Fan To Pro - The Blog of Professional Geekery

Layoffs At THQ

THQ is making cuts. Where it is is a bit of a question, and this roundup tries for some context. It might be several layoffs.

Analysts seem positive about THQ's moves.

TAKEAWAYS:

• THQ is going to survive, I think it'd be unlikely for them to collapse - but clearly they need to restructure/reorg/replan.
• I'd be careful of any job oppose with them for this reason.
• Their age-refocusing might leave some opportunities for other companies and studios.

- Steven Savage

Layoffs At THQ

THQ is making cuts. Where it is is a bit of a question, and this roundup tries for some context. It might be several layoffs.

Analysts seem positive about THQ's moves.

TAKEAWAYS:

• THQ is going to survive, I think it'd be unlikely for them to collapse - but clearly they need to restructure/reorg/replan.
• I'd be careful of any job oppose with them for this reason.
• Their age-refocusing might leave some opportunities for other companies and studios.

- Steven Savage

Career Thoughts on the Post-PC/CorpTechPocalypse Era

Yesterday I discussed that I felt the decline of the PC was related strongly to the decline of Corporate IT.  But what does it mean for your career, my fellow progeek?  I figured I'd collect my random thoughts to see if it gave you ideas, or caused panic.  Or something.

Noble Kombat

Barnes & Noble, Taking On Amazon in the Fight of Its Life - NYTimes.com

Good look at how B&N has been trying to make its business digital, and has succeeded to a degree -- but is still facing massive challenges from Amazon. The latter are slowly adding "content provider" to their resume, with the addition of a publishing arm that many fear will drive conventional publishers into a corner.

I've debated how likely that is. Amazon understands pipelines, but it's not clear they understand A&R -- yet. Most of their first wave of signings are people who would have landed a book contract in some form anyway (e.g., actor James Franco) and not discoveries snubbed by other publishers in their infinite lack of wisdom, etc.

-- Serdar Yegulalp

News from the North - Jan 29

Erotica? On My E-Reader?
With e-readers like the Kindle and Kobo lines, sales of erotic literature has soared. Canadian e-publisher eXtasy had sales take off in 2010 and double in 2011. Part of the advantage of the e-erotica (e-rotica?) is that no one can tell what is being read. There's no lurid cover to have to hide. And, it looks like my NaNoWriMo project from last year may have a potential publisher.

Dial Up Internet For Cheap
The National Capital Freenet is still around and still going, providing cheap dial up serivce and inexpensive DSL. The NCF was one of the first providers in Ottawa and still has over 4000 subscribers and is a good example of a community-based ISP.

--Scott D

The CorpTechPocalypse And The Post PC World?

Last week, I noted that some say Apple had their first post-PC quarter - and that this isn't suprising.  In fact, ilke the "CorpTechPocalypse", the slow dying of IT departments, this is a completely predictable trend.  In fact, I think they're the same thing.

Really, the dying of the average IT department is pretty much the same reason that companies are aiming for a post-PC market.

(Now I agree with our own Scott that it's not a post-PC world in that the world will forget PC's.  I view what's coming as a world where the PC's role shrinks considerably.  But I call it Post-PC as the other term I heard, "PC Plus," doesn't cut it for me)

So what are these similarities?

Have More Stereotype-Fu!

If you enjoyed our previous columns on the art of Stereotype Fu, I've made a video presentation using my original columns!

http://youtu.be/96FOBFA-ICc

- Steven Savage

News from the North - Jan 29

Bilingual URLs
Canadian domain names will soon be allowed to use accents. The move by the Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) will allow French websites to use the proper accents in their URLs. This won't be a problem for Canadian users - bilingual keyboards are available and are in use in the Federal government.

Truth in Advertising vs Freedom of Speech
File this under A for Audacious. Rogers, the cable company cum wireless provider, has asked the Ontario courts to strike down the requirement that a company needs to have "adequate and proper" tests of a product before making claims about that product. The company claims that the wording violates its freedom of expression. The court case, expected to start in June, is the latest in the company's battle against the Competition Bureau, which started in 2010 when the Bureay levied a Cdn$10 million against Rogers for misleading advertising. This could be Canada's /Citizens United/, a case in the US that ruled that corporations are people.

Canadian Small ISPs to Get New Wholesale Rates
Starting February 1, small ISPs in Canada are getting new wholesale rates. The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commissionm (CRTC) enacted new rules last year on how the larger service providers charge independant ISPs for service. The larger providers, including Bell and Rogers, were given a choice - flat rate per user or a specific capacity. Teksavvy, one of the small ISPs, expects to have to raise its rates as a result. The move starts to level the playing field, but still gives a lot of control to the majors.

