Fan To Pro - The Blog of Professional Geekery

Fandom And Persistence

You'd like to be a writer.  Or an artist.  Or a webmaster.

You create fanfic.  You create fanart.  You make fansites.

There's just one problem - you're sort of bad at it.  Your worries are that you're never going to make it to "good" on the fandom level, let alone on the professional level.  Your biggest concern is you're lousy next to amateurs.

My advice to you is - if you want to do it, don't give up.

Wanting to do something will spur you on.  You'll spend more time, double down on your efforts, and in general, keep trying to grow.  You'll keep trying.  If anything, you'll put in enough effort that by sheer dint of trying you'll improve, or at least become less worse.

This isn't meant to be sarcastic, it's meant to be true.

If you're good at something you can almost certainly look back at a time you were lousy at it or didn't even know what it was.  You're in that state right now as you assess your horrid writing, bad organizational skills, or inability to make a simple seam on a costly costume.  Your incompetence is merely the start of getting better.

Persistence in the face of our own mistakes is one of the major things that leads to success.  Keep that in mind.


- Steven Savage

Convention Idea: Different Prizes

The List of Convention Ideas is here.

How many conventions have contests with assorted prizes?  Figures and books and comics and more are given out for guessing songs, writing, skits, and more.

Having run a few contests, I certainly enjoy finding interesting prizes; obscure videos, interesting collectables, and more.  However I also enjoy giving away books.

Career-oriented books.

Now I'm not recommending your Sci-Fi con use copies of "What Color is Your Parachute" or "The Unwritten Secrets of the Highly Effective Job Search".  What I'm recommending is making some of your contest prizes books relevant to careers appropriate to the attendees.

I've given away books on anime and manga-style art at anime cons.  Think of what else you could do:

• There are how-too books on virtually everything out there, from art to writing.
• There are career-specific books on various geeky careers.
• Considering books that profile the careers of famous people - those are often inspirational.

I you're going to add profan elements to your cons, why not take it a bit further and work it into your contests.  It may seem a small thing, but it's just one more addition to making your convention cater to those who want to use their hobbies in their careers.

- Steven Savage

Reminder: AODSF

As a reminder I'll be speaking at AODSF this weekend!

- Steven Savage

News of the Day 1/29/2010

Come get a nice meal of news! We've got hot economic statistics, with a yummy obscure dish! Anime studios are serving up next year's menu! Open wide, it's a full course of can't-miss news for progeeks, profans and working otaku!

Career:
Thoughts on new career paths and surprises. This article might help give you some ideas and inspiration on figuring your career path.

Economics/Geekonomics:
An in-depth review of what financial reform is needed - And when I say in-depth, I mean it. For those with hardcore economic interests, here's a detailed idea of how to reform the US financial system, with plenty of juicy information to boot.

The GDP is up which is a nice change. However if you're an econogeek, you might want to observe what you can learn from a more obscure statistic, The Chicago Fed National Activity Index which seems to measure the financial health of America a lot better. If this is to be believed, we're in a recession more like the mid-70's that's lasted as long as the recession of the early 80's . . . which sounds about right.

Anime and Manga:
What are major anime studios up to? Sounds like a lot of new stuff, but not necessarily original. What goes on now will quickly affect things in America, and I'm sure Crunchyroll and Funimation have their eyes open.

Movies:
Disney shuts Mirimax, distributes remaining films

Publishing:
Amazon thinks its quarterly sales may accelerate after the recession ends - Considering their position, the increase in e-readership, and recent performance this seems logical. May be good for the job scene as well if they have to hire to keep up with any expansion.

Book bash in India shows growing book culture and influence - Which makes me wonder two things. One, how much Indian lit may make its way to other countries, and secondly what inroads other publishers could make here with certain products (oh, say, Manga . . . ). I see it going both ways - and frankly if you haven't seen some of the amazing stuff coming out of India, Thailand, and other countries in South Asia, you're missing out.

It's an online world, especially for young readers and publishers need to keep that in mind. Read this to find out how they're doing it - and remember lessons here apply elsewhere.

Technology:
Apple has a very closed app store and environment, but others are going the opposite route. A showdown between more open and more closed development? Well, we've been having that for years. What's interesting is that it's happening in an age of larger-scale adaption of technology. What's going on here may affect you and your job in the future, or at least the tech you use.

Chrome OS to have touch capability? Would it surprise ANYONE if it was added? Yeah, I thought not.

