More of the DC comic covers, why Pokemon succeeded, more IPO, and a stupid law in Tennesee. let's go!
Economics/Geekonomics:
Infographic snapshot of US personal income 1969-2009.
Welcome to the Confusiondome: Job listings are up . . . jobs available are down. No, I'm not sure either.
Comics:
Get a gander at 10 covers from the new DCU Reboot. I'm mixed on it overall, but it's not bad – and the styles do vary. Considering the Pants news yesterday, I think DC is keeping tighter control over design, trying to have more artistic and exploratory work – yet also to make sure there's high quality.
Borders gets a bit longer to prep for a sale. I want to see how this goes considering they're still barreling ahead with their plans despite, well . . . being bankrupt.
Geek Law:
Zuckerberg and Facebook claim the Ceglia docs are forged. Interesting thing to note here in the Lawsuit-palooza of IT, that forging stuff is something we don't see covered enough.
There's a passed, but unsigned-as-of-yet bill in Tennesee that, yes, makes it illegal to share your Netflix password. Really. Yes, it's RIAA backed. Yes, I'm sure others will try this, and yes, it makes Tennesee lawmakers look like a bunch of dunderheads. Unfortunately I can see the RIAA and others taking advantage of compliant local legislatures for awhile.
The Oatmeal Versus FunkyJunky – This is an utterly fascinating case that looks at copyright issues you may not have thought of – as in a guy building his own webcomic finds it pretty much mirrored at another site. This one could be affecting copyright in the future – and is a case that could affect things you do.
Social Media:
Groupon files for a $750 million IPO. Well I'm guessing the LinkedIn launch helped push this further and faster, but I'm not sure how well it'll hold up over time – as I'm of the theory Groupon can't really realize lavish profits with a model that seems doomed to decline over time. I'd watch this more to see if it produces more Bubble Fear.
Ubermedia raises $5.6 million but won't challenge Twitter. What they're going to do, I have no idea – bit it sounds like specialized development and integration. Might be resume-worthy, since they do have money.
Technology:
Remember, Google technically has a Skype competitor. Hmmm, Microsoft bought itself into another front of the Everything Wars, didn't they? Wonder if Google will leverage this further.
Video Games:
Nintendo blazes on ahead with A 3DS shop and some free wi-fi opportunities. I'm not sure how this'll do, but it certainly can't hurt – and may give us a hint of future strategies. Nintendo sounds like they want to do a lot of nostalgia sales and keep providing platform value for the 3DS. Since there's only a 3DS store that pretty much sounds like that's the future.
Smart. The NGP is backwards compatible. Sony just did something smart, and they desperately need smart right now.
Must Read: How Pokemon keeps it's marketing going. Read and learn. Also, you now have a name of a marketing director you might want to network towards meeting . . .
QUESTION OF THE DAY: GroupOn IPO – inevitably overvalued or will it be reasonably valued with all the sudden caution?
– Steven Savage