Fan To Pro - The Blog of Professional Geekery

The Tragedy of Veoh and the Importance of Geek Law

Veoh went out of business last week. To the casual observer, it seemed like just another industry crash-and-burn, one more company that couldn't keep up with its competition (in this case, Hulu). But this is one of the sadder cautionary tales to emerge from the geekonomy lately, because this is a company that almost had it all, and lost it.

Superheroes and the Unlimited Power

Why Superheroes?

They're in our movies.  Every few years there's a rush of superhero films (and apparently a big rush as of this writing).

They're on television.  We've been having superhero stories for quite a few years now.  We've also had "superheroesque" shows like Buffy and Supernatural, which are superhero stories with other trappings.

They're in games, despite the fact that superhero games have a dismal history with a few shining gems.

They are, of course, in comics.  Comics may expand their themes in North America, but it keeps coming back to superheroes.

So, why superheroes?  Why are they everywhere, and even when they fade, why do they come back?

The "Geeking" of Oscar

This year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences made a change to its traditional Oscar procedure - instead of five films competing for Best Picture, a full 10 would be up for the big prize. This was done to boost ratings by ensuring that more crowd-pleasers could be nominated along with the grim, low-grossing dramas that have become the ceremony's recent bread and butter.

The result was the most geek-friendly Best Picture lineup yet. Of the 10 nominees, almost half can be said to be at least somewhat geeky films.

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 Infinite Circle of Not News

Dear people who report on technology, media, and cutting edge stuff in general.

Please, for the love of gods, before you talk about something as if it is new and/or relevant, do your research and find out if it is.

Predictions: Media and Publishing in 2010

Our 2009 predictions are here.

Our 2010 predictions are here . . .

The Power of Worldbuilding

If you're a fan, geek, otaku, what have you there's a good chance you're into SOMETHING that has a well defined world. It could be the World of Warcraft, it could be the Trekverse, Middle-Earth, what have you.  You could have several properties you like.

You may even work on them.  Perhaps you write fiction, make MMO's, etc.  You may be crafting the setting for a multi-part RPG right now, or designing the starships for a futuristic combat game with a detailed timeline.

Worldbuilding is very important to us geeks, and even more important to the fictions and worlds we build.

Ever wonder why?

We Are All Publishers

Almost anything we progeeks are into can be considered a form of publishing.  Knowing this is important to our careers.

That may sound strange when your interest doesn't come out as a book or a magazine, so stick with me here as I take a look at just what publishing is.

Skiff: Publishing's Potential Game-Changer

Hearst, which is one of the world's biggest publishers of newspapers, has been hit as hard by the recession as anyone else in their field. But instead of eliminating long-standing titles (like Conde Nast) or selling out to unlikely purchasers (like Playboy, which is about to be sold to a clothing manufacturer), they dealt with it by jumping into the future with both feet - maybe a bit too far, but it's a move in the right direction.

Go Farther: DLC and Synergy

Bonnie and I have talked alot about Downloadable Content (DLC) and its impact on video games and to a lesser extent entertainment.  I know we cover all kinds of geekery, but if you think we'll get tired of discussing DLC . . . we're probably not going to for awhile.  DLC is big.

And that leads me to another Go Farther, an idea I'd like to see people try more - and that you may get a few ideas from.

Namely, DLC, be it X-box, Wii/Ds, or what have you gives you awesome chances for synergy.