Tuesday, September 10, 2002
By Paul Ford
Montaigne - actually his father - predicts HotJobs.com, 430 years before an IPO.
My late father, a man of decidedly clear judgement, based though it was only on his natural gifts and his own experience,
said to me once that he had wished to set a plan in motion leading to the designation of a place in our cities where those
who were in need of anything could go and have their requirements registered by a duly appointed official; for example 'I
want to sell some pearls'; or 'I want to buy some pearls.' 'So-and-so wants to make up a group to travel to Paris'; 'So-and-so
wants a servant with the following qualifications'; 'So-and-so seeks an employer'; 'So-and-so wants a workman'; each stating
his wishes according to his needs.
It does seem that this means of mutual advertising would bring no slight advantage to our public dealings; for at every turn
there are bargains seeking each other but, because they cannot find each other, men are left in extreme want.
--from Essay 35, "Something lacking in our civil administrations," on page 251 of the Penguin Paperback translation of The Complete Essays by M. A. Screech. Written somewhere in the 1570s, I think.
PEEK
Ftrain.com is the website of Paul Ford and his pseudonyms. It is showing its age. I'm rewriting the code but it's taking some
time.
FACEBOOK
There is a Facebook group.
TWITTER
You will regret following me on Twitter here.
EMAIL
About the author: I've been running this website from 1997. For a living I write stories and essays, program computers, edit
things, and help people launch online publications. (LinkedIn). I wrote a novel. I was an editor at Harper's Magazine for five years; then I was a Contributing Editor; now I am a free agent. I was also on NPR's All Things Considered for a while. I still write for The Morning News, and some other places.
If you have any questions for me, I am very accessible by email. You can email me at ford@ftrain.com and ask me things and I will try to answer. Especially if you want to clarify something or write something critical. I am
glad to clarify things so that you can disagree more effectively.
«Montaigne's Internet Business Plan
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Contact
© 1974-2011 Paul Ford
Recent
@20, by Paul Ford.
Not any kind of eulogy, thanks. And no header image, either.
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