News of the Day 2/15/2010

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Gawker grows in an unusual way, EA has yet more bad news, Apple gets ganged up on, and more. Download some geek news – RIGHT THROUGH YOUR EYES!

Career:
The catch-22 of entry level jobs – and how to get around it – I'm sure some of you have been there or are there now.

Do you have a resume or a marketing document? Hint – you really want a marketing document. A good read.

Economics/Geekonomics:
A look at labor force underutilization by income – Or unemployment, part time employment, etc. Basic summary, the lower income you are the more likely you're unemployed/underemployed. Also recall the news last week that unemployment varies widely by education, and you can see some potential problems on the horizon economically and class-wise.

A roundup of your Greek economic news with some good analysis of this mess. I'm still betting Goldman Sachs is going to get slapped by the EU, and Paul Krugman makes a good point that the Euro may have been introduced too early.

Media:
Gawker media buys Citylife – Why is this big news? Because Gawker usually builds instead of buys – and is doing pretty well with their media empire. Me thinks that we want to watch them to see what's next with them – they're getting awful big . . .

Publishing:
Two investors want a majority stake in Barnes and Noble – Some people apparently want control of whatever's going to happen . . . 

Mobile:

Two dozen mobile carriers team up for a standard app store/delivery model – Clearly in response to the Apple store, and quite a powerful INTERNATIONAL alliance it – US, German, Austria, China, and more. This is obviously helpful to solving fragmentation in the mobile app area – and may offer some future career opportunities down the road, both in app development and whatever store(s) this spawns. Now, where is Google in all of this? apparently quite skeptical.

Do we need another Linux OS for portable devices? Nokia and Intel think so.

Technology:
Adobe announces its strategy – Which is pretty much write-once, send anywhere, mixing AIR and Flash. They even have an iPhone workaround. This sounds actually pretty credible, and a good job pressuring Apple.

Video Games:
EA skips out on March Madness, has other issues – Looks like there's problems with sports franchises as well.

An analysis of why Sony is becoming a one-platform company which seems . . . kind of obvious.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Will Adobe's latest actions get Apple to back down on Flash issues?

– Steven Savage

Book Update 2/15/2010

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And now the latest updates of the Fan-To-Pro Book:

Status:

  • I am now done with the cover.  After having many approaches and suggestions and offers, I've finally settled on a simper, abstract, slightly retro design that has a 50's/60's feel.
  • I have done the back cover except for selecting an author photo, which I haven't done as I kinda need to take one . . .

What I've learned:

  • Covers are an incredible pain.  Seriously.  I actually am going with the final design I have because it's "good enough" and is less trouble than many other options.
  • Take a look at other covers to figure out how to make your own.
  • Typesetting was honestly easier than the cover work.
  • The back cover of a book takes some serious thought to make it sound good.  Also, make sure you have a good picture of yourself to go on one.
  • Lulu.com's cover designing system is decent, but unless you invest time in making good covers from scratch, or manipulate their cover system to best fuse templates and your own work, your work will look very basic.  On the plus side Lulu's basic setups are pretty nice and easy to use, there's just not a lot of variability without your own work.
  • You better have some decent graphic program and the skills to get even the simpler covers together – or have someone to call on.
  • What looks cool in a bookstore can look awful online.
  • The learning curve for self-publishing, even with a useful site and tools, is incredibly high.  Honestly, the books I read were invaluable.  Do NOT try self-publishing without at least reading up on the issues of formatting, ISBNs, cover design, etc.  I reviewed some books here that should equip you properly, and when done should probably do a summary again.

So things move on.  This is an incredibly educational experience for me.

When the book comes out I hope it is educational for you as well.

– Steven Savage

Weekly Challenge: Review Of Patience

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Do you like waiting?

Trick question of course.  No one likes it; people at best tolerate waiting.  Yet we have to wait all the time, and it usually drives us a bit crazy.

Of course waiting patiently is often part of success.  Farmers of ages past had to wait on rain, flows of rivers, and the seasons.  Investors have to be patient to find the right time to buy or sell.

This week's exercise is a two-parter.

First, I want you to sit down for five minutes and write down all the things you've given up on in your career because you decided not to be patient.  What are the repercussions of these actions in your life and career?

Secondly, pick one thing you were looking forward to doing this week and delay it by at least one day.  Do it just to built a little patience.  Maybe in the weeks and months to come you can play with your impatience and purposefully develop your ability to be patient.

– Steven Savage