Find a bug in Chromium, earn money? Apparently. OK you geeks, go for it. Imagine being able to put that on your resume . . . and an interesting bit of public-relations building on Google's part.

How to hate the iPad. Also competitors keep piling on.

Meanwhile, some thoughts on how the iPad will Chagne the App Store, and indeed, Apple. Some good points here that by making this new product, Apple is setting themselves on a path to some changes, like it or not.

And if you're trying to figure out why there's no Flash on Apple mobile devices, a primer on theories why.

Television:
NBC wants a slice of the TV superhero money? Sounds like it. Sounds like superheroes are considered legit mainstream media subjects.

Question of the Day: With it's large population and growing technology footprint, what are the markets for "geekonomic products" in India - and coming FROM India?

- Steven Savage

The iPad Geeksplosion

So, the iPad arrived in a fury of media attention, debate over the product's merits (there were a few people who said they expected more from it) and snickering over its name. It will inevitably be closely followed by other tablets of both the Android and Windows varieties.

This was more than a big product launch - it was a geeksplosion, because this thing is going to touch every corner of the geekonomy. Here's a rundown on how it's going to affect most of the major industries we cover:

Frustration Friday: The Fear of THIS

Whenever my friends, family, coaching subjects, co-workers, ex-co-workers, etc. talk about their job searches I almost always hear some version of the following phrase:

"But I don't have THIS!"

THIS is usually a bullet point out of a large amount of bullet points on a job posting. It may be a skill, or a class, or a certification that, but THIS is something the person in question does not have, and they fear they won't get the job because of it.  Their whole world collapses into the fact "I don't have THIS."

I'm really tired of THIS.

News of the Day 1/28/2010

The Apple Bomb has dropped - but a few people aren't impressed.  Superheroes are going to act heroic again - but how long will it last?  I've got news, you've got questions - it's geek career news time!

Career:
101 Ways to find a job - MUST READ for job seekers.

How well are you evaluating progress towards your goals - Another good read from Career Success. Measuring goals is important for success, this should give you some things to think about.

Economics/Geekonomics:
Ben Bernake reappointed as Chief of the Fed - A lot of economists I follow aren't happy with this, but there you go. I'm not sure he has the imagination and fortitude to really deal with the crises, and I'm not sure about his connections.

Comics:
Marvel to shift comics to a more heroic, swashbuckling feel? Sounds like it - and DC's 'Brightest Day' seems to be the same thing. I'm sure some people will blame Disney, but frankly comics has played out the grim and gritty thing for far, far too long. I also suspect competition from manga has played a part of it. So how long will this shift carry . . .

More sneak peak of the Twilight Manga. I'm no Twilight fan, but I'm curious about the synergy, and I do rather like the art.

Publishing:
Amazon has a pretty good 2009. If I haven't said it before, I consider Amazon a viable employment option for people interested in Geeky jobs.

Borders is eliminating positions. 164 of them. I think with their recent issues, I'd take Borders off an 'ideal company list' until their future is sure.

Social Media:
How Pepsi got Social Media Marketing right - A must read for anyone using social media for marketing - or working in Social Media.

Technology:
OK, the Apple iPad Announcement is done, so a little back to reality:

• 5 reasons not to buy an iPad that are probably going through people's minds.
• An investor looks at the impact of the iPad.
• An author concerned about what the iPad means for book culture.
• Mashable is not impressed - Though it's a nice device, the closed nature is a big turn-off to me.
• TechCrunch thinks the iPad will kill the Kindle.
• Remember, there is no Flash on the iPad right now.
• Random house is not involved in what is partially a big e-reader . . .

The National Science Foundation is researching ways to improve the internet - No, really. In all seriousness if the research yields useful ideas and technologies, it'll be important to technical careers.

Question of the Day: Is the iPad already being regarded too cynically?

-Steven Savage

The History of DLC: Guest post by Andrew Baxter

I'd like to introduce our latest Guest Blogger, Andrew Baxter! He's a game enthusiast with a great sense of history.  He and I talked after a past post, and he offered to look at the history of DLC.  Lots of insights here, so take your time.

DLC has a very promising future in gaming and offers amazing potential to extend the lifespan of a product. With the inevitable move towards digital distribution, this is one area developers simply cannot afford to overlook. Keeping a customer base loyal and interested in your product can only lead to increased future sales through good word of mouth and should be encouraged heavily. A quick Google search on 'Team Fortress 2' shows the appreciation gamers can and will show for developers that go the extra mile.

