Ive been thinking about the different media economic models out there, especially games and e-books. I think I've discovered a barrier to customer involvement that is often not explored.
Fear of commitment.
News and Analysis
Twilight Of The Book Covers – Originality And It’s Cycles
This should probably be a Frustration Friday, but it's fresh in my mind and probably not ranty enough.
So I try and write my weekly posts at a bookstore. It's fun yet I stay focused, I get to get out, and in general, the change of pace helps me. So as I take a break, something strikes me that I've seen before, but hadn't thought about viscerally.
A LOT of book covers look like ripoff's of Twilight's stark black-background covers. I mean a lot.
Sure some have a bit more color or some variant, but it's usually dark-background and object and that's it. I don't even know if some of these books have anything to do with vampires or even fiction. With some of the titles, for all I know, I'm seeing a very pretentious cookbook.
So this got me thinking about originality in the age of geekonomics.
News of the Day 3/19/2010
A German iPad, how eBooks have changed, and Twitter's followers aren't counting for as much as you'd think. Reverse the polarity of the Neutron Flow, it's time for must-know Geek Job News!
Career:
50 tips to elevate your personal brand – Now I'm biased as Cindy quoted me as well (on business cards), but this is a great set of tips and a good blog. Check it out and get some new ideas!
Economics/Geeokonomics:
A good roundup of econolinks and more from The Big picture.
Did all the bailouts just give us bigger and riskier banks? I'm concerned about that myself, frankly – if you're gonna be big, you better be well-regulated.
Publishing:
Why Ebooks failed in their first iteration and what's changed or has to change – Great insights on the subject.
The Author's Guild makes it's statements on e-book royalties with Harper Collins and Random House.
Social Media:
Audience size on Twitter doesn't equal influence – A little research busts that theory. Maybe it's time for ANOTHER death-of-Twitter story? Either way, good research to bring into play when considering Socil Media strategy.
Technology:
Palm's stock drops on revenue forecasts – In this market, Palm is just facing too many challenges. Frankly – not a place to bet your career.
A German iPad? Sounds like a pretty powerful device – now will this end up in other countries? Will other companies in other countries follow suit?
Video Games:
RealNetworks hires execs to take their games into social gaming – Interesting and obvious change (and they have a decent foundation to go on). This is one to watch for resume-worthiness.
The CEO of SquareEnix talks Final Fantasy. Not too much to go on here (does he think the XBox version of FF XIII doesn't have issues?) but a few useful insights and tidbits. Still wondering if Eidos will have been worth it for them . . .
Twilight is what the gaming industry is missing out on? A pretty good point. And as for a Twilight game producing backlash, frankly I think people are already in their camps on Twilight.
And finally . . . A quest to find the buried sets from the Ten Commandments – an archeological search for a set based on a previous civilization by a film buff. Awesome geekery.
QUESTION OF THE DAY:Is Twilight something that could pay off in gaming?
-Steven Savage