News of the Day 10/9/2009

Career:
101 posts to jumpstart your job search – From psychology to technology, there's got to be something in here for you!

Economics/Freakonomics/Geekonomics:
That whole mortgage relief thing isn't going too hot – The programs don't seem to be doing that much and things are still lousy in the home market. As I've said, its a good time NOT to buy a home right now – you don't know how this is going to play out. Also if things keep getting worse it's another drag on the economy.

Some job report improvements in Australia and Canada – We've been noting things are , well not as bad, in these countries for awhile. Canada also has a nice IT industry, so I'm expecting they may come out well ahead.

The challenges of reigning in crazy-high executive pay in the finance industry – Never have I appreciated sports figures more after reading this column.

Anime and Manga:
A look at anime, manga, and success – Very fascinating reading on the industries from a member of SquareEnix.

Movies:
Sony is pulling back on getting new properties – Looks like general caution, reducing commitment and extraneous expense.

Publishing:
Book sales appear to be down – Which doesn't surprise me, I expect things to decline more or stay low for awhile.

Social Media:
The creators of the Habbo Hotel are having layoffs. Despite being profitable. Do they know something we don't?

Technology:
Twitter in talks with Microsoft and Google to have it's Tweets searchable? Could raise money for Twitter (from the sites/ads/etc.) and change how people broadcast information. I'd note that this could also backfire – how do you rank them, could it become distracting, could they be ranked low, etc. Still interesting.

Barnes and Noble's E-reader to run Android? A rumor, but intriguing it too – raising the profile of Android, creating a cheap Kindle competitor, and of course continuing the Everything Wars. I want to watch this one as it could have many repercussions.

Video:
DailyMotion has raised $22.1 in venture capital – It's mostly a french site, but that's a nice amount of money. I also want to watch this because they could be a "regional power" in the video arena and affect how other companies develop. Remember what I said earlier about regional companies . . . they may be able to serve markets far better than generalists.

– Steven Savage