Steven Savage

Hulu is running on everything but your toaster, Roku will carry music, and porn may help HTML 5 win the format wars with Flash. It's media madness time in your must-know geeky career news!

Career:
Was (or is) Paypal a great talent incubator? Some food for thought.

A look at ways people sabotage their job search.  Quotes from yours truly!

Economics/Geekonomics:
Ireland was facing economics problems so it engaged in belt tightening.That didn't work out so well. Ireland seems to have really set itself up by relying on exports too much, cutting some taxes too far, and of course its real-estate bubble. Now it's even facing a brain dreain. Expect Ireland's issues to be brought up (along with Greece and Spain) as people discuss the current economic crisis (there's even a book on it). You know me – stimulus now, austerity later. Oh, and maybe actual regulation and electing politicians who think ahead.

. . . and there goes consumer confidence.

Publishing:
Barnes and Noble has 20% of the eBook market. It sounds like they're going to get pretty aggressive about this. The eBook Wars aren't over (but boy I bet publishers are hoping it'll reach some agreement soon).

Social Media:
Continuing rumors Google wants to get into Facebook-like Social Media. Continuing "duh" reaction from me because that's obviously something they'd want to do – and it's part of their 'finger in every pie' strategy. So if you work in Social Media, follow what they do – it's going to affect what you do.

Social game company Crowdstar embraces Facebook credits in a five-year deal. Just like Zynga. It appears Facebook credits are something people . . . well, credit. Of course not going with Facebook right now is a loosing proposition for many companies.

Technology:
What may give HTML 5 a victory over Flash? Adaption by the erotic entertainment industry of course. A good article that explores some of the twists and turns of format wars, and why the adult entertainment industry may be inclined to HTML 5.

Tesla Motors raised another $226 million despite never having a profit. Investors think its the future (for obvious reasons). They have a new plant in Fremont, California, more money – and maybe your resume? I suspect greentech has to bubble, but as greentech has been diversifying, I'm not so sure anymore.

Music service MOG just got an iPhone App and a deal with Roku. The iPhone App surprises me since it's a bit iTunish, but the Roku deal is interesting as Roku seems very busy. Roku is one to keep an eye on because their web-set-app-approach sounds like they can offer a lot very quickly.

Video:
Hulu coming to the PS3 and the Xbox and iDevices – most iDevices now, PS3 soon, XBox next year, part of the whole Hulus Plus endeavor. Hulu's world domination plans are pretty much complete (remember how well Netflix did on consoles). Hulu may have a lot farther to go in content, but they've got the presence down – which also means if you work in TV, video, etc. Hulu is going to be a factor of distribution. Come to think of it, why not see if they're hiring?

Video Games:
OnLive has the Harry Potter Lego Game. This is a simultaneous release with the ones in the stores. Let's see what this does for OnLive – and if it becomes a trend (it might even affect movie and TV releases if it sets standard). However I've yet to see much information on how OnLive is doing . . .

QUESTION OF THE DAY: What other devices should Hulu aim for?

-Steven Savage

Kindle, Kindle, Kindle. Changes in domains. And more bandwidth for all! It's the latest in must-know geeky job news!

Economics/Geekonomics:
Paul Krugman is concerned that we're heading for another depression. I think he's being overly grim in the light of some of the weirdness at the G20 summit, but he is right that that austerity measures really don't look like they'll help.

Relocation:
Richard Florida on how work/life is changing and what that means for lives and careers. Work and life are blurring, and that means cultural shifts.

Geek Politics:
Current administration plans to double available wireless spectrum. Wireless device makers plan to fill it. Shows good technical awareness on the part of the administration.

Anime and Manga:
A look at the differences in visual language between American Comics and Manga.

Comics:
Jeff Loeb is the Executive VP of Television for Marvel Entertainment. Mr. Loeb has good comics experience, so I expect he's going to bring the insider knowledge for success. This also tells me Marvel's new initiatives for TV are likely to be ones that really show knowledge of the properties in question – or in short, the new Marvel TV stuff will probably be good. Prepare your resumes.

Mobile:
Apple iPhone 4 sells 1.7 million units in 4 days. That's pretty impressive, if not entirely unexpected. A shame about some of the antenna issues though.

Google Docs? The previews on iPad, iPhone, and Android are now high-fidelity. This is only for Docs, but clearly shows Google's continued interest in the mobile space, in maintaining their own omnipresence, and of course. This recongition of the mobile market is important- and means, yes, comptetitors need to follow suit.

Technology:
The .XXX domain is on its way. It just looks like it's going to be an option with no requirements to use it. Well, it'll be there if someone wants to use it. However, keep in mind that this opens up whole new areas in domain ownership – will companies want to have the .xxx domain for their name? What about previous name ownerships? Will it be a haven to redirects? If you work in web tech, these issues may affect you.

Writing:
Why don't Christian Bookstores have more science fiction? (Hey, seriously, Ray Bradbury people?). Some speculative thought on religious affiliation, literature, and culture – and untapped markets.

You are never too old to write. An 82 year old writer gets a 3 book deal. So get writing.

If you are an 82-year old writer – or just a writer – you'll welcome Kindle for Android. Boost to android, boost to Amazon, and of course yet again changing the playing field for we writers trying to figure out the best way to publish our stuff.

Of course, you may also want to see that Kindle on iPad, Iphone, and iPod touch. Kindle price cuts, Kindle on Android, Kindle on iEverything – just what is Amazon's plan?

QUESTION OF THE DAY: What will be the economic impact of the .XXX domains? I can see registrars profiting quite well.

– Steven Savage