Honda Motor Co. announced today a voluntary worldwide recall of 646,000 compact cars so that it can examine window switches that can overheat if exposed to liquid, causing smoke or melting or even catch fire. A PR disaster for the company whose cars used to be regarded as the safest in the world. Honda's "Safety for Everyone" initiative in North America may also suffer.
Today, there are reports that Apple TV may be close to reaching an agreement with CBS and Disney. Since the Disney channel is one of the most popular cable network channels, it makes sense that other channels will soon follow suit. There is even speculation that Apple TV may be able to effectively compete with, or even replace, the cable television market. Will Apple TV change television as we know it (much the way the cable networks changed television in the 1970s and 80s)?
The updated version of the KIDOZ web browser for kids debuts a personalized messaging system for kids to better interact with each other.
In business it is sometimes necessary to step back and refocus in order to progress. eBay is just such a company, one trying to catch up with mobile technology and the social Web as fast as it can. This company, and others, can take great advantage of mobile applications and especially the iPhone. Communicating with costumers vie mobile platforms might just save eBay.
Some of the best and most successful marketing firms in the world fail miserably in communicating with technical or scientific entities. This is not because marketers do not know their job, but because they have perhaps forgotten some key principles of good communications. Technical people deal in an empirical world where normative and philosophical language has not place.
Deutsch LA has been selected by Volkswagen of America to serve as their agency of record. The company will be handling sales and advertising for the automotive company.
There are not many video startups coming along which have fantastic potential but one called PopScreen may just surprise even the most cynical video aggregator detractor. This very refined and well worked out video tool is engineered from the best ideas of the past in order to provide maybe the best platform for video yet devised for Internet users. Only time will tell, but it is at least easy to see the developers did their homework well.