I was so excited to discover that a new site had been created allowing users to chat with people from around the world. MeGlobe is a new platform where users can chat in 15 different languages (French, Italian, Spanish, etc.) and benefit from a real-time electronic translator that facilitates conversations between people who don’t speak the same language.

What a great way to meet new people and practice my French or learn some Portuguese, right? Wrong. I thought my flash was not up-to-date or maybe my browser was the reason I kept getting an error message or white screen. But, no. After many updates and no luck I had a look at the MeGlobe forum. Result: in its short existence creators have been trying to fix many a bug. I’m looking forward to seeing the results…

Photo credit: MeGlobe.com

There is only so much criticism you can take when it comes to something you love, no matter if it’s only about your haircut or about something important like your religion or your country. (OK, I admit that sometimes haircuts can be important, too.) Anyway, the Chinese have apparently had enough of critical Western media coverage and boycotts in the run-up to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. So when someone had the idea to put a heart and “China” beside their MSN chat icon, this person somehow unleashed a wave of patriotism. Literally millions of Chinese have by now adopted this symbol to pledge allegiance to their home country!

We all know that love and rational thinking may not always be the best of friends, so I will not question the (non)political rationale behind this amazing chain reaction. But isn’t it an incredible, fun gesture? Imagine doing that for your country because the Asian press had criticized your over-meticulous German way of organising the football world championships! I somehow don’t see people waving “I love Europe“ flags in the streets of London or Berlin… We still have a long way to go until a true European patriotism becomes reality.

PS: Now we are only waiting for our Chinese colleague Shu to start the same avalanche on Skype, our favourite internal communication tool (yes, working for BuzzParadise does have its advantages!)… Personally I would still be more apt to put “I love Luxembourg” though. Despite the weather.

Image credit: info.msn.com.cn

Already heard of Twitter? What the hell does that mean? Here is a short instructive video “in plain english” of what it is and what we can get out of it