ACTA Protests All Over

The article shows how people are protesting against it – and more.  Maps, quotes and more will help you get an idea of how incredibly angry people are.

Money Quote: "This is not Hollywood versus Silicon Valley, as oldmedia likes to frame it. This is Hollywood versus The People."

To bring it a bit more into focus for the blog, it appears a lot of businesses who make media have continued to make a lot of enemies who are very aware – and are unifying.  This is big for us who speak to progeekery because you can expect A) some strange last-gasp activities from Big Media, and B) A lot of changes, reactions, overreactions, new ventures, and more to come out of this.

It also means, beyond the great political and economic and ethical discussions, those of us working in media are going to face – one way or another – a vastly different future than we we would have expected years or decades ago.  It's only how the change will be handled that differs.

Steven Savage

 

New Regulations, Wall Street Bonuses, And The Economy

Even if you're not the economic type, at least skim this article on how Wall Street is adjusting to new regulations and new realities.  It's an interesting overview of what's going on, and codifies a few trends I've been wondering about (roughly, I think Wall Street really is in a kind of existential crisis and people don't fully get the impact of new regulation).

My favorite money quote:

“If you’re a smart Ph.D. from MIT, you’d never go to Wall Street now,” says a hedge-fund executive. “You’d go to Silicon Valley. There’s at least a prospect for a huge gain. You’d have the potential to be the next Mark Zuckerberg. It looks like he has a lot more fun.”

Awesome.  Come on over guys, I know a great few restauraunts to take you to while you go and make a real, productive business.  Also, I could use another roommate.

Steven Savage