Is Starbucks' social networking plan MyStarbucksIdea.com really as terrible a Starbucks idea as it sounds? Affirmative. [Social Media]

Just after announcing plans to save its share price – including launching social networking site mystarbucksidea.com, because that's worked so well for others – Starbucks is on the losing end of 2004 lawsuit claiming supervisors were taking an unfair share of tips. The coffee giant must pay $100 million to baristas for stealing $86 million in gratuities, plus interest. [AP]

With Starbucks closing down this afternoon for corporate training, you might be worried about having to get your caffeine fix from an independent retailer. Fear not, the corporations are here to the rescue.

Dunkin Donuts is selling lattes and cappuccinos for selling 99 cents from 1pm to 10PM. It should be noted that 99 cents is less than one dollar.

This capitalism tastes foamy.

[via Racked]

• Improv Everywhere takes on Starbucks with a desk top computer rocking Windows 95.

• Brad Renfro got snubbed at the “In Memoriam” montage because he wasn't famous enough for three seconds of screen time of a four hour program.

• Hey, there just might be something to this whole blogging trend.

CONTINUED »

ANTICIPATING AN ANXIETY ATTACK Don’t stress, but in two weeks, Starbucks will close for three hours. It’s scary. Believe us, we know. On February 26, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Starbucks is retraining all of its employees. That means for three hours, there will be no non-fat, decaf lattes. Yuppies are going to take to the streets and this city will fall apart. [Seattle Times]

BEAN COUNTING With Starbucks now offering breakfast sandwiches and drive-thrus, it's only fair that McDonald's ramps up its premium coffee effort with … baristas. The fast food chain will launch stand-alone coffee counters inside its stores beginning in the fall, hoping to generate an additional $1 billion in revenue. You'll also be able to order a Frappe using English: it's available in "small," "medium," and "large." [WSJ]

BUCKING STARBUCKS "It should be the best news that any local coffeehouse ever had." What news? That a Starbucks is opening next door. Contrary to the widespread belief that ubiquitous Starbucks kill local coffeeshops, many appear to thrive when the green lettering goes up next door. Meanwhile, though Starbucks purposely puts its stores next to existing coffeeshops to steal business, some indie java shop owners are pulling the same tactic — and racking up $1 million a year. [Slate]

There’s a lot not to like about Michael Gates Gill, the subject of a Home & Garden profile and author of How Starbucks Saved My Life: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Like Everyone Else.

Let’s start with his childhood: The son of New Yorker critic Brendan Gill, Michael Gill blew his $100,000 inheritance on “champagne” in three years.

His personal life also offers a wealth of material: He left his wife and family for his mistress.

And his attitude when someone offered him a job at Starbucks: “Could she see that I was really one of life’s losers? Did I, a former creative director of J. Walter Thompson, want a job at Starbucks?”

CONTINUED »

Holy Ew. Put down your skim mocha whip latte whatever, and especially your brioche, and get a load of this shit. Literally. Loads of shit in Starbucks. Mice shit, people shit, dead rodents … they are monopolizing your local SBUX. Here we have live footage from the Union Square Bux, where employees are protesting their cockroach infested environs. We can't say "ew" enough. We just can't.

The nice thing is that these upstanding citizens/soon-to-be-ex Starbucks employees are putting their jobs on the line so that you don't have to eat rat poo. And if you needed another reason to choose MUD or Angelique over coporate crapiattos, you've got one. What we really wanna' know though, is if will make Jim Romenesko's Starbucks Gossip feed.

Starbucks Strike [You Tube]

The next mass media campaign by Starbucks has been launched, and the lucky sell-out is the gooey, cheesy author Mitch Albom. (You know him from Tuesdays With Morrie and The Five People You Meet in Heaven.) Abom's next book, For One More Day hits the syrup quota with a plot revolving around man who has one more day left with his dying mother. And Starbucks is slurping it up quicker than the "you can not read the New York Times without an Iced Grande Sugar Free Skim Vanilla Latte" promo.

For One More Day is the next "exclusively in Starbucks" sale, coming on the heels of Ray Charles CDs and Ethos water — and like with Ethos, Starbucks will contribute $1 per sale to a good cause. In this case, pre-schoolers who don't have the advantages of parents who read to them. And it's just wonderful they're putting this great piece of American literature in a sanctuary like Starbucks, where everyone can get access to it.

“It’s so difficult to reach beyond the traditional audience for books,” said Robert Miller, president of Hyperion. “There are so many millions of people that go through a Starbucks every day, and if some of those people become aware of a new book because of this program then it’s a good thing for all of us.”

