Nouveau by Zaw Thet - Interesting New Stuff

Great moments in advertising...

Kudos to Virgin (courtesy of textually):

More Sadness

see this picture from NY times story.

This is really sad...

Myanmar Troops Kill 9 More Protesters - http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6954593,00.html

As a Burmese American I'm glad to see that the world news is covering this, but it is pretty sickening.

Pollution Levels in China are Scary

Very sobering article in the NY Times today. More here.

It says that China was only supposed to pass the US as the world's biggest producer of greenhouse gases in 2010. But, some agencies think it has already happened this year! Just like currency on the world market, pollution on this scale affects us all at a global level.

I was thinking about heading to China for the Olympics, but seems like the right thing to do is pass.

Bees not disappearing because of cell phones

Bad for the bees, but good news for the mobile industry. A virus/parasite is blamed for the loss of billions of bees. More here: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/04/070426100117.htm

Blowing up stuff in a Microwave: Viral Marketing

First read about this on adfreak: Kraft just launched a new semi-brilliant website/campaign which shows what happens if you don't have Mac & Cheese handy, but instead want to blow other things up in a microwave.

Similar to the Mentos experiment on YouTube, I think this is great example of viral marketing and the power of online video. Who doesn't want to watch stuff getting blown up in a microwave? I'm going to forward this around to everyone I know. Especially with snazzy music and a countdown timer to impending doom. The only reason I say "semi-brilliant" instead of "brilliant" is that the could have picked cooler things to explode.

Even though they say do-not-attempt-at-home, I'm sure this is going to spawn a whole series of knock-offs.

Jurassic "Beaver"

At first I couldn't believe CNN would have a story about this on their front page. Then I realized that they were talking about an animal. Whoops!

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/02/23/jurassic.beaver.ap/index.html

Kobe scores 81 points (2nd all-time)

And in case you missed it (like I did), you can see him scoring all 81 points in a condensed video here.

I love technology...

It's Official! 4INFO & Gannett (USA TODAY) Deal Announced Today

What a fun couple of months it has been. I'm very pleased to be able to publicly announce that Gannett (USA TODAY) is making a minority investment in us and that we have signed a major distribution agreement to integrate 4INFO mobile search with Gannett's media properties like USA TODAY. The press release is here. 4INFO's blog post is here.

I want to say thank you to all the 4INFO users out there that have helped us grow from a little start-up in our living room to where we are today. Also, thanks to all my family and friends that have put up with me and my crazy work schedule for the last year and half. More soon, this is only the beginning of the journey!

Update: digg this story

Tags: 4INFO SMS Mobile Search Mobile Wireless USA Today USAToday

SFWeekly Feature on the 49ers' Paraag Marathe

SF Weekly ran a huge feature on my great friend and ex-roomate Paraag Marathe. P has been doing some great work at the 49ers the past couple of years and it's high time he gets some of the recognition due to him!

My favorite quote from the story:

Would Schwartz want someone like Marathe in his front office? "Oh, certainly," he replies. And why is that? Schwartz doesn't hesitate. "I think he's a football guy."

The cartoon image on the front cover of the SF Weekly: