The Kno gets more details, even more economic bad news, and Twitter ads in recommendations. Let's get to geeky job news!
Economics/Geekonomics:
Oh look. What a surprise. Loan rating agencies ignored unsafe mortgage pools. This of course meant lots of lousy investments got rated wrong and the economy went bonkers.
A neat infographic (boy these are catching on) about the value of an hour of work per country. I think Luxeomburg can be considered a megaregion first, but beyond that quibble, interesting.
Anime and Manga:
Libre confirms it sent C&D notices to scanlation groups. Not surprising, and the author makes a good point that it appears we're in a phase of change where companies are suddenly awfully agressive about scanlations and similar issues.
Comics:
ComicBookMovie.com looks at comic titles that deserve another shot. Something to make you think (along with the comments), and something to speculate on as Marvel and DC ramp up their multimedia strategies . . .
Media:
AdAge's list of 100 leading media companies is out. Sadly it's limited access, but you can get some data here. Things actually seem to be improving . . . just wish we could see more of the report.
Social Media:
Twitter will allow advertisers to purchase placement in the 'who to follow' recommendations. This will be targeted to user interests, but sounds a bit "overcommercial." It also starts very expensive, so it seems to be limited to deep pockets. I'm not sure this is good for their reputation, it remains to see how it evolves.
WordPress partners with Windows Live to provide their blogging. Interesting considering the changes we've seen lately (such as the Say Media/SixApart thing).
Technology:
Qauntenna Communications raises $21 million. They make chipsets for home networking. They're located in sort-of-Silicon Valley city Fremont, and might be a good one to look at career-wise. You know that market is going to be big . . .
More to Know on the Kno. I want to know (and see) more, but they have money, are enthusiastic, and seem to have a vision for what they want to do. The fact they're talking ROI for the CONSUMER intrigues me as it means they're really thinking about customer value, and that's a good, smart way to do things.
Video:
Hulu may be on Roku. A rumor stage, but one worth noting as it sounds likely – plus there's a bit of analysis here. Of course Hulu's life isn't easy due to sharing/ad issues, enough to make a few question how it's future will go.
Video Games:
An interesting way to think of Zynga? It embodies four disruptions to the usual way of doing things. Meanwhile Zynga expands to Europe by buying Dextrose. Hmmm, now what will DeNA do . . .
Remember, it's easier to promote games when a cute dog is one of your actors.
Insights on building a Lego MMO. Some great stuff on just how this is being pulled off.
A one-dollar XBox retro RPG sells 30,000 copies. Makes me wonder if the really low price points that may work for some writing (where the point is low enough that you actually make more money than with a higher price) also apply to games.
QUESTION OF THE DAY: What is the ideal price point for a downloadable game – and between games?