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In 2007, Barack Obama was just a senator who was relatively unknown outside the US. Within the span of a year, he became one of the most recognized names around the world and that was before he ascended to the Presidency. This tremendous spike in popularity has to be attributed to the superb marketing campaign that revolutionized the way presidential candidates interacted with their constituents. Obama was the first president hopeful to be on social media and he made excellent use of the platform to engage with voters by regularly posting genuine videos, photos and issuing regular call-to-actions. He ruled YouTube with over 20 million views and dominated Facebook with a page which had 2.5 million fans. Obama’s marketing campaign is an interesting study of the sheer power of social media and the impact it has on today’s audience. �

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The national day of Australia, or Australia day, falls on the 26th of January, at the peak of the Australian summer and marks the anniversary of the First Fleet’s arrival at Port Jackson in 1788. As expected, it is a grand day of festivities throughout the country, with a number of events happening simultaneously. While Sydney will be busy with the Australia Day harbour parade and the Ferrython, Adelaide will light up with concerts and fireworks. It is also a popular day for many people to gain Australian citizenship. In short, Australia Day represents this culturally diverse country at its best! Source: australia.com

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While most of the western world frowns down upon noisy eaters, the Japanese seem to prefer slurping their noodles as loudly as possible! The Japanese consider it to be a sign of appreciation of the chef’s prowess, and the louder the slurp the tastier the dish is considered to be! Source: expatexplorer.blogspot.in

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What is the first thing you do after you get the lady of your dreams to agree to your marriage proposal? Set a date, of course! But the Daur people of China first have to undergo the ordeal of dissecting a chicken. And that’s not all, the prospective bride and groom have to cut open a chicken together and inspect its liver. If the liver is heathy, they can set a date for the wedding, otherwise they will have to keep at it till they find a healthy liver.

Burns Night – A celebration of Scotland’s favourite son

No country favours its poets the way Scotland favours its most celebrated wordsmith – Robert Burns. Burns’ birthday, the 25th of January, is celebrated widely as Burns Night every year in Scotland. Let's take you through more on the celebrations of this festival.

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The Sikhs too celebrate the winter solstice every year in the form of lohri. However, instead of celebrating during the winter solstice, the Punjabis choose to celebrate it at the last day of the month during which the festival takes place. The bonfire is of course a very important element of the festival. Interestingly, fire plays a very important role in al winter solstice celebrations across the world. Lohri also celebrates the harvest of the winter crops Rabi, Sugarcane and Nuts, and hence products made from these crops are often a part of the celebrations.

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On the one hand Donald Trump’s inaugural address on the 20th of January has the power to finally turn the tide of dissenters in his favour, and on the other hand, it has the potential to once and for all alienate the citizens of USA completely. The speech could very well set the tone for the next four years of American policies and by extension have ramifications across the globe. So before the dice are cast, we would like to hear from you - what do you think we should expect from Donald Trump’s inaugural speech? Comment with your answers below!

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In a land where excruciating winters are the norm and blizzards are as common as a breeze, people are bound to experience some form of cabin fever from time to time. So to stop themselves from going crazy, the Eskimos of Alaska have long indulged in a number of competitive games that are taken very seriously, so much so that families and tribes end up having feuds that last generations over the result of these games. Traditionally, the competitions would consist of sports like one-foot-high kick, knee wrestling and knuckle runs while baseball and softball are modern favourites. Source: lostgirlsworld.com �

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The southern hemisphere’s biggest keel boat regatta, the Festival Of Sails, will kick off on the 21st of January at Geelong in Victoria. This four day long boating extravaganza includes racing events covering nearly ten divisions, including multihull and cruising with spinakker. Even the off-water event, the Shoreside Festival, attracts nearly 100,000 people every year and consists of food and wine stalls, live music and beginner sailing activities. Source: australia.com �

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When in Rome do as the romans do… and the same is true for the whole of Italy at least when it comes to drinking coffee. The Italians are the proud inventors of two of the most popular coffees in the world, the espresso and the cappuccino, and are very specific about the way they enjoy their coffee. For instance, the Italians only have the milky coffees in the morning and cringe at the thought of consuming milk on a full stomach. So don’t be surprised if the barista gives you a stupefied glare if you head to Italy and request a Cappuccino in the middle of the day. And that’s just the beginning, the Italians hate adding flavours to their coffee, mostly drink it standing up, and prefer consuming it in small but frequent doses! Source: telegraph.co.uk �

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Another simple but delicious sounding treat, Chicken Rice is famous enough to almost be a tourist attraction in Singapore. It consists of simple steamed or boiled chicken prepared with fragrant rice, topped with a smattering of delicious sauces like premium dark soy sauce, chilli with garlic and some pounded ginger for that extra kick. The chicken could also be roasted or soy sauce chicken but it is always nothing short of delicious. Source: travel.cnn.com �