It hasn't always looked as bright as this however. Over recent years we've seen many questionable forms of extra content released.

The Power Of Failure

Remember when you were really bad at your job?  When you were so awful at your hobby you never figured you'd make a career out of it?  Remember, in short, when you were really incompetent?

Treasure those moments.

News of the Day, January 27, 2010

WE HAVE A TAPPLEBLET. Or, more accurately, we have an iPad. After months of speculation, rumor, innuendo, denials and Photoshopped fake photos, the real thing was officially unveiled by Steve Jobs today. It's got a 10-inch screen, it will come in 16- and 64-gig versions and it will run existing apps from the App Store (so speculation that it will be a big iPhone seems to be on target). This thing will touch nearly every corner of the geekonomy - publishing (they're putting a big emphasis on its reader capabilities), web tech (it's supposed to deliver "the best browsing experience ever"), music, streaming video, you name it. And the imitators are about to follow, in droves.

On to today's other news  . . .

Job Market

What Am I Worth on the Open Market?: Guidelines on determining freelance fees from someone who's been there.

Economics/Geekonomics

Japanese Exports Expand For First Time Since Crisis: Encouraging news, since the Japanese economy is a big cog in the world economy wheel, not to mention what it means for the geekonomy.

Web Tech/Computers/Technology

Canon Boats Best Earnings Increase in a Decade: A boom in camera sales is to thank for this - so much for the theory that smartphone cameras would make the conventional ones obsolete. We do suspect that a big driver behind this is the enormous popularity of upload-your-own-streaming-video sites.

Yahoo Fourth Quarter Profits Beat Expectations: Rather surprising, given the site's struggling fortunes as of late, but I still wouldn't put them back on the resume list for now.

LG Profits Increase Fourfold: They're best known as a phone manfacturer, but it's their televisons that drove their profits. LG is a solid company that, unlike Yahoo, is a safe resume bet.

Video Games

Marvelous Executives Taking Pay Cuts: The company has also sold its stake in a couple other game firms, so they're definitely not one to approach for employment right now. 

Ubisoft Tightens Anti-Piracy Security: The plan involves product activations, online authentication and saved games that will be stored remotely on Ubi.com servers. Expect to see other companies doing this, so game security may be a good field to specialize in. 

Smartphones

Is "Project Pink" A Zune Phone?: A Windows blogger who analyzed the coding for the next generation of Zune found what seems to be phone drivers in there. It's all speculation right now, but it would make a lot of sense to convert the floundering music player into a multimedia powerhouse. The question is if it would be able to hold its own against the established iPhone and Android - but it's one more thing for software developers to keep an eye on.

Verizon Cutting 13,000 Jobs: This doesn't mean you shouldn't seek a position in the Droid area of the company, though, since nearly all the cuts are coming from its traditional wired services, showing its increasing emphasis on being a wireless carrier.

E-Readers

Acer Throws Its Hat in the Ring: Given that its primary netbook rival, Asus, already announced a reader, it's no surprise Acer is getting into that game as well.

Anime/Manga

Funimation Offers Anime Rentals via YouTube: And this may replace the DVD as the future of most anime releases, folks. It's also interesting to see YouTube getting increasingly involved in streaming rentals - this comes right on the heels of their partnership with the Sundance Film Festival, under which users could pay to watch entries from this and last year.

Publishing

Fourth Quarter Newspaper Results Better than Expected: This according to a survey from JP Morgan of major publishers. Right now, it's more a tiny glimmer of hope than a "yay, the crisis is over," though.

Newsday Online Subscriber Program a Flop: The Long Island newspaper so far has only 35 subscribers for its online content, which was put behind a "paywall" last fall. The newspaper says they're okay with that (which we have a difficult time believing), but it definitely does not bode well for the concept of entirely-online newspapers with print counterparts.

Amazon Publishing Imprint Putting Out Four Original Titles: AmazonEncore was originally founded to reprint out-of-print works, but it's now printing works by winners of its Breakthrough Novel Award contest. Sounds like a great thing for new writers to get involved in - keep an eye out for the next one.  

QUESTION OF THE DAY: Given that readers are transitional and tablets about to catch fire (hello, there, iPad!), are Asus and Acer making a mistake by getting into E-readers?   

- Bonnie