Online Econmy Expected to Double by 2016
Boston Consulting Group released a report at the Davos, Switzerland G20 summit saying that amount of online business is expected to double by 2016. An online presence will be almost mandatory by then, even if no online sales are done.

Someone Has Confidence in RIM
Fairfax Financial Holdings, Ltd, has doubled their investment in Research In Motion. The company now owns over 5% of shares of RIM. Could this help or hinder RIM?

Siri Has Competition
Apple's Siri now has a competitor, Evi. Evi, created by True Knowledge in the UK, can also respond to verbal questions. Unlike Siri, Evi is available on both iPhones and Android devices. Someone really should put them in a debate with each other.

Facebook Suing Spammer
Facebook and Washington State have filed suit on Ascend Media for "clickjacking". "Clickjacking" gets people to like a site, which then gets posted through their Facebook accounts and spreads. Ascend Media has taken in US$1.2 million a month gross.

Excerpt of Book about Chinese Internet Censorship
Rebecca MacKinnon has written a book about how the Chinese government censors the Internet in the country. The excerpt mentions the "China Internet Self-Discipline Award", given out to people who foster "harmonious and healthy Internet development". When a government starts using words featured in The Prisoner (ie, "harmonious"), something has gone horribly wrong.

--Scott D

Lost in Translation 23 - Remakes Are Magic

The 80s saw a major change in how toys could be advertised. A regulation that prevented companies from making cartoons based on a toy line was dropped* by the Reagan administration. This opened the door to several lines, including Transformers, Jem and the Holograms, Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future, and My Little Pony**. Hasbro created the My Little Pony toy line in 1981, releasing the ponies in 1982, with several cartoons based on the toy ponies. The cartoons were aimed at young girls, the same demographic the toys were. One little girl in particular, Lauren Faust, gave her My Little Ponies distinctive personalities as she played with them.

Ms Faust grew up to be a writer and creator, particularly of cartoons. She worked on such series as The Powerpuff Girls before helming one of the biggest cartoons of the 21st century - My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. In creating that cartoon, she took the personalities her toy ponies had and gave it to the Mane 6 - Twilight Sparkle (a book smart but naive unicorn), Rarity (a fashionable but vain unicorn), Fluttershy (a kind but shy pegasus), Rainbow Dash (a brash tompony), Applejack (a down to earth but workaholic earth pony), and Pinkie Pie (a genre savvy party pony).

There are many keys to the success of MLP:FIS. The big one is that it has a broad appeal. While the show is aimed at young girls, who Hasbro wants to pressure parents into buying the toys, there's enough in the series to attract a large peripheral demographic***. Shout outs and homages abound, from Looney Tunes to Benny Hill; something for everypony. In addition, Hasbro itself has not bothered to take down episodes from various sites, including YouTube, in part because company officials have no idea how to react to the show's success. Since the series exists to sell ponies and ponies are selling, the officials have decided to let things stand.

Another key is how the show presents dilemmas for the Mane 6 to solve. In the 80s, typically there was one character who was designated as being always wrong, even if that character's idea made the most sense. In the Dungeons & Dragons cartoon, Eric the Cavalier held that designation - he'd would always make a suggestion that the others would reject for the group's, even if his idea made more sense. In MLP:FIS, no pony has that designation. Conflict can come from any two characters, and the solution is to work together and use each others' strengths without making either pony feel bad, using the power of friendship.

A third reason for the success is the treatment of the fans. Fanon names for minor ponies, such as Derpy Hooves and Doctor Whooves, have become canon. This is unprecidented. Yet, it lets fans feel more included, something that goes with the message of the series. The names don't affect anything with the Mane 6, but some ponies, including Derpy Hooves, have made more appearances as a result. There is a synergy between the creative crew and the fans.

Over and over, the term "respect" has come up in respect to making a successful remake. In this case, the respect isn't necessarily towards the original material. Instead, it's respect towards the fans that has made My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic a success.****

Next time, an anti-war TV series.

* Although ads for the toys still could not air during the show
** Please hold your squees until after you've read the column. :)
*** The last time I saw such a peripheral demographic was in 1995 with /Sailor Moon/. The general reaction from the older male periphery then was, "What did I watch and why am I still watching?", a reaction seen today with new bronies.
**** You may now squee. :)

Comics: In Greater Competition With ... Everything, Really

Why Piracy is Not Responsible for 'Ruining' Comics [Op-Ed] - ComicsAlliance | Comic book culture, news, humor, commentary, and reviews

A very good analysis of what other factors, apart from piracy, may be responsible for causing the comic market to weaken. On my own site, I did an extended analysis on this argument; I suspect the problem is cyclical throughout all media as our range of options expands across the board. Everything is now becoming that much more competitive with everything else, with each media type becoming a differently-flavored incarnation of that struggle.

-- Serdar Yegulalp