De-Branding the pack

I was sent this article today by a friend. Really interesting stuff. It's a bit old but it suggests that the UK Department of Health is considering plans to make tobacco manufacturers sell their products in completely unbranded packets.

Ghost Robot

Sweet video - had to share...

Second Life goes election crazy

You'd need to be living under a rock not to know that the US elections are nearly upon us. Magazines, newspapers and tv are all packed full. Numerous news sites, opinion polls and political blogs (and other blogs) are just as busy covering the comings and goings of all those involved in getting America's next leader elected. So perhaps it's not to surprising to learn that Capitol Hill in Second Life is drawing huge numbers of visitors, from all over the world, with an interest in the politics at hand.

Combining a twitter display and electoral map (showing the most recent polling on a state-by-state basis) the site is a good place to keep in touch with your candidates progress.

Google Earth for the iPhone

Google Earth has found a new home!

The fantastic world map program can now be found travelling the globe in the pockets of iPhone and iPod touch users. The program, which has had over 400 million unique downloads, is now available as a free download from the iTunes App Store. Nifty!

Who are the global bloggers?

Technorati have conducted the most in-depth study of the state of blogging. Their State of the Blogosphere report provides an interesting overview of who is blogging and what they are blogging about. A must read for everyone.

* Two-thirds are male
* 50% are 18-34
* More affluent and educated than the general population
* 70% have college degrees
* Four in ten have an annual household income of $75K+
* One in four have an annual household income of $100K+
* 44% are parents

Goodbye Bush

The Elevator, Ireland's newest satirical digital portal, brings us a great video to start your weekend. Enjoy folks!

7-Eleven uses the Election to Engage Customers

7-Eleven are engaging their customers this election season. by letting you show your support with....... a coffee cup. Seariously, a coffee cup.

Whenever you buy a cup of coffee at any 7-Eleven, you choose either a blue Obama cup or a red McCain cup. With every cup counted as a vote, you just pop along to the microsite and check out who's winning. Bare in mind that that 7-Eleven sells one million cups of coffee a day.

This isn't a new campaign idea however. 7-Eleven have used the system to fairly accurately guage the election results.