Ever hear of a coffee artist? I hadn’t, but now that I’ve seen of one at work, I’m in awe. What a great treat for a high-level meeting or executive retreat.

That’s how this AP article says the next generation view e-mail, anyway. They’d rather text message than e-mail, and in fact don’t check their e-mail very often (which, compulsive e-mailer that I am, is incomprehensible). While they still do use it for some things, IM is the way to go to connect with the younger crowd. Does this spell the end to e-mail marketing for meetings? I doubt it. But if you want to make sure your younger folks get the message, IM them. Or, even more radical, give them a call.

I know meeting planners tend to like to have control over every detail, but the Beijing 2008 Olympics organizers are really going wild. According to Reuters:

In an attempt to ensure food safety during the 2008 Olympics, Beijing is to give every cabbage, carrot and pea pod its own identity number and file, the Beijing News reported on Wednesday.

However, it continues, “The report made no mention of fruit.”

While it’s unclear from the video exactly how German chancellor Merkel took U.S. President Bush’s brief shoulder massage at the G8 Summit (some of the snarkier members of the blogosphere are calling it a Vulcan nerve pinch), most agree that it was a bit of a cultural gaffe.

To avoid making a similar mistake, here’s a country-by-country guide to the basics of each country’s etiquette. Culturosity also has some good articles on the topic, and Simone at Something Extra often posts thought-provoking cross-cultural information (here’s a link to her collection of cross-cultural posts).