Avatar photoSteven Savage

News of the Day 9/30/2009

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Career:
Search that hidden job market – Good advice.

Economics/Freakonomics/Geekonomics:
Looks like Japanese industrial production is up – It is still way down. A minor bit of GOOD news coming out of the country – home to so much geeky industry.

An interactive overview of layoffs in the United States

Anime and Manga:
Crunchyroll is at it again, getting a popular flash anime and another simulcast They're a fan-to-pro crush object for a reason – with no sign of slowing down. So come on Crunchyroll, when will you be hiring . . .

Law:
Big ouch here. Advertisers may be using online photos in their ads – raising all sorts of issues I'm sure we'll be hearing about. If you work in advertising, take note. If you post a lot of pics online . . . also take note.

Publishing:
Print-on demand gets a publicity boost as E.L. Doctorow christens an Expresso Book Printer at the independent Harvard Book Store. Doctorow carries some public attention, and this is a slick bit of promotion for Expresso's manufacturer. I want to see how much attention this gets the process – and if one can have one's own book printed right there (if nothing else bookstores doing this can double as small-press shops).

Social Media:
Mashable posts it's Social Media Jobs roundup

Technology:
Zipcar, the car sharing company, has an iPhone App – Zipcar is basically a membership only, take-it-and go car rental club designed to save money and the environment. This is an excellent synergy, and also an example of a good synergy in general. Does your business have anything similar? Do they need an iPhone app?

Video Games:
OnLive, the cloud-based gaming company, has secured a lot of funding from some big names – including AT&T Holdings and Warner Brothers. I'm still iffy on if OnLive can really make this work, but they're certainly getting some strong backing.

– Steven Savage

Geekonomics and the Spontaneity Economy

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I've been looking at the world of geekonomics and fannish economics – of video games, anime, movies, sports, and of course, online transactions.

As I write this I've been watching some things I found casually on Netflix, using our X-box (cheesy movie trailers, if you must know).  I was watching them spontaneously.  Come to think of it, I'd maintain my Netflix and X-box subscription just for these opportunities.

Or perhaps we can turn our attention to my gaming habits.  A few demos on the X-box are always amusing, and purchases are cheap.  I've enjoyed many Wii games for only a few dollars.  Best of all, things are not only easy to get but cheap.  A bad purchase is only a few dollars lost.

Very, very easy to be spontaneous.  In fact it's never been easier for so many to get so much so quickly and so easily (if I may wax poetic).

We've got an increased spontaneity economy.  I expect it to increase as well – e-books, web comics, downloadable comics, etc.  Everything is easier and easier to get to – or even try it out.

What does this mean?

  • Demographics are going to get harder.  Spontaneity can distort studies and information on purchasing populations (and it may make long tail calculations harder).
  • Questions of initial sales.  Are initial sales of a product going to be all that reflective?
  • Questions of reason for interest.  Was someone interested in a purchase or was it just easy.
  • Questions of reimbursement.  When spontaneity plays a large (or potentially large) role in the purchasing decisions of people, what is the best way to reimburse producers or share profits?
  • Questions of marketing.  How much did your marketing pay off?  How will you know.
  • Questions of durability.  How easy is retention of an audience when the new shiny things are so easily accessible?

Welcome to the spontaneity economy.

– Steven Savage

A look at Queen City Kamikaze

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Part of my continuing series on ways to add more fan-to-pro content at conventions.  The roundup is here.

I made the acquaintance of the head of Queen City Kamikaze, a new anime-and-more convention in New Hampshire, while doing my usual convention research.  Set at a local high school (easy space, easy promotion), it's a new convention that promises to have a lot of fan-to-pro content, so I want to spotlight it.

What's up for QCK?

First, bringing in local talent to speak on career and related subjects.  The focus at QCK is to make sure that local people are there to produce more community involvement, sense of connection – and of course to give local talent it's due. One of the sponsors is even a local company with a national reach – they do GAMER Soda, and are a small-business success story.

Second, the convention is looking at an actual job fair.  This is a formative idea, but the hope is that local business and representatives may be interested in recruiting and/or speaking on jobs.

Third, art schools and similar local educational institutions are being invited to speak specifically on careers and classes involved.  This is designed to both promote them, and to give people a chance to learn more about career options.

QCK looks like they're mastering the art of recruiting and promoting locally, and getting both businesses, schools, and individuals involved.  The convention happens February 13th, 2010.  They're new.  They've got good ideas.  Go and attend – in fact, as I post this, there's still enough time to sign up and help . .  .

– Steven Savage