Another buzz-filled month has passed and it’s time for our second blogbuzzter:

• MSN loves China: Chinese patriots found an unusual way of responding to the anti-China hype in Western media about the Olympic torch relay and the Tibet conflict by demonstrating their love of their country on MSN.

• Greenpeace Onslaughter: The conservation organisation beat Dove at their own game by alluding to the brand’s video and putting a sensitive subject on the agenda: the use of palm oil in cosmetics.

• Kobe Bryant: The basketball star’s unrealistic jump over an Aston Martin left many people baffled. Guys, of course it’s a fake - Kobe would never risk his health and career for an ad!

• April fool’s jokes: There were plenty of them, and many excellent ones. We especially loved Google’s fake project “Virgle” and the punch-in-the-face service…

• The exotic buzz of the month: You know American Idol? In France this programme is called La nouvelle star and it is just as hilarious sometimes. Cindy Sander for example did not give up when she had to leave the show and released a song called Papillon de Lumière (Butterfly of light, ehemm…) – and France has been laughing ever since.

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