A lot of people are crowing about the DGA/AMPTP agreement today. Looking over the details of agreement, though, it looks like the "same old, same old" to me. For me, New Media requires that the bulk of monies generated by creative products belongs to the creator of those products. When I see figures like sub-one percent payments I can only be reminded about how little creatives have received for their work when sold on cable networks, VHS and DVD. You would think after being squeezed out of substantial revenue when these media appeared, everyone would be very careful about the same types of deals when applied to new media. Any system that uses flat rate payments virtually guarantees that creatives will not be fairly compensated for their work. The AMPTP keeps touting "we don't know how successful this will be", but one only has to look at the explosive success of DVD sales to see exactly where online distribution is headed. In fact, since the costs for online distribution are significantly lower, and the global nature of online distribution, the potential earnings could skyrocket. One only has to look at the overall success of the Internet to understand where the world is headed. In my mind, there is no doubt that online distribution will become the default method for delivering entertainment in the next 5 years. This isn't some unproven method. Millions of people have been distributing millions of hours of entertainment over the Internet for the last 10 years. Finally, why are the DGA accepting fractions of a penny for their work when, if they produced their own material, and distributed it online, they could retain the bulk of any monies, as well as control, over their own work. Just what are the producers providing these days that justifies the huge percentage of profits they take? The entertainment world is changing and the current DGAagreement shows no effort to understand that fact. It is more of the same. As the old adage goes, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." What does it mean when guild members accept being "fooled" a millions times over?

[audio:http://welchwrite.com/career/audio/2008/career-op-20080111.mp3] Listen: Moving Into Management Whether you work in a corporate environment, or for yourself, there comes a time in every career when you need to stop crawling under desks, both literally and figuratively. While I often bemoan the practice of removing professionals from active duty, where they often have the most expertise, as we age, we need to move into roles more suited to our abilities and temperaments. Every career will eventually move into "management" although it can be management in a form quite different from what you might expect. Over the Thanksgiving holiday I was talking with my sister, Denise, about our businesses. We are both independent computer consultants and both well into our 40's. We are also both looking for the next step in our careers, the one that removes us from the grunt work of consulting...installing DSL and cable modems, routers and otherwise crawling beneath the desks of our clients. As we talked I struck upon the idea for this column. There comes a time in everyone's career when "management" becomes necessary. Of course, as is typical for Career Opportunities, I have a slightly different view of management than you might encounter elsewhere. Management can take many forms. In a corporate environment, it might be becoming a department head, director, vice-president or any of the above. As an independent consultant, it might mean taking on employees to do the physical work, while you provide higher-level support and customer relations. It could also mean mentoring younger careerists and helping them develop their skills, connections and career. Finally, I even see a column like this one as a form of "management." I am offering the benefit of my experience and knowledge to anyone who listens or reads on a regular basis. In fact, after our discussion, I see this as the next step in my career -- my move into management. As you can see, moving into management usually means distancing yourself from the hands-on work you have been doing for years. This can be a struggle for some people, especially if they define themselves mainly from the work they do. It can feel like you are stripping away a part of yourself when you stop putting "hands-on", but you have a new role to play now. Instead of doing the job yourself, you need to develop ways to communicate your knowledge and skills to others. While it may seem strange and a bit intimidating, it is all part of growing your career. If you are starting to approach a career change like this, I highly recommend you prepare yourself before you make the jump. I know that among the high-tech workers I know, communication is not necessarily one of their strongest skills. This is only natural, having spent years immersed in the arcane language of computers, routers and networks. Start investigating the wide variety of books and web sites that touch on communication and management. I am an inveterate reader and regularly have 4 or 5 books out of the library at any one time. They range from hard business books, to creativity, to management to gardening and beyond. This is my form of an MBA or Ph.D, I may never return to school for these higher degrees, but I work on my own personal education every single day...and you should, too. This is one way to prepare for your eventual advancement to management in all its forms. Next, you have to actively seek out opportunities to expand into these new roles. When the boss comes looking for someone to take over a project, even a small one, take it! Don't second guess yourself. Hopefully, you have been preparing for this role over time, but if not, this will be a perfect time to start. Sure you will make mistakes, we all do, but you will be taking your first steps on the road to the next stage in your career. Too often, I have avoided opportunities like this, but now I know just how important they are. Sure, if you are in your 20's you might not be thinking about career transitions yet, but you should be. Just like saving money, the sooner you start preparing, the bigger results you will see down the road. Prepare yourself for your eventual transition into some sort of managerial role. Despite what you might think, this a natural progression for every worker, especially as they grow older. Start thinking today about getting out from under the desk, because when you are my age, you will be looking for a little relief and some big changes in your career.

