We made Dash his own flavor on eCreamery.  Cookies & Cream with Brownies mixed in.

It arrived on dry ice via FedEx, and they did not break it.

1) I like you.  I really like you.  And it's so much easier to say that — in a way that's not weird — online.

2) The social web teaches us how other people communicate with one another, and how people expect to communicate with us.  We've made so little progress applying what we've learned to "real life" offline.

3) This year, 93% of Facebook users clicked the "Like" button at least once a month.  It's quick and costs us nothing.  Except, sometimes, our credibility.  

4) The "Appreciate" button on behance.net somehow conveys a more meaningful embrace.

5) "Like" means less than ever before.  Lotsa people gots some science and an opinion, yo. 

6) Brands still use "like" to measure social media marketing success.  Most shouldn't.

7) There's no universal "like" button in real life, no common hand signal or nod that says "I get you," "I feel you," "Right on, brosef." Those evolve colloquially.  The "ok" signal and the "thumbs up" don't mean the same thing in other parts of the world.  There are so many ways to make our hands say the wrong thing, unintentionally, and get ourselves in trouble.  Just ask George Bush.  This new book helps you avoid that:

 8) Mostly, when we need to make sure someone gets that we like what they say or do, we gotta use words.

9) Doctors have long used hand signals to help autistic children communicate more effectively.  Studies show, even for kids who don't have autism, pairing hand gestures with learning results in greater success for many students.  Mainstream elementary school teachers in San Francisco and elsewhere have begun using hand signals in class.  Students learn to signal silently when a classmate says or does something that resonates with them.  It's a simple gesture, thumb and pinky, and it let's a friend know "I connect with you on that."  Another signal means "It's different in my experience." 

10)  Here are the most liked Facebook pages of 2011

I don't celebrate the epic fails of brands.  Most brands, anyway. 

When something goes unexpectedly and very publicly wrong, there's no joy in it. The employees who inherit the problem usually had little or nothing to do with causing it. For example, the poor folks in the communications dept at FedEx who just want to head home for Christmas: They can't.

I've been watching FedEx's response carefully, there are lessons in here for us all.  When the first video surfaced, yesterday, FedEx was superquick to reply with a genuine, heartfelt apology.  The company took care of its customer, took to the web with an apology, and took steps internally to investigate and address the matter further.  FedEx exec Matthew Thornton delivered his apology faster than it takes me to lick a stamp.

This isn't a FedEx problem anymore.  It's a problem for the entire delivery serices industry, in its most critical time of year.  Today, consumers are flooding the web with hundreds of videos of drivers wrecklessly delivering packages, all caught on tape.  Welcome to the party, UPS (and thanks for the middle finger).  Who's smiling now? The nearly bankrupt US Postal Service, that's who.

Ok, I'm smiling too.  Not because of the epic fail but because all the old videos of shitty delivery guys from across the web are resurfacing, and the funniest, most absurd ones are rising to the top.  The social web has essentially curated an online library or network of these videos and photos.  For example, here's one where a dude in his car notices a huge FedEx truck driving behind him on the highway…pushing an oven!

 For all of us waiting at home for packages to arrive before tomorrow, make sure you hang a sign on your door like this one, just in case you don't hear the bell or can't get to the door fast enough:

I am out of the office.

"You don't know how it feels being without butter in Christmastime."  And one Norwegian interweb celeb doesn't think it's funny, Seth Meyers. 

 Ladies and gentlemen, meet the new global superstar Tommy, whose 15 minutes begin now.  Girl's freakin pissed:

Oh, and the wonderful, obligatory American webcam op ed from guy with questionable hat:

 (Thanks to Jordana for the intro to Tommy)