Writer, Agilist, Elder Geek
Steven Savage companies seem to be veering into their own version of "too big to fail."
That's not to say these companies are economically mismanaged messes, the result of pathetic regulation, or their collapse will destroy the world economy. In fact, all are more reliable, if not far more reliable than many of these botched institutions. They're too big to fail in that they're so widespread, and have so much potential (realized and unrealized), that they're not going away – and I suspect they rely on this.
Economics/Freakonomics/Geekonomics:
Was the US debt problem caused by trying to keep up with the effects of wealth concentration? An analysis of a much headier read. If the author's information bears out, some social shifts will be needed.
Anime:
Crunchyroll gets yet another simulcast. We haven't had any Crunchynews, and they just keep going – and no rivals so far. I'm wondering when even more VC gets poured into them because they know what they're doing. I saw this as a user.
Publishing:
Ganett lays off 1400 people – 3% of their workforce. It's been relatively stable on the news/publishing scene lately, so not sure if this means a new wave or if it's an isolated incident.
Social Media:
A look at how social media maps to communications. A heady read. Take it slow, but it makes some good points.
Facebook makes some changes to privacy and settings – and some twitterlike additions. Facebook seems to be continually evolving, and this appears to be done to make communication – and indexing – easier. Note that with vanity URLs, etc. Facebook seems more than glad to take cues from other social media, which may explain their success – but also suggests what is the norm in social media . . .
Technology:
In two years iPhone startups have gotten $100 million from Investors. Exciting, but remember some of this is probably only a few million for some companies.
Television:
SyFy may remake the Alien Nation TV series. I was a fan of the series before the movies, very well acted and well done. A remake makes me wonder what else is being considered for remake on the smallscreen – or the internet. Even more remakes on the way since they're safe? Is that good or bad for media careers?
Video:
Hulu is working on it's UK launch. They'll be even more relevant when they get this – so where's the inevitable rival? Their competition seems to not be doing too hot. Now where will their jobs be . . .
As Hulu marches on, here's a great analysis of what went wrong with Joost. A great acutionary tale.
– Steven Savage
So you're not happy with your job. You know it. Maybe your whole career isn't working out.
Usually, you're pretty sure what it is – your boss, the position, the company. However I'd stand back a second and ask yourself this:
Are you sure of just what you're dissatisfied with?
I often find people are dissatisfied with their job on a different "level" than they expect. They may be happy in a particular industry, but not like the position – but have soured on the industry they work in. They may dislike an industry and figure it's the position. They may even dislike a particular technology they have to use.
It's too easy to get our levels of dissatisfaction mixed up. A small thing can make us dislike an otherwise ideal job, we can do the ideal job in an industry we dislike, etc.
This is a complicated issue, but one I think is important – especially in geeky jobs where we assume we'll love everything about our career. Dissatisfaction's origin is not always obvious, and possibly isn't at the same "level" we think it is.
So if you're not happy, ask yourself if you're sure why you're not happy. You may be looking too high or too low, and miss what's right in front of your face.
– Steven Savage