The normally reliable fast train link connecting London and Paris also has ground to a halt.

VOA: standard.2009.12.21

With more than 500 million active users logging on regularly to post an update, catch up with friends or tend a virtual farm, Facebook seems like fertile ground for connecting with consumers.

FORBES: Social Commerce: Luring Customers To Your Facebook Page

He is off message, losing ground, not connecting with his own base, being severely chastised (and even dismissed) by GOP pundits who should be his friends.

FORBES: Poll Shows Romney Losing Ground, Now Down By 8 Points; Wrong Track Voters At 52%

And whether or not NBC's licensing bet pays off, old media plants a massive victory stake in the ground, pushing aside technology's rightful role of connecting the world in shared moments, impervious to the sharpened sticks hurled by the digerati.

ENGADGET: Editorial: NBC's Olympics and the steely grip of old media