Steven Savage

More of the DC comic covers, why Pokemon succeeded, more IPO, and a stupid law in Tennesee.  let's go!

Economics/Geekonomics:
Infographic snapshot of US personal income 1969-2009.

Welcome to the Confusiondome: Job listings are up . . . jobs available are down. No, I'm not sure either.

Comics:
Get a gander at 10 covers from the new DCU Reboot. I'm mixed on it overall, but it's not bad – and the styles do vary.  Considering the Pants news yesterday, I think DC is keeping tighter control over design, trying to have more artistic and exploratory work – yet also to make sure there's high quality.

Borders gets a bit longer to prep for a sale. I want to see how this goes considering they're still barreling ahead with their plans despite, well . . . being bankrupt.

Geek Law:
Zuckerberg and Facebook claim the Ceglia docs are forged. Interesting thing to note here in the Lawsuit-palooza of IT, that forging stuff is something we don't see covered enough.

There's a passed, but unsigned-as-of-yet bill in Tennesee that, yes, makes it illegal to share your Netflix password. Really. Yes, it's RIAA backed. Yes, I'm sure others will try this, and yes, it makes Tennesee lawmakers look like a bunch of dunderheads.  Unfortunately I can see the RIAA and others taking advantage of compliant local legislatures for awhile.

The Oatmeal Versus FunkyJunky – This is an utterly fascinating case that looks at copyright issues you may not have thought of – as in a guy building his own webcomic finds it pretty much mirrored at another site.  This one could be affecting copyright in the future  – and is a case that could affect things you do.

Social Media:
Groupon files for a $750 million IPO. Well I'm guessing the LinkedIn launch helped push this further and faster, but I'm not sure how well it'll hold up over time – as I'm of the theory Groupon can't really realize lavish profits with a model that seems doomed to decline over time. I'd watch this more to see if it produces more Bubble Fear.

Ubermedia raises $5.6 million but won't challenge Twitter. What they're going to do, I have no idea – bit it sounds like specialized development and integration. Might be resume-worthy, since they do have money.

Technology:
Remember, Google technically has a Skype competitor. Hmmm, Microsoft bought itself into another front of the Everything Wars, didn't they? Wonder if Google will leverage this further.

Video Games:
Nintendo blazes on ahead with A 3DS shop and some free wi-fi opportunities. I'm not sure how this'll do, but it certainly can't hurt – and may give us a hint of future strategies. Nintendo sounds like they want to do a lot of nostalgia sales and keep providing platform value for the 3DS. Since there's only a 3DS store that pretty much sounds like that's the future.

Smart. The NGP is backwards compatible. Sony just did something smart, and they desperately need smart right now.

Must Read: How Pokemon keeps it's marketing going. Read and learn. Also, you now have a name of a marketing director you might want to network towards meeting . . .

QUESTION OF THE DAY: GroupOn IPO – inevitably overvalued or will it be reasonably valued with all the sudden caution?

– Steven Savage

The economy really does suck, DC is really changing, and Apple is really equipped to take on Twitter – oh and Rovio is really freaking serious.  Plenty of geek news!

Economics/Geekonomics:
MUST READ:Are we on the verge of an even Greater Depression? TONS of articles, statistics, and video to take a look at the US in the Great Reset. My takeaway from this is that for some we're in a Recession, but for some we're really in a serious depression, and in all cases there hasn't been enough addressing of the fundamentals. I also think the reason the impact hasn't been worse is due to the safety measures put in place since the Great Depression.

To add to the sad, The Pace Of The US Recovery is slowing.

Comics:
The goal of DC comics reboot seems to pretty much be freshening the brand and getting new readers. So with that obvious statement, let me also add that I think this strategy smells of a larger media strategy, seeking relevance as well as a new audience and integrated properties. This also could yield future job opportunities as media efforts combine and come into being – and they want to have people that know how to take advantage of them. I also sense the desire to make a more understandable, accessible continuity.

Also apparently DC female heroines are going trouser-centric. That little pantyflash-reducing tidbit is actually telling – it's likely to keep appeal broad, family-esque, and reduce some of the "superstripper" looks artists have occasionally created.

Mobile:
Nokia's CEO Elop says that Nokia is getting hammered in China, and Android is part of it. This is not a reassuring statement for investors or employees considering recent events. Despite their size they're really not having a good time, and I think they're unsure of the future (which explains the Microsoft alliance). No wonder there's rumor Microsoft may buy their smartphone business.

Social Media:
Twitter adds photosharing features as part of new functionality they're releasing today.

Google's +1 button continues to expand You'll want to pay attention to this.

Technology:
Thought provoker – Apple has the infrastructure to compete with Twitter. Just something to get your mind working.

10 Hidden Features of Windows – With the unhidden feature they're clearly inspired by Apple. Still a lot of this seems to be good additions, and seems to make Windows more of a friendly, ecosystem-oriented OS. Not enough definition of some though, so keep watching.

Video:
Hulu is going to show Miramax films – in a multi-year deal and just yesterday we were reporting on how they were adding more ads. Of course Mirimax seems to want to sign on as many people as possible, so this is good for them, and for Hulu, unavoidable.

Video Games:
Rovio acquires animation studio Kombo. An obvious choice for a company with ambitions (and multimedia ones at that). As they consolidate talent, it does make their ambitions much easier to realize, though I think it remains to be seen if they can turn Angry Birds into something greater. Keep an eye on who else they buy (it might be your company).

Angry Birds is going to end up on Roku. Wait, what? Yeah, my reaction too. No idea what they're doing, if there are new peripherals, etc. Of course Roku is battling in a weird and crowded market, so this may be an edge – and it's not like Angry Birds isn't a seller. Is Roku trying to be a bit of a game machine? A lifestyle device? I have no idea.

Amazon's Android store gets Plants Versus Zombies. There's a big title, and a glimpse further into their strategy of doing cool, big stuff to get attention. A speculation – the Amazon Android story may actually try to be more selective to build on quality.

QUESTION OF THE DAY: So could Apple compete with Twitter?

– Steven Savage