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Next Friday: January 18, 2008: An Interview with Al Parvez of Advance, Inc., a Recruiter in Tokyo, Japan

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Douglas speaks on New Media during the founding meeting of StrikeTV: Adventures in New Media at the WGA Theater on January 9, 2008. This is a question and answer session touching on a wide variety of podcasting, new media and social networking topics. Listen: Talking New Media at Strike TV

Hello all Career Opportunities listeners and readers! I hope you New Year was great and you are already diving into new ways to make your career even better. Archives That said, I am starting a project myself. I have been remiss over the last couple of years in creating one, complete, archive page for 2005, 2006 and 2007. You can find all the other years near the bottom of the right-hand column on the blog (http://welchwrite.com/career/), but I really want to get these pages up to date. So, over the next week or so, I am going to get these index pages built and linked to the blog pages. Really! Promise! (SMILE) Then you will be able to review each year's column in one place. Tags Now, there is a bit of a selfish reason to do this do. While a static archive page is nice, I realize that I really need to get each column tagged with a few important keywords so that they can be found in services like del.icio.us, StumbleUpon and others. Here is where I am asking for your help. I now have over 500 columns in the archives and there is simply no way I can tag them all by myself. I am asking you to please tag any Career-Op columns and podcasts that you found particularly interesting in your favorite bookmarking and tagging services. For newer shows, this is made a bit easier by the links available below each blog post. You will see links to del.icio.us,, Facebook and StumbleUpon there. If you use services like NewsVine, Digg or others, let me know and I will add links for these services, as well. If you are trying to locate a favorite column from past years, you can use the WelchWrite Site Search feature to find them at http://welchwrite.com/search.asp. Your support for Career Opportunities, and spreading word about it, is always greatly appreciated. I am not asking you to do mass updates or anything like that, only that if you find something particularly interesting, you let others know using whatever systems you find useful.

Thank you for any help you can provide. I am hoping, like every year, to make 2008 the best year ever for Career Opportunities. This is only possible with your continued support and assistance. Thank you again!

A grand time was had by all as we read A Christmas Carol and sent it out, live, over both Talkshoe.com and uStream.tv. Below is the audio version for your listening pleasure. If you would like to see a partial video if the reading, you can watch it on my uStream.tv page. Listen: 2nd Annual LIVE Reading of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

It is the holiday season once again and our thoughts are turned to goodwill and presents for the special people in our lives. Too often, though, we neglect ourselves at this time of year. Now, I am not suggesting you go out and by that new Macbook Pro you've always wanted and get your wife a bowling ball. Rather, there is a very special gift you can give yourself that costs absolutely nothing. The greatest gift you can give yourself at this time of year is the gift of self-knowledge. Taking time to reflect now, at this usually happy time of year can bring great benefits in the year to come. Next Friday: December 28, 2007: Visability for You and Your Career

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Wishing you a Merry Christmas, a Happy Holidays and the very best for your New Year! Listen: Silent Night - Performed by Douglas E. Welch

(This podcast is pulled "from the archives" and presented here as a service to more recent listeners -- Douglas)

Last week I started a discussion of “getting serious” in your relationships with clients. Today, I will talk about maintaining these relationships for the benefit of both you and your clients. If there is any secret to high-tech career success, this might be it. Potential If you really want to get serious about your clients and your business, take some time to think about the lifetime value of your oldest and best clients. Have they bought you that new car, braces for the kids, whiz-bang computers and other technology? What have your clients made possible for you? Only then will you start to recognize the potential in every single client you visit. Recognizing this potential can go a long way towards maintaining your relationship over the years. This Friday: November 30, 2007: Feel free to call a "time-out" whenever you need it

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Today is Thanksgiving Day here in the US, so from all of us to all of you, Happy Thanksgiving, wherever you are! We are thankful for much and many. May your day be filled with food, fun and family!

Get your holiday shopping started with these special After-Thanksgiving Day deals from Amazon.com.