Beyond PR #24 on top 50 PR blogs in the world

There is a bit of a ranking mania at the moment. This one was compiled by Matthew Watson from the excellent Rainier PR. All I can say is a big thank you for including Beyond PR.

Shapeways lets you create real 3D objects

Upload your 3D design on Netherlands based Shapeways' website (incubated by Philips). They will provide you with a quote for 3D printing with a choice of four kinds of plastics (metal is planned) and shipping it wherever you like. The site uses 3D industry standard file formats (STL, Collada, X3D) and the average cost of objects is $50 - $150. As seen on TechCrunch.

I am very excited about the possibilities for artists and designers, from anime figurines to limited edition jewelleries.

See how it works here:

StudiVZ sued by Facebook?

German's premier social network is apparently being sued by Facebook for "intellectual property infringement". Seen on TechCrunch.

The 10 greatest sci-fi films NEVER made

On the Times. Never say never...

Do problems with Wikipedia presage social networking’s end?

A provocative title but an otherwise thought provoking article about the fallacy of "democratic content" through user generated media. From Paul Murphy, ZDNet.

We're Investing So Much In Alternative Fuels, Sometimes We Almost Forget To Pump Oil!

Another Onion classic for CSR minded people.

The Eco Zoo

http://www.ecodazoo.com/

Is there a point to business training? Britain's most mickey mouse training courses

A funny article from Sathnam Sanghera on the Times. I am actually quite into personal development myself but the cynic in me helps maintain my sanity (and sense of humour).

Beyond PR featured in the UK top marketing blog

As seen on FasterFuture. Keep linking!

Google v. Your Privacy

Google is taking a lot of flack on user privacy. The company has been forced to handover Youtube's log data to Viacom and is now being questionned about its streetview pictures in Europe. See ZDNet Garett Rogers and dot.life for summaries/references.

Biofuels to blame for 75 per cent increase in price of food

The rise is far greater than previous estimates including a US Government claim that plant-derived fuels contribute less than three per cent to food price hikes. Telegraph.

Man sues old schoolfriend for libel after he made 'fake' entries on Facebook

A company boss whose personal details were displayed on Facebook under a fake entry yesterday launched a landmark High Court claim for damages. See This is London.

Icann's new naming system is a brand owner's nightmare

According to John Mackenzie, a partner with Pinsent Masons: "This has the potential for utter chaos (...) The attraction for domainers and cybersquatters is not going to be setting up a registry that matches someone else's brand, it will be in the generic TLDs. All of a sudden, every brand will be forced to register their name at .shop, .buy and .london to stop anyone else getting it."
Article on Outlaw.com
Given how companies are already struggling to cope with existing limited domain names, not to mention the confusion over the .eu domain name, this will fun to watch.

Why are gas prices rising?

The Daily Mash has the answer with its article: "The bosses of Britain’s six biggest energy companies said the only control they had over the price of gas was deciding how much they were going to charge people for using it." Always funny, always spot on.

Google launching research and media planning tool for professional ad planners

"Simply enter demographics and sites associated with your target audience, and the tool will return information about sites (both on and off the Google content network) that your audience is likely to visit. You can drill down further to get more detail like demographics and related searches for a particular site, or you can get aggregate statistics for the sites you've added to your media plan. (...) Using Google Ad Planner, you can quickly create media plans and export to a .csv file, which can be opened in most spreadsheet applications. Or, you can export to DoubleClick's MediaVisor, which helps you manage all your other media planning, buying and campaign management activities."

Apply for Google Ad Planner beta login here.

Technorati launches bloggers ad network

Article on Tech Crunch

Photoshop Disasters, the Blog

Lazy Photoshop work coming out of the woodwork, thanks to the Photoshop Disaster blog. Look at the Daily Mail... This has to be a prize winner.

FIRST APPRENTICE TO SELL AN EMAILER WINS, SAYS SUGAR

Priceless, from the Daily Mash.

What makes a viral ad?

Great article and examples from the CEO of JWT India . His tips:

• Controversy is the mother of advertising.
• Get viewers to wonder whether it is real or not
• Ignite communities
• Thrown down the gaunglet
• Make it hilarious if it has to be fun
• Titillate...

Cannabis blunder at Tokyo airport

Amazing.... "A customs officer hid a package of the banned substance in a side pocket of a randomly chosen suitcase in order to test airport security. Sniffer dogs failed to detect the cannabis and the officer could not remember which bag he had put it in. Anyone finding the package has been asked to contact customs officials". Lucky they don't have the death penalty for drug traffickers in Japan.

From the BBC.