<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" media="screen" href="/~d/styles/rss2full.xsl"?><?xml-stylesheet type="text/css" media="screen" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~d/styles/itemcontent.css"?><rss xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:feedburner="http://rssnamespace.org/feedburner/ext/1.0" version="2.0">

<channel>
	<title>The Daily Follow</title>
	
	<link>http://dailyfollow.com</link>
	<description>Because who you read is as important as who you know</description>
	<pubDate>Sat, 20 Dec 2008 18:41:24 +0000</pubDate>
	<generator>http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7</generator>
	<language>en</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>hourly</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>1</sy:updateFrequency>
			<atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="self" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/TheDailyFollow" type="application/rss+xml" /><atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="hub" href="http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com" /><item>
		<title>John Cleese from Monty Python is on Twitter</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDailyFollow/~3/BfONl1E2Z5g/</link>
		<comments>http://dailyfollow.com/2008/12/20/john-cleese-from-monty-python-is-on-twitter/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 20 Dec 2008 18:37:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Adam Boettiger</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[New Additions]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[actors]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[celebrities]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dailyfollow.com/?p=282</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[John Cleese is an English actor, comedian, writer, film producer and singer, who is known as being a member of Monty Python, a group of comedians responsible for the sketch show Monty Python&#8217;s Flying Circus and for four films; And Now for Something Completely Different, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian and [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-283" title="200px-john_cleese_at_1989_oscars" src="http://dailyfollow.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/200px-john_cleese_at_1989_oscars.jpg" alt="200px-john_cleese_at_1989_oscars" width="200" height="218" /><strong>John Cleese</strong> is an English actor, comedian, writer, film producer and singer, who is known as being a member of Monty Python, a group of comedians responsible for the sketch show Monty Python&#8217;s Flying Circus and for four films; And Now for Something Completely Different, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life. Apart from Monty Python, with his then wife Connie Booth he also co-created, co-wrote and starred in the critically-acclaimed sitcom Fawlty Towers and has also co-starred with Kevin Kline, Jamie Lee Curtis and former Python colleague Michael Palin in A Fish Called Wanda and Fierce Creatures, and made significant appearances in many films, including two James Bond films, The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day, and two Harry Potter films, Harry Potter and the Philosopher&#8217;s Stone and Chamber of Secrets.</p>
<p>Follow John on Twitter @ <a href="http://twitter.com/johncleese">http://twitter.com/JohnCleese</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://dailyfollow.com/2008/12/20/john-cleese-from-monty-python-is-on-twitter/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<feedburner:origLink>http://dailyfollow.com/2008/12/20/john-cleese-from-monty-python-is-on-twitter/</feedburner:origLink></item>
		<item>
		<title>Tony Robbins on Twitter</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDailyFollow/~3/OfyxxFpW-eI/</link>
		<comments>http://dailyfollow.com/2008/12/17/tony-robbins-on-twitter/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 17 Dec 2008 20:53:42 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Adam Boettiger</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[New Additions]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[celebrities]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[motivational speakers]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dailyfollow.com/?p=274</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Anthony Robbins is an American self-help writer, entrepreneur, professional speaker and occasional actor. He became well known through bestselling self-help book, Unlimited Power: The New Science Of Personal Achievement. The first edition was published by Fawcett Columbine (Ballantine Books) in 1987. Robbins writes about subjects such as health and energy, overcoming fears, persuasive communication, and [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-275" title="tony_robbins" src="http://dailyfollow.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/tony_robbins.jpg" alt="tony_robbins" width="170" height="216" /></p>
<p><strong>Anthony Robbins</strong> is an American self-help writer, entrepreneur, professional speaker and occasional actor. He became well known through bestselling self-help book, Unlimited Power: The New Science Of Personal Achievement. The first edition was published by Fawcett Columbine (Ballantine Books) in 1987. Robbins writes about subjects such as health and energy, overcoming fears, persuasive communication, and enhancing relationships. He also became well known in America and internationally through infomercials promoting personal development audio programs and motivational seminars. His audio programs, seminars and self-help products featured Neuro-linguistic programming and Ericksonian hypnosis which he studied at the start of his career. Robbins seminars also used firewalking as a metaphor for overcoming fears and limiting beliefs. Later, Robbins combined his skills and techniques with other methods claimed to effect personal change.</p>
<p>Robbins is also the founder of the Anthony Robbins Foundation, which proclaims its mission is to empower students, help prisoners to improve their lives, organize food drives, and fund Robbins&#8217; summer &#8220;Discovery Camp&#8221;. According to the website, it has &#8220;products and programs in more than 2,000 schools, 700 prisons, and 100,000 health and human service organizations. The Foundation is committed to make a difference in the quality of life for children, the homeless, the prison population, and the elderly through its various programs.&#8221; Charity Navigator gives the foundation an overall rating of four out of four stars.</p>
<p>Follow Tony on Twitter @ <a href="http://twitter.com/passionnow">http://twitter.com/passionnow</a><br />
*Note: Tony is not that active on Twitter yet. Please also <a href="http://tonyrobbinstraining.com/">visit his blog</a> and encourage him to use Twitter more by posting a comment. Let him know you heard about it on DailyFollow.com!</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://dailyfollow.com/2008/12/17/tony-robbins-on-twitter/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<feedburner:origLink>http://dailyfollow.com/2008/12/17/tony-robbins-on-twitter/</feedburner:origLink></item>
		<item>
		<title>Mitch Wagner - Executive Editor, InformationWeek</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDailyFollow/~3/_KYEdd4V47s/</link>
		<comments>http://dailyfollow.com/2008/12/15/mitch-wagner-executive-editor-informationweek/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 16 Dec 2008 01:38:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Adam Boettiger</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[New Additions]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[editors]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dailyfollow.com/?p=259</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Mitch Wagner is a leader of InformationWeek&#8217;s social networking and community strategy. He writes about Apple, social media and Web 2.0. In addition to writing, Mitch podcasts, creates Internet videos, and is one of a team overseeing newsletters for InformationWeek. He was previously a reporter and editor for InternetWeek, Computerworld, Open Systems Today, and the [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-267" title="mitch-wagner-business-mug-shot1" src="http://dailyfollow.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/mitch-wagner-business-mug-shot1.jpg" alt="mitch-wagner-business-mug-shot1" width="200" height="169" />Mitch Wagner is a leader of <em>InformationWeek</em>&#8217;s social networking and community strategy. He writes about Apple, social media and Web 2.0. In addition to writing, Mitch podcasts, creates Internet videos, and is one of a team overseeing newsletters for<em> InformationWeek</em>. He was previously a reporter and editor for <em>InternetWeek, Computerworld, Open Systems Today</em>, and the <em>New Jersey Herald</em>.</p>
<p>Follow Mitch on Twitter @ <a href="http://twitter.com/mitchwagner">http://twitter.com/mitchwagner</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://dailyfollow.com/2008/12/15/mitch-wagner-executive-editor-informationweek/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<feedburner:origLink>http://dailyfollow.com/2008/12/15/mitch-wagner-executive-editor-informationweek/</feedburner:origLink></item>
		<item>
		<title>Wil Wheaton is on Twitter</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDailyFollow/~3/Y9C7IpYZaWE/</link>
		<comments>http://dailyfollow.com/2008/12/15/wil-wheaton-is-on-twitter/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Dec 2008 21:03:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Adam Boettiger</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[New Additions]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[actors]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[celebrities]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[star trek]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dailyfollow.com/?p=253</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Wil Wheaton is an American writer and actor. As the latter, he is best known for his portrayals of Wesley Crusher on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, as Gordie LaChance in the film Stand by Me, and as prep-school rebel Joseph &#8216;Joey&#8217; Trotta in Toy Soldiers.
