WalMart and BestBuy entered the used game market via supplier ePlay. Well ePlay ceased operations this week. So GameStop ends up being the only player in the field.

So what’s the problem? First I don’t think the market in used games was as large as people thought. My observation is most people keep their games and typically trade only when they switch console platforms offering the games as an inducement to buy the whole package. The other is presence. GameStop has mind share among the gamers so if you are going to do a trade do it with the store you frequent. Last game trade does not have the velocity of transactions that say a DVD movie does. You might watch a DVD you bought 2-3 times. If significant enough you might keep it. But most likely you will trade it within a month. A game on the other hand may take a month just to get thru all the levels. And those with online linkages will encourage holding onto that game even longer. It could be a good 6 months before someone considers trading it.

Chalk it up to a business paradigm that thought it was X but was not like X at all.

Linky.

The Federal Trade Commission has modified its rules regarding endorsements. This will affect blogging to a degree –

Under the revised Guides, advertisements that feature a consumer and convey his or her experience with a product or service as typical when that is not the case will be required to clearly disclose the results that consumers can generally expect. In contrast to the 1980 version of the Guides – which allowed advertisers to describe unusual results in a testimonial as long as they included a disclaimer such as “results not typical” – the revised Guides no longer contain this safe harbor.

The revised Guides also add new examples to illustrate the long standing principle that “material connections” (sometimes payments or free products) between advertisers and endorsers – connections that consumers would not expect – must be disclosed. These examples address what constitutes an endorsement when the message is conveyed by bloggers or other “word-of-mouth” marketers. The revised Guides specify that while decisions will be reached on a case-by-case basis, the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service. Likewise, if a company refers in an advertisement to the findings of a research organization that conducted research sponsored by the company, the advertisement must disclose the connection between the advertiser and the research organization. And a paid endorsement – like any other advertisement – is deceptive if it makes false or misleading claims.

Who is most affect by this? Right off the top of my head, Amazon. To a certain level they will have to police their comments - rating system or take it down till modifications are made. Part of the FTC changes were, I am sure, the result of the rating scam on Amazon by certain product providers.

For us at ThirdPipe/Tightwad Technica? Not much affect at all. We don’t accept payola for endorsements/reviews. We do highlight products we think are either significant in their own right or an exceptional value for the product. Where the product being highlighted is also from one of our advertisers we have told you. We will continue that policy in the future. Another words, business as usual.

I would hazard that is true for most of the Blogosphere. Honesty to the readership is the safest rule of all.

The FTC announcement here.

There’s a small sign of hope for the IT business coming from Tata in India. The company plans to begin hiring again.

Tata Consulting Services (TCS) has said it plans to hire 25,000 people, marking the end of a slowdown for Indian outsourcers that began with the collapse of Lehman Brothers last September.

TCS vice-president Tanmoy Chakrabarty said that the outfit employs 145,000 people and wants to add 25,000 by the end of the year

According to the Times of India, analysts in the ancient land said that the TCS hiring plans come after a long dull period and the announcement will boost the Indian IT recruitment scene. (The Inquirer)

This could be a sign of eventual rebound for IT jobs here in the US.  After the last recession, jobs with offshore outsourcers led the recovery ahead of US hiring.  Unfortunately, since the last recession, the growth offshore has consistently outpaced hiring here.   I have high hopes that this is  a good sign. With the depth current recession and government policy that is largely hostile to business,  I fear US hiring will remain soft. Politicians who propose new taxes and regulations should consider the unintended results of their actions as well as the intended ones.

Well if you believe the Markwatch article that is what they intone. Kindle has a serious head start but their bumbling of late, especially with content leaves the door open for a different standard –

Amazon’s competitors, after fumbling about like the Washington Nationals for the past couple of years, are starting to get their act together. They’re moving toward a shared e-book format, called ePub, that’s different from the one on the Kindle.

And Allen Weiner, an expert in the e-book business at technology consultancy Gartner, Inc., says he knows that other manufacturers are poised to launch new reading devices with Kindle-style 3G wireless connections. Some may be announced as early as the next few weeks, he says.

It’s been a busy summer for Amazon’s competitors.

Last week, Sony announced two new e-book readers, including one for $199. A third, with a wireless connection, is thought to be coming.

The competing consortium has decided on ePub as the standard. Its a viable, published e-reader format which could prove Kindle’s undoing. As far as I know of there has been no other adopter of the Kindle eText format.

The real question is will Amazon be a stumbling block to the new entrants on their website? If Amazon says ‘No Mas’ then the players will have to come up with their own distribution channel. Were that to come to pass my suggestion to that group is they partner with Project Gutenberg. Get every single title PG has in ePub format and offer them all up for free.

Linky.

In my small circle of acquaintances, most are tech workers and most are struggling. I’ve heard of taking third world pay rates. With more western workers accepting less, it’s also impacting the outsourcing market. Data showing up today affirms that tech has taken a major hit, not just here but world wide.

Tom Silver, senior vice president of Dice.com, told us this morning that Dice.com is reporting a 44% year-over-year drop in job listings for the month of June. May’s year-over-year decline hovered around 45%. And Silver also points to a rise in the Department of Labor’s unemployment rate for the “Computer and Mathematics sector,” (the area best associated with the tech sector). June’s unemployment rate for the tech sector almost tripled year-over year, from 1.9% in June of 2008, to 5.4% in June of 2009. While Silver says that the tech job market is certainly better than during the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009, the number of job opportunities have remained stagnant over the course of the past few months. (Tech Crunch)

According to the Times of India, the big outsourcing firms are marking down their bills by 35 to 40 per cent.

Apparently it is now possible to hire an IT specialist in India for about $16 per hour, which analysts say is the lowest rate for human labour since Kunta Kinte was imported into the Southern US to pick cotton.

Siddhartha Pai, MD, at the India offices of TPI told the Times that such rates will continue at least until the first quarter next year. (The Inquirer)

This could mean we’re in for an even bumpier road ahead. It also means what the politicians have been doing isn’t working. Maybe they should stop meddling for a while.