FC Calendar

iDate Internet Dating Conference

Fast Company Calendar — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 12:28:47 -0500

This conference makes us think of those happy couples in the eHarmony ads (gag), but the side of Internet dating that most of us don't see is actually the most financially successful. The biggest casual-fling sites, such as Adult FriendFinder, each attract 20 million monthly visitors -- nearly quadruple the typical tally at a major relationship-focused site like eHarmony -- who shell out $30 a month to take part.

World Economic Forum Annual Meeting

Fast Company Calendar — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 12:27:37 -0500

Hello, home-court advantage! According to new data from the World Economic Forum, Switzerland -- which hosts the WEF's annual meeting -- has the most competitive economy in the world, besting the second-ranked United States, which had held the top spot since 2004. "The U.S. government has been spending beyond its means for a long time," says WEF senior economist Jennifer Blanke, "and the stimulus packages have only increased its debt." Blanke suggests that boosting the savings rate in the U.S. -- as has happened over the past year -- will help. But China, which comes in No.

Cattle Industry Annual Convention and Trade Show

Fast Company Calendar — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 12:25:51 -0500

Beef lovers, take note: The 6,000 ranchers at this bovine confab may not look like power brokers, but they're ultimately in charge of a $76 billion industry -- and the products that land on your plates. Lately, they worry, too little of it is Angus or Kobe (not that they're having a cow about it). "We've seen a lot of evidence that though people may have been holding off on fine dining lately, they're anxious to return as the economy strengthens," says Tom Field, executive director of producer education for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.

Sundance Film Festival

Fast Company Calendar — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 12:24:34 -0500

When the Sundance Film Festival started in 1985, it was rare for independent directors to have their films picked up by major studios. Not anymore, and in recent years the festival has acquired a more mainstream Hollywood vibe, complete with way too many Paris Hilton spottings. For the 2010 edition, the festival's organizers are returning to their humble roots with a new out-of-competition section called "Next," showcasing low- and no-budget feature films. Call it a redeclaration of independence.

National Pavement Expo

Fast Company Calendar — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 12:23:13 -0500

For the 2,000 attendees at this annual road show, the recession could have been one giant pothole. "When the economy goes bad, the guys who usually work on highways and state roads step down into the smaller pavement markets, so there's less work for the smaller businesses," says expo organizer Allan Heydorn. Thank goodness for federal stimulus funds, up to $30 billion of which are for road projects. "Some of those people who had stepped down are now going back to the roadwork," Heydorn reports.

American Idol Season 9

Fast Company Calendar — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 12:10:13 -0500

In its eighth season, the television juggernaut that is American Idol brought in an incredible $850 mil-lion in advertising revenue and attracted a Nielsen-topping 27 million viewers per episode. The bad news: Ad revenue was down more than 5% from season 7, and viewership was down 7%. As its ninth season debuts, Idol is swapping one brand of zany (Paula Abdul) for another (Ellen DeGeneres) in an attempt to regain some of its lost mojo. Will it work? Don't ask me. I'm still bitter about Adam Lambert. -- SS

Consumer Electronics Show

Fast Company Calendar — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:07:46 -0500

Every year, thousands of geeks gather in Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show, the world's largest consumer technology trade show. This year's keynote speakers feature regulars such as Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer and newcomers including Zhou Huajian, the chairman of Chinese consumer-electronics giant Hisense. But the real stars of CES are the gadgets. Last year, the Palm Pre became the first mobile device to take home the Best in Show prize.

BCS National Championship Game

Fast Company Calendar — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 12:05:07 -0500

America hates the Bowl Championship Series. Even its fans acknowledge that college football still doesn't have fair postseason matchups, and President Obama has called for an eight-team playoff, saying he's "fed up" with the BCS's computerized rankings system. But love it or hate it, one part of the system's value is undeniable: Last season, the BCS bowl games brought more than $1.2 billion in economic activity to the four host cities.

