I think there is an element of competitiveness around the number of friends people have on Facebook. People like to collect things - stamps, Beanie Babies, Pez dispensers - I guess it is in our nature to hoard stuff. I guess virtual connections are no different.
I think it is a way of keeping in touch w/ friends - especially those who don't live nearby. But - I can't say that I use it, either.
Too bad you can't see the logo for the airline, as I'm sure a competing airline could use this footage to illustrate the "customer satisfaction" of the other guys.
Google is just one of many search engines. Yahoo, MSN, Ask - all perfectly capable of replacing Google.
I like the creativity. Although it seems pretty clear that this is a media stunt, and it only works if the story gets picked up by newspapers, and TV. The actual tattooed individuals simply don't have the ability to reach a large enough enought to make an impact (but a story on the BBC news does).
Neat ad. I imagine there must be a booming industry for the CGI folks who have to do the post-production special effects for all these ads/videos.
Maybe instead of everyone getting 15 minutes of fame, everyone can now have 15,000 incredibly trivial tweets on twitter that will get broadcast to the world. Although they may be read by almost no one, at least the authors will "feel" noticied, and appreciated - and perhaps that is the point afterall.
BTW - Who decides which countries are developed and which are emerging? Is that Morgan Stanley's job? It seems like Israel and the Czech Republic have been "emerging" for a while now. I think Israel even passed Portugal on per capita GDP. Time for a status check.
Curious - will the members of the G7 ever change? Right now it is:
US, Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, & Canada
Notably absent: China, Spain, and Brazil
Should Canada get the boot - or should it become the G8/G9?
BTW - the iPhone is now 12% of Apple's total revenue. GM of 35%. Operating Income for the overall company is 21%. My sense is that margins are lower on desktops, laptops, and iPods, and quite a bit higher on the iPhone. But the stock seems to be telling a different story.