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