National Candy Cane Day

Fast Company Calendar — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 12:03:04 -0500

Sweet-toothed consumers will spend $214 million on candy canes this holiday season -- 2 billion of them in all. Sales are expected to be up 2% over last year -- growth that Dylan Lauren, founder of the New York sugar palace Dylan's Candy Bar, ascribes to the candy cane's consummate affordability. "People are thinking about every penny," she says. Confectioners are feeling the pinch, too, as sugar prices reach a 28-year high, the result of poor harvests in the world's two largest sugar producers, India (too little rain) and Brazil (too much).

10th Anniversary of Chinese Sovereignty in Macau

Fast Company Calendar — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 12:02:45 -0500

After nearly 500 years as a Portuguese colony, Macau returned to Chinese rule in 1999. The territory has always technically been connected to China -- it is, after all, primarily a peninsula -- but in other ways, the two are worlds apart. As the Chinese government says, it's "one country, two systems." Nowhere is this more apparent than in Macau's casinos, where gambling giants Las Vegas Sands and Wynn generate more than two-thirds of their worldwide revenues, up from zero a decade ago. A huge percentage of Macau's gaming tourists come from mainland China, where gambling is illegal.

National Regifting Day

Fast Company Calendar — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:00:12 -0500

Two points about regifting: First, if Jacqueline Onassis did it, how tacky could it be? In 1971, she gave her second husband, Aristotle Onassis, a watch once owned by JFK that had been a gift from a socialite couple. It was recently auctioned for more than $150,000. Second, regifting is smart, not just for your pocketbook but also for the earth. According to a survey by research firm Money Management International, the second-most-popular reason for regifting was a desire to recycle.

Avatar

Fast Company Calendar — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 11:59:59 -0500

According to Hollywood hype, James Cameron's Avatar -- a blockbuster tale pitting blue, loincloth-clad aliens against human invaders -- will kick-start the 3-D age of film. But if the Titanic director's sci-fi spectacular is going to make back its $200 million -- plus budget, his visual tricks had better look good in 2-D too. Today, only 9% of the world's 110,000 cinema screens are 3-D enabled, according to a recent Dodona Research report.

World Anti-Aging Congress

Fast Company Calendar — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 11:58:34 -0500

With 77 million boomers marching toward early-bird specials and Viagra-fueled nights, the anti-aging business is ... booming. But let's look past the (wrinkle-free) surface of the $56 billion industry: The real growth has been in bolstering the deteriorating insides of the aging. Soaring sales of an alphabet soup of supplements (vitamins D, C, E, omega-3, DHEA), exercise gear, and hormone replacements have given new life to the sector, if not, as buyers hope, to themselves. -- KR

Expo! Expo! 2009

Fast Company Calendar — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:56:28 -0500

If you're wondering why the International Association of Exhibitions and Events stages an event about staging events, you're not alone. "I've tried explaining it to my elderly mother," says IAEE president Steven Hacker. "She never understands." We do: Some 13,000 exhibitions and trade shows occur each year in the U.S., and events are a $100 billion business. But tighter corporate-travel budgets mean that business is hurting. No wonder 1,500 sector leaders will meet to laugh (with funnyman Dale Irvin) and learn (from social-media guru Guy Kawasaki).

Search-Engine Strategies '09

Fast Company Calendar — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:53:34 -0500

What's today's best search-engine strategy? "Look beyond the search engines," says What Would Google Do? author Jeff Jarvis, who will give a keynote address at this event. Traditionally, companies looking to get discovered online have stocked their Web sites with buzzwords to "optimize" them for Google and Yahoo.

Vaccine Technology Conference

Fast Company Calendar — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:29:18 -0500

The 1950s and 1960s were momentous for drug manufacturers, which introduced vaccines for polio, measles, mumps, and a host of other diseases. Over time, though, many pharmaceutical companies deemphasized vaccines in favor of prescription drugs. Today, according to the organizers of this conference, "we stand poised for the second golden era of vaccines." Researchers will discuss an array of novel delivery techniques (patches, sprays) as well as new targets (cancer, addiction).

