The Massachusetts Senate race was a real world example of what opinion polling data has shown.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: The perils of presidential failure

For a real-world example of the effect of lower search costs, think of today's e-reader price wars.

ECONOMIST: Economics focus

To create a real-world example of how attainable, affordable and convenient a sustainable lifestyle can be, MyEnergi Lifestyle collaborators also announce plans to award a typical American family with delivery and installation of energy-saving products from each company, along with other leading energy-efficient products.

ENGADGET: Ford teams up with Eaton, Whirlpool and SunPower to create MyEnergi Lifestyle, hopes to reduce everyone's CO2 footprint

For a sober real-world example, take the period just after the indecisive UK general election when, as readers will recall, everyone felt uncertain about who would form the next government and what policies they would follow.

BBC: Go Figure: Are we related?

Amazon.com is just one example of a company growing by leaps and bounds in the real world because of its presence in the virtual one.

CNN: dog in office

Speaking of real rock stars, here's a relevant example of exacting nomenclature from the indie music world.

CNN: Beware, ninjas, of how you name yourself online

Samalionis argues that this is an excellent example of where in-field research ultimately inspired an idea that could be transposed to a real-world scheme.

CNN: The Spirit of Design: Designing the Perfect Consumer