Follow Wil @ http://twitter.com/wilw
Visit Wil&#8217;s website @ [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-254" title="wil_wheaton" src="http://dailyfollow.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/wil_wheaton.jpg" alt="wil_wheaton" width="288" height="195" /></p>
<p>Wil Wheaton is an American writer and actor. As the latter, he is best known for his portrayals of Wesley Crusher on the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, as Gordie LaChance in the film Stand by Me, and as prep-school rebel Joseph &#8216;Joey&#8217; Trotta in Toy Soldiers.</p>
<p>Follow Wil @ <a href="http://twitter.com/wilw">http://twitter.com/wilw</a></p>
<p>Visit Wil&#8217;s website @ <a href="http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/">http://wilwheaton.typepad.com/</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://dailyfollow.com/2008/12/15/wil-wheaton-is-on-twitter/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<feedburner:origLink>http://dailyfollow.com/2008/12/15/wil-wheaton-is-on-twitter/</feedburner:origLink></item>
		<item>
		<title>Brea Grant from Heroes is on Twitter</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDailyFollow/~3/WlVnEiv3n-Y/</link>
		<comments>http://dailyfollow.com/2008/12/11/brea-grant-from-heroes-is-on-twitter/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 12 Dec 2008 01:58:35 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Adam Boettiger</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[New Additions]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[actors]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[celebrities]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[heroes]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dailyfollow.com/?p=212</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Brea Colleen Grant is an American actress who is best known for playing Daphne Millbrook in NBC&#8217;s science fiction television program Heroes. She has previously appeared in an episode of Cold Case and three episodes of Friday Night Lights, and is due to play the character of &#8220;Rasha&#8221; in SciFi&#8217;s Battle Planet and &#8220;Junkie Girl&#8221; [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft" title="Brea Grant" src="http://dailyfollow.com/images/profiles/brea_grant.jpg" alt="" width="216" height="324" />Brea Colleen Grant is an American actress who is best known for playing Daphne Millbrook in NBC&#8217;s science fiction television program Heroes. She has previously appeared in an episode of Cold Case and three episodes of Friday Night Lights, and is due to play the character of &#8220;Rasha&#8221; in SciFi&#8217;s Battle Planet and &#8220;Junkie Girl&#8221; in the upcoming Max Payne films.</p>
<p>Follow Brea @ <a href="http://twitter.com/breagrant" target="_blank">http://twitter.com/breagrant</a></p>
<p>Connect with Brea on Facebook <a href="http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/profile.php?id=523903365" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
<p>Visit Brea&#8217;s <a href="http://www.breagrant.com/" target="_blank">website</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://dailyfollow.com/2008/12/11/brea-grant-from-heroes-is-on-twitter/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<feedburner:origLink>http://dailyfollow.com/2008/12/11/brea-grant-from-heroes-is-on-twitter/</feedburner:origLink></item>
		<item>
		<title>Greg Grunberg from Heroes is on Twitter</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDailyFollow/~3/s2SrHMCHv9I/</link>
		<comments>http://dailyfollow.com/2008/12/10/greg-grunberg-is-on-twitter/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 11 Dec 2008 01:56:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Adam Boettiger</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[New Additions]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[actors]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[celebrities]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dailyfollow.com/?p=202</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Grunberg has had guest roles in television starting 1990. From 1998-2002 he appeared as Sean Blumberg on Felicity. He appeared from 2001-2006 as Eric Weiss on Alias. He left that series as a regular to star on the NBC sitcom, Grand Union. Since 2003, Abrams had planned a series called The Catch about a bounty [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft" title="Greg Grunberg" src="http://dailyfollow.com/wp-content/themes/thesis/images/greg_grunberg.jpg" alt="" width="280" height="280" />Grunberg has had guest roles in television starting 1990. From 1998-2002 he appeared as Sean Blumberg on Felicity. He appeared from 2001-2006 as Eric Weiss on Alias. He left that series as a regular to star on the NBC sitcom, Grand Union. Since 2003, Abrams had planned a series called The Catch about a bounty hunter, starring Grunberg in the lead role. Suggested for both the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 seasons, the series was never produced; however, a pilot episode was shot. Abrams also cast Grunberg in a brief role as the pilot for the 2004 series Lost. Grunberg returned for the first-season finale, but his scenes were cut for time, and were instead included on the season 1 DVD set. He also appeared in a small role in Mission: Impossible III, which Abrams directed.</p>
<p>Grunberg has a major role in the NBC TV show Heroes. He plays police officer Matt Parkman, who can hear other people&#8217;s thoughts. Grunberg has also guest starred on House. He was offered a part in Star Trek, which Abrams will be directing, but was unable to take it because of a conflict with another project he is working on. Grunberg voices FBI agent Ethan Thomas in the video game Condemned: Criminal Origins.</p>
<p>Follow Greg on Twitter @ <a href="http://twitter.com/greggrunberg">http://twitter.com/greggrunberg</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://dailyfollow.com/2008/12/10/greg-grunberg-is-on-twitter/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<feedburner:origLink>http://dailyfollow.com/2008/12/10/greg-grunberg-is-on-twitter/</feedburner:origLink></item>
		<item>
		<title>Sir Richard Branson is on Twitter</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDailyFollow/~3/xz0_-1FGJas/</link>
