YouTube has entered the rental business at Youtube.com/store. You might be thinking, “Hoooray! Instant video for the masses!” Well hold it, sister. Youtube is indeed offering cheap, instant video downloads to the masses but they have the have a selection comparable to In and Out Burger.

The top four movie studios (Warner Bros., Fox, Paramount, Columbia) will not do business with Google (the owners of Youtube) because they are wary of the many ways people are able to rip media off of YouTube videos. Just do a Google search for “free youtube download” and notice the lovely assortment of law-breaking programs.

For now, the only recognizable movies I see in their selection are 3:10 to Yuma, Precious, Pi, Lord of War, and Reservoir Dogs. They range in price from $1.99 to $3.99.

YouTube’s store is a great place for people who don’t watch enough movies to require Netflix or people who like Indie films. If I’m in the mood for a last second movie, I think I’ll be checking out YouTube’s movie store.

Persecution.org is a website where you can learn more about christians around the globe who are being persecuted for their beliefs.

it’s really thought provoking and has motivated a lot of people to change how they live.

today while attempting to study i was listening to one of my pandora stations. i was surprised to discover that pandora and facebook have linked. so when i am listening to pandora it will tell me which of my friends like the artist or song that im listening to. i can also click on their name and be taken to their profile where i can leave a comment and see if they have bookmarked any songs or artists.

pretty cool

Have you ever wondered how big a carbon footprint you leave when you throw away a Snickers wrapper?  Well I definitely haven’t and I honestly don’t care, but if you do there’s a tool out there for social entrepreneurs to take advantage of and make an impact.

Carbon Advice Group is a web community that allows individuals to create micro-sites and share new ways of reducing carbon foot-printing.

This site makes it easy for environmental activists to share information with friends, family, and coworkers while at the same time opening doors for them to further their knowledge by taking advantage of the micro-sites of other carbon footprint enthusiasts.

After entering “Social Entrepreneurship” into the Digg search engine, one of the most popular items I found was an article off the New York Times written last year about entrepreneurs making an impact on society.

The story of Michael Gainer really stuck out to me as a shining example of a young entrepreneur giving back to his community.  A 34-year old resident of Buffalo, Michael has turned Buffalo’s plans to destroy over 10,000 houses over the next 10 years into an environmentally friendly way of reusing old building materials.

Buffalo ReUse collects old and unused building materials and sells them to craftsmen that can use them such as carpenters and metalworkers, putting to use what would otherwise be wasted.  Gainer also goes out of his way to hire young people from the Buffalo area to fill marketing and graphic design positions in order to mentor them and develop young talent.