News

Hablo Espanol? Parlez-vous Francais? Spriten Ze Deutsche?  "Gazouiller" and "Cinguettare" translates to "Twitter" in French and Italian. But how do you translate English into other languages on the microblogging site?

It sounded like a good idea. Create a viral buzz campaign built around a contest to rename Kraft's Vegemite's cream cheese spread first launched in 1923. Out of 48,000 Australian entrants, the food company selected the winner who submitted the name "Vegemite iSnack2.0" because of its inference of making something new out of something old. So what went wrong?

To promote a brand in today's Web 2.0 milieu, one no longer needs the excessive advertising and promotional budgets that have been previously required in the past. In today's business climate, its important to select social media tools that are cost-efficient, create evangelists,generate a viral buzz and produce sales. With the recent launch and beta test of Flip.to, brands and social media specialists now have access to a tool that can accomplish all those goals.

Exposure to the H1N1 Swine Flu virus is an extra hazard Japan's frazzled "salarymen" simply do not need. Fear not, honorable office warriors, Haruyama Trading Co. is riding to the rescue with a new line of snazzy looking, flu-fighting business suits!

Our DNA would mean very little if it were not for ribosomes, because ribosomes transform DNA into living matter. But scientists did not know exactly how ribosomes function or even what ribosomes look like until the works of Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Thomas A. Steitz, and Ada E. Yonath shared their knowledge of the structure and workings of these life-giving structures. These scientists are the 2009 recipients of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry.

Tea cup pigs have become the hottest household pet in Britain. They certainly are adorable, affectionate, and clean. They don't bark, are easy to house train, they're non-allergenic, and love people and other pets. New Harry Potter star Rupert Grint reportedly has one; other Brits are having trouble finding them. But not to worry... Pig breeding is about to become the hottest profession in Britain....

One of my favorite cat-loving designers of cat furniture, The Refined Feline, has just come out with a really sharp Corner Litter Cabinet to match your decor and keep kitty's litter business discreetly away from your family and guests.

The way to perfect 3-D symmetry is the mold and cast. British designer Peter Marigold has achieved just that in the split-personallity furniture he calls the Palindrome Series.

Where would Google, Facebook, and Twitter be today without the inventions of Charles K. Kao, Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith?  Non-existent.  Likewise, Apple, IBM, and the hundreds of other companies that exploit the inventions of these men might not even be around.  And then there are the many millions of people all over the world that are users of these technologies: we'd still be in the dark ages of communication.

Twitter has conquered a lot of international territory around the world, but tweeting into Space is definitely allowing man to go where no man has gone before. Astronauts Nicole Stoff and Jeff Williams who are currently circumnavigating the globe at five miles a second will attend a Tweetup while in space.

Twitter's landmark case strikes the first blow at Internet anonymity and identity theft with the issuance of one single tweet. But where is that 140 character message that was responsible for breaking new legal ground? Inquiring minds want to know.

The 100th Nobel Prize® ever awarded was given today to scientists Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Carol W. Greider, and Jack W. Szostak for their work in the discovery of "how chromosomes are protected by telomeres and the enzyme telomerase."   They received the 2009 Nobel Prize In Physiology or Medicine.  It was the first time in the Nobel Assembly's history that two women have received the honor at the same time.

The 19th first annual Ig® Nobel Prizes were awarded on October 1, 2009 at Harvard University's Sanders Room in front of a standing room only audience! Check out these awards. You will learn about things you've always wondered like why don't pregnant women tip over, how can your girlfriend help you during a chemical war, and whether beer bottles make better candle holders than head busters. Ten awards you'll want to vie for next year: Ig Nobel Prizes in Peace, Literature, Physics, Medicine, Economics...

On the one hand, social media has connected us with our fellow man (and woman) in a much more upfront and personal way. On the other hand, social media has connected us with our fellow man (and woman) in a much more upfront and personal way!

Panda poop is green... who knew? Evidently researchers from Kitasato University in Tokyo did, and now the many hours they spent analyzing the anal leavings of giant pandas has them smelling like roses. 

McDonalds has finally set up shop in the Twitterverse. But is it too late? McDonalds' movies, videos, blogs, social networks and Web sites have been cropping up all over the social media landscape for the last five years. And unfortunately they are not singing the praises of the hamburger joint giant.

Jewnail, a range of women's nail care and cosmetic products from Jill&Lovers of Japan, may have an unfortunate name but it's really about fashion, not fascism.

In slightly over six years, the members of Second Life have lived out over one billion hours in a virtual world. To give you a sense of the popularity of SL, one billion hours equates to slightly over 115,000 years. With that much time on our hands, you can imagine what kind of trouble we can get ourselves into!

If you happen to be in London between now and December 23, 2009, you may want to stop by the Sci-Fi Surgery exhibit at the Qvist Gallery at the Hunterian Museum. Put on by the Royal College of Surgeons of England, the exhibit features some pretty weird medical robots, as well as depictions of medical gadgets from film, anime, and sci-fi literature. Here are 7 robotic members of the exhibit that you just may find visiting your person some day....

Pepsi Japan has done it again - the seasonal, weird, limited-time flavor of Pepsi Azuki soda exudes  the rich maroon hue and subtle sweet taste of prepared red Azuki beans.