First of all, you writers, Venture Beat is looking to HIRE full time writers – so if your idea of a job is writing on venture capital, new technology, and more, send them a resume! Tell them you saw it here.
Career:
The ever-reliable Jason Alba has some suggestions for those of you sick of the job search.
Economics/Freakonomics/Geekonomics:
Is war obsolete? Put your Freakonomist hat on and think this one over.
Canada is having an increase in self-employement – this seems to be on decline in the U.S. The why of this – and the implication of this – will be important as things drag on. I also can see this being brought into the ongoing healthcare debate in the U.S.
Wells Fargo is suing itself – Really. I got nothing. Reported as a curiosity.
Movies:
L.A.'s loss of movie business is hitting some support businesses very hard – This is far worse than I thought, and looks to be a game-changer for LA and the movie culture. However it also seems movie production is scattering all over North America (and the world), which suggests to me that there will be many "movie centers" and many "subcenters." This changes people's career opportunities a great deal – follow this if you're interested in the film and television industry, your career may involve a lot of relocation.
Social Media:
Facebook is worth more than CBS – Just so you know.
We've got Mashable's roundup of Social Media events, which we remember to post here erratically, but still.
Technology:
And the Titanic Tech Tussle continues: Microsoft will apparently do a lightweight, free, web version of office, a shot against Google (and in a way Zoho). At this rate between Chrome OS, Bing, etc. I don't think there's any one dominant issue – I think the two companies are starting to go at it furiously. Robert X. Cringely gives his thoughts on the Chrome throwdown, and has some interesting ideas. Personal thought – if Microsoft/Google gets into a seriously painful tussle, it could leave both companies more vulnerable.
Microsoft is also planning to launch a music streaming service. More fronts in the tech battle emerge . . .
Video:
HBO and Cinemax join the TV Everywhere project – More big names on the rather limited online video contender. Again I feel this is more an attempt to slow decline or buy time, but more names means more chance of at least short-term survival.
Video Games:
Online gaming up as console games slide – No surprise, but here's some numbers.
A look at the continuing run towards 'free' MMOs. Interesting thought is that Free is one way to complete with WoW. Additional thought – if you've got ane conomics degree, what kind of employment can you get at game companies with that knowledge . . .
– Steven Savage