News and Analysis

Netflix on Wii, a tax as opposed to a pox on banks, and Google comes down on China. Reverse the polarity of the Neutron Flow, it’s geek news time!

Career:
What are the hottest jobs for 2010? As you may guess by the presence of a link, someone has an answer. Some unsurprising things – some surprising. A good quick read if you’re evaluating careers.

A few thoughts on starting your own business to give you perspective, especially if you plan to use Venture Capital.

. . . or maybe you’d like to try freelance writing for now?

Is the solution to your job woes Buying a facebook job ad? Not sure, but after this story I figure many people will try.

Economics/Geekonomics:
US Cities facing large shortfalls – Which really moves the burden down the tax chain, but there you go. Remember to follow issues like this if you relocate or plan to. As a guy that lives in California, I assure you our cities vary widely by how they’re handling things . . .

Do we need a Too Big To Fail Tax? Barry Ritholtz thinks so and lays out an interesting case.

Media:
PBS doing a new standalone news website that is Supervertical as opposed to the Hyperlocal movement. Something to watch to see how it goes.

Technology:
Google to exit China? A story of hacking, spying, and more. Probably best to read the whole thing – and follow any updates.

HP and Microsoft make huge partnership on cloud computing – Sounds more high-level and data center oriented. Makes sense for HP, and for Microsoft it can increase their market share in the data center area. May be good job-wise as well.

Sprint partnering with Wal-Mart to build out WiMax? I find this interesting as it seems Wal-Mart is at the center of a lot of technology issues lately – video, game sales, etc.

Video:
Finally, Netflix on Wii. It appears it took awhile to do – and requires a separate disk – but it’s here. Now all 3 major consoles will run Netflix. Good for Nintendo, good for Netflix. Of course what does this mean for competitors potential and current (like, say Wal-Mart’s latest plans)? And as a side note, could Netflix evolve into even more of a video delivery service and carry more indie or even personally-made stuff?

Video Games:
Modern Warfare 2 surpasses $1 Billion in sales. This beats films, and appears to be due to a number of factors. Since bandwagon-jumping is a big sport in the geekonomy today, expect more of it soon. I look forward to the release of Final Borderlands X: Modern Warfare of Zelda.

Are game endings . . . ending? With the change to what games do and what people expect, is the idea of a game ending changing or vanishing?

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Will China’s activities further politicize Google?

– Steven Savage

Cuts by Warner Interactive?  Problems with the Nexus One?  Wal-Mart trying video distribution?  So much news I can't think of a witty lead in, so its Geek News Time!

Career:

Follow trendsin your job search. Good advice.

Economics/Geekonomics:
A look at 16-19 year old unemployment over the years – It's also pretty ugly now (37.1%) and is apparently at some kind of record . . .

Media:
Some thoughts on saving news – by having more sponsored events? An unusual idea at least that plays into some of the issue-based and possibly hyperlocal concepts. Not sure I agree, but it's stimulating.

Publishing:
Some thoughts on the e-reader situation that mirrors our own senses here – a lot of odd stuff, potential shakeouts, etc.

Why it's so hard to get foreign books published in the United States – A nice, broad look at an interesting phenomena. With the success of some Japanese properties, this certainly does make one think. A good read if you're in publishing.

Technology:
Google Office now lets people upload most any doc – Easy storage and access. A simple addition, but this adds a lot more usefulness to the google suite and makes them more competitive. Of course the upcoming Chrome OS probably has something to do with this . . .

Is the Tech spending downturn over? – Not sure myself. However it's been down awhile so I'd expect some increase soon anyway.

Technology-Mobile:
Google's Nexus One is having some issues – I get the feel it was a bit rushed.  Still this makes Google look bad.  I don't think it devalues other Android products, but it's not an auspicious launch.

Video:
Wal Mart trying to be like Netflix -again?
– Possibly via Vudu. This'd be the 3rd time they've tried something
like this. Of course they are glad to horn in on other markets, but
this one seems a tad crowded. If you work in video and delivery, keep
this in mind just in case.

Video Games:
Big Fish Games partners with PlayFirst in a team-up that seems to leverage both companies' strengths. This also probably helps Big Fish in a tough economy – Big Fish seems to be very open to different partnerships, from PlayFirst to Harlequin, and very savvy. They may be worth a resume . . .

The Most anticipated videogames of 2010 – According to wired. I agree on some of this. A good read to remind you of what's coming up, especially in a weird economy and an erratic industry.

SyFy and Trion's game/show partnership gets funding – It looks like it's still going – a game that will include content from a related show, One Earth. Not much to say except I'm glad the experiment is going.

Cuts to game companies and studios – Studios at Warner Interactive. There's been 11,500 job cuts in gaming since 2008 according to M2 research

An acquistion as well: Chinese game company Shanda acquires Mochi Media.

Writing:
29 places to find freelance writing jobs – Updated from awhile ago.

Carol Tice spells out what habits freelance writers need. Carol speaks – you listen.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: So, will Wal-Mart manage to get into video distribution, or will this be another failed attempt?

-Steven Savage