So true. Just think of the hundreds of single mothers working for $6 an hour at Starbucks who will be encouraged to come home after work and read this wonderful book to their babies.

Starbucks Picks Novel to Start Its Book-Sale Program [Motoko Rich, New York Times]

As you may have heard, Starbucks is giving way free coffe today. From 1-3. (And though its about 1:30 as we're writing this, you may not actually see it until 5:30 if these tech problems keep up.)

We don't really care about free Starbucks, or going out into this gross weather just to get coffee … but we do find the fact that they are tempting heat induced consumers with freebies a bit interesting. Especially in light of the rumor that 175 Manhattan Starbucks' are closing.

The word "saturation" apparently isn't part of the Starbucks lexicon — the company continues to open more stores every year than it opened the year before nationally, and eventually expects to double its U.S. stores from its current total of 7,700.

Perhaps Starbucks doesn't speak "saturation." But we bet MUD truck and Esperanto staffers speak "cash" and are jumping for joy at the chain's demise. (PS - if every Starbucks in New York closes, we're going to blame Ryan Adams and Jessica Joffe.)

Starbucks NYC buzz fades [The Real Deal]
The Infinite Torture of Starbucks [Gawker]

• Now that she's old, and a mom, nobody wants to see Madonna make obscene gestures. Or dance around in a leotard as tight as her face. [MSNBC]

• Don't expect this from us, but Jay Leno apologizes for offending one of his fans. What, shootings aren't funny anymore or something? [AP]

• Run for your free Starbucks, just don't say NYC never gave you anything. Like, more pointless lines to wait in. [NYO]

• Somebody who spells 'don't' 'do'nt' probably doesn't know shit. Let alone the state of Will Ferrell's existence. Last we heard, he was in Canada, winking at stalkers. [Defamer]

• We really wish Bruce Willis was sleeping with Petra Nemcova. Maybe he wouldn't be so cranky all the time. [Page Six]

• What is a greater Catholic sin, getting pregs before marriage or having a Scientology wedding? [R&M]

• Is Elizabeth Vargas too hot to quit her job? We think so, Slate thinks no. [Slate]

• See what you've done New York magazine? Thanks a lot. Now this Craig Newmark's all famous, and we're gonna have to pay to find one night stands on-line. [Tech Web]

• As if getting divorced wasn't bad enough, the Elle Accessories editor's ex husband just gave her job away. [WWD]

• Random Random House rumors give people false hope for refunds. Sort of like how James Frey gave people false hope for recovery. [Fishbowl NY]

• Since those Alanis Morrisette CDs were such a darn hit, Starbucks will be pimping out movies, too. [Market Watch]

Back in June, aspiring New York blogger Cityrag uncovered one of Hollywood's darkest secrets: celebrities love their Starbucks. From Britney/K-Fed and Nick/Jessica to Nicole Richie/DJ AM and Mary-Kate/Ashley, the frappacinos were in high season.

But nobody loves their venti non-fat no whip lattes with a shot of sugarfree vanilla like Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner. Normally we'd suggest the mom-to-be lay off the caffeinated beverages but, well, she can't. Rumor has it she's under contract to keep the cups coming.

In an item we finally enjoyed reading in his column, Lloyd Grove uncovers what's estimated to be a seven-figure endorsement deal between Bennifer 2.0 and the coffee giant. For the Hollywooders to get their cash, they need only flash a grande pumpkin spice in front of eager paparazzi at every opportunity.

Suspiciously (or, you know, not), both Starbucks and Ben's supra-rep Ken Sunshine deny any such deal is in place. *$ might pay for product placement in movies, but no way do they pay individual stars to tout their goods. We're assuming that also goes for the willingly quoted obnoxious talking heads like Moby, Andy Roddick, Al Franken and Melissa Etheridge.

Any grounds to Ben/Jen java story? [Lowdown]
Related: Celebs love their Starbucks

We never see Mary-Kate or Ashley Olsen without Starbucks cups in their hands, though we also never see the twins without oversized bee shades, but let's not get ahead of ourselves and start trends here. CityRag noticed it wasn't just M-K + A, but Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey, Britney Spears and Kevin Federline and Nicole Richie and DJ AM .. plus some singletons.

You know what they say: A couple that caffeines together stays together. Or, uh, not. (Way to ruin it, Nick & Jessica.)

We've been plenty guilty of ripping off wireless Internet access at Starbucks (or a nearby hotspot) and surfing without buying coffee (we purchase americanos, damnit), but this is taking the philosophy a bit too far.

We're not sure if he's still at the 41st and Madison Starbucks (not because we're bad reporters, but we don't venture above 14th on weekdays or 23rd on weekends). But go check for us, mmm-kay?