While far from a comprehensive study on the development of hyper-local languages, Giles Turnbull’s ad hoc research on how different children name Lego’s various building blocks is an interesting, albeit quirky, glimpse into the ways we build internal dialogues and communicate with one another.

“Guangzhou Supports You!” is a new crowdsourced, hyper-local online photography activity in Guangzhou, China.

As further evidence of the increasing threat that crowdsourcing poses to advertising agencies, PepsiCo’s Mountain Dew will reward marketing duties for a $100 million-plus business to a consumer-picked player, via an online contest beginning in late November 2009.

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Japanese pop act, the Helicopter Boyz highlighted the projection feature of the new Nikon COOLPIX in a recent performance.

China’s Central South University has set up a new facility to help students deal with emotional stress.

A new location tracking application for the iPhone called Stalqer is about to launch in the US. The app runs in the background and broadcasts your location to your friends automatically every 15 minutes.

Well-known to fashionistas the world over, photographer and artist Todd Selby recently embarked on an interesting project with Nike for their Fall/Winter ‘09 Apparel campaign.

The International Olympic Committee have created a new digital social campaign aimed at young people. Called ‘The Best of Us’, the IOC aims to build youth engagement with the Olympic Movement.

Special effects studio Tsuburaya Productions in Japan recently unveiled their new animatronic Gomora suit – right on time for Halloween.

On October 31st, Kodak will launch its first new TV brand campaign since 2005 – “It’s Time to Smile” will focus on the moments and relationships that define people’s lives and are captured in photography, via TV and web ads.

Austrailia’s Griffith University has added a Twitter component to an existing course which teaches basic news gathering and writing skills.

Coca-Cola will send a team of three bloggers-cum-”Happiness Ambassadors” around the world in 2010, with the mission of finding out what makes people happy.  Can they find a role for Coke to complement that pursuit of happiness?
Coca-Cola announced that it is launching a new social media push that will send three bloggers to more than 200 countries in a year, with the goal of uncovering what makes people happy. The social media piece will be part of Coke’s broader “Open Happiness” campaign.
Ambitiously, the around-the-world journey involves stays of just a day or two in each of 206 countries.  The three [...]

Singalo takes a fresh approach to online dating and works with the idea that a lot of people know someone wonderful who is single. The free site is built on recommendations, where the dater’s profile is written and submitted by a friend.

IKEA and WWF are galvanizing Swedish school kids in the ages 6-9 to collect the aluminum shells from tea lights.