		<comments>http://dailyfollow.com/2008/12/07/sir-richard-branson-is-on-twitter/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 08 Dec 2008 00:23:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Adam Boettiger</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[New Additions]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[big brands]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[celebrities]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[entrepreneurs]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dailyfollow.com/?p=149</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin brand of over 360 companies. Branson&#8217;s first successful business venture was at age 16, when he published a magazine called Student. He then set up an audio record mail-order business in 1970. In 1972, he opened [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft" title="Sir Richard Branson" src="http://dailyfollow.com/images/profiles/richard-branson.jpg" alt="" width="295" height="340" /></p>
<p>Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin brand of over 360 companies. Branson&#8217;s first successful business venture was at age 16, when he published a magazine called Student. He then set up an audio record mail-order business in 1970. In 1972, he opened a chain of record stores, Virgin Records, later known as Virgin Megastores and rebranded as Zavvi in late 2007.</p>
<p>With his flamboyant and competitive style, Branson&#8217;s Virgin brand grew rapidly during the 1980s - as he set up Virgin Atlantic Airways and expanded the Virgin Records music label. Richard Branson is the 236th richest person according to Forbes&#8217; 2008 list of billionaires, with an estimated net worth of approximately $4.4 billion USD.</p>
<p><span id="more-149"></span></p>
<p><strong>Early life</strong></p>
<p>Branson was born at Stonefield Nursing Home in Blackheath, South London, the son of Edward James Branson and Eve Branson (née Huntley Flindt). His grandfather, the Right Honourable Sir George Arthur Harwin Branson, was a Judge of the High Court of Justice and a Privy Councillor.Branson was educated at Scaitcliffe School (now Bishopsgate School)[5] until the age of thirteen. He then attended Stowe School until he was fifteen. Branson had poor academic performance as a student, yet by the age of fifteen he had started two ventures that eventually failed: one growing Christmas trees and the other raising budgerigars.</p>
<p>At seventeen, Branson left school and moved to London, where he began his first successful business, Student magazine. When he was seventeen, he opened his first charity, the &#8220;Student Advisory Centre&#8221;.</p>
<p><strong>Record business</strong></p>
<p>Branson started his first record business after he traveled across the English Channel and purchased crates of &#8220;cut-out&#8221; records from a record discounter.[citation needed] He sold the records out of the boot of his car to retail outlets in London. He continued selling cut-outs through a record mail order business in 1970. Trading under the name &#8220;Virgin&#8221; he sold records for considerably less than the so-called &#8220;High Street&#8221; outlets, especially the chain W. H. Smith. The name &#8220;Virgin&#8221; was a selling point because records were sold in a new condition (unlike in other shops where records were being handled when listened to in record booths).[citation needed] At the time many products were sold under restrictive marketing agreements which limited discounting, despite efforts in the 1950s and 1960s to limit so-called resale price maintenance.[6] In effect Branson began the series of changes that led to large-scale discounting of recorded music. Branson and some colleagues were discussing a new name for his business when one suggested that it should be called &#8220;Virgin&#8221; since they were all virgins to business.</p>
<p>Branson eventually started a record shop in Oxford Street in London and, shortly after, launched the record label Virgin Records with Nick Drake. Branson earned enough money from his record store to buy a country estate, in which he installed a recording studio. He leased out studio time to fledgling artists, including multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield.</p>
<p>In 1971, Branson was arrested and charged for selling records in Virgin stores that had been declared export stock. He settled out-of-court with UK Customs and Excise with an agreement to repay the unpaid tax and fines. Branson&#8217;s mother Eve re-mortgaged the family home to help pay the settlement.</p>
<p>Virgin Records&#8217; first release was Mike Oldfield&#8217;s Tubular Bells, which was a best-seller and British LP chart topper. The company signed controversial bands such as the Sex Pistols, which other companies were reluctant to sign. It also won praise for exposing the public to obscure avant-garde music such as the krautrock bands Faust and Can. Virgin Records also introduced Culture Club to the music world. In the early 1980s, Virgin purchased the gay nightclub Heaven. In 1991 in a consortium with David Frost, Richard Branson had made the unsuccessful bid for three ITV franchisees under the CPV-TV name.</p>
<p>In 1992, to keep his airline company afloat, Branson sold the Virgin label to EMI, a more conservative company which previously had rescinded a contract with the Sex Pistols, for $1 billion . Branson is said to have wept when the sale was completed since the record business had been the genesis of the Virgin Empire. He later formed V2 Records to re-enter the music business.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<hr /> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>If you <a href="http://dailyfollow.com/subscribe">subscribe</a> to The Daily Follow, you&#8217;ll be notified by email when we add new people to follow!</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<hr /><strong>Personal life</strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><img class="alignright" title="Richard Branson" src="http://dailyfollow.com/images/profiles/richard-branson2.jpg" alt="" width="260" height="320" />The eldest and only boy of three children, his sisters are Lindi and Vanessa. His father Ted followed in his father&#8217;s footsteps, assuming the career of a barrister. Branson&#8217;s mother, Eve, worked in the theatre, as a glider pilot instructor and as a flight attendant.</p>
<p>Branson had poor academic records, contrasted with excellent performance in sports.</p>
<p>Branson is married to his second wife, Joan Templeman, with whom he has two children: Holly, a doctor, and Sam Branson. The couple wed, at Holly&#8217;s suggestion when she was eight years old, in 1989 at Necker Island, a 74-acre (300,000 m2) island in the British Virgin Islands that Branson owns. He also owns land on the Caribbean Island of Antigua and Barbuda.</p>
