Career:
Why some people hate personal branding
Economics/Geekonomics/Freakonomics:
What a double-dip recession could be like – and what could cause it – Chart filled, but even those not economically inclined can get an idea of what we're looking at. The author feels there's enough instability to create a dip in 2010 (I was betting more on macro-issues creating one in 2011-2012). However he's got some good points. Rough summary – keep a weather eye out for 18 months on the economy.
Media:
4 Kids Entertainment has put itself up for sale – Apparently following on cuts last year. Still they have a lot of properties so I expect the company will survive. They're definitely in the don't-send-a-resume category for now, I'd say. Also, they DO have a lot of brands,so once their future is sorted out, they could really put out a lot of media within those brands.
Publishing:
Sony cuts prices on it's e-book titles – Making it competitive with Amazon.com, and continuing the surprisingly lively e-book batles. Side note – it appears companies are postponing softcover and e-book releases to make more money on hardcovers.
Technology:
Apple didn't like a dictionary app in the App Store because of offensive words – A strange story, but part of what could be a trend – people now talking about rejected apps in the App Store. Brought on by the Google Voice mess. I don't know how many apps get rejected, but now that the spotlight is on them, we'll find out more – watch to see wht it means if you're a developer or in IT in general.
Tablets not going to be so hot after all? – A few points about this potential market. I'm going to agree they won't be for everyone – and that they're best when the tablet-function is OPTIONAL and has a keyboard, etc. That won't stop the hype and the developer considerations.
More on the Microsoft-Yahoo deal – Including Yahoo have options to opt OUT of part of the deal. As Microsoft is hiring past Yahoo employees I don't think this is likely, but this does give an idea of just what's up.
Google spends a ton of cash for video compression technology company – Which tells me they're still focused on video, but I'd say this may be more than YouTube – it could play well for Anrdoid and other technology efforts.
Video Games:
Playspan releases a tool for developing a huge variety of payment options for social media and games – Not noteworthy? Try 50 methods in 30 countries. This is subtle, but it could give Playspan a big edge in the market since the technology sounds easy to adapt. In short – resume worthy.
-Steven Savage