As a lover of wine and technology, I've been excited about the idea of virtual tastings, which of course combine these two loves. Aside from my personal interest in this, virtual tastings also open up some interesting doors for brands. I recently joined TasteLive, a site that puts on regular tastings and links in Twitter. I joined just in time for the Pinot Days pinot noir promotion, which corresponded to a real world event taking place in San Francisco.

Throughout the week, TasteLive participants were encouraged to drink pinot noir at home and Tweet about their experiences. At the end of the week, the promotion culminated in a virtual tasting with specific pinot noir bottles being sampled and Tweeted about. For the wine world and wine brands, the online Pinot Days' tie in meant an awareness push for the pinot noir varietal, in addition to call outs of specific brands.

As a participant, tasting virtually has meant that I've been exposed not only to new bottles but also to new folks on Twitter who share my love for wine. For a brand, being connected to a passionate community like that can only mean good things.

"Dear Emo Joe, I think my mind is melting because I watch too much reality TV, should I turn that junk off?"

Emo Joe responds:

No way! Watch more. Soak your eyeballs in it until you can’t take another second of the madness. Why you ask?

First off, reality TV is very emo, in that it is overflowing with raw nerve passion, intense heartbreak and emotional unraveling. Reality TV puts all of life’s nasty little dramas in razor sharp focus. Reality TV is the windshield we peer through as we blast down life’s cruel blacktop. The folks on these shows are like the fine mist of splattered bugs that we occasionally clear away with our wipers. Reality TV shines a white-hot spotlight on a seemingly endless legion of dimwits and has-beens as they all attempt to out-peacock each other in the vicious TV barnyard.

Reality TV actually makes me ponder the deepest and perhaps most important question of the modern age, “Is my existence real if it’s not lived out on reality TV?”

But, you might wonder, what is the difference between reality and reality TV? Is there one? Is there a line in the sand? Let’s just sit back and ponder the word “reality” for a moment. One definition says reality is, “Actual being or existence, as opposed to an imaginary, idealized, or false nature.”

Do you think that reality TV is imaginary, idealized or false in its nature? What’s imaginary about such real life searches for essence and meaning like “Flavor of Love” or “The Cougar?” What’s idealized about the Darwinian �...

If you're a music fan and should find yourself in Budapest between now and July 5, a stop at the Ludwig Museum for their Anton Corbijn exhibit should be at the top of your list of things to do (after sampling goulash and checking out the castle of course).

I was pleasantly surprised to find the Dutch photographer and videographer the focus of an exhibit in Hungary but then again his work over the past 30 years has gone beyond borders. And in this case, it's even gone beyond the walls of communism, with the exhibit featuring some of Corbijn's older (and powerful) work, such as the Joy Division photograph shown here. This was shot many years before the fall of communism in Hungary.

His use of black of white in this shot is typical of Corbijn's work at the time and it's also what separated him from the glitzy photography that was customary in the '70s and '80s. Other works in the exhibit show off Corbijn's grainy development, use of shadows, and his subjects hiding their eyes. It all adds up to a unique body of work, one that brings our idolized musicians and celebrities into the shadows, making us question who they are and the way we're used to seeing them portrayed.

If you make the exhibit, also be sure to spend time checking out shots from his 23-year relationship with Depeche Mode. And whether you make it there or not, Corbijn's film Control about Ian Curtis of Joy Division isn't to be missed.

Some of the most impressive content and marketing campaigns happen when there is a synergy between the online and offline worlds. Last night, Macallan brought an online/offline approach to the Twittersphere, with a scotch tasting event taking place at eighty one in New York City. Macallan brand ambassador Graeme Russell hosted the event that also featured food pairings and live Tweets all night with the #Macallan hashtag.

For those not attending the event in person, they were able to follow and take part in the tasting, virtually, via Twitter using the corresponding hashtag.

I can see other incarnations of the Macallan approach for wines and beers taking shape and even integrating other Twitter-friendly technologies, such as my personal favorite, 12seconds.

Because there can never be too many search engines—and because the limits of multitasking can never be pushed too far—a new search engine called “Twootles” has surfaced to give you simultaneous results from Google and Twitter. Simply enter your search term in the text box, click “search” and voila! The top results from the web appear on the left, alongside the latest tweets on your search subject.