<p>In 1998 Branson released his autobiography entitled Losing My Virginity, an international bestseller.</p>
<p>Branson was deeply saddened by the disappearance in September 2007 of fellow adventurer Steve Fossett and wrote an article for Time magazine in October 2007 entitled &#8220;My Friend, Steve Fossett.&#8221;</p>
<p><strong>Business ventures</strong></p>
<p><img class="alignright" title="Virgin America" src="http://dailyfollow.com/images/profiles/virgin_america_can_fly.jpg" alt="" width="385" height="289" />Branson formed Virgin Atlantic Airways in 1984, launched Virgin Mobile in 1999, Virgin Blue in Australia in 2000. He was 9th in the Sunday Times Rich List 2006, worth just over £3 billion. Branson wrote in his autobiography of the decision to start an airline:</p>
<p>“<span style="line-height: 12px;">My interest in life comes from setting myself huge, apparently unachievable challenges and trying to rise above them&#8230;from the perspective of wanting to live life to the full, I felt that I had to attempt it.<span style="line-height: 12px;">”</span></span></p>
<p>In 1997, Branson took what many saw as being one of his riskier business exploits by entering into the railway business. Virgin Trains won the franchises for the former Intercity West Coast and Cross-Country sectors of British Rail. Launched with the usual Branson fanfare with promises of new high-tech tilting trains and enhanced levels of service, Virgin Trains soon ran into problems with the rolling stock and infrastructure it had inherited from British Rail. The company&#8217;s reputation was almost irreversibly damaged in the late 1990s as it struggled to make trains reliably run on time while it awaited the modernisation of the West Coast Main Line, and the arrival of new rolling stock.</p>
<p>Virgin acquired European short-haul airline Euro Belgian Airlines in 1996 and renamed it Virgin Express. In 2006 the airline was merged with SN Brussels Airlines forming Brussels Airlines. It also started a national airline based in Nigeria, called Virgin Nigeria. Another airline, Virgin America, began flying out of the San Francisco International Airport in August 2007. Branson has also developed a Virgin Cola brand and even a Virgin Vodka brand, which has not been a very successful enterprise. As a consequence of these lacklustre performers, the satirical British fortnightly magazine Private Eye has been critical of Branson and his companies (see Private Eye image caption).</p>
<p>After the so-called campaign of &#8220;dirty tricks&#8221; (see expanded reference in Virgin Atlantic Airways), Branson sued rival airline British Airways for libel in 1992. John King, then-chairman of British Airways, counter-sued, and the case went to trial in 1993. British Airways, faced with likely defeat, settled the case, giving £500,000 to Branson and a further £110,000 to his airline and had to pay legal fees of up to £3 million. Branson divided his compensation (the so-called &#8220;BA bonus&#8221;) among his staff.</p>
<p><img class="alignleft" title="Richard Branson" src="http://dailyfollow.com/images/champagne.jpg" alt="" width="604" height="408" />On 25 September 2004, Branson announced the signing of a deal under which a new space tourism company, Virgin Galactic, will license the technology behind Spaceship One—funded by Microsoft co-Founder Paul Allen and designed by legendary American aeronautical engineer and visionary Burt Rutan—to take paying passengers into suborbital space. Virgin Galactic (wholly owned by Virgin Group) plans to make flights available to the public by late 2009 with tickets priced at US$200,000 using Scaled Composites White Knight Two.</p>
<p>Branson&#8217;s next venture with the Virgin group is Virgin Fuels, which is set to respond to global warming and exploit the recent spike in fuel costs by offering a revolutionary, cheaper fuel for automobiles and, in the near future, aircraft. Branson has stated that he was formerly a global warming skeptic and was influenced in his decision by a breakfast meeting with Al Gore.[10]</p>
<p>Branson has been tagged as a &#8220;transformational leader&#8221; in the management lexicon, with his maverick strategies and his stress on the Virgin Group as an organization driven on informality and information, one that is bottom-heavy rather than strangled by top-level management.</p>
<p>On 21 September 2006, Branson pledged to invest the profits of Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Trains in research for environmentally friendly fuels. The investment is estimated to be worth $3 billion.</p>
<p>On 4 July 2006, Branson sold his Virgin Mobile company to UK cable TV, broadband, and telephone company NTL/NTL:Telewest for almost £1 billion. As part of the sale, the company pays a minimum of £8.5 million per year to use the Virgin name and Branson became the company&#8217;s largest shareholder.[citation needed] The new company was launched with much fanfare and publicity on 8 February 2007, under the name Virgin Media. The decision to merge his Virgin Media Company with NTL was in order to integrate both of the companies&#8217; compatible parts of commerce. Branson used to own three quarters of Virgin Mobile, whereas now he owns 15 percent of the new Virgin Media company.</p>
<p>In 2006, Branson formed Virgin Comics and Virgin Animation an entertainment company focussed on creating new stories and characters for a global audience. The Company was founded with author Deepak Chopra, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur and entrepreneurs Sharad Devarajan and Gotham Chopra.</p>
<p>Branson also launched the Virgin Health Bank on 1 February 2007, offering parents-to-be the opportunity of storing their baby&#8217;s umbilical cord blood stem cells in private and public stem cell banks after their baby&#8217;s birth.</p>
<p>In June 2006, a tip-off from Virgin Atlantic led US and UK competition authorities to investigate price-fixing attempts between Virgin Atlantic and British Airways. In August 2007, British Airways was fined £271 million over the allegations. Virgin Atlantic was given immunity for tipping off the authorities and received no fine - a controversial decision the Office of Fair Trading defended as being in the public interest.</p>
<p>On 9 February 2007, Branson announced the setting up of a new Global science and technology prize—The Virgin Earth Challenge—in the belief that history has shown that prizes of this nature encourage technological advancements for the good of mankind. The Virgin Earth Challenge will award $25 million to the individual or group who are able to demonstrate a commercially viable design which will result in the net removal of anthropogenic, atmospheric greenhouse gases each year for at least ten years without countervailing harmful effects. This removal must have long term effects and contribute materially to the stability of the Earth&#8217;s climate.</p>
