Don't Worry, Be HAPPO

HAPPO (Help a PR Professional Out) has been gaining a lot of steam over the last few months with its mission of connecting PR professionals with job and internship opportunities through its blogs, LinkedIn account, and Twitter stream.

Founded by Arik Hanson and Valerie Simon, HAPPO is led by 35 PR industry leaders from across the country looking to make a difference and offer their expertise and knowledge.

For instance, tonight from 8pm-9pm, HAPPO will be hosting a free Twitter chat (under the #HAPPO hashtag) that is open to anyone and everyone, including those looking for a job, those looking to hire or those just looking to provide advice or words of encouragement for job-seekers.

The theme for the chat is New Year’s Resolutions for PR Job Seekers–How to land a job in 2011. A wide range of topics will be discussed, with everything from job-seeking tips to resume-building and interviewing advice making it into the mix. 

Even if you're lucky enough to already have a PR job, there's obviously enough being discussed at the #HAPPO chat to make it more than worth your while.

For more information, Valerie Simon covered all of the event details in this National Public Relations Examiner post.

Tumbling Down the Rabbit Hole

Remember the surreal feelings of despair and confusion whenever Facebook or Twitter were down?

Well, many users of the popular blogging service Tumblr went through that same social media melancholy after the site suffered a crippling blow and was down for over 24 hours (practically an eternity in Internet time).

Okay, I admit that may be a bit overdramatic. But the fact is that Tumblr was down for an inordinate amount of time and a lot of people took notice.

It seems that Tumblr may have been a victim of its own success, with the company stating it was heavy traffic that caused the meltdown. In some ways it's a good problem to have because it means you're growing, but there needs to be a solid infrastructure to support that growth.

Unfortunately for Tumblr, the wake-up call for those infrastructure repairs and growth support down the road have come at the cost of a lot of angry tweets and Facebook posts and a fairly substantial image backlash.

Were you affected by Tumblr's downtime? And do instances like this change the way you view different sites and networks?

Google's Billions Don't Sway Groupon

The rumor mill was churning last week, with most of the focus on Google's potential buyout of social buying site Groupon.

The blogosphere was buzzing with articles and posts pondering the impact the move would have and what it would mean for Groupon. However, all of the prognosticating and predictions were for nothing with the news over the weekend that Groupon turned down Google's $5.3 billion offer.

A lot of people couldn't comprehend Groupon's decision to turn down $5.3 billion for a startup reportedly bringing in $500 million annually. Financially, it's a valid argument...unless those earnings figures are wrong (and luckily for Groupon, they are). There have been reports coming out recently that Groupon is actually making $2 billion annually.

There are arguments to be made about possible non-monetary reasons behind Groupon saying no to Google, but I honestly think that this was simply Google making what would have been a nice offer for a company that was doing well (but not spectacular). Unfortunately for Google, the earnings numbers they probably based their offer on were off and Groupon is obviously looking to greener pastures.

Microsoft Shows No Dis-Kinect with Consumers

Way back in June, I questioned whether or not the gaming industry was on its deathbed after being pushed further and further into anonymity with the rise of smarthphones and social gaming.

In that post, I noted that Microsoft was going to unveil its controller-free game system at the E3 Conference. And while I didn't say how I felt about Microsoft's controller-free approach in the article, to be honest I felt it was fairly gimmicky.

Boy, was I wrong. Microsoft has announced that its Kinect system has sold 2.5-million units in the 25 days since its public launch. To put that number in perspective, the iPad (you know, the device that has been called the fastest-selling device of all time), took twice as long to surpass the 2 million mark.

In my opinion, their success boils down to two things. One, the much-lower price point compared to the iPad is always conducive to higher sales. Secondly, Microsoft has been very upfront with their support for developers hacking their Kinect for other purposes.

It was an ingenious move on Microsoft's part, because people have pondered the potential outside of gaming, and dreamed of Minority Report-like computer navigation and web-browsing since the system's unveiling.

I don't believe the Kinect will kill off the Nintendo Wii, although I wonder what effect it will have on the Playstation Move's sales. However, the public has obviously latched on to the idea of controller-free gaming and the Kinect's success should boost a struggling gaming industry.

Video Post: State of E-Reader Report

With the holiday shopping season in full swing and rumors of an upcoming e-bookstore from Google, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at the current e-reader market to see what options are out there. Tablets also get looked at, on the heels of a recent report on the iPad's impact on the e-reader market.