Fan To Pro - The Blog of Professional Geekery

Weekly Challenge - The Next Country . . .

As I've noted a few times, Japan is a country that obviously has had major influence on the North American Geekonomy.  Video Games, anime, sentai and more.  From Battle of the Planets decades ago to Power Rangers and Bleach, from Space Invaders to Final Fantasy pick-a-number, Japan has had a huge effect.

At this rate, Japanese influence on pop culture and major Geekonomic areas is more than obvious.  I'm not sure how much more influence can be had (though my guess is Kodansha is looking for more).

But there's always a hunger for new products and entertainments, foods and culture, and business models and opportunities.

So here's your challenge for the week: what country do you think is going to be next to have a big cultural/pop cultural influence on North America?

South Korean and it's growing media?

India with it's tech opportunities and the power of Bollywood?

More British influence now that Doctor Who is Reborn and series are getting remade (again)?

Think about what's next.  After all, my fellow progeek, you're going to be living it in the years to come . . .

- Steven Savage

(And as for my answer?  I'm still thinking that one over.)

News of the Day, November 30, 2009

Job Market

Are You Ready to Change Career Paths?: Preparing for one of the biggest moves of your life. Among the suggestions: Try a new career on for size by volunteering for something related.

Economics/Geekonomics

Japanese Industrial Production Up, But Still Disappointing: The Japanese economy is definitely well worth keeping an eye on for those who are in, or seeking to get into, fields like anime and video games, and they've still got a way to go.

Number of Black Friday Shoppers Up, But Average Spending Down: And the U.S. still has a way to go, too. Reports have noted people are seeking a lot of practical gifts this year, such as items for the home, although toys are still the top sellers. (E-commerce did well, with an 11 percent spike, and Amazon.com barely edging out Wal-Mart for the best sales figures ).

Technology

Video ad service BrightRoll is experiencing a surge in profits despite an overall downturn in online ad revenue. Its services include super-targeted advertising and peformance pricing, and their model is worth studying for an example of how a business can buck a downward trend.

Barnes and Noble Misses In-Store Date for Nooks: They were supposed to be in the shops Nov. 30 (they're being sold only in the chain's "high-volume stores"). This comes a week after the company's announcement that they can't meet pre-order demand for the device. (Shades of what's happened with nearly every single major Apple product launch  . . .) It's obvious that they were caught completely off-guard by how many people want the device - hopefully, they'll rectify the situation, because it would be a shame to see this potential game-changer stalled in its tracks. (Meanwhile, the Nook's main competitor, the Kindle, had its best-ever sales in November).  

Google's Real Motivation With the Chrome OS: An analysis by a former Google employee, who says the company wants to ensure that people stay with open-source cloud computing, rather than go to "closed" computer systems like Windows and Mac. 

Publishing

The Fall and Rise of Media: An analysis of the current downturn in publishing and why "a sunset will be followed by a sunrise."

Video Games

Wii Sales Up 85% Since Price Cut: At least, according to Nintendo. With the two rival consoles starting to hone in on their casual gaming turf (Litte Big Planet for PS3 is being advertised all over the place), plus the competition much further along in the "gaming console as total lifestyle device" concept, Nintendo may need more than a price cut to keep its place atop the industry. (So if you can figure out ways to expand on the current Wii console, you may be golden to them).

Call of Duty Franchise Surpasses $3 Billion in Sales: It should be noted that this was all done very quietly, as the games have never received the hype of titles like Halo and Final Fantasy - at least until the current game in the series came out of the gate like a throroughbred while the rest of the industry was performing like a broken-down nag. Call of Duty has succeeded by delivering what hardcore gamers want - great graphics and solid action. (By the way, in News of the Weird, there's a Final Fantasy eau de toilette coming in Japan. Because everyone wants to smell like a leather-covered bishie who's just been battling . . . well, another leather-covered bishie). 

- Bonnie

Sorry for the late notice - podcast rescheduled

Quick update - sorry, the podcast is now tomorrow.

Properties, Media, Loyalty

So, yes, there will be a Risk movie.  And a Monopoly movie.  There's the failed attempt at Thundercats that looked actually cool, but films as we've seen are really working to create effort-free Multimedia synergy.  Or to put it more crassly - grab a name, slap a film on it, profit from the free publicity and associations.

I am sure people will see the aforementioned films and others out of various reasons, from buying the publicity to morbid curiosity.  Some may even make money or provide interesting experiments (the Monopoly film may do so).  However, I think those behind the films are missing something.

Namely, a longer-term plan that builds interest, community, and long-term involvement.

Upcoming Podcast 11/29/2009

Just a reminder of our upcoming podcast 11/29/2009 at 7 PM PST, 10 PM EST. We'll review last weeks news and our special focus will be the Harlequin/DelArte publishing kerfluffle.

- Steven Savage

Getting the Most Out of a Book

If you've been here ANY amount of time you know I'm big on self-improvement and people reading books to improve yourself career-wise (and of course personally and otherwise).

Just because you're reading it doesn't mean you're applying it to your life.  Sure some ideas may stick in your head, but even a really great book isn't fully used if you don't sit down and use it deliberately.