<p>Branson also announced that he would be joined in the adjudication of the Prize by a panel of five judges, all world authorities in their respective fields: Al Gore, Sir Crispin Tickell, Tim Flannery, Jim Hansen and James Lovelock. The panel of judges will be assisted in their deliberations by The Climate Group and Special Advisor to The Virgin Earth Prize Judges, Steve Howard.</p>
<p>Richard Branson got involved with football when he sponsored Nuneaton Borough for their January 2006 FA Cup 3rd round game against Middlesbrough. The game ended 1-1 and the Virgin brand was also on Nuneaton Borough&#8217;s shirts for the replay which they eventually lost 2-5.</p>
<p>In August 2007, Branson announced that he bought a 20 percent stake in Malaysia&#8217;s AirAsia X.</p>
<p>On 13 October 2007, Branson&#8217;s Virgin Group sought to add Northern Rock to its empire after submitting an offer which would result in Branson personally owning 30% of the company, changing the company&#8217;s name from Northern Rock to Virgin Money. The Daily Mail ran a campaign against his bid and Liberal Democrats&#8217; financial spokesperson Vince Cable suggested in the House of Commons that Branson&#8217;s criminal conviction for tax evasion might be felt by some as a good enough reason not to trust him with public money. [16]</p>
<p>On 10 January 2008, Branson&#8217;s Virgin Healthcare announced that it would open a chain of health care clinics that would offer conventional medical care alongside homeopathic and complementary therapies.[17] The Financial Times reported that Ben Bradshaw, UK&#8217;s health minister, welcomed the launch. &#8220;I am pleased that Virgin Healthcare is proposing to work with GPs to help develop more integrated services for patients.&#8221;</p>
<p><strong>Humanitarian initiatives</strong></p>
<p>In the late 1990s, Branson and musician and activist Peter Gabriel discussed with Nelson Mandela their idea of a small, dedicated group of leaders, working objectively and without any vested personal interest to solve difficult global conflicts.</p>
<p>On 18 July 2007, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Nelson Mandela announced the formation of a new group, The Elders, in a speech he delivered on the occasion of his 89th birthday. The founding members of this group are Desmond Tutu, Graça Machel, Kofi Annan, Ela Bhatt, Gro Harlem Brundtland, Jimmy Carter, Li Zhaoxing, Mary Robinson, and Muhammad Yunus.</p>
<p>The Elders will be independently funded by a group of &#8220;Founders&#8221;, including Branson and Gabriel.</p>
<p>Desmond Tutu serves as the chair of The Elders—who will use their collective skills to catalyze peaceful resolutions to long-standing conflicts, articulate new approaches to global issues that are causing or may cause immense human suffering, and share wisdom by helping to connect voices all over the world. They will work together over the next several months to carefully consider which specific issues they will approach.</p>
<p>In September 2007, Richard Branson chaired the jury of the first Picnic Green Challenge, a €500.000 award for best new green initiative, set up by the Dutch Postcode Lottery and the PICNIC Network of creative professionals. The first Green Challenge was won by Qurrent with the Qbox.</p>
<p>In March 2008, Richard Branson hosted an environmental gathering at his private island, Necker Island, in the Caribbean with several prominent entrepreneurs, celebrities, and world leaders. They discussed global warming-related problems facing the world, hoping that this meeting will be a precursor to many more future discussions regarding similar problems. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales, and Larry Page of Google were in attendance.</p>
<p><strong>World record attempts</strong></p>
<p>A 1998 attempt at an around-the-world balloon flight by Branson, Fossett, and Lindstrand ends in the Pacific Ocean on 25 December 1998.</p>
<p>Richard Branson made several world record-breaking attempts after 1985, when in the spirit of the Blue Riband he attempted the fastest Atlantic Ocean crossing. His first attempt in the &#8220;Virgin Atlantic Challenger&#8221; led to the boat capsizing in British waters and a rescue by RAF helicopter, which received wide media coverage. Some newspapers called for Branson to reimburse the government for the rescue cost. In 1986, in his &#8220;Virgin Atlantic Challenger II&#8221;, with sailing expert Daniel McCarthy, he beat the record by two hours. A year later his hot air balloon &#8220;Virgin Atlantic Flyer&#8221; crossed the Atlantic. This was the largest balloon at 2.3 million cubic feet (65,000 m³), and the first hot-air balloon crossing the Atlantic. It reached 130 miles per hour (209 km/h).</p>
<p>In January 1991, Branson crossed the Pacific from Japan to Arctic Canada, 6,700 miles (10,800 km), in a balloon of 2,600,000 cubic feet (74,000 m3). This broke the record, with a speed of 245 miles per hour (394 km/h).</p>
<p>Between 1995 and 1998 Branson, Per Lindstrand and Steve Fossett made attempts to circumnavigate the globe by balloon. In late 1998 they made a record-breaking flight from Morocco to Hawaii but were unable to complete a global flight before Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones in Breitling Orbiter in March 1999.</p>
<p>In March 2004, Branson set a record by travelling from Dover to Calais in a Gibbs Aquada, in 1 hour, 40 minutes, and 6 seconds, the fastest crossing of the English Channel in an amphibious vehicle. The previous record of six hours was set by two Frenchmen.</p>
<p>In September 2008 Branson and his children made an unsuccessful attempt at an Eastbound record crossing of the Atlantic ocean under sail in the 99 feet (30 m) sloop Virgin Money .  The boat, also known as Speedboat, is owned by NYYC member Alex Jackson, who was a co-skipper on this passage, with Branson and Mike Sanderson. After 2 days, 4 hours, winds of force 7 to 9 (strong gale), and seas of 40 feet (12 m), a &#8216;monster wave&#8217; destroyed the spinnaker, washed a ten-man life raft overboard and severely ripped the mainsail. She eventually continued to St. George&#8217;s, Bermuda.</p>
<p><strong>Television, film, and print</strong></p>
<p>Branson at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival.</p>
