News and Analysis

Embarrassment In The Time of E-Publishing?

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Lately I've been experimenting with online publishing sites as a way to put out an advanced report for the Geek Scanner.  That's also had me thinking about how easy it is to publish, and what it means for the embarrassment of publishing something bad.

We've all heard about some meltdown that some author had online, from fanfic writers to professionals (in everything but the "professional dignity" sense). More people are putting stuff out more people are able to read it, so what does it mean for the idea of being embarrassed for putting out something bad?

Know what? I'm not sure.  I've wondered about similar issues before, and I'm wondering still.

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News Of The Day 5/4/2011

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Economic news, geekonomic news, more bad news for Sony

The Great Sony Outage:
Sony kind of blames Anonymous for the hack – because, apparently, Anonymous enabled them or something. This is dumb, petty, and only inviting retaliation – it feels like a desperation PR move.

Catch the timeline here and realize how long it took to tell customers.

Economics/Geekonomics:
Well, the US has shown some job gains.

Looks like Portugal reached a bailout agreement with the EU.

MUST READ: The Sharing Economy – how sharing changes things.  This is a growing trend I don't think enough people have followed – and it alters demand rates, efficiency, and sales.

Comics:
Why Thor released outside the US before inside – Which really shows just how global the market is. Also the reviews seem good overall.

Social Media:
LinkedIn is going to list itself on the NYSE, no the NASDAQ. That's kind of dissing the tech-heavy NASDAQ.

Commenting tech company Disqus has secured $10 million dollars. Just a good note on a rather well-known company (and with only 16 people maybe they should hire . . .).

Technology:
Google is going to launch an aggressive series of ads for promoting Chrome – on TV. Note how they talk of the value of a Chrome user, so they're thinking long-term loyalty building (on top of everything else).  What the yplan to do with it is interesting too . . .

Video:
DVD sales fell 20% in 2011. Not surprising considering streaming. Interesting thought here – indie DVD publishing is very easy, so what's the solution as the DVD keeps fading? How do small voices get out?  Also how much of an "enemy" does Netflix become to other companies as it becomes the one-ton gorilla in the streaming room?

Video Games:
Nexon is doing pretty well.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: So how far will DVD sales drop in the next year?

– Steven Savage

Guest Post by Leona Wisoker: Ideas and Fear; or, The Fear of Ideas

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(I'd like to thank Leona Wisoker, a talented writer who's also had me blogging at her blog, for this contribution on writing, ideas, and fear – something a lot of us know of.  I reccomend her blog as she has some fascinating insights.)

I used to be paralyzed by the thought that I had nothing worth saying, no skills with which to say it, and nobody who would want to read it anyway. Even after landing a four-book contract deal, publishing a handful of short stories, and running a relatively regular blog for almost two years now, I still hear those statements in my head nearly every day:

It's a fluke. It's not real. People are just being nice to me. If I was a 'real' writer, I'd be signed with a Big Name Press, like Tor or Baen. I'm an upstart and I'm going to get squashed very very soon now….

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