Avatar photoSteven Savage

News of the Day 5/3/2010

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You're probably helping with Greece's debt, the iPad doesn't seem to need any help, and Crunchyroll owns you all. It's must-know geek news!

Career:
Some advice on body language and your career.

Economics/Geekonomics:
Here's something I missed – since some of the bailout of Greece comes from the IMF it's going to really get bailouts from many countries, including the US and Canada. Want to bet this will not go over well when it gets out?

There's some rather upsetting evidence that the housing market problems were soft-pedaled in the US. This is an area of concern to me as I keep wondering what we don't know just what's wrong or has gone wrong. On the other hand, these activities, if brought to the public's attention, may get more movement towards better financial regulation.

Anime and Manga:
Tokyopop will be publishing the Hetalia Manga in the US. For anyone whose been paying attention, the surprise is it took this long.

Crunchyroll sees amazing growth in Q1. Try a 25% growth in unique visitors. Know what they need? A streaming presence on game consoles. Once again, Crunchyroll is ruling the world.


Green Tech:
Google invests in wind farms. This is one of many of their green efforts (in fact, they are regulated as a potential power utility). This will help raise the prominence of wind power just a bit more – and green tech is an awful geeky area to work . . .

Publishing:
iPad Sells a million copies, but iBook sales are slow. Not sure what this says, but I figure this is a simple case of 'it's going to take time.'

How quality of published content has changed in a digital age. Worth reading, and I think he points out a few things people miss – including issues of correctness and craftsmanship.

Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine now accepts electronic submissions. A historical change.

Technology:
A quick profile of Crunchbase – Which I include not just for curiosity, but to give this great resource a quick plug. Fantastic for doing company research.

Kindle getting social media tools. Interesting. I'm wondering if the goal of Kindle is to create a "minimal media" footprint on it – to have just enough to get people to buy it, without overdoing it, and pricing it right.

IronKey raises $22 million for secure flash drives. Lots of money, a good product, and you have a resume . . . see a connection?

Video Games:
Sports Illustrated makes a Fantasy Football Facebook game – Try saying 'Fantasy Football Facebook' five times fast. Social Media, video games, and sports come together? Quite interesting. This is one to pay attention to, as other media-oriented magazines may take note of how well this plays off – and there's plenty of other sports out there begging for a game.

Playdom closes most Green Patch games – Green Patch was one of their past acquisitions, but apparently the games don't fit their business plan.

Finally, a beautiful story of how Make-a-Wish let a boy be a superhero for a day.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Should Crunchyroll create their own streaming service on game consoles? Can they?

– Steven Savage

Fan To Pro – Now in eBook formats!

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I finally got the book formatted not just in print, but in PDF and ePub.  Quite an educational experience, and frankly I WILL need to write it up at some point.  Once I finish recovering from the experience.

So there are three options for the book, and next up hopefully my international distribution will be complete, and it's on to the iBookstore next . . .

Purchase it now!

Support independent publishing: Buy this book on Lulu. – Print ($14.95 + Shipping and Handling)

Support independent publishing: Buy this e-book on Lulu. – PDF ($5.99)

Support independent publishing: Buy this e-book on Lulu. – ePub ($5.99)

– Steven Savage

Weekly Challenge: Trends And You

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Think about your current or ideal job (let us hope they're the same thing, but if not pick one).  Write down the major trends you've seen in this current or ideal career for as long as you can remember (even before you started doing it).  For instance, in the world of video games I've seen trends like:

  • Social Media
  • Everything Must Be Multiplayer
  • Everything Must Be a First-Person Shooter
  • Everything Must Be Set in World Wor II or an analogue
  • We Need a Mascot Like Mario or Sonic
  • Skirting the Edge of Controversy
  • Fishing Minigame In Everything
  • Point And Click Adventure Mania

 . . . and so on.

Now look at those trends you listed.  Which of them turned out to have legs and last – and which ones didn't last or do you expect to flame out?

Now which of these affected or could affect your career?  Are you prepared for the repercussions?  How can they affect you – positively and negatively?

Keeping track of trends (and their short-attention span siblings, fads) is important to do in your current job or your dream careers.  They will affect you – woe to the professional who forgets what is a fad and what is a trend, and what is past and what is future.

So try this exercise now and then, just in case.

(And for that matter, I think World War II games aren't going away, they've achieved a kind of mythology.  But I've noted the Search for New Mascots tends to flame out very easy so I'm always wary of them. . .)

– Steven Savage