Open up your mind and say, ahh...

Victorinox has unveiled a Swiss Army knife with a USB flash drive that holds 1 terabyte of data.

The company has had a USB knife in its line of products for a while, but the Victorinox SSD comes with several new features: it connects to eSATA II/III as well as USB 2.0/3.0 with a single connector, it has a monochrome graphic display showing what’s on the drive and it supports 256 AES encryption.

Data transfer speeds are 220 MB/s for reading and 150 MB/s for writing data, and the availabile capacities range from 64 GB to a whopping 1 TB.

Of course, the knife also has a blade, scissors, nail file with a screwdriver tip and a LED/laser pointer. All you frequent travelers needn’t worry – the drive can be interchanged between the fully-equipped body and the flight-friendly body, which comes without the pointy stuff.

The company has also launched the Slim 3.0 USB drive, which goes up to 128 GB on the storage side and offers 10 times faster data transfer than the previous version.

Both devices will be available in April 2012 at a yet unannounced price.

CES 2012: Mashable’s Photo Coverage From the Ground

Check out more gadgets, booths and appearances from our team on the ground at CES 2012.

Constance Aguilar is a social media strategist and account manager at Abbi Public Relations, where she oversees client strategy on social media channels, through traditional media relations and event production. You can follow her on Twitter @ConnieAguilar and read her blog posts at abbipublicrelations.wordpress.com.

The surprise smash-hit social networking site of 2011 wasn’t Twitter, Tumblr or Google+. In fact, it was a site that, even today, is still an invite-only social network. The Palo Alto site Pinterest skyrocketed into the top ten most visited social networks of the past year and continues to gain traction and popularity.

The image-based platform is a simple enough concept: Users create and name Boards anything they like (Places I’d Like to Visit, Pretty Dresses, My Cookie Creations, etc.) and post relevant photos on corresponding Boards, while categorizing Boards under one of the 32 general Pinterest categories. Users follow one another based on interests, and photos are displayed in a pin board-type feed that is simple, yet visually stunning.

But how can brands and companies utilize this platform to their advantage? Here are five ways to jump on the Pinterest bandwagon to reach an already established female audience and a rising male audience.

1. Contests

Brands and companies can connect and build buzz among their audiences by hosting various types of contests on Pinterest. Contests can range from creating the “Best Board” to a earning the most Repins. Users could post photos of the best outfits they put together or of sculptures built from products bought at a specific store. Similar to photo contests on Facebook or Twitter, Pinterest offers a way for brands to build visually stunning interaction between themselves and their patrons.

2. New Product Approval

When launching a new product, whether a new dress, dinner dish or cellphone, companies want to determine initial reactions to the product’s look and feel. Because of Pinterest’s commenting ability, it’s an ideal platform on which to introduce a new product and gather firsthand opinions. Because Pinterest’s popularity hasn’t reached the caliber of Facebook, brand managers can easily organize, analyze and determine sentiment from the results. As users Repin a photo, brand managers can gather more intelligence, and ultimately decide whether their companies should move forward with mass production. Think of it as a social media focus group.

3. Showcase Brand Personality

For companies that don’t necessarily have product lines to show off, the social networks allows photos to communicate a brand’s personality. For instance, a mayoral candidate could have a Pinterest Board of photos that features his philanthropic outreach and community relations. A magazines can post past and present photos that showcase places it has sent journalists, events it has covered, etc. Each Pin allows for a description and a link to the original story. Therefore, any company can quickly connect an audience with its story, mission and future plans, all via photo Pin.

4. Display Various Sectors of a Company

Larger operations can use Pinterest to nicely organize areas of focus and relay them to the public. For instance, an integrated marketing agency may host several individually themed Boards. One Board showcases photos of its public relations efforts, while a design department Board displays logos and web pages it has created, and a final Board hosts photos of employees in action. These types of organized displays would also allow other businesses to view similar work, effective strategies and innovative teams, making Pinterest a strong B2B community.

5. Creative Communication Between Brands and Customers

Using Pinterest, brands can create Pins and Boards that feature customers’ product interpretations, and then showcase them for entire audiences. This way customers can further relate to products, and brands have a way to thank to their supporters by integrating them into their communities. For example, a clothing company Pins a photo of a shopper in one of its outfits, and writes caption “Brandy A. paired this floral dress with our black lace stockings and brown leather boots to create the perfect fall ensemble.” Brandy feels special because the brand recognized her involvement and creativity, and thus is inspired to return, and the company creates content that keeps fans constantly involved.

