, you have the “moral minority” who oppose the use of this most useful of plants. They state many reasons, most of them hysterical, sensational, or outright lies. On the other hand, you have the vast majority who recognize that prohibition is senseless and that there’s nothing wrong with blazing a bowl once in a while. On the gripping hand, you have the demonstrated medical value along with an enormous potential for revenue – which is what I want to talk about here.

Yesterday’s clarification of the Obama Administration’s position on state versus federal law with regard to medical marijuana cultivation is an indication of a significant change in attitude by the federal government (whether they like it or not!) In light of that, the question must be asked: how much revenue can a state derive from growing marijuana? California is already proposing a tax on the bud (in addition to the sales tax that they are already collecting). Oregon is considering setting up a state growing program. Let’s think about the financial implications here, and how best to maximize them.

A state can get revenue from both sales tax, and a weed tax, as already stated. Oregon has gone one step further, and wants to get the sales revenue on top of the taxes. Excellent – huge cash opportunity (and everyone knows, California needs it right now).

Now ask the question: at a state level, where is the best place to operate a growing program from?

Consider state prisons. Security is in place already, land is available – and the inmate population are most likely extremely familiar with the growing process and the product. So, not only does the state get the sales tax, product tax, and sales revenue, it gets the added cost-saving of zero labor costs and zero acquisition costs! It’s a triple-whammy!

Further down the line, the prisons will start to empty out due to the reduced number of convictions for possession. They can then be turned into growing-only operations, retaining the existing staff and creating opportunities for locals to gain employment.

Is it just me, or is this a no-brainer?

Peace
PatMan

My first interaction with Twitter was about 9 months ago, and I got bored after a week – for various reasons, but the main one was that I couldn’t use it “on the go” easily with my mobile phone. I mean, what’s the point of micro-blogging if you can’t fire a thought off into the Twitter-sphere from anywhere?

Yesterday, I installed Twitterberry on my phone. The fact that it integrates into my Notifications (thus giving me the ability to trigger a sound on receipt of a tweet [rhyme!]), and the presence of an application icon means that I know when I get a reply and easily see when those that I follow tweet – that’s as “on the go” as I need. Twitterberry has the potential to keep me tweeting for quite a while…

The more I contemplate the Twitter model (metaphor?), the more confused I get. I understand the concept, and I see why “making waffles for little people” or “having a beer at the Gruene” can have value to the immediate “followers” around you. What I don’t get is why no-one has come up with a viable business model for Twitter.

Is it because the power of the model is at the limits of comprehension? It’s not MySpace or Facebook – neither of those models belie the abstraction that they are. It’s difficult to use them casually, without sitting down at a keyboard and logging in to interact with the site. Twitter is different. It enables random expression of consciousness by huge numbers of people in a public space. The ability to trend and aggregate the thoughts of so many people is something that any number of industries (think Marketing, Advertising, Sales, etc.) must regard as some sort of Holy Grail – and now that they have it, what the hell are they going to do with it?!

I look at services like TwitScoop, and I feel like I’m looking at the thoughts of millions of people. I see applications like TweetDeck, and I see R&D deptartments scrambling to define a paradigm – and failing. It’s been 3 years since Twitter was launched. Many rumours have circulated about it being bought out, yet none have panned out. It attracts masses of venture capital, but it generates no revenue. Something different is happening here, and I don’t think anyone has quite figured it out yet. It’s kinda like Cloud technology – good idea, but what’s the best way to utilize it?

I’m going to keep tweeting for a while, I reckon – follow me if you like!