Yes, yes, I know… tons of stories backlogged here, and we’ve been distracted elsewhere… This one couldn’t wait, though— Recently at Davos (the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland), Sir Richard Branson made his first appearance, mingling with presidents, kings, and other billionaires (including Bill Gates). French blogger/podcaster Loic Le Meur (who’s also president of Six Apart Europe) managed to interview Branson briefly, and it’s definitely worth a listen.

Asked why he doesn’t go into politics to change the world, Branson notes that politicians are relatively ineffective given their short terms, and points out that business leaders can often exert more influence and do more to change the world for the better. He’s absolutely right, of course. Also interesting that he apparently considered running for Mayor of London a couple years ago, and as much as I love London, that certainly seems incredibly limited for someone with Sir Richard’s international influence. (To put it in perspective, I think the Branson quote most heard at the time was his view in favor of decrminalizing marijuana…)

I was driving in pouring rain on the 405 when the Emergency Broadcast System came on (first time I’ve ever heard it, actually) with a storm advisory, and of course, my first thought was, "Wait, how do you do a rooftop concert in this weather??" Apparently, the answer is, you don’t…

British daredevil tycoon Sir Richard Branson got a thunder-and-lightning show second to none for Monday’s opening of his newest Virgin Megastore.

Unfortunately, the show was so dynamic it forced him to cancel all the other theatrical stunts he had planned.

The Southern California thunderstorms that dropped hail almost as big as golf balls on some areas, triggered floods and mudslides in others and knocked out power to tens of thousand of people also forced Branson to cancel plans to rappel from the side of the three-story Hollywood complex where his new 20,000-square-foot store is located.

Back from London now (the picture is of the Picadilly megastore, flagship of the empire so to speak), and have lots of Branson news stories to post. But I wanted to post this one item quickly given that the event is tomorrow evening… Sorry for the late notice, but Sir Richard Branson will be in Los Angeles at the launch of the Virgin Megastore at the "Hollywood & Highland" complex in Hollywood. More information from the press release:

Join VIPS, the Hollywood community, music and entertainment industry leaders for an early evening series of rooftop concerts, including the live debut of INXS’ freshly minted frontman, J.D. Fortune, who landed the coveted gig as a contestant on the hit CBS show "Rock Star: INXS." Adventurous aggro-metal outfit Dredg, will kick off the first performance at 4 PM, followed by post-punk agitators Gang of Four. Sir Richard Branson will launch a surprise camera-worthy stunt at 5:30 PM along the closed off Hollywood Boulevard.

Sounds like an interesting event… If anyone attends, be sure to let us know (and send pictures!)…

Also, if you want to submit other stories to us here at BransonBlog, the del.icio.us service makes it really easy. Just add a del.icio.us bookmark with a "bransonblog" tag and it’ll automatically show up in our editing system. Not all that geeky, just simple and effective.

We mentioned that Sir Richard would guest edit the esteemed Today show on BBC Radio 4 as part of a week of guest editors ranging from the Duchess of York to U2’s Bono. After the busy holidays and now back in Los Angeles, I finally had a chance to listen to the show. Definitely an interesting endeavor on Sir Richard’s part, and one which he seems to enjoy. Returning to his roots as an editor (several accounts have said his long-term goals in starting Student at 15 were to be an editor rather than entrepreneur), Branson focused the Radio 4 staff on topics he considered important. (The show has its own summary online for your convenience.) [Read more]

The BBC has a story about Bono of U2 taking over "the UK’s most prestigious radio news programme," the Today show on BBC Radio 4, during the last week of the year. Mentioned in passing are the other guest editors that week.

The Duchess of York, director Anthony Minghella, businessman Sir Richard Branson and philosopher Baroness Onora O’Neill will also pick topics to cover.

The Today website shows that Sir Richard will edit the show for Wednesday, December 29th, and I believe the website will also have the audio available both live and after the broadcast. Handy for those of us not in the UK.  

We mentioned that Sir Richard would be conducting a live webcast next Tuesday, November 30th. There’s a registration fee of $149 (with 30% off the book that doesn’t even interview him, just mentions him as a case study), but today, I found something even better: An NPR site has a discount code to save $50 plus get the book at a 100% discount—much better. (Also, I have no affiliation whatsoever with NPR or the webcast company, so I could care less if you do this.  ) "Enter promotion code: YYKW to get the special $99 rate which includes a copy of Lasting Leadership to be delivered directly to you." Funniest line of the discount page is calling this a "rare appearance by one of the world’s most successful entrepreneurs." Rare? If we’re still talking about Richard Branson, the famed self-promoter, the only rare thing about this is the registration fee.

Hi folks… John Stanforth here. Those of you who’ve followed my blog this summer have seen me rave about The Daily Show with Jon Stewart as the funniest show on tv right now. So what’s better than watching Jon Stewart? Watching Jon Stewart interview Richard Branson! Indeed, Sir Richard is Jon’s guest this Tuesday, November 9th, on Comedy Central at 8:00pm.

Ironically, the interview to promote the long-awaited two-hour premiere of The Rebel Billionaire: Branson’s Quest for the Best (Tuesday, November 9th, on Fox at 8:00pm) actually runs opposite the show in the same time slot, so, if needed, you could instead catch one of the Daily Show rebroadcasts at 7:00am or 4:00pm on Wednesday.

Those willing to pay for an online conference should check out Linkage’s Distance Learning seminar with Richard Branson, which airs online on November 30th at 11:00am Eastern. Amusingly, looks like even NASA will be tuning in, perhaps to keep an eye on the Virgin Galactic chairman. [Read more]