Hollywood award season officially kicked off with the Golden Globes on Sunday night.  Not surprisingly, one of the biggest winners of the night was The Social Network, taking home the awards for Best Motion Picture – Drama, Best Director and Best Screenplay.  There is no denying the influential role social networking plays in our lives.  Does this tactic figure prominently in your 2011 marketing plan?

Although celebrities make for dazzling red carpet fare at awards shows, their star power does not necessarily correspond to a more valuable advertisement.  A new study found that celebrities are not as influential as many think.  In 2010, advertisements that featured celebrities were not any more effective than ads sans celebrity in the same categories.  This is something to consider carefully in these budget-conscious times.

Wish you could liven up your workout with a run through the streets of Paris or along the Pacific Coast Highway?  Thanks to a Panasonic Viera Connect HDTV which connects to a NordicTrack treadmill, you can.  The screen displays Google Maps and communicates inclinations of hills and valleys to the treadmill.  Anyone want to go for a jog in the Alps?

Internet monitoring service Pingdom released staggering statistics about online usage in 2010. Among the most interesting: 107 trillion emails were sent, there are 1.97 billion Internet users worldwide, and, as of December, there were 255 million websites.  Standing out in an increasingly crowded field of communication will likely only become more difficult in the years ahead.

The 21st century science fair is going well beyond aspiring young scientists erupting volcanoes and launching rockets.  Google is taking entries for its first online, global science fair, in which students are encouraged to submit creative science projects for a chance to win a trip to The Galápagos Islands.  One entry already submitted is a robot designed to work in hospitals.

Twenty-first century jewelry is also getting an ultra-modern twist.  Tweet Rings lets you cherish your favorite tweet forever by carving it into a ring.  Perhaps this is the perfect gift for this couple who got engaged on Groupon.

Are frequent intra-day trips to Starbucks becoming a grind?  Today is your lucky day as the coffee powerhouse released a 31-ounce “Trenta” cup for its iced beverages.  With a typical cup  holding just eight ounces, this amounts to just shy of four cups of coffee.

And finally, as a big fan of the innovation and vision of Apple CEO Steve Jobs, I wish him a speedy return following this most recently announced indefinite medical leave of absence.