SAM MICHELSON / THINKING OUT LOUD
I’m Sam, CEO of Five Blocks. This is my corner of the internet for ideas about reputation, technology, family, and whatever gets me thinking.
Explore the writingFor the last several years, discussions around global currencies have often revolved around one big question: Is the dollar losing its grip? The headlines have been dramatic — de-dollarization, reserve currency challenges, geopolitical fragmentation, and a world supposedly moving beyond U.S. financial dominance. But the data tells a more nuanced story. From October 2023 through […]
The BBC’s June 10th story on the decline of fertility rates seems worrying. Are all developed nations now at less than 2.1 which is the replacement rate? I used Claude to analyze and visualize fertility rates in various developed countries. Key Observations: To see the complete report click here:
I was thinking that ‘Human Trafficking’ isn’t a great way to refer to modern day slavery – so I worked with ChatGPT Deep Research and came up with this article. Why Terminology Matters Language shapes how we understand human trafficking. Just as the shift from “global warming” to “climate change” improved public grasp of an […]
This story is absolutely true. I was a very curious, and some would say active child. I don’t remember the kind of trouble I would get into, but I do remember one particular time when my mischief got way out of hand. One spring night in 1976 at our home in Fort Campbell, I awoke […]
As AI models become easier to use, we will see more people relying on them for “research”. I have no idea how accurate this is, but I just used Claude AI to create a comparison of US Rental Car Companies along various parameters. I then marked them as negative, positive, and neutral. What do you […]
Communication is one of the most important aspects of human interaction. It can bridge the gap between people who experience the world in different ways, but it can also be a great challenge. Trying to communicate with someone who experiences the world in a different way can be difficult, especially when it comes to conveying […]
My company (Five Blocks) continues to grow and that means we are always looking for great people. So far we have been incredibly fortunate to have attracted a really talented group who works very well together. In the process I have seen a lot of CVs and some of the stand out more than others. […]
This post says something that is either profound, obvious or possibly wrong 🙂 . It’s a thought I just had and it makes sense to me – so I thought I would share it! In life we learn that the best way to achieve something is to go grab it! If you want another slice […]
My firm Five Blocks offers digital reputation management services and often our clients engage us as one would an exterminator or a locksmith – to help them solve a very specific measurable problem. In order to retain our clients far beyond the original reason they hired us we employ the following tactics. 1) HOLISTIC APPROACH: […]
In 2003 I began a journey that would lead me from SEM (paid advertising), SEO (Organic Search), and eventually Digital Reputation Management. It started when I found out about the emergence of a really viable VOIP solution for home phones (Vonage). When I decided to try to sell that online I discovered Yahoo’s Overture and […]
