A little ingenuity stretched out with the power of the internet and broadcast brought great returns to a Montreal man. On July 12, 2005, a man started his quest through his online blog site (http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/) to barter up from a red paper clip to a house. The man first traded his red paper clip for a pen. From the pen he moved on to things like a camp stove, a beer keg, a snowmobile, a truck and so on. As his venture gathered more steam, he eventually got himself booked for appearances on national television. 14 trades and exactly a year later on July 12, 2006, he is trading for a house in the town of Kipling, Saskatchewan.

Several factors took part in making this man's venture a success – the power of the internet, the power of broadcast, the power of marketing, the power of negotiation, and the power of creativity. The question now is can I exercise these powers to my benefit as this man did? Like any other Netizen, I have the power of the internet at my finger tips. I have a B.A. in Broadcasting and am currently working in the field. I have a Minor degree in Marketing. Creativity is obscure. It happens when it happens. As to negotiating, if that's the same as bargaining, I really didn't show much of a bargaining flair when I was overpaying for rubbish souvenirs in China.

Let's work on my negotiation skills shall we? Does anyone want to trade a house for my…my…hmmm…my pretty little bird paper clip magnet??? It's colorful and it even chirps when you move it.



… … … Alright, I'm probably better off getting back to work instead. :P