<p>Branson has guest starred, usually playing himself, on several television shows, including Friends, Baywatch, Birds of a Feather, Only Fools and Horses, The Day Today, a special episode of the comedy Goodness Gracious Me and Tripping Over. Branson made several appearances during the nineties on the BBC Saturday morning show Live &amp; Kicking, where he was referred to as &#8216;the pickle man&#8217; by comedy act Trev and Simon (in reference to Branston Pickle).[23] Branson also appears in a cameo early in XTC&#8217;s &#8220;Generals and Majors&#8221; video.</p>
<p>He was also the star of a reality television show on Fox called The Rebel Billionaire (2004), in which sixteen contestants were tested for their entrepreneurship and sense of adventure. It did not succeed as a rival show to Donald Trump&#8217;s The Apprentice and only lasted one season.</p>
<p>His high public profile often leaves him open as a figure of satire—the 2000 AD series Zenith features a parody of Branson as a super villain, as the comic&#8217;s publisher and favoured distributor and the Virgin group were in competition at the time. He is also caricatured in The Simpsons episode &#8220;Monty Can&#8217;t Buy Me Love&#8221; as the tycoon Arthur Fortune, and as the ballooning megalomaniac Richard Chutney (a pun on Branson, as in Branston Pickle) in Believe Nothing. The character Grandson Richard 39 in Terry Pratchett&#8217;s Wings is modeled on Branson.</p>
<p>He has a cameo appearance in several films: Around the World in 80 Days (2004), where he played a hot-air balloon operator; Superman Returns, where he was credited as a &#8216;Shuttle Engineer&#8217; and appeared alongside his son, Sam, with a Virgin Galactic-style commercial suborbital shuttle at the centre of his storyline. He also has a cameo in the James Bond film Casino Royale. Here, he is seen as a passenger going through Miami Airport security check-in and being frisked – several Virgin Atlantic planes appear soon after.</p>
<p>He makes a number of brief and disjointed appearances in the cult classic documentary Derek and Clive Get the Horn which follows the exploits of Peter Cook and Dudley Moore recording their last comedy album. Branson and his mother were also featured in the documentary film, Lemonade Stories. In early 2006 on Rove Live, Rove McManus and Sir Richard pushed each other into a swimming pool fully clothed live on TV during a &#8220;Live at your house&#8221; episode.</p>
<p>Branson is a Star Trek fan and named his new spaceship VSS Enterprise in honour of the famous Star Trek ships, and in 2006, offered actor William Shatner a free ride on the inaugural space launch of Virgin Galactic.</p>
<p>In August 2007, Branson announced on The Colbert Report that he had named a new aircraft Air Colbert. He later doused political satirist and talk show host Stephen Colbert with water from his mug. Branson subsequently took a retaliatory splash from Colbert. The interview quickly ended, with both laughing[24] as shown on the episode aired on Comedy Central on 22 August 2007. The interview was promoted on The Report as the Colbert-Branson Interview Trainwreck. Branson then made a cameo appearance on The Soup playing an intern working under Joel McHale who had been warned against getting into water fights with Stephen Colbert, and being subsequently fired.</p>
<p>In March 2008 he made a small appearance in a budget Bollywood action film alongside Neha Dhupia. Branson caused a stir in the Indian media as he turned Dhupia upside down on a stage.</p>
<p><strong>Politics</strong></p>
<p>Branson was knighted in 1999 for &#8220;services to entrepreneurship&#8221; and presented as a millennium icon. In the 1980s, he was briefly given the post of &#8220;litter tsar&#8221; by Margaret Thatcher—charged with &#8220;keeping Britain tidy&#8221;. He was again seen as close to the government when the Labour Party came to power in 1997.[citation needed] In 2005 he declared that there were only negligible differences between the two main parties on economic matters.[28] He has frequently been mentioned as a candidate for Mayor of London, and polls have suggested he would be a viable candidate, though he has yet to express interest.</p>
<p><strong>Business practices</strong></p>
<p>Branson&#8217;s business empire is owned by a complicated series of offshore trusts and companies. The Sunday Times stated that his wealth is calculated at £3.065 billion; if he were to retire to his Caribbean island and liquidate all of this he would pay relatively little in tax.</p>
<p>When Virgin Mobile launched its service in Canada on 1 March, 2005, the use of &#8220;naughty nurses&#8221; in its advertising triggered &#8220;The Registered Nurses Association of Ontario&#8221; to demand an apology from Branson and an immediate stop to the campaign, and called on members to boycott Virgin Mobile. Virgin Mobile spokeswoman Paula Lash said the company never intended to offend anyone, but was not about to pull the advertising.</p>
<p>When Virgin Mobile included &#8220;super hot holiday&#8221; wrapping paper with the December 2005 issue of youth magazine Vice, as part of the Hot Box promotion, the wrapping paper contained illustrated holiday angels, where the male angel is touching the female&#8217;s breast, while the female angel has her hand on the male&#8217;s genitals.[35] Famous Players stopped its partnership deals with Virgin Mobile after a complaint.</p>
<p>In 1988, Branson wanted to buy Virgin Music back for the same amount of money, per share, that he had sold it for, valuing the company at £248m. The shareholders agreed, although they were unaware that Branson had already agreed to sell the same shares to Pony Canyon, a Japanese media company, for £377m. The incident was revealed in 2000 when Branson was on the verge of winning the franchise for the National Lottery from Camelot Group.</p>
<p>Recently regarding his business practices, Branson has written a book called Business Stripped Bare in which he highlights his experience with Virgin and provides valuable tips for budding entrepreneurs.</p>
<p><strong>Honours</strong></p>
<p>In 1993, Branson was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Technology from Loughborough University.</p>
<p>He was knighted in 1999 for his &#8220;services to entrepreneurship&#8221;.</p>
<p>Branson is the patron of several charities, including the International Rescue Corps and Prisoners Abroad, a registered charity which supports Britons who are detained outside of the UK.<br />
<script type="text/javascript"><!--
google_ad_client = "pub-9105825442127410";
/* 336x280, created 12/7/08 */
google_ad_slot = "8967421808";
google_ad_width = 336;
google_ad_height = 280;
