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Almost nonstop, the uncensored opinions of Chinese citizens are popping up online, sent by text and instant message across a country shaken by its worst earthquake in three decades. "Why were most of those killed in the earthquake children?" one post asked Thursday on FanFou, a microblogging site. "How many donations will really reach the disaster area? This is doubtful," read another. China is now home to the world's largest number of Internet and mobile phone users, and their hunger for quake news is forcing the government to let information flow in ways it hasn't before.

It must have been a chilly week in hell last week, because the unthinkable appears to have happened: A Windows PC has been announced that will be cheaper than a Linux one. That's right, folks: The Windows XP version of the Asus Eee PC 900 will sell for $599 in Australia, while the Linux version will cost $649, according to APC Magazine. Should we expect pigs to take to the air at any moment? Have we entered the Twilight Zone? Or is there something more to this than meets the eye? The Linux blogs were abuzz with debate and speculation.

Much ink has been spilled about what, exactly, has been the secret of Barack Obama's overwhelming success. There is no denying his charisma or the appeal of his message, but a behind-the-scenes look at how his political machine operates -- namely, how it empowers its people on the ground to operate -- is worth a look as well. One interesting place to start -- for those of us in the CRM industry -- is Obama's implementation of RightNow Technologies' software.

You would think, based on blogosphere chatter, that Starbucks invented Web 2.0. The company's introduction of My Starbucks Idea last month has inspired numerous bloggers -- some who make it their business to follow Web 2.0, some who could care less about the space -- to post about the new site. Basically, My Starbucks Idea lets users post suggestions on how to improve Starbucks; others in the community then vote on the ideas and rank them.

Having your customers comment on your policies, products or employment practices is one thing. Having them suggest ideas for improving said policies and products -- in a public forum where participants can vote on these ideas, no less -- is an entirely different matter. How well a company can handle customer participation in its business -- beyond, that is, spending their money to purchase its products -- is unclear. Few companies have actually put in place Web sites where customers can log on and advise the management what to do, said blogger Mack Collier.

Having your customers comment on your policies, products or employment practices is one thing. Having them suggest ideas for improving said policies and products -- in a public forum where participants can vote on these ideas, no less -- is an entirely different matter. How well a company can handle customer participation in its business -- beyond, that is, spending their money to purchase its products -- is unclear. Few companies have actually put in place Web sites where customers can log on and advise the management what to do, said blogger Mack Collier.

Having your customers comment on your policies, products or employment practices is one thing. Having them suggest ideas for improving said policies and products -- in a public forum where participants can vote on these ideas, no less -- is an entirely different matter. How well a company can handle customer participation in its business -- beyond, that is, spending their money to purchase its products -- is unclear. Few companies have actually put in place Web sites where customers can log on and advise the management what to do, said blogger Mack Collier.

Bloggers -- especially those whose traffic volumes can rival a minor newspaper's -- are getting used to the royal treatment. Consumer electronic vendors, hotels, auto manufacturers -- heck, even politicians -- are reaching out to the people who have made it their avocation to blog about them. Everywhere, it would seem, except in the CRM industry. Vendors have typically ignored the bloggers who cover the CRM space. That changed a few weeks ago, though, when Oracle gave a group prebriefing to CRM bloggers about its On Demand version 15.

The International Olympic Committee reportedly has ruled that competing athletes will be allowed to blog from the Beijing Olympic Games this summer. This is certainly a positive step, but not enough, according to experts who insist that blogging has a rightful place at any major political or sporting event. The IOC's blessing on blogging does come with limits. Blogging reportedly will be permitted during the Olympic Games, as long as the athletes keep their reflections, observations or photographs outside standard reportage of Olympic events.

If you haven't already heard, the U.S. government is going digital. Exhibit A: President Bush submitted his 2009 budget proposal to Congress electronically, and he held up a tablet PC for the photogs to illustrate just how tech-savvy he is. Whoa! Slow down there, you tech-savvier-than-thou leader of the free world looking to save the planet with PDFs. OK, so that's not exactly Web 2.0, but then there's Exhibit B: The TSA has started a blog called "Evolution of Security."