Going broke? Judge me. Feel free to cast the first stone

Your business is struggling. Going or gone broke. Do you start again?

I looked for help. I looked on the internet. I couldn't find anything with a UK perspective to give me hope.

But I did on US sites. And that fascinates me. You see if you are in business despair, you are probably juggling business and personal finances.

I was. If the business goes broke, I do too (well, possibly soon anyhow).

But looking at the US experience, things work differently. Failure is mostly accepted. You are given the chance to re-start.

BUT then there are exceptions to this largely true rule.

One case in particular fascinates me. It's the story (true I think) of a young propery speculator who got himself into an awful lot of debt, possibly fraudulently, and became an Internet star.

Hundreds or possibly thousands of people post comments (me included because I'm drawn to follow the story) on his site each day.

He failed, and I suspect the site draws "failures" - like me too. But it also attracts successful people who tune in to see what happens. I may be successful again, but that's another story yet to be "self-fulfilled" (read the other stuff here for background).

If you think you are failing, take a look at the entries of the site's author, but take special note of the "comments" under each article - the commentators really make the story.

The site is about foreclosure on property investment gone wrong.

It really is a reflection of who we are. We like to judge, favourably or otherwise, the misfortunes of others.

BUT DO WE REALLY LOOK INWARDS when we make those judgements? Who are we to pass sentence? Why should we care?

Tonight, I looked inwardly. I wondered eactly why I follow this site. In fact, I posted a comment which may or may not be accepted by the site author.

I said this:

You're lounging in front of the TV. You're watching "Lost".

The hero is stupidly walking into the jungle to find a dog. Just a few minutes after someone else was devoured by a dinosaur-type thing (which nobody saw, but we remembered the crunching-of-bones sound).

You listen to the subtle tension-building music. The sound effects. You're sat down on your chair, but your pulse quickens. You just know (s)he is a complete idiot for even considering finding their dog (but you love dogs so you weirdly understand).

But you don't say anything. You're in your home. It would be really dumb to say a thing. The wall won't listen. Your TV won't either.

But what if it could? You would scream:

"Stop!!!!!", "Don't move a muscle". "If the jungle is forward, move backwards now".

By "tuning" into this blog, we are literally "watching" a TV show that listens to what we say. And sometimes reacts.

Our hero stops a second. Occasionally, he says "sod this for a game of darts" and runs full-speed into the jungle.

Occasionally, they listen.

I may be seen as a complete idiot by saying this. And apologies to whoever. But this whole darned thing is either a carefully crafted scam or it's true.

Either way, it is incredibly entertaining.

But if it is true, (yes I was an idiot if it turns out to be otherwise) we should all acknowledge that real people's lives are on the line here.

We are literally "watching" a TV show that listens to what we say.

And here we are, quietly or loudly airing our judgements bravely from the comfort of our PC and keyboard.

Do you feel powerful with your keyboard? Would you say the same face-to-face? Undoubtedly, many would.

But probably more would hesitate. You see a car crash. Would you stop your car on the road with traffic building up behind you and cross the road to take a peek?

Do you want to know what absolutely fascinates me about this
whole thing? It's me.

Why do I feel compelled to keep tuning in?

It really is like driving past a car crash. You slow down. Why? Because deep down, something primeval makes you want to see the blood and gore.

But you really have to keep moving forward.

But the Internet and blogs give you the right to literally stop your car. Get out. Walk across the road and take a peek inside the wreckage.

Myself and my partners recently had our company go broke. In the UK, it is referred to as "liquidated".

Then we started afresh, against the usual UK attitude of unforgiving prejudice against failure.

I aint a hater. Nor am I a supporter. I need to face the music too for my sins.

All I see in this is voyeurism.

And I'm guilty too. I feel better every day. And very indirectly, Casey is giving me strength to cope.

I aint on the TV. I aint going to face a dinosaur in the jungle.

I ask you though - hater, supporter or passive audience member - why are you visiting here?

It aint wrong, but please, please, please decide why.

I am (don't attack), moving from on the fence, to a supporter. Not because I condone the potential criminal activity (innocent until proven guilty applies in the UK too).

But because I feel that regardless of what happens to Casey (probably not good unless he listens and doesn't sprint into the jungle), lessons will be learned by all who patronise this blog as the story unfolds.

We can all get a huge insight into ourselves by tuning in.

And there you have it.

Who are we to judge?