Guinness 250 Years Celebrations: Update 2

I just wanted to give you a quick update on what's happening in the world of Guinness. Back in July I posted about the Guinness 250 Years Celebrations that will be taking place on September 24th, marking the first official 'Arthur’s Day'. Following on from the update posted in August I am excited to announce some more information that I got through yesterday.

On top of the previously mentioned superstars who will be performing on the 24th (Sir Tom Jones, Kasabian and Estelle) at The Guinness Hopstore; there have now been a number of additional announcements...

Joining the above artists are Roots Manuva, Paolo Nutini, The Magic Numbers, OK Go and White Belt Yellow Tag; as well as some top Irish favourites such as The High Kings, Jerry Fish and the Mudbug Club, General Fiasco, Spring Break, David Kitt, and Oppenheimer.

Guinness have also announced a number of additional International events that will take place to mark this new holiday - Sean Paul will headline in Lagos, Nigeria and The Black Eyed Peas will perform in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. These two events will be just a small addition to what is now over 60 artists performing more than 60 hours of live music in just one day all over the world.

Ireland's contribution to the global showcase will see Cat Deeley and Ronan Keating hosting the stage in St. James's Gate, with a bit of help provided by Colin Murray, Michelle De Swarte and Michelle Doherty with updates from the 4 studio venues. All of this will be broadcast on TV3, SKY and ITV2.

For the full details of all the acts and celebrities who are taking part in the 33 Irish events (the St James’s Gate concert, the 4 studio venues and 28 gigs in pubs around Dublin) just visit www.guinness.com.

The Recession is Over - Google Says So!

Google have made, what may seem like a rather bold claim; the economic downturn is almost over.

Eric Schmidt, Google's chief executive, revealed that "the worst of the recession is behind us" and that Google was moving into a period of "seriously looking at acquisitions" again. Schmidt revealed all in a recent interview with Nikkei, saying that Google is eager to move back into the search for venture-stage firms that show strong potential for growth, which it could acquire. Following on, Schmidt indicated that the main thrust of this search would be to make a number of strategic acquisitions expanding its cloud computing operation.

Schmidy commented on Google's belief that the "personal computer era" will give way to the "age of cloud computing" within the coming ten to 15 years. This is sure to see Google continue to expand both it's on-system software options and its web apps such as its Google Docs and Gmail.

Azerbaijani Bloggers Jailed

Two Azerbaijani bloggers (Adnan Hajizade, 26, and Emin Milli, 29) have been arrested and face up to five years in jail for uploading a video of one of the bloggers in an oversized grey suit giving a press conference. The video shows the donkey at the head of a table surrounded by journalists. The video is a parody of one of Azerbaijan's notorious "news-conferences" that act as propaganda pulpits for the government. This is the latest example of the Internet crackdown that has been seen across the ex-Soviet state.

The two youths have been officially charged under hooliganism laws, and the police say that the pair were also involved in a "scuffle at a restaurant". Independent reports have indicated, however, that the "scuffle" is simply an excuse to hold the pair under a two-month pre-trial detention order. There is no question that it is a political arrest. Their trial is scheduled to begin in Baku on September 4.

Speaking to the BBC, Elsa Vidal - Europe desk officer with Reporters Without Borders - said that press freedoms in Azerbaijan were almost non-existent, making it "one of the black spots of the former USSR. The situation is still severe and local public servants enjoy virtual immunity from an investigation from the press when they try and expose corruption. There are no grounds for the bloggers to be prosecuted. They should be released and all accusations should be dropped. The authorities have more to lose in jailing the bloggers than in freeing them, but who knows what will actually be said at the trial?" she added.

The UN Human Rights Committee has also raised similar concerns, saying there are "extensive limitations to the right to freedom of expression in Azerbaijan". A statement from the lawyer for Hajizade and Milli says that it was them who were attacked by two men and when they went to a local police station to file a complaint they were arrested on hooliganism charges. "This incident is definitely politically motivated. My clients did not beat anybody, quite the opposite," said the lawyer, Isakhan Ashurov.

Hajizade, the co-founder of the OL (To Be) youth movement and Milli, a co-founder of online television channel AN Network, are both Western-educated and central to a growing movement of young people who are using the Internet to criticise the Azerbaijan government. The main focus for these movements is Social Media such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Much of the criticism toward the government lately, has surrounded a new law in Kazakhstan that allows the closing of a website for three months if it is deemed to have intentionally published illegal information.

The arrests have gained a large amount of online and offline coverage and many of Hajizade and Milli's supporters have taken to creating even more online content through both blogs and Social Networking sites; including a Facebook Page with over 900 supporters and an online video petition.

In response to the growing support, a senior advisor to President Ilham Aliyev, Ali Hasanov, has said "People are not arrested in Azerbaijan because of political activity.... There was a scuffle between some young people and some of them were injured". He added, "Law-enforcement agencies are investigating the case and will give an impartial assessment".

The Friday Tweet - A Round-Up of What's Happening in the Tweetosphere

The US Open Says No To Twitter!
The Guardian carried the story on Wednesday that the US Open has official banned all Tweeting by it's competitors. According to the article, signs have been placed in the player's lounge and locker rooms, reading:

"Important. Player Notice. Twitter Warning. Many of you will have Twitter accounts in order for your fans to follow you and to become more engaged in you and the sport – and this is great ... However popular it is, it is important to warn you of some of the dangers posed by Twittering as it relates to the Tennis Anti-Corruption Program Rules."

Many of tennis's top stars are understandably annoyed at the development but it looks unlikely that the Open's Authorities will back down.


Yahoo! Meme Set For Launch
Yahoo!'s Twitter rival, Yahoo! Meme, is reportedly ready for launch. Yahoo!'s micro-blogging Twitter-rival has already rolled-out in Spain and Portugal and news has surfaced that an English-language version is nearly complete. At the moment the service is by invite-only but it seems likely that Yahoo! will launch a fully functional version as part of the company's main social media strategy for Q4.

Meme allows users to post 100 character updates, photos, mp3s or videos (by a links). Just like Twitter the service features "reposts", that allow users to pass on the updates of their friends. Yahoo! have been very secretive about all launch details and there is no no official statement confirming its arrivals.

You can request an invite for Yahoo! Meme from here.


More Tweeters Then MySpacers in the UK
According to Hitwise Twitter now has more UK internet visits than MySpace. For the week ending 29th August, Twitter caught 1 in every 400 UK internet visits and climbed up to the 27th most visited site in the UK, a position ahead of MySpace. In relation to Social Networking, Twitter still falls short of Facebook, YouTube and Bebo.

It is important to note that Hitwise doesn't include data on users who access Twitter with their mobile phone or a third party application. This would imply that the actual numbers Tweeting are even further ahead of MySpace then expected and rapidly closing in on Bebo.


How Can Twitter Avoid #FAILure
The always brilliant eConsultancy posted a great article on Wednesday about the 5 things Twitter needs to do to prevent it #FAILing. To be honest, I could summarise this one for you but you really should head over and check it out yourself. While there, check out the rest of the blog - I highly recommend it!

13,957 People Dance to Michael Jackson's Thriller

13,957 people recently came together in Mexico to dance to Michael Jackson's Thriller and set a new world record. I bet those 1,500 inmates at the Phillippine prison feel pretty bad now!