Earlier this week, Shira Lazar of What’s Trending had the exciting opportunity to sit down with Sir Richard Branson on the inaugural Virgin American flight from LA to Philadelphia and talk to him about everything from social media to Virgin Galactic, and he even offers advice for those looking to start their own businesses.
Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews. 
CNN is accepting donations for the Top 10 CNN Heroes of 2010, with the help of Facebook, as readers can support the honorees’ causes by clicking the Donate Now tab on the CNN Heroes Facebook page, along with donation modules on the Facebook pages for CNN and Anderson Cooper 360.
CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute will air on the cable network on Thanksgiving at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, featuring the best of what CNN called a “multiplatform campaign that shines a spotlight on individuals who go to extraordinary lengths to serve others.”
Those who donate via Facebook will be able to view an exclusive thank-you video from CNN Heroes host Anderson Cooper, and they can share information about their donations via the social-networking site.
The online donations are powered by virtual currency Facebook Credits, and Facebook is waiving its processing fees as part of the program.
The Top 10 CNN Heroes were selected by a Blue Ribbon Panel that included Muhammad Ali, Sir Richard Branson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Ricky Martin, and Holly Robinson Peete.
Despite the difficult economy, Virgin Mobile, the joint venture between Richard Branson‘s Virgin Group and Sprint Nextel Corp, announced a profit in Q3 2008 according to Reuters—due in large part to its acquisition of Helio.
Virgin Mobile shares increased 25 percent on the news. The company said the results proved the success of the Helio deal—to some surprise, given Helio’s dwindling fortunes as a mobile media-focused carrier.
“These results clearly demonstrate that we’ve done quite a good job in making the Helio customers immediately profitable,” Chief Executive Dan Schulman told Reuters Monday. Now the hard part: continuing to grow Helio’s stagnant customer base, which numbered about 140,000 at last check.