// --></script><br />
<script src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js" type="text/javascript"></script><br />
Sir Richard appears at No. 85 on the 2002 list of &#8220;100 Greatest Britons&#8221; (sponsored by the BBC and voted for by the public). Sir Richard also ranks No. 86 on Channel 4&#8217;s 2003 list of &#8220;100 Worst Britons&#8221;. Sir Richard was also ranked in 2007&#8217;s Time Magazine &#8220;Top 100 Most Influential People in the World&#8221;.</p>
<p>On 7 December 2007, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon presented Branson with the United Nations Correspondents Association Citizen of the World Award for his support for environmental and humanitarian causes.</p>
<p>Bio courtesy: <a href="http://www.wikipedia.com/">Wikipedia</a></p>
<p><strong>On Twitter</strong></p>
<p>Follow Sir Richard on Twitter @ <a href="http://twitter.com/RichardBranson" target="_blank">http://twitter.com/RichardBranson</a></p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://dailyfollow.com/2008/12/07/sir-richard-branson-is-on-twitter/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<feedburner:origLink>http://dailyfollow.com/2008/12/07/sir-richard-branson-is-on-twitter/</feedburner:origLink></item>
		<item>
		<title>Luke Wilson is on Twitter</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDailyFollow/~3/KX_Cxf8uU-s/</link>
		<comments>http://dailyfollow.com/2008/12/07/luke-wilson-is-on-twitter/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 07 Dec 2008 23:18:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Adam Boettiger</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[New Additions]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[actors]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[celebrities]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dailyfollow.com/?p=135</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
Luke Wilson&#8217;s film acting career began with the lead role in the film Bottle Rocket in 1994, which was co-written by Wilson&#8217;s older brother Owen and director Wes Anderson. Bottle Rocket was later made into a feature-length film in 1996. After moving to Hollywood with his two brothers, he was cast opposite Calista Flockhart with [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft" title="Luke Wilson" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/twitter_production/profile_images/62079914/luke2.jpg" alt="" width="191" height="240" /></p>
<p>Luke Wilson&#8217;s film acting career began with the lead role in the film Bottle Rocket in 1994, which was co-written by Wilson&#8217;s older brother Owen and director Wes Anderson. Bottle Rocket was later made into a feature-length film in 1996. After moving to Hollywood with his two brothers, he was cast opposite Calista Flockhart with romantic designs in Telling Lies in America and made a cameo appearance in the film-within-the-film of Scream 2 (both 1997). Wilson filmed back-to-back romantic films opposite Drew Barrymore, Best Men, about a group of friends who pull off a heist on their way to a wedding, and Home Fries (both 1998), about two brothers interested in the same woman for very different reasons. (Off-screen, the actor won the girl; he and Barrymore became a couple, but parted ways in 1998.) Wilson remained in demand, playing the doctor beau of a schoolteacher in Rushmore (also 1998), directed by Anderson and co-written by brother Owen.</p>
<p>A starring role opposite Reese Witherspoon in the 2001 comedy Legally Blonde elevated him to a major name in Hollywood and was followed up by hits like Old School and The Royal Tenenbaums. Wilson also made a notable role in the television show That &#8217;70s Show, as Michael Kelso&#8217;s charming and athletic brother Casey Kelso. He appeared sporadically on the show from 2002 through 2005.</p>
<p>In 2006, Wilson starred in Idiocracy, Mike Judge&#8217;s first film since 1999&#8217;s Office Space. Wilson portrayed an especially ordinary serviceman who is chosen for a cryogenics project. He awakes hundreds of years in the future where America is significantly less intelligent. The film was initially dropped by Fox Studios, but re-distributed in 2006. Wilson expressed his sentiments towards Fox&#8217;s move as &#8220;total bullshit&#8221;.<br />
<script type="text/javascript"><!--
google_ad_client = "pub-9105825442127410";
/* 336x280, created 12/7/08 */
google_ad_slot = "8967421808";
google_ad_width = 336;
google_ad_height = 280;
//-->
</script><br />
<script type="text/javascript"
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
</script><br />
In early 2007 Luke took on a more serious role opposite Kate Beckinsale in the horror thriller Vacancy. In July 2007, he worked on Henry Poole is Here in La Mirada, California.</p>
<p>He is currently filming Tenure at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania (April 15, 2008).</p>
<p>Follow Luke on Twitter @ <a href="http://twitter.com/LukeWilson" target="_blank">http://twitter.com/LukeWilson</a></p>
<p style="border:thin dotted black; padding:3mm;"><a href="http://dailyfollow.com/subscribe">Join our email list</a> to receive a regular digest of thought leaders to follow, by topic and to be alerted when new content is added to this site. Your privacy is assured.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://dailyfollow.com/2008/12/07/luke-wilson-is-on-twitter/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<feedburner:origLink>http://dailyfollow.com/2008/12/07/luke-wilson-is-on-twitter/</feedburner:origLink></item>
		<item>
		<title>John Battelle</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDailyFollow/~3/M0e05XJMJX4/</link>
		<comments>http://dailyfollow.com/2008/12/05/john-battelle/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 06 Dec 2008 06:53:53 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Adam Boettiger</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[New Additions]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[authors]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[entrepreneurs]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[really smart people]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[search marketing]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dailyfollow.com/?p=115</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[
John Battelle, Founder/Chairman/CEO, Federated Media   
