Dude Rides Mower Across America for Sears
This summer, Lucas Van Engen has embarked on the road trip of a lifetime. The New York based actor is driving from Los Angeles to New York – on a Craftsman lawn mower – for a social media campaign for the hardware brand and Sears. Van Engen is now half way across the county, cruising at 9 mph with over 1,000 miles to go before he reaches home; fans can keep track of Van Engen via the Craftsman Across America blog, the campaign’s Facebook page and satellite via Google Maps.
Source: AdFreak 7/19/10

How much does Lego love David Beckham?
David Beckham may not have been able to play in the World Cup, but he is still making headlines because of his new hobby – building with Legos. The soccer star commented during a Yahoo! web chat that he recently built Lego’s Taj Mahal, and would love to be a Lego model builder. Since the chat, sales of the model have gone up 663 percent. Lego has officially invited Beckham to visit its headquarters and help to develop new ideas for the Lego Group. Beckham has yet to comment on the invite.
Source: TIME Magazine NewsFeed 7/22/10

Girl Scouts Logo Gets Bangs and Nose Job for More Modern look
In an effort to boost membership, the 100-year-old Girl Scouts of America organization has launched a brand overhaul, including the redesign of its iconic logo. The three-girl clover design – created in the 70s by designer Saul Bass – has been updated with brighter color, bangs and an altered profile.
Source: BrandFreak 7/19/10

Mad Men Casting Call
Calling all "Mad Men" fans! AMC has launched the Mad Men Casting Call contest. To enter, fans must pick up a special code at Banana Republic stores and then using that code, submit a photo of themselves in Mad Men style clothing. The entrant with the most Mad Men swagger will win a walk-on role on the series.
Source: USA Today – Pop Candy 07/21/10

Time-Lapse Twitter Visualization Shows America’s Moods
Researchers from Northwestern and Harvard universities have created an infographic showing the mood of U.S. residents throughout a typical day (or week) based on Twitter comments. The researchers analyzed 300 million tweets over three years, combining this data with U.S. Census data and Google Maps API to develop their findings.
Source: Mashable 7/22/10

Facebook-like Site Brings Safe Social Networking to Young Kids
Think your kids are too young for Facebook? Check out Togetherville , a new social network targeted at kids ages 6 to 10. Based on the Facebook platform, Togetherville provides juniors with all the features of the adult network – such as an activity “wall” and the ability to “like” others’ content and post photos – but in a safe, family friendly environment.
Source: Mashable 7/19/10

Mark Zuckerberg Talks to ABC News About Hitting 500 Million Users;
How did he do?
On Wednesday, July 21, Facebook hit a major milestone, reaching 500 million users. CEO Mark Zuckerberg made an appearance on ABC News' "World News with Diane Sawyer" to share the news and provide a behind-the-scenes look at the Facebook company. MediaBistro.com’s PRNewser provides a PR analysis of how Zuckerberg performed during the interview.
Source: MediaBistro.com – PRNewser 7/22/10

In a World of Online News, Burnout Starts Younger
Ever wonder what it’s like on the other side of PR? The New York Times opens a window into the world of young journalists; far from their dreams of traveling the globe on pursuit of a Pulitzer Prize winning story, today’s reporters are under extreme pressure, fueled by new media, page views, immediate deadlines and ruthless internal competition.
Source: The New York Times 7/19/10

Amazon Says E-Books now top Hardcover Sales
For the first time, Amazon.com reports for the last three months, sales of online books have surpassed sales of physical copies, with 143 Kindle books sold for every 100 hardcover.
Source: The New York Times 7/19/10