Pinterest holds immense potential for brands to interact with their audiences and to visually entice current and potential customers. Using the power of image, companies can create buzz around products, display more in-depth aspects of their businesses, and ultimately create more personal and visually pleasing social experiences for their audiences.

By Matt Hardigree, Jalopnik

Acura lifted the sheet off its new Acura NSX Concept here in Detroit, and it’s definitely a Tony Stark-esque all-wheel-drive hybrid — just like we told you. It’ll be designed in the United States, built in Ohio and on sale within three years.

Ask enthusiasts to picture the Acura NSX and their minds might be drawn to a well-dressed Ayrton Senna casually tossing one around in a pair of fine Italian loafers. The NSX was a pure, simple sports car perfectly aligned with the Honda philosophy.

Welcome to another New Year! While everyone else is busy thinking about or already breaking their New Year resolutions, it’s time for us to take a moment to rethink what it is we can really do better now and over the next 12 months.

I’m sure you heard it everywhere last year. Experts found the highest blog mountains and social network skyscrapers to Tweet in concert, “You need a Facebook brand page! Why are you not on Twitter yet? Have you checked-in on Foursquare? Hurry up and get set up on Google+. If you don’t get on social media, you’re going to go out of business!”

And, here you are…still in business, I presume. But like any keen business leader or entrepreneur, you’re avidly thinking about your next move and your social media strategies for 2012.

You already know that running the show in a mode of “business as usual” is not only limiting, it’s terribly complacent.  But if you are to change, you need to better understand exactly how technology is influencing the behavior of your customers and why.

The truth is that you can create your company brand pages on every social network you can imagine and you won’t succeed unless you know whom you’re trying to reach and where, what it is they expect and value, and how these channels represent a meaningful opportunity for you and your consumers to connect.

You first must answer what’s in it for them and what’s in it for you.

Defining your Social Media Strategy

Social networks, smartphones, tablets, review sites, gamification, geo-location, et al. are producing a new breed of consumer, and businesses are largely missing them altogether. In fact, the emergence of this more “connected consumer” is forcing the end of business as usual.

At the same time, the decision patterns of these connected consumers has ushered in an era of risk where any business, large and small, is vulnerable to digital Darwinism — the evolution of consumer behavior when society and technology evolve faster than the ability to adapt.

Ten Social Media Tips

In 2012, consider yourself a digital anthropologist or sociologist as you immerse yourself in a day in the life of your connected consumer and seek to close the chasm between you and them.

There are many professional social media analysts, researchers and strategists who can help you find the answers you seek.

Starting now and forever, technology and empathy are now part of your business strategy. To what extent disruptive technology impacts your markets will depend on your industry and the rate of adoption within it.

Priority areas for your social media strategy should include an understanding of the following:

1. Social Networks from Facebook to Twitter to Google+ and how they’re connecting to influencers and businesses

2. Geo-location check-in services such as Foursquare and Facebook location updates to share locations and earn rewards or opportunities for discounts.

3. Crowd-sourced discounts and deals including Groupon and LivingSocial and what’s valued and why.

4. Social commerce services like Shopkick and Armadealo and how they create personalized experiences that are worth sharing.

5. Referral based solutions like Yelp, Service Magic, and Angie’s List to make informed decisions and how shared experiences can improve your business, products, and services.

6. Gamification platforms such as Badgeville and Fangager, and why rewarding engagement improves commerce and loyalty.

7. How your consumers using mobile devices today and what apps they’re installing. Also, how they’re comparing options, reviewing experiences and making decisions while mobile?

8. The online presence your business produces across a variety of platforms such as tablets, smartphones, laptops and desktops. You must realize how consumers are experiencing the online presences you create and whether or not they deliver a holistic and optimized experience for each platform.

9. The consumer clickpath based on the platform consumers are using. Are you steering experiences based on the expectations of your customers? And are you taking into consideration the device or network where the clickpath begins and ends? Are you integrating Facebook F-commerce and m-commerce into the journey?

10. The expectations of connected consumers, what they value in each channel and platform, where they engage and how your business can improve experiences and make them worthy of sharing.

This is your year…

2012 is the year for you to grow your small business while earning relevance among a growing class of connected consumers.

Regardless of technology, the future of business isn’t created, it’s co-created. To succeed, it takes a culture of customer centricity and the ability to recognize new opportunities and adapt based on what they present.

In the words of Charles Darwin, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent. It is the one that is most adaptable to change.”

Originally published on Monster.com
Image Credit: RedKid.net