That's the idea behind Pangea Day which will bring together millions of people from all over the world through the power of film to create a better understanding of one another.  Pangea Day is the "wish" of documentary filmmaker and 2006 TED Prize winner Jehane Noujaim (Control Room (2004), Startup.com (2001)) who we had the good fortune of seeing speak at the Sundance Film Festival.

Listen to Jehane at TED unveil her wish: global acceptance of diversity, mediated through the power of film.  The first step?  Getting people to understand each other.

One of the better Web 2.0 primers that helps set the stage for the current new frontier of business and marketing, is here at O'Reilly.   This snapshot nicely unites a slew of related concepts that all contribute to today's business climate:

For lots more explanation, and a comparison to the preceding web, read the full article.

I had my first iPhone experience last night. Wow. It's like losing my virginity all over again. Except much more satisfying.

It was at an upscale steak house in Kansas City last night with my husband Mike and our out-of-town friend Chad, bearer of iPhone. Both had worked at Apple back in the day on the Newton, a product so ahead of its time it was a dismal failure. Of course one could argue that now more than ever is "the day" for Apple.

My first impression of the iPhone? Thrilling. Sleek and substantive. The touchscreen, which is the user interface / navigation tool, is soft. Even sensual. Vibrancy of the 3.5 inch display, amazing. Desktop icons never looked so good.

Mike and Chad had been goofing around with iPhone before I met them at the steakhoue. I approached their table. Mike stands, snaps my photo, turns the display toward me. Gently flicking his thumb and index finger apart against the screen, Mike demonstrates the zoom feature, instantly endowing me, a 36B in real life, with a C cup. (Not exactly. Zoom magnifies images proportionately. In this case, my chest filled the screen. But you can bet that this particular two-finger salute is a hit with men everywhere. Prediction: video will surface on YouTube any time now that spoofs in new and imaginative ways the satisfying flicking, stroking and two-finger zoom actions soon-to-become muscle memory for iPhone users.)

The keyboard threw me initially. Then I realized I could simply slide away from an incorrect key I had typed to tap the correct one. Sweet.

I was so enamored spinning through Address Book listings and basking in the brilliant yellow sun in the Weather app, I almost had forgotten this phone is also "the best iPod ever," says Apple's web site.

iPod features can wait. Why rush getting acquainted? We'll see each other again.

The boys and I pull up and zoom in on a New York Times story about Pope Benedict XVI's latest hijinks, asserting that Catholicism, unlike other Christian communities, "provides the only true path to salvation." As if that wasn't enough of a conversation starter, we were simultaneously overcome with how beautifully the article displays.

Mike and Chad lock eyes, gushing: "It's got a real web browser!"

It's true. The promise of mobile has arrived in the form of the iPhone. For a category that handcuffs their customers into loyalty instead of delighting them, it's startling. It's even a bit scary to me because iPhone actually does make it enjoyable to watch video anywhere, any time. A mixed blessing, no doubt, for which I can argue many sides.

In my opinion, people have no business surfing the Internet or watching video in an upscale steakhouse where. (I know, as an occasional solo diner I suppose it wouldn't be the worst thing.) Still, I avoid restaurants with video screens because, regardless of what's showing, my eyes can't help but wander to the electronic images. My attention is distracted away from my dining companion(s). Restaurants should be a sanctuary for face-to-face interpersonal interaction and high baud rate of communication in the form of conversation.

Hypocritically, Chad shared this hilarious video with us in the restaurant and I loved seeing it instantly.

We're nearly closing the place.  Diners at an adjacent table stop at ours on their way out.  "Is that what I think it is?"

"Yeah," I said. "You need to hold it."  They gather around man who takes it in his hand, sighing. Feeling accomplished, smart, even sexy, I show them how to elegantly unlock the iPhone then take them out for a spin in Address Book. They are mesmerized.

"As we used to say in the toy industry," I offer, "It's magic!"

iPhone returns and is set aside. Dinner conversation with Mike and Chad moves toward the TED Conference. Specifically, the nature of choice and why more choice often leads to less happiness. Fascinating stuff. We trade ideas.

Meanwhile my mind wanders. I'm a minimalist consumer. Especially with gadgets. I resisted buying a carrot pealer for a while because it's a job a knife can do. Yet I'm taken with the iPhone. It had me at the home screen. Silently, I bargain with myself: Our household really should have an iPhone. Mike's a business and tech guy. This thing would bring him great joy. I should get him one. Yeah. And I would win some major partner points if I did. I decide he's deserving of an early present for his November birthday. I wonder how long it will be until my iPod dies....

This morning, I find myself anticipating our next encounter. Where will I see iPhone next? A coffee shop. Maybe someone will let me touch theirs? I think I'm in love.

"I'm still looking for a reason to watch TV on this thing," a TV producer and writer, harummphing and staring down at his crackberry, told me this week.

Well, 'Afterworld' may be the ticket. A viral hit on YouTube, the first 13 episodes of this 130-episode short-form series (two- to three-minute episodes)
have been downloaded 700,000 times and Sony is making global deals with cable and mobile companies, Advertising Age reports.

One one hand, I'm excited about early signs of life that the promise of the third screen just might take hold in some new and innovative ways.

On the other, I'm super-ambivalent about advancing a culture -- especially among Gen Y's -- of 24/7, anywhere entertainment.

Isn't it already too much that the TV is on more than 8 hours a day in the typical American home? Or that, according to the US Census Bureau's Statistical Abstract of the United States, adults and teens will spend nearly five months (3,518 hours) in 2007 watching television, surfing the Internet, reading daily newspapers and listening to personal music devices?

Can this all be good? Maybe it's just different. I'm trying to stay open-minded.

Are mobisodes and serialized, short-form content to today's youngfolk what comic strips are to earlier generations?

This heart-wrenching video of an intoxicated David Hasselhoff eating a hamburger on a bathroom floor was allegedly taken by Hasselhoff's teenage daughter Taylor.

Accidental slip into the public domain, or a new form of intervention when family matters are kept among father, child and millions of YouTube viewers? 

Social networking site MySpace will hold a Presidential primary on January 1 & 2, 2008, before any official state primaries. Every user will be asked to vote for their favorite candidate.

Publicity stunt? In part, probably.

Will it influence the official primaries? Likely.

What's key now is recognition that MySpace isn't just for kids any more:

• The majority of MySpace's 165,000+ users are of voting age and have a higher engagement rate for civic and social activity when compared to other Internet users.

• Nearly 65 million Americans visit MySpace every month

• More than 85% of them are of voting age. (1)

• MySpace users 18-years of age or older are nearly three times more likely than average Web users to interact online with a public official or candidate. (2)
  

• MySpace users are 42% more likely to view online video relating to politics or public affairs, 35% more likely to research politics and campaign information online, and 44% more likely to listen to online audio/radio related to politics/public affairs. (2)
  

(1) comScore Media Metrics

(2) Nielsen//NetRatings