United Nations Climate Change Conference

Fast Company Calendar — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:26:54 -0500

After 12 days of heated wrangling, world leaders should emerge from this meeting with a new treaty to combat global warming. Or maybe not: We wouldn't be shocked if U.S. negotiators, spooked by the potential effect of carbon cuts on the fragile economy, refused to back a deal. (That's the official reason that the planet's No. 2 polluter -- China is now No. 1 -- never ratified the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.) A quick study of host nation Denmark might help allay American fears.

Humanoids09

Fast Company Calendar — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 11:25:38 -0500

This four-day conference is all about pushing the robotic envelope, building humanoids that are more like their creators and in the process teaching us a thing or two about human movement and speech. But what we really want to know is: When can we expect those creatures to become part of our day to day?

Jay-Z Turns 40

Fast Company Calendar — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:24:28 -0500

The self-proclaimed God of Rap has lots to celebrate. Jay-Z earned $35 million over the past year -- mostly from a sold-out world tour and his stakes in the New Jersey Nets and 40/40 bar chain -- making him hip-hop's top player, according to Forbes. (No. 2 Diddy tallied $30 million.) It looks like 2010 will be another bumper year for Jay-Z Inc. Parlux, which did perfumes for Jessica Simpson and Queen Latifah, recently inked a licensing deal with his firm Iconic Fragrances to release signature scents for Rihanna and Kanye West.

25th Anniversary of the First Mandatory Seat-Belt Law in the U.S.

Fast Company Calendar — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 11:22:24 -0500

Live free or die, indeed: Twenty-five years after the first state law requiring buckling up took effect in New York, only New Hampshire still lacks one. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the economic benefits of seat-belt laws -- in dollars saved from prevented injuries and deaths -- exceeds $3 billion per year. So why is New Hampshire holding out?

Oasis of the Seas Sets Sail

Fast Company Calendar — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 11:20:58 -0500

You can't describe Royal Caribbean's new flagship without splashing on the superlatives. The Oasis of the Seas is the longest (1,187 feet), tallest (240 feet), widest (208 feet), heaviest (225,000 gross registered tons), and most expen-sive ($1.4 billion) passenger ship ever launched.

World Aids Day

Fast Company Calendar — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 11:18:09 -0500

This year's theme is "Universal Access and Human Rights," but maybe it should be "Donate Now -- or Else." Of the 9.7 million HIV/AIDS sufferers in developing countries who need antiretroviral therapy, less than a third are getting it.

CityCenter Opens

Fast Company Calendar — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 11:12:32 -0500

Six high-rise towers by eight renowned architects. Sixty-seven acres on the Vegas strip. Casinos, hotels, condos, theaters, galleries, and a shopping mall. It sounds worthy of once-booming Dubai, and for good reason: Dubai World, the firm behind enormous, egregious bubble-era projects like the Palm Islands, owns a 50% stake in City-Center. (MGM Mirage has the other half.) The $8.5 billion complex, touted by its builders as the most expensive commercial development in U.S. history, begins its rollout of openings with the Vdara Hotel & Spa.

Stay At Home Because You're Well Day

Fast Company Calendar — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:33:37 -0500

Ten percent of sick days each year are faked. This does not seem like the best day to do so. -- ZW

MON, NOVEMBER 30
Fake It
Stay At Home Because You're Well Day

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IEEE Globecom 2009

Fast Company Calendar — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 16:31:35 -0500

Last year, Verizon became a green pioneer in the telecom world. It publicly pledged to purchase more energy-efficient telecom equipment and launched a pilot project to turn off idle computers and monitors. That may sound modest, but the savings in energy will be enough to power 88,000 homes for a year. Such initiatives will be a major topic of discussion at this annual symposium, especially since going green can help companies save a whole lot of that other kind of green.