Now as I am always encouraging people to read up (as you can see by the book reviews), here's a few tips on how to make sure you get the most out of a book:

• Keep shelves for your specific book subjects.  That way when you put a book back (or take one out) you'll be reminded of what you read in the past.
• When you finish a good book, take an hour or two to sit down with it and review what you want to do with the knowledge there.  Add it to your schedule, notes, what have you.
• Keep a to-read pile so you can think ahead on what you're reading.  This lets you anticipate what's coming up (and can re-remind you).
• Go through your shelves and determine what books to keep and what to sell at used-book stores regularly.  This lets you really review what you want to keep and why - and also ensures what's on your shelf is a keeper.
• Make a point of it, now and then, to go through your old books and reread important ones - even put them back in your to-read pile.
• Make sure you keep a notebook with you (as I often recommend to do constantly) so when you read and see a great idea, you can write it down for later.

A good book engages with you.  If you want to get the most out of it you have to engage right back.

- Steven Savage

News of the Day 11-27-2009

Thanksgiving is over, and it's time to get back to the News You Can Use for progeeks, fan-to-pro types, and more.  Today's news includes an economic meltdown, Hulu triumphant, Square Enix thinking ahead, and more of the Harlequin kerfluffle . . .

Economics/Geekonomics:
Big problems in Dubai, which appears to be close to an Argentina-like default, apparently a big part being it's large state-owned corporation Dubai World. More information here and here. This is going to hit stock markets and make people wary again. If we're fortunate, it will also make other governments take the continuing economic problems MORE seriously.

Movies:
Robert Downey Jr.'s Sherlock Holmes film may be part of a trilogy - I'm mixed on this. Downey Jr. blew me away in Iron Man, but I'm not sure about the Holmes films both from previews and because I'm not sure audience demand is there. I still feel like Hollywood is undermining itself with long-term film plans but no long term retention plans, but at least this shows some long-term planning. (By the way Downey Jr. also apparently helped out the script of Iron Man 2. Which sounds like it was needed).

Social Media:
A look at the issue of constant connection and social media - A good general personal read, but it also has elements to speculate on for the wider meaning and impact of social media.

Technology:
Chinese web portal company Sina scoops up $180 million in investments. Wow is pretty much all I can say. Not sure how the Chinese tech sector looks to investors, but I suppose this gives me an idea. However I am concerned investors will panic-run to Chinese investments in these uncertain times.

Video:
Hulu streaming increases by nearly 50% in October - And we seem to have a winner in the video wars, for now.

Video Games:
Square Enix prepared for the extinction of the console? - Sounds like it. With FFXIII no longer being exclusive, and their Wii/Nintendo oriented Crystal Chronicles games, I think it's obvious SquareEnix has been looking ahead. This is pretty far ahead, but at least they're thinking. Now does this comment pass, or will it get the industry talking more about the future?

Call of Duty is a $3 billion franchise - Modern Warfare 2 helped. No one is surprised.

Writing:
Harlequin changes it's self-published line name to DelArte - No mention of Harlequin at all. Also, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers have called for Harlequin to completely cut ties with the self-publishing programming - which earns a big WTF from me (unless they're more possessive because of paranormal romance). This firestorm surprised me, and beyond Harlequin's ham-handed handling, it still seems to me some of these pro groups just don't like "amateurs" horning in on their territory. I suspect they don't mind Lulu.com as much, but this represents a big known publisher going into self-publishing. I sense this may not end well, but I think Harlequin holds more of the cards (and their current deals) - since they're working to tap into unpublished talent bases, which tells me in a few years current popular authors may not have as much leverage.

- Steven Savage

Frustration Friday: Geekiness is Mainstream, get over it

And it's time for Frustration Friday, a nice, relaxing rant where I look at annoying things in the geekonomy, the fan-to-pro world, and more.

Let's talk the idea of mainstream and geeky things.

It happened.

It's over.

Geekiness WON.

Listing your finest hours

I'm not a person whose jumped on the self-esteem bandwagon.  It's important to see your good points, but it's also important to have a foundation for feeling good about yourself.  Let's face it, if you think you're awesome you may not correct the stupid things you do - and the sense of awesome will rest on no foundation.

However, there are also times we miss what is good about us, we get depressed, we think ill of ourselves.

I recommend racking up a list of Finest Hours.

Convention Idea: Proto-minicons

The series on adding professional events to conventions is here.

Last week I mentioned the idea of starting career-specific Minicons at conventions - small conventions inside other conventions, in specific areas, and run by a given staff to meet a specific need - providing professionally-oriented events.

These kinds of events may not always find support, may be hard to do, and hard to maintain.  It could be too small - OR it could become too big too quickly and interfere with the parent convention.  After all you want to make sure the event that started the minion operates smoothly.

So, if you aren't sure about doing a Minicon at a convention, try to do it on it's own - a prototype minion.

Imagine this.  Take an existing convention that only happens once a year.  3 months before, 3 months after, 6 months after, whatever have it sponsor a separate event only organized around careers and fannish activities.  You can leverage the existing convention infrastructure, but do it in a more bounded manner - one day event, different (and cheaper) location, perhaps even free depending.

Think of it as a Proto-Minicon.

This gives you a few advantages to outright running a Minicon:
* You can gauge interest before you make it part of a bigger convention.
* If interest is great enough it could become it's own convention and skip the Minicon stage.
* By tying it to an existing convention you achieve additional publicity if it works, but have enough distance failure won't have any or much of an impact.
* You can run the experiment without using convention resources until you're sure it'll work.
* It allows for experimentation outside of the "parent" convention.
* It allows for recruitment outside of the normal schedule of a parent convention.

So if the Minicon is a hard sell or you're unsure of it, try a Proto-Minicon.

- Steven Savage