John Battelle is an entrepreneur, journalist, professor, and author who has founded or co-founded businesses, magazines and websites. Formerly a professor at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, Battelle, 42, is also a founder and Executive Producer of the Web 2.0 conferences and &#8220;band manager&#8221; with [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft" title="John Battelle" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/twitter_production/profile_images/63067504/twitpicjbat.png" alt="" width="182" height="162" /></p>
<div><strong>John Battelle, Founder/Chairman/CEO, Federated Media</strong>   </p>
<p>John Battelle is an entrepreneur, journalist, professor, and author who has founded or co-founded businesses, magazines and websites. Formerly a professor at the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California, Berkeley, Battelle, 42, is also a founder and Executive Producer of the Web 2.0 conferences and &#8220;band manager&#8221; with BoingBoing.net.</p>
<p>Previously, Battelle was founder, Chairman, and CEO of Standard Media International (SMI), publisher of The Industry Standard and TheStandard.com. Prior to founding The Standard, Battelle was a co-founding editor of Wired magazine and Wired Ventures. Before Wired, Battelle worked at the Los Angeles Times and MacWeek, a unit of Ziff Davis. John is currently CEO and Chairman of Federated Media.</p>
<p>In 2005-6, Battelle wrote The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture (Penguin/Portfolio), an international bestseller published in 26 languages. He maintains Searchblog, a daily site covering the intersection of media, technology and the internet at www.battellemedia.com.</p>
<p><script type="text/javascript"><!--
google_ad_client = "pub-9105825442127410";
/* 336x280, created 12/7/08 */
google_ad_slot = "8967421808";
google_ad_width = 336;
google_ad_height = 280;
//-->
</script><br />
<script type="text/javascript"
src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js">
</script></p>
<p>Battelle was a founding Board member of the Online Publishers Association and sits on the board of the Interactive Advertising Bureau, as well as the Board of his children&#8217;s school.</p>
<p>Battelle has been named a &#8220;Global Leader for Tomorrow&#8221; and &#8220;Young Global Leader&#8221; by the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He was a finalist in the &#8220;Entrepreneur of the Year&#8221; competition by Ernst &amp; Young and has recently been named an &#8220;Innovator,&#8221; one of ten best marketers in the business, by Advertising Age and one the the &#8220;Most Important People on The Web&#8221; by PCWorld. He holds a bachelor&#8217;s and a master&#8217;s degree from the University of California, Berkeley.</p>
<p>Follow John on Twitter @ <a href="http://twitter.com/johnbattelle" target="_blank">http://twitter.com/johnbattelle</a><br />
 </div>
<p style="border:thin dotted black; padding:3mm;"><a href="http://dailyfollow.com/subscribe">Join our email list</a> to receive a regular digest of thought leaders to follow, by topic and to be alerted when new content is added to this site. Your privacy is assured.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://dailyfollow.com/2008/12/05/john-battelle/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<feedburner:origLink>http://dailyfollow.com/2008/12/05/john-battelle/</feedburner:origLink></item>
		<item>
		<title>Ford is on Twitter.</title>
		<link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheDailyFollow/~3/I9WHS4WG6QY/</link>
		<comments>http://dailyfollow.com/2008/12/04/ford-is-on-twitter/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 05 Dec 2008 06:11:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Adam Boettiger</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[Uncategorized]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[automotive]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[big brands]]></category>

		<category><![CDATA[trucks to go muddin' in]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://dailyfollow.com/?p=80</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Scott Monty is head of social media at Ford. With over 5,000 followers and over 7,600 updates under his belt, Scott is the epitome of how Big Brand should listen to and engage in conversation with their customers.
Now, if Scott&#8217;s account had been established at the beginning of the Big Three senate bailout hearings, of [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img class="alignleft" title="Ford" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/twitter_production/profile_images/60401607/ScottMonty_twitter.jpg" alt="" width="166" height="167" /><strong>Scott Monty</strong> is head of social media at <a href="http://www.ford.com/" target="_blank">Ford</a>. With over 5,000 followers and over 7,600 updates under his belt, Scott is the epitome of how Big Brand should <em>listen to</em> and <em>engage in conversation with</em> their customers.</p>
<p>Now, if Scott&#8217;s account had been established at the beginning of the Big Three senate bailout hearings, of course we&#8217;d be a tad suspicious of Ford&#8217;s motives. But there&#8217;s just no way that Scott could possibly post 7,600 updates in just a few short weeks, so it&#8217;s pretty clear to us that Scott&#8217;s been at it for a while and that yeah, Ford &#8220;gets&#8221; social media and understands both the brand intelligence value of having an ear to customers&#8217; conversations as well as having a voice.</p>
<p>For bonus points, Ford also has their Customer Service department on Twitter. Kudos to Ford for being a traditional brand and recognizing the value that social media brings to their business and their customers.</p>
<p>Follow Scott (and Ford) on Twitter @ <a href="http://twitter.com/ScottMonty" target="_blank">http://twitter.com/ScottMonty</a></p>
<p>Follow Ford Customer Service on Twitter @ <a href="http://twitter.com/FordCustService" target="_blank">http://twitter.com/FordCustService</a></p>
<p><em>EDITOR&#8217;S NOTE: GM and Chevrolet are also on Twitter. We will feature them as soon as we receive a <a href="http://dailyfollow.com/submission">Profile Submission</a> from them. - Adam</em></p>
<p style="border:thin dotted black; padding:3mm;"><a href="http://dailyfollow.com/subscribe">Join our email list</a> to receive a regular digest of thought leaders to follow, by topic and to be alerted when new content is added to this site. Your privacy is assured.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
			<wfw:commentRss>http://dailyfollow.com/2008/12/04/ford-is-on-twitter/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<feedburner:origLink>http://dailyfollow.com/2008/12/04/ford-is-on-twitter/</feedburner:origLink></item>
	</channel>
</rss>
