News of the Day, November 13, 2009

Job Market

Forget Work-Life Balance, Build a Lifestyle: The importance of an integrated lifestyle, which is especially vital to Fan to Pro types, who often find themselves living compartmentalized lives.

U.S. Unemployment Will Continue to Increase: Canadian economist David Rosenberg says that while the economy as a whole may be bottoming out, there are problems in the labor structure that need to be addressed before job losses slow down. Another sobering reminder that we're not out of the woods yet.

Social Media

A company to keep an eye on is Meebo, which adds social media content to Web sites - it started small, with companies such as MyYearbook, and has expanded to heavy hitters like the California governor's office and the Hollywood Reporter - their "Meebo bar," which includes chat, Facebook and Twitter, now appears on 200 sites.

Anime/Manga

Microsoft and Shueisha - parent company of Viz and Shonen Jump - are partnering on a manga by phone business that will offer content in both Japanese and English in 28 countries on Windows Mobile phones. A free sample of Dragonball manga will be offered in December, the U.S. paid service will launch in March. 

Video Games

EA to Hire Back Some People It Cut: But only the ones in the so-called "low-cost locations," which weren't specified. Neither were how many people would be rehired, and what the timeline is. 

Game sales down 19 percent in October; It's the seventh month in a row when sales have dropped year-over-year, which is why the industry is banking heavily on not only the mega-hit Modern Warfare 2 but also the upcoming Super Mario Bros. Wii (especially since the Wii has the lowest game sales of the three major consoles).

Playdom targets Facebook and iPhone Market: They've acquired two developers specifically for that purpose, using $43 million in funding they just raised. Smart move in targeting hot markets (you'll never get rich in iPhone games, but it does build their reputation). Definitely a company to watch.

GameStop Offers Downloadable Content: It's a partnership with Xbox Live and Sony under which players can acquire downloadable content along with new purchases. Sounds rather odd at first - buying the game and then still having to download it at home - but it's smart for GameStop to manage to keep at least somewhat of a hold on something that threatens to cut into their business. (If Blockbuster had leapt on downloadable video like this, they wouldn't be facing extinction.)

DJ Hero a massive flop: The game has sold 122,300 units across four platforms, despite being promoted to high heaven during World Series broadcasts. We'll see how Lego Rock Band does, but I think it's fair to declare the music games craze as having peaked.   

Technology

YouTube Rolls Out High Definition Video: Specifically, 1080 pixel high-def, good news for those who want to practice editing in this format. By the way, mobile downloads to the site are up a jaw-dropping 2,000 percent, thanks to the booming popularity of smartphone video.

Google Buys VOIP Provider Gizmo 5: Their products allow talk connections between cell phones and computers and will be used to enhance Google Voice (insert "we don't need no steenkin' iPhone" jokes here). Sounds like they're going after Skype here, which is curious, since Skype doesn't seem much worth going after nowadays.

Boxee Box Coming in December: The streaming-video-integration service has previously been available on computers, but this would allow its content to appear on full-size TV screens. If this takes off, it will be a complete reversal of fortune for a company I think a lot of people had written off as dead - and it may also mean a raft of imitators, so this technology is one to keep in mind.

Yahoo Launching Local News Effort: And they've hired a former Dallas Morning News editor for this purpose. Getting in on the ground floor of the targeted local news site is actually a smart move for them, since that is what will probably be the replacement for the local daily paper down the road.  

Publishing

Playboy May Be Sold to Clothing Manufacturer: This may seem like a very strange choice, but ironically, one of the publisher's top moneymakers as of late has been its clothing line. Lesson to be learned here: Diversifying your brand and cross-marketing may be your salvation when you run into trouble.  

- Bonnie