Trendwatching: Has there ever been more urgency for corporations to ditch the greed and embrace generosity?

It’s something that countless individuals have already started doing, of course: giving is the new taking, and sharing is the new giving.

And yes, we do realize that this month’s Trend Briefing is massive, but in this business climate, can you really afford not to spend some time figuring out how to get a little closer to your customers?

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Michael Hewitt Gleeson — On Sale!! « Speakers & Entertainers Blog
Michael Hewitt Gleeson — On Sale!! Internationally renowned speaker, Michael Hewitt Gleeson, is doing his bit to help businesses adapt and deal with the extraordinary economic times we’re experiencing. …

TIMES ONLINE: Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, is likely to be suffering from a recurrent cancer tumour of the pancreas or complications relating to his earlier surgery to deal with the disease, doctors said today.

Speculation is rife about the cause of the “hormone imbalance” that he says is forcing him to take a leave of absence from his role as head of the iconic technology firm.

But doctors said today that, given the length of time Mr Jobs is planning to take off, and his own opaque description of symptoms, persistent rumours that he has experienced a recurrence of cancer or could be facing surgery to remove his pancreas were the simplest explanations for his illness.

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What does your marketing program smell like?

If you have difficulty answering that question, you need to get up to speed on the powerful impact that’s possible by activating your customers’ olfactory nerves.

(Web-only marketers won’t have to worry about this yet, but retail marketers and even those who use print media, direct mail, and the like can read on.)

When it comes to smells, Gobe thinks every brand should have one. He points out the success of firms who incorporate scent into their branding approach to build a deeper emotional bond with the consumer.

Thomas Pink, a London-based shirt seller, scents its stores with “line-dried linen.” Even individual spaces, like sections of a department store or individual displays, may get a scent boost.

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Many countries, many cultures — all celebrating a year’s worth of milestones and memories. See what sorts of topics rose to the top this year in the different corners of the world.

“Fastest rising” means we looked at the most popular searches conducted for 11 months of 2008 (we compile this list by early December) and then ranked them based on how much their popularity increased compared to 2007. “Most popular” searches are ranked in order of the queries with the largest volume of searches for 2008.

What if your ideas or business ventures were presented in this way?

Just click, scroll down, read the blurb, start the video … and enjoy the learning.