Slow day today news-wise.  With a holiday and the Inauguration coming up, it may be a bit slow.

Economics/Geekonomics/Freakonomics

• Is the stock market at a bottom for real? – Frankly I have no idea.  However following this can be important as investors desperately want a bottom (I have my money in cash and money markets right now) so they can re-invest and recover.  One concern rarely expressed is that if there is a bottom and people miss it, it might have (or indicate) other effects – being over-cautious can be as bad as being cautious.  In fact as much as I'm concerned about the economy, I'm also concerned about over-reaction.
• A snapshot of American attitudes in politics and the economy – It's pretty positive, but it looks like people are having quite a bit of economic hardship.
• The RIAA, file sharing, and economic changes – A fascinating little freakonomic read about how the RIAA's attempts to sue people over distribution is a complete failure – and now irrelevant.  A comparison of the RIAA to full-fee real estate is made, which is a fascinating economic metaphor period.  I think the RIAA's approach was flawed from the start on all fronts – but one front that was never considered is the changes in the world, technology, and the economy.

Social Media and Technology

• Gofish Rebrands as Betawave, expands to portals – We talked about GoFish's raising of venture Capital, but it appears they'll be retooling more on media environments..  As the youth market, as we've seen, is a good market, I'm wondering about the reasons  for the change except, possibly, broadening out and expanding that ever-sweet spot of being the middleware people.  Apparently they were worth enough to throw an awful lot of money at, so I want to see what they're up to.

Video Games

• Sony buys Pox Nora creator Octopi – Sony has online games as is, but with the hits Sony is taking, they're still spending money on gaming.  With the recent news on how they wanted studios to be more independent, I think this fits into my theory of them "powering through" the economic downturn and other gaming issues.  Side thought – will any of these resources be used for Home?  I've had problems with Sony, but it seems they're not quitting – they may be resume-worthy.  If nothing else, if they can survive they can outlast others who are falling by the wayside, and maybe acquire new properties and options.
• Sega expands its digital distribution – Through several methods as well.  They've got a lot of properties they can distribute anyway.  Big news as digital distribution keeps creeping up on us.  Career tip – this may be an area to aim your career as its only going to get bigger.

- Steve