Writer, Agilist, Elder Geek
It's pretty obvious I'm a fan of Crunchyroll. I watch anime using them (including the oddly steampunk-occult-heroine-and-tons-of-handsome-heroes show Neo Angelique Abyss). I'm a fan of how they've grown. I'm a fan of how they've managed to find a niche market for anime, and asian shows.
They also got me thinking about the future of some industries.
Career:
Unsolicited resumes may actually be a GOOD idea? Apparently so. I've found it to be a moderately effective way of finding a job, the big advantage being that you can do it en masse. Something to consider – especially for getting yourself out there for future openings.
Apparently more employers are running credit checks to determine who to hire, using it as a measure of judgment. Potential problem if this becomes very widespread because I'm guessing the economic downturn is killing people's credit.
Economics/Geekonomics/Freakonomics:
We could have another housing bubble partially due to the fact people are re-interested in buying homes.
Anime/Manga:
More on Tokyopop's online publishing – They're still experimenting, and do admit it. They're sort of a lab experiment for everyone really, to see how they pull things off.
Mobile:
Looks like AT&T killed Google Voice on the iPhones. Some thoughts as to why, and future policy approaches. Not sure if any of these will happen, but it's a good read.
Microsoft is looking to compete with Android and iPhones. And more of the Everything Wars.
Publishing:
The Google publishing settlement is still upsetting people – and there's actions against it. Basic premise, the settlement was an abuse of class action and let Google get a lot of rights in one fell swoop. The book wars are NO WHERE near over.
Social Media:
MySpace acquires social media music company iLike. Pretty much a perfect relationship, I see no downside and it pretty much confirms MySpace's future movement as a specialty social media site. They may be seen as an also-ran to Facebook, but let me just simply say – Crunchyroll. Specialty may suit them fine and be a good lesson for other companies.
Video Games:
Age of Conan gets an expansion – Seems like they're soldiering on despite troubles. They may have managed a comeback (and be worth watching for how they did it).
Sony's price cuts for the PS3 may mostly affect Nintendo.
Fable III may be coming out – but Fable II is getting a new marketing strategy – It'll be re-released as an episodic game with the first chapter free – and you pay if you want to unlock more. Interesting model, sounds like some of the MMO's we've seen (Wizard 101 anyone?).
– Steven Savage
That desire to move to a fannish/geeky job is strong for many of us, yet the challenges can be daunting for people in some professions:
* You may be in a profession that's "geeky" but not quite geeky enough. You're programmer that wants to work in gaming, but your specialty is inventory systems (been there myself).
* You may be in a purely non-geeky profession: marketing, accounting, infrastructure management, etc. You like it, you're a fan of it (I've known people who, for instance, adore working in transportation), but how can you go farther to relate it to what you fan over and love.
In this case, it's time to start thinking what I call a lateral move to a fannish job.