The idea is simple enough: for each right answer (read: one pageview in the online economic model) the web site donates ten grains of rice to the UN World Food Programme (WFP).

The site is unbelievably successful. Here is what the WFP said in a press release (emphasis mine):

Yesterday marked the one billionth grain of rice donated to WFP through an innovative, dynamic online campaign – enough to feed more than 50,000 people for one day.

Awesome!

“Every grain of rice is essential in the fight against hunger,” said WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran, adding that hunger claims more lives than AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined.

“FreeRice really hits home how the Web can be harnessed to raise awareness and funds for the world’s number one emergency. The site is a viral marketing success story with more than one billion grains of rice donated in just one month to help tackle hunger worldwide.”

Marshall Kirkpatrick wrote about FreeRice over on Read/WriteWeb, which is where I first saw coverage. Marshall wondered about the legitimacy of the site. Well, it’s for real…and making a difference.

Now, go and donate some rice.

Two years have passed since the last Grand Challenge, which saw a host of robotic cars negotiate a dusty desert, but today’s event requires them to behave just as a licensed driver would. If any of the race crews are successful, we could see automated troop transports and MEDEVAC vehicles helping soldiers around the world very soon, with obvious applications for your commute down the road (no pun intended). Catch the webcast of the race and watch the future roll forward!

Tons of fun.

Saludos en particular a Pablo (que buen marketing de tu blog!), Nicolas (vamos con la fuerza Mac), Daniel (sí, soy una masa…y humilde!), and Diego (que maestro de CakePHP).

Special thanks to Franco Giménez for putting it together.   Hopefully I can be around when they throw another event.

Nick Carr gets it right:

Welcome to Fantasy Island.

Extrapolating Facebook’s true worth from Microsoft’s investment is a ridiculous exercise, for two main reasons. First, the investment is part of a broader deal, the details of which are unknown.

…

Second, and more important, Microsoft’s investment is not financial but strategic. The company is currently engaged in a multi-front competitive battle under conditions of great uncertainty.

Facebook may end being sold for $15 billion or go the IPO route and end up with a market cap greater than $15 billion…but this deal should not prove/show/lead to the conclusion that Facebook is worth $15 billion.

Thomas, an employee of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, an Indian tribe, was ordered to pay a 9,250-dollar fine for each of 24 shared songs cited in the case, including Godsmack’s “Spiral,” Destiny’s Child’s “Bills, Bills, Bills” and Sara McLachlan’s “Building a Mystery.”

It could have been a lot worse.

The fine could have reached 150,000 dollars a song if the jury had found “willful” copyright infringement.

I understand that she needs to pay more than 99 cents (what it might have cost her on iTunes)…but nine grand a piece?  That’s a bit like getting a $20,000 parking ticket.