News of the Day 9/3/2009

Career:
11 common cover letter mistakes – Good advice here.

Post-graduate career advice for most of the rest of people. A nice addition to the advice that usually only covers a tiny fraction of graduates.

Economics/Freakonomics/Geekonomics:
There's s lot of accidental landlords out there, and renting is not what it seems – Interesting look at how people are renting out homes, and with this economy, rental units are on an upswing. I know I've heard of rates dropping even in the Bay Area. May be good if you're relocating.

Another nice summary of the recession via Barry Ritholtz. He too feels the American banking system isn't sound.

Education:
How online is changing education – THIS is something I didn't think of. Online eudcation, especially in this economy, could be very disruptive to the university structure – while providing more education to people. A must-read.

Comics:
A look at graphic novels and the good reasons to work with old guard comic companies.

Mobile:
Bad iPhone serbvice? iPhones are data hogs that overload the system – It's always something. This also might be another encourager for iPhones to go beyond AT&T.

Facebook enters into the app arena, and is focusing on mobile apps – Congrats Facebook, you're competing with the iPhone, welcome to the Everything Wars.

Movies:
There will be a Lobo movie – I really am not sure how to feel about this. It'd be a change of pace for most DC properties, and done right it could actually be incredibly fun (especially if it keeps with some of the deconstructionist humor of Lobo). On the other hand . . . well not sure how to make it either not watered down or insanely offensive.

Technology:
Apple's version of Snow Leopard has a vulnerable version of Flash – More evidence, I think, that they rushed it out.

A look at technology trends

Video:
Youtube is exploring video rental options – Which is not surprising, but could work well for them with their public mindshare. However I think they'll need some kind of Netflix-on-Xbox like streaming setup to get better penetration – it's a pain to watch stuff on a computer. Now if they do that . . .

Video Games:
OnLive is allowing for beta testing – It also appears they've popped into this discussion thread. I remain skeptical of OnLive (and their sudden absence from the spotlight post GDC), but still want to see whats up with them. If there's a beta it means they figure they're close to something . . . if this DOES work it's a big shift in gaming.

World of Warcraft now allows faction hopping – For $30 of course. A bit of a way to earn more money for them, convenient for players, and now people can get to be Goblins post-Cataclysm. Included as a general example of things MMOs can do for money and player convenience.

– Steven Savage

Go Farther: Old Games

This is part of a new category of posts designed to explore business ideas, properties, etc. that we here at Fan To Pro think MORE can be done with.  The idea is to look at media properties, technology, games, entertainment, etc. that we wish the owners/authors/makers of did more with – and make suggestions.

The goal is to give you, the profan, more ideas, stimulate your imagination – and of course to get a few things off our chests.

My subject today?  Physical games.

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Disney, Marvel, Tokyopop, Kodansha, ADV – and more

ADV , anime, comics, Disney, Kodansha, manga, Marvel, Tokyopop

So the Geekonomy has gone bugnuts crazy the last week.  Let's count the ways it changed:

  • Disney bought Marvel, giving them thousands of properties, control
    of more pop culture icons, and an endless parade of bad cartoons of
    Wolverine/Mickey Mouse fusions.
  • Kodansha is ending its licensing deal with Tokyopop.
  • ADV seems to be transferring it's properties to a holding company, making it sound like they're basically dead.

And I was worried about the Everything Wars.

First of all, let me state I DO NOT see this as part of the
Everything Wars – those are battles over technology and access.  THis
is what I've called the Secondary area of the Everything Wars – content.

And
there's a lot to chew over.  So in this analysis, let me do the chewing
– and figure out what it means for you in your career.

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