In his address at the International AIDS Conference that wrapped in Washington, D.C., on July 27th, Sir Elton John told the audience that "I should be dead" for having not taken precautions against HIV in the past.

AIDS 2012, as it's better known, was the most attended global HIV/AIDS conference to date. It made headlines this year not only for its return to the U.S. for the first time in 22 years, but for companies including Levi Strauss and MAC who continue to support the fight against the disease and prejudice that surrounds it.

The MAC AIDS Fund (MAF), the philanthropic arm of MAC Cosmetics, announced two major initiatives at AIDS 2012, continuing its leadership position as the largest corporate non-pharmaceutical funder in the HIV/AIDS arena.Continue reading...

AOL shuffles execs.

BSkyB may lose UK "stranglehold" on Hollywood releases.

Dunkin' Donuts parent IPO could exceed $400M.

Express sets Guinness World record with Times Square fashion show.

Facebook iPad app appears in the wild, disappears.

Google gives Gmail a new logo and homepage.

Hyatt apologizes for turning up heat on protesters.

LinkedIn launches "Apply With LinkedIn" button.Continue reading...

Best Buy admits UK launch lacked impact.  

Bridgelux raises $21M in funding.

CNN anchor says network is getting outFoxed in 2010 election prep. 

Coca-Cola recognized for packaging design while Pepsi unveils "skinny can."  

eBay prepares plan to help PayPal repel Google and Apple threats. 

Facebook gains foothold in China with Hong Kong office.Continue reading...

GM sells more vehicles in China than in the US for the first time. GM also plans to award a new Chevrolet Camaro convertible to the Super Bowl MVP. 

The Kings Speech leads with a dozen just-announced Oscar nominations.

Adobe survey finds readers engage with iPad ads.

Amazon steps up push into home-delivered groceries.

Apple plans to introduce a service that would let users pay with iPhones.

Bacardi rethinks web strategy.Continue reading...

After years of flirting around the topic, Ricky Martin revealed that he was gay last week by blogging on his site, “I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man."

Ellen DeGeneres made the strategic move with her announcement in Time, Clay Aiken in People, and Sean Hayes in The Advocate. Martin clearly chose a different approach to revealing the news of his sexual orientation. And while many assert that such private information is none of the public's business, celebrities do live in a world different than the rest of us – and managing their personal brands is big business.

Thanks to Sandra Bullock taking the front page, People relegated Martin's story to the middle of the book. In a people.com poll, 54 percent of respondents agreed that Martin being gay was the least shocking news of the week. It was less shocking than news of Elin not attending the Masters and that Katherine Heigl is leaving Grey’s Anatomy.Continue reading...