Despite objections from beverage industry groups, New Yorkers will officially be forced into soda withdrawal in three months.

That and more in today’s Lunchtime Links:

Calm before the super-sized storm: It