"forum" news and stories

So, I've gotta hand it to Starbucks. Its new site, My Starbucks Idea, is actually...well, a good idea. You sign up and simply type in a suggestion that you think the coffee chain should adopt, and post it to the site. You can also view others' advice, and vote on ones you think are worthwhile.

Then - and this is the kicker - someone from the corporation actually reads the ideas and even puts some of them into practice. Several of the ideas on the site are currently "under review," like the suggestions for implementing frequent buyer punch cards, or for implementing free Wifi access in every store (obviously, many city locations already have WiFi service).

I'm also surprised at the quality of the suggestions. Though I'd imagine that the site is highly monitored to eliminate the crazies (or, for that matter, Starbucks haters), many of the responses are actually decent and well thought-out. And some, on the other hand, are flat-out hilarious: one poster calls Starbucks' music "pseudo-intellectual," "over-produced" and "noisy garbage," while another requests that the music in his local store be turned down, so that when he's "making a business call, it doesn't sound like I'm calling from a public place." Um...isn't that what your home and office are for?

Hmm...so I guess suggesting "STOP EXPANDING YOUR CHAIN!" would probably get flagged, huh? Just a thought.

Are you looking for a good resource on diets and dieting information? Diet Television, which is a website, unlike the name suggests, launched this week and it offers "unbiased opinions from experts and from people just like you" on more than 47 different diets. Best of all, the site is completely free.

It was founded by some of the executives from the online shopping site Bluefly who wanted to build a community where people could support each other and get access to nutritionists, fitness experts, technology gurus and human behavioral specialists. Perhaps most importantly, the creators of the site admit that with all the diet-knowledge that they themselves have accumulated, they don't have a favorite diet, so the user-oriented site has no agenda besides helping you get healthy, lose those holiday pounds, or just answer any random questions you might have about a given diet or food. To start out, try the diet finder to identify your best match based on your likes, dislikes and goals.

The site is only in the first phase of its launch right now and there is more to come starting in 2007, so take a look at what they have to offer, but don't forget to try it again for a send helping in a couple of months.

[Thanks, Elise!]

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We posted about Pho Fever around this time last year, and appears that since then the pho site has added a forum where fans can discuss that ambrosial mixture of beef, broth, noodles and herbs. The forum isn't exactly booming, but there are about 50 users, and a healthy banter about pho recipes. With any luck, more people will check it out and share their thoughts. The site also has a sparsely updated pho blog, but for my pho blogging needs, I think I'll stick with the slightly more current Pho King.

Apparently, Viacom International Inc., which owns MTV and produces the TV show Pimp My Ride, owns a trademark that covers the use of not only the phrase "pimp my ride" but of "pimp my." As such, they requested that the fantastic snack site formerly known as Pimp My Snack change its name. Without admitting any liability or other intentional wrongdoing, the snack-pimping gang changed the name so that their pimping could continue unimpeded. They can now be found at Pimp That Snack.

If you haven't seen the site before, they take normal snacks and reproduce them in huge (and delicious) proportions. We mentioned them back at Easter, but here are a few looks at what they've been up to recently. Be warned that you may have a strong desire to pimp snacks after hanging around the site:

 

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If you're going to Thailand anytime in the near future, or if you just want to seem like less of a jackass the next time you go out to a Thai restaurant, have a look at this "talking menu" of Thai food. Just what it sounds like, this is a list of popular Thai dishes accompanied by audio clips of their names. The guide is part of EnjoyThaiFood.com, an extensive blog and recipe resource for Thai cooking and foodways. The recipes look authentic and simple and the Thai food forum seems pretty active.