Writer, Agilist, Elder Geek
(Thanks to Caddy from A Feminist Otaku for her views on geekiness, cost, and lifestyle)
Whenever I attend an anime convention, I’m struck by the fact that a majority of the attendees have never in their lives wound the head on a VHS tape. They have never blown frantically into their VCR hoping to fix the snow that appeared in the middle of an otherwise peaceful Neon Genesis Evangelion viewing. (As peaceful as a viewing of that show can be.) Oh, youth!
Lots of theorizing today, the video wars enter yet another new phase of insanity, and we celebrate an anniversary and mourn a passing! Let's get to your progeek news:
Culture:
MUST READ: Does the web encourage us to plan for failure
MUST READ: Seth Godin speculates we're losing the dividend of digital development. Though I wouldn't say it's all wasted, I think at times we're not taking advantage of it, or not doing so consciously. Of course we geeks are damned good at using it.
Are we seeing a generation of Zukerberg wannabes? Well, I'd answer "duh", but here's a profile of a young man who fits the mold, and some thoughts on what this means. I'd also note that, being in Silicon Valley, it is a WAY different culture, and it is a place of ferment – its' just not all creative ferment pays off.
Economics/Geekonomics:
OK it may seem Barry Ritholtz, skeptic that he is, thinks' there's validity to the theories behind a book on a dow of 38,820 in 2025. No, really, and yes, THAT Barry Ritholtz. I'm curious now.
Thinking of a startup? Here's ways financing has changed.
Education:
Gawker has a snarky but helpful look at education and student debt which may be helpful after you get over the depressing truths.
Comics:
The costumes for the Batman: Live stage presentation – and they look pretty good. Not sure how well this will do (it may be dealing with drag due to the Spiderman musical), but it is intriguing to watch.
Media:
Unpaid bloggers file suit against AOL in what is sure to be another part of the whole continuing drama. Folks, we're sorry here we thought AOL was viable . . .
Science:
Today is the 50th anniversary of the first manned spaceflight.
Video:
Vudu's streaming is going to be in your browser, and it sounds like they're going to go Full Metal Netflix in the future. I want to see how they compete, but a larger lesson is Wal-Mart is working, however erratically, to build an ecosystem like others.
Meanwhile Hulu may be a victim of it's own success.
Finally, the evidence apple is gearing up for a cloud-based video service. This doesn't sound BS-y, this sounds like some thoughtful speculation. So was Apple TV only a prototype or a tracer round? Let's find out . . .
Video Games:
The inventor of the game cartridge, Jerry Lawson, has passed away
Five ways MMOs can be better. A nice read.
Wait, what? Guitar hero may not be dead! Admittedly I'm not pumped about it coming back, but I thought music games had played themselves out.
Chinese online game market? It was worth $5 billion in 2010.
Thoughts on why Genres are limiting in gaming. I'm starting to feel the same way about games, having seen good "fusions" like Puzzle Quest and Borderlands that made me think genre concepts are limiting.
QUESTION OF THE DAY:Do our genre concepts limit game development, and if so how do we get over it?
I'm all for professional geek pride. That is incredibly obvious if you've read any of this blog. Or met me. Or seen my website. You could probably tell by telepathy, but I digress (which you also know I do)
Something struck me recently at work (don't worry, in a good way), and that is one thing that helps define, and as a point of pride for professional geeks. We geeks internalize a lot of information–most of it useful (you know, beyond Boba Fett's actual age).