Writer, Agilist, Elder Geek
Let me be up front: the economy sucks, the job search sucks and is made worse by ossified HR and put-upon recruiters. So, anything that's wrong in the job search is at best, only half your fault. That being said, it's time to look deeper at one thing that can help your job search and indeed your whole career even if self-employed.
Personal Branding. Yeah, don't groan.
And . . . oh hell, more Big News stories. Here you go.
The Big News keeps on rolling in the geekonomy: Carol Bartz is out as the CEO of Yahoo. Not that there was much that could be done without trying radical, scary changes.
Now my take is that Yahoo HAS to get radical, and unless the staff, board, etc. accept that it's essentially doomed. Wether that'll happen now I'm not sure.
A helpful look back on Yahoo from earlier this year
Economics/Geekonomics:
Did productivity contribute to the Great Recession. This is a radical and interesting essay that lopsided productivity gains and changes that obscured some trends have led us to a seemingly paradoxical economy. We're more productive, with lower wages, with some amazing luxuries in our hands, without what we need to go forward. There's a LOT ignored in this essay (unionization, urbanization, etc.) but it's still one to make you think.
Movies:
OK, um, the 'Monopoly' movie snagged two writers who actually have done some good stuff. From my stunned perspective, let me reiterate a thought – perhaps these "hopeless" movies could actually turn out to be good merely by people rising to the challenge. In turn that may fuel even more attempts at adapting oddball properties. Maybe I won't be laughing at 'Stretch Armstrong.'
Social Media:
Facebook's doubled it's revenue according to the docs from Goldman Sachs that went to potential investors (remember my previous warnings about G/S). We don't have enough data yet on where the revenue's come from or how it's calculated, but you can rest assured it'll fuel IPO mania a bit more – which might be the point. Therefore I'm going to advise caution in regards to what this number means.
Technology:
And they're . . . er, off. The .xxx domain is open and we're in the sunrise period where companies and brand owners can apply for domains. Of course I can guarantee after this the floodgates are going to burst open as entrepreneurs, artists, and companies afraid of their rep snap up those names. I'm curious to observe this on several fronts:
Video Games:
Disney is laying people off at Avalanche Studios. I want to watch this to see if more are coming as Disney Interactive works on getting its act together.
QUESTION OF THE DAY: So Yahoo. Discuss . . .
– Steven Savage
GameStop's strategy emerges a bit further, DQ X is controversial, and foil that lets you make anything a touchpad? Lots of news, so let's go!
Economics/Geekonomics:
Bank of America may spin out Merrill-Lynch. It may help them a bit (the writers at Ritholtz seem pleased as they wanted something like this). If nothing else maybe they're trying a soft landing and/or a nice slow, face-saving decline.
Have a ton of helpful employment charts. There's a LOT here to go through – my big takeaway is how different this recession is, and how bad "U6" (marginally unemployed AND unemployed) is.
Political blogger Matthew Yglesias speculates currency wars could be good for the world. That's not something I'd considered, and it's a bit of a heady prospect.
Mobile:
And look who joined the fight against AT&T/T-Mobile – it's Sprint via civil suit. Looks like this is getting more interesting – and might indicate we've reached a kind of natural balance of mobile carriers, or could.
Movies:
We may get a 'Beetlejuice' sequel. I thought there was a sequel – a TV show – but hey that's just me.
Technology:
Send these people a resume: company makes a film that turns anything into touchscreen.
India needs to expand it's broadband network according to a government advisor. I'd like to note that if India does this it's going to give them a big edge in the future economy – think of this need as an opportunity. Pay attention to how India expands in the future.
MUST READ: Why the Amazon Tablet will challenge Apple in a way Google can't. Great article, must read.
Video Games:
Oh-ho, we have another idea of GameStop's plan to survive and triumph in a distributed/downloadable age. They're planning to offer iPhones, iPads, and iPods. This is a win for Apple, a win for GameStop, and an idea of their plans – namely try to be involved with or offer everything related to gaming. If this goes through it could represent several shifts in gaming (and makes me wonder what it'd mean for, say, Best Buy) – and may mean oppos at GameStop for an Apple/Mobile division.
You've probably been hearing this, but Dragon Quest X seems to be an MMO or similar. What's odd is it seems to A) Be Wii and WiiU only, B) Maintains a turn-based combat system. I'm kind of mixed here – I'd like to see it done MMO-like and I can see it being similar, but this is not the age of pay-to-play anymore, even with such beloved property. This was enough of a shock to affect Sony and SquareEnix's stock prices.
QUESTION OF THE DAY: So what other strategies does GameStop have in mind?