News of the Day 8/10/2009

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Economics/Freakonomics/Geekonomics:
That rallying stock market? Not exactly a sign the recession is over. I've noted awhile I'm being cautious and am keeping an eye on things (I keep my cash in a money market fund now and don't plan to reinvest for a few more months).

Job growth not hot in the US private sector. Not surprising. Though the trends seem to indicate the economic problems did NOT shift the move away from manufacturing in the US.

Mobile:
Yep, Dell is launching it's mobile in China shortly. Of course it's probably Android, meaning more of the Everything Wars. Side note- Dell working on an Android Tablet is mentioned – could this be part of why Apple is rushing to do theirs?

Social Media:
Facebook acquires Friendfeed – Which is a perfect partnership of course. However this brings up a question – social media aggregation is a big thing. So are sites like meebo, retaggr, etc. good takeover/acquistion targets? It's probably easier than building it yourself – and you get all the customers involved. Imagine, say, LinkedIn.com offering business websites via Nombray . . .

Technology:
A bank will release an iPhone app to allow check deposits – Seriously, by iPhone. You scan the check. There are limits and safeguards, of course, but even then this sets of my wacky meter. However,wacky or NOT, this is going to get attention and it IS pretty ambitious. A curiosity now, possibly more later (and a good outside-the-box idea). People in mobile tech, finance, and payment tech want to watch this.

And the Google/Apple thing gets a tad personal as The Google CEO is asked to leave Apple's board, and there's juciy strategy details in this article (Yes, Silicon Valley companies are that inter-related. Trust me, you get used to it once you live here a few years). Beyond this news, this article has some fascinating analysis of what Google's strategy probably is and it is something that is a TOTAL MUST READ – roughly Google's challenging Apple's changing business model and has technical advantages in its install base and making things free. But there's MUCH more.

Video Games:
Zynga aquires MyMiniLife – Which they worked with before. A seemingly small thing – but THIS is Zynga (which is doing well), and this is an acquisition in a lousy economy. Zynga so far looks unstoppable – and I reccomend you check out their job openings (even if you're not in technology).

EA's lost Louis Castle to IAC's online gaming unit – EA seems to keep shedding talent, but they're big, the economy is tough, and the market is changing, so it may not be surprising. The new unit Castle is going to sounds well planned (and resume-worthy).

-Steven Savage

Kaiju Company Big Battle – The Scope of the Everything Wars

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Bonnie and I have talked a lot about the Everything Wars – where companies are battling for share, market, and presence in a variety of markets, some that you wouldn't expect.  We've jokingly compared it to a giant monster movie, which is probably not too bad a metaphor,but I wanted to explore the issue a bit deeper.

The reason I explore it further is this is big for us progeeks, profans, and the rest of us – technology defines a lot of what we do in our lives, careers, and career interest.  Fantasy sports is played online, websites deliver anime, etc.  What happens in the Everything Wars happens to ALL of us.

So, let's take a look.

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Used to a level of panic?

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I deal with a lot of people working on getting their lives and careers in order – or back on track in this economy.  A lot of people I notice can't calm down even when they have nothing to worry about, or when it's of no use.

So ask yourself, are you actually used to a certain level of panic in your life and job search?

It may seem a simple – or ridiculous – question – but I witness a lot of people unable to slow down and deal with things calmly in the job search, almost as if they feel a certain level of panic is needed.  When people don't have reasons to panic, they can still remained "primed" to fly off the handle.

Mostly panic is crippling, as we all know (and rarely deal with).  But it can become an automated habit like anything else.  In fact if you're used to panic, you may panic over having nothing to panic over.

Take a look at yourself – are you used to panic?

– Steven Savage