News and Analysis

Plenty of juicy Apple news and rumors, find out what the bald-kid-free Avatar means for some companies, and learn that Kindle's best-sellers have a unique price advantage. Take two iTablets and call me when the release date is set, we've got career news for fanboys, geeks, fangirls, and more . . .

Predictions:
Venture Beat's predictions for 2010 – I agree with a lot of these, and there's some thought-provokers.

Career:
Ten reasons you have to manage your personal brand by Personal branding guru Dan Schwabel.

On a job search? Maybe you need a re-start.

Economics/Geekonomics:
A bust in credit coming – again? – A pretty good argument for it. And with declines in credit, that's declines in economic activity . . .

Media:
Just who were the true Masters of science fiction this decade? Chart-geek goodness that helps you think about who has had what influence. Plus it gives me the mind-bloing image of a Joss Whedon/James Cameron teamup . . .

It's not just sci-fi fans and people who like 10-foot tall blue aliens:The movie Avatar has been good for 3D Technology vendors. One of those things you may not think about when you see a hit movie – the influence the tech has on markets. Also Avatar broke IMAX records and raked in a lot of cash period.

Apparently Disney is looking at Marvel for Television properties, especially more obscure characters. I'm pretty sure Power Pack is going to appear in some form soon.

Mobile:
T-Mobile confirms they're doing some support for the Nexus One aka Google Phone.

Publishing:
64 of the top 100 Kindle bestsellers are free. Didn't know that, and it's something to remember as people talk about the future of e-books.

Social Media:
Facebook was the most visited site Christmas and Christmas Eve. Not surprising, but noteworthy.

LinkedIn reaches 50 million members. I'm sure that the economy has something to do with that – but also with people becoming more used to social media.

Technology:
It seems the new Apple tablet is possibly called iSlate or iGuide. From what the news-junkies at MacRumors.com can gather, it seems the Apple Tablet is focusing on being – as we guessed – a media device. However there may be confusion, as Apple might be doing it's own E-reader. All signs point to whatever the iFlatThing is, it's going to be media-heavy or part of a media-heavy series. I wonder if the rumors of a 10" and 7" iHaveANewThing are actually two very different devices. Keep watching . . .

Adobe the top Hacker Target for 2010? I'm not sure about the report entirely, with the widespread use of Adobe products there's room for concern period. This is also why, despite my use of Mac, I still use NoScript and FlashBlock. If you're in IT, read this report over and think a bit.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: At some point increase and interest in social media has to plateau – when will that be and why?

– Steven Savage

PS4 on the horizon? The economy still not quite bailed out? Books taking on loads of video as extra cargo? Set sail with shipping metaphors as we voyage into the waters of geek career news!

Career:
Seth Godin makes the interesting point that it's not the rats that leave a sinking ship, it's the rich passengers, a metaphor for how big customers switched what they use in media. Not sure I agree with all his (short) conclusions, but it really is something to think about.

A great geek-career exercise: what's your superpower. Props to the author for a great metaphor that should give you ideas.

Thoughts on Twitter and job search tools.
changed over the last decade.
Art:
What does it mean to be an artist today? It's indeed a strange time.

Economics/Geekonomics:
Paul Krugman is concerned about an economic contraction in the US in the second half of 2010 – I'm concerned about some possible contraction in general (though I give it about a 1 in 3 overall). If Krugman is concerned, pay attention – I'm planning to remain economically paranoid in 2010.

Venture Beat has it's Venture Capital predictions for 2010. Good stuff, but I disagree that we're going to see device divergence – I see convergence winning over – by having specific apps.

Publishing:
Is the composite video/web book, the 'Vook' part of The future of literature? Monica Hess gives us speculative and interesting article. I think the end does sum it up – we're going to see all sorts of experimentation, so we have no idea what will truly evolve and stick. Worth reading.

Technology:
So few paid Android apps because purchasing is challenging? So argues analytics firm Distimo. I'm not entirely in agreement, but I think the fact ordering is more cumbersome is a factor, and agree with the article author that we think Google==free. An unexpected bump in the road for Android? Possibly. Also a reminder that convenience sells.

Wired list it's Top 7 'disruptors' of the year. A light and thought-provoking read, but there's a lot more than 7 to be concerned about.

Writing:
A freelance writer takes look at his income and writing, giving you a snapshot of his work.

Video Games:
Some predictions and rumors on the PS4: Sony may be looking at a different processor setup. The article in question also notes that it'd probably be 2012 before any true new consoles are seen. So, programmers, marketers, and techs you've got your timeline . . . and hey, wasn't Sony predicting the PS3 would be around for a decade?

QUESTION OF THE DAY: So, what is your superpower anyway? What makes you special?

– Steven Savage