Inchoate

Next steps

Posted in: What am I up to

Leaving the Google building...

My last day after a little over three fabulous years at Google is Friday May 1st. I'll be off to help build a company I part-own that tracks media sentiment, providing companies with an insight into how they're perceived by those writing about them (newspapers, blogs, tweeple, etc). This has some interesting applications in quantifying the effects of PR campaigns, organizational changes and other corporate decisions, marketing, and so on. There is some interesting research, some of which we've published, in the area of who media sentiment correlates with stock prices. Perhaps the most compelling for me though is the ethical angle: if a company knows how it's "rated" by everyone else, what better way of encouraging good corporate behavior?

One unusual aspect of this company is that we don't encourage people to work more than four days a week, so people have three day weekends, or one-day midweek breaks. I personally believe that the 9-6, five days/week schedule is bad for creativity, if you wish to have any creativity outside of your workplace.

20% Life Project: I have been getting increasingly interested in currency trading aka forex and now actually have the risk capital to pursue it seriously; I've taken a bunch of courses and been trading with some success on demo accounts. My goal is to be profitable (by my strict standards) so I can trade while travelling this summer. We'll see... I'd love to hear from more folks doing this professionally or who can show profits on demo accounts. I have already made arrangements to stake a trader.

Where next?

I don't have immediate concrete plans to leave Ireland but London is calling so that's the longer term plan.

That said, I'm open to anything happening, as anyone who's heard the story of how I ended up in Texas knows...

US & World Tour

In the medium term, I'm off to Vegas early July coinciding with the World Series of Poker No Limit Tournaments (as a spectator!) and will try to get around the US before or after that. My fantasy is to catch up with everyone I know in the US so let me know if you're around during the Summer!

Visit Dublin?

Talking of traveling & couchsurfing: I now live alone in a very central Dublin flat so now have a spare double room, so if you had plans to visit Dublin, now's your chance!