General Mills and Kraft recently launched online networks for consumers to interact with their brands.

When Paul Newman passed away two Fridays ago at the age of 83, media coverage focused not only on his long film career, but also his work as a philanthropist and entrepreneur.

W Hotels recently partnered with Declare Yourself, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that encourages people to register to vote.

A recent study published in the Journal of Consumer Research found that multinational corporations advertising in countries with a large bilingual population should use English to promote luxury items, and a mix of English and the local language in ads for household necessities like soap, flour, and basic clothing.

A recent survey by global market research company Synovate found that 58% of 130,000 participants did not know what social networking is.

Second Life was once heralded as the key driver in virtual worlds and companies clamored to open bureaus and launch campaigns within the space. While some of Second's Life allure has faded since 2007, virtual worlds created for niche audiences are again finding success.

A recent piece in a special fall fashion issue of The New York Times Magazine notes that the face of fashion is getting younger. The story follows 12- and 15-year-old females who blog about their fashion favorites, icons, and even post photos of themselves playing a fashion-forward version of dress-up with digital cameras.

Branded entertainment has seen a surge from companies looking to increase brand and product awareness.

Citigroup recently estimated that Amazon's Kindle electronic book reader is selling better than expected this year, according to multiple media reports. Citigroup analyst Mark Mahaney estimated that Kindle sales could reach 380,000 in 2008, with high holiday sales expected, compared to a previous estimation of 190,000.

In its July 29 report, Marketing Food to Children and Adolescents, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommended that entertainment and media corporations "restrict the licensing of their characters to healthier foods and beverages that are marketed to children, so that cross-promotions with popular children's movies and [TV] characters will favor more nutritious foods and drinks."