Thread by @swardley

X : How much do you charge for tweets?
Me : WTF? I don't sell tweets. This is all me.
X : Do you have shares in Amazon?
Me : No. I don't own any capital in any company I talk about.
X : Do you offer serverless consulting?
Me : No, I research into things I find interesting.

X : You make money from speaking?
Me : No. I don't charge for speaking though the company I work for might.
X : You're promoting your book?
Me : It's creative commons. I make no money from it.
X : Do you sell mapping consultancy?
Me : No.
X : Certification?
Me : No.

X : How do you make money then?
Me : I work as a researcher. I am a salaried employee. I use mapping in my research and I research what I find interesting. I find that for me, the secret of happiness is ... contentment. I don't need much.

X : Do you sell training in maps?
Me : Company I work for does to members, I often do this in workshops. It's a balance. It helps the company, members and gives me opportunity to explore but takes me away from research
X : So mapping benefits you?
Me : Always ...

... I benefit from mapping in several ways. Firstly, I use it in my research. Secondly, if others map then it makes the conversation more interesting which also benefits research. Lastly I do some workshops on the subject but that's both a boon and bane - so, it requires balance.

X : You could make more money if ...
Me : If you mapped then you'd start with user need. My need, you can ask me, is happiness. I find that through doing what I enjoy and being content. Piles of green stuff don't do that for me, even your purest green -

X : There is more to life than contentment.
Me : Hmmm, not sure I'd agree. I do however have an imperative, a flag to rally around.
X : What's that?
Me : It's on the map.

X : If your goals is to rebel against the consultants that enslave us, won't that put you out of a job?
Me : Did I mention I was a researcher?

X : Won't you get bored of research? Don't you miss the game?
Me : I haven't yet got bored of contentment. I'm quite happy about it. I sometimes get itchy feet but that's usually due to some muppet spending vast sums doing the wrong thing and wrecking futures of their employees.

... I also don't like what I become when I play the game. It feeds a darker side of my soul. I'm dispassionate with competitors. I have no qualms in taking futures and using their own inertia against them. It's not a healthy way to be. Research gives me more balance, more peace.

... on top of that, leadership is physically, mentally and emotionally draining. It's not something I seek, in fact I don't truly understand why anyone gleefully volunteers for this except those who do so out of self interest which really should bar them from the role.

X : How would you adapt/react If amazon announces a AWS Mapping - cheaper, faster, better maps for everybody.
Me : Awesome, yes please. It would make my research easier. My focus could become less training and more on context specific play

X : But won't AI in the future create maps.
Me : Maps don't tell you what to do.
X : AI could do that.
Me : Think Centaur Chess. The future is less artificial and more augmented.
X : What about the Singularity?
Me : An excellent title for a new Ayn Rand novel.

X : Have you always been this way?
Me : No. I used to work in the city. It was all about money.
X : What changed?
Me : I stopped watching TV and cut down on mainstream. It's amazing how the mind changes if you don't bombard it constantly with "money is everything" advertising.

... it also helped significantly that I spent time with others. I deliberately broke out of my social circles and forged new ones. I stopped comparing myself to others and just started accepting people for being who they were. Money is just a really crap measure of life.

... oh, there's also another habit which I find useful. Whenever I used to see an advert (or product placement) then I'd quickly rehearse in my mind "no-one actually needs [ABC] which is why they have to advertise it" ... it has become a trained behaviour for me now.

... so, case in point, I was going to buy a new tablet recently (a bit of a luxury which I could persuade myself had some "need") then I saw an advert. So, I didn't buy one. Adverts have become a big "stop" sign for me.