Frustration Friday – Ch-ch-changes

I figured there's always room for some ranting – it cleanses the soul, expresses issues, and lets people share frustrations.  So thus let's start with Frustration Friday, a weekly look at what drives me and others crazy in the job and economic scene.  If you'd like to guest rant, feel free to write me.

In this case, let me rant about embracing change in the job market.

Yes, I know things have changed in the economy and the job search.  I was there.  I've been working as a professional for seventeen years.  I remember when Windows started, I remember when the internet became the big thing, I remember when small press comics hit big two decades ago and the growing self-publishing boom now..  I've seen changes in employment, economy, and geekonomy.

It's changed.  It's change a lot.  I know it.  Trust me, I know it.

The problem is that right now I see way too many people ONLY talking about change in the job market.  Social media is the big thing right now.  Video resumes were hot awhile ago but that seems to be fading.  For the LONGEST time I heard about how the internet was changing things – from people who did resumes the same way they always had.

It's changed, I get it.

The problem is that change aside the business gurus, advice gurus, and recruiters who are always embracing change are focusing on one part, one fragment, of the job search – the changing part.

They're forgetting the other parts.

There's networking.  There's always networking.  That doesn't change.

There's having good skills.  That's not changing.

There's learning, that's not changing – though it may be about change.

So, I'm getting tired about hearing how everything has changed in the job search.  Everything has NOT changed in the job search – there are more tools and venues, there are changing methods, but a lot has not changed.

At some point someone needs to do a book or a website on what's not changing in the job search.  It'd be a nice antidote to all the others.

– Steven Savage

Fandom, Geeks, Jobs, and the Japanese Economy

On and off I encounter speculation that Japan's economy is going to get worse. I'm sure you've seen much the same news over and over.

I'm not able to speculate in detail, but I can see that Japan has had its trouble since its own economic meltdown, doesn't seem to have solved it's issues, and is having problems with its workforce.  In my own opinion as a non-economist, I can at least see why people are concerned.

Geekonomically and fannish-job-wise, I wonder what will happen to the major geeky industries of video games, anime, and manga if Japan's economy does take a serious dive (again).

(This is why following economics is important to any career.  Period.)

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News of the Day 11/11/2009

Career
When not to do things for free – A little advice, since we often do things for free for our careers. (I myself like what one friend said, that it's better to say 'no charge' than free).

What NaNoWriMo teaches you about Sustainability – Excellent article on how one experience can translate to another – including fannish ones.

Mobile:
Widely differing estimates of Droids sold – At this rate I'm going to back off and see what happens, battling numbers like this just raise the confusion level.

Publishing:
A good analysis of how social media taking news local. A good read with a lot of lessons you can extend to many industries.

Social Media:
I always say keep track of people who do middleware and foundational tech. Vivaty announces it's Social Gaming Platform tool. Might be worth checking out job-wise.

Technology:
HP acquires 3Com – for a big fee. This puts them in good stead to compete with Cisco and represents an amazingly expensive move in a bad economy. They're either desperate or (more likely) confident. I'm amazed to see a deal this big, so I'm betting it's more thought out. Important if you work in networking (or at any of the companies involed).

Video Games:
A few details leaked on Microsoft's Project Natal? Not much to go on.

Playdom raises $43 million to develop new products – AND acquire other companies. Sounds like they've got plans brewing, and $43 million is a nice amount of money that a low-overhead company can do a lot with. Keep the resumes ready – and wonder what they'll do in light of EA's obvious strategy change . . .

– Steven Savage