The next 25 years of video games: behold The Matrix

Best article I read so far on where gaming technology could bring us. Credit to David Wong and Steve Woyach on Cracked.com

Google to take on Facebook with OpenSocial?

Google is about to launch a set of APIs allowing developers to create applications working across some "social networks" such as LinkedIn, Friendster, Ning or Newsgator. Slide and Rock You are already in the game. Read more on GigaOm.

Best analysis of what it means is on ZDNet.

Full Californian experience: my first earthquake

Magnitude 5.6 on the Richter scale... It shook for 30 secs, just time for us to get out of the house. Impressive. But no worries, we are all fine.

Organic food really IS better for you, claims study

From Evening Standard. Best value for money organic food, delivered to your door in London is Riverford. I have been using them for 6 months now and never looked back (thank you Gaylene for introducing them to me).

Microsoft buys stake in Facebook as human species slowly splits into two

Microsoft bought a 1.6% stake in Facebook for $240M, valuing the company at $15Bn using the "anything to beat Google will do" discount ratio. Oliver Curry, an "evolutionary theorist" expect the human race to peak in year 3,000 and split into a genetic upper-class and dim-witted underclass. The Facebook have and have-not?

Double glazing salesman 'punched customer for getting quote from a rival firm'

If only they knew of comparative shopping website... Story on ThisisLondon

French Tech Connection Party in San Francisco

I'll be at the Tech Connection Party hosted by French Tech Connection on Tuesday in San Francisco. If you read this blog free beer for you when we meet up.

Google acquires Jaiku

See Jaiku's Q&A on the acquisition. No comments yet from Twitter's bigger supporter :-)

Interflora, flowers experts, not delivery experts

The good thing about working for yourself is that when you have a bad experience with a company, you can tell it as it is, without worrying of offending a client, a prospect or your colleagues. I will make ample use of that new privilege. I am in Santa Clara for 2 months to raise funds for my new start-up, Karmony. My wife is working in London. It is not easy. I ordered a bouquet of flowers via Interflora to be delivered to her office on Monday, as a surprise. The bouquet arrived on Tuesday. The flowers looked tired. In addition to my personal note was a brochure with all the flowers' prices... This is so unprofessional. I hope that this post will add to others who experienced such poor service from Interflora, and forces the company to take notice.

Industry Experts Blog Hot Topics in Online PR, Marketing

The International Association of Online Communicators (IAOC) has just begun the Fall 2007 season of the popular educational blog show, "This Week on IAOCblog.com." The program is free and open for PR, marketing and online communications professionals, educators and students, as well as anyone interested in discussing hot topics and trends in Internet marketing communications.

The Fall season kicked off September 24 with guest blogger Peter A. Gloor of MIT's Sloan School of Management, who blogged about analyzing workplace communications. The season continues Oct 15 with computer communications expert Dave Taylor answering that menacing question: Is it okay to get paid to blog?

The blog show features a different guest blogger each week. Our guests are renowned professionals, educators and authors in the field of online communication.

Here is the Fall lineup:

October 15-19, 2007
GUEST: Dave Taylor, Blogsmart, Ask Dave Taylor
TOPIC: Is It Okay to Get Paid to Blog?

October 22-26, 2007
GUEST: Ted Demopoulos, Blogging for Business
TOPIC: Should CEOs Blog?

October 29-November 2, 2007
GUEST: Dianna Huff, Marcom Writer Blog
TOPIC: Writing Search Engine Friendly Copy

November 5-9, 2007
GUEST: Lois Kelly, Foghound
TOPIC: Conversational Marketing: Mood over Matter?

November 13-16, 2007
(Nov. 12 is Veteran's Day)
GUEST: Shel Horowitz, Ethical Marketing Expert
TOPIC: Blogger's Code of Ethics: News or Ruse?

"This Week on IAOCblog.com" takes place at http://www.iaocblog.com/. For more information, please visit this site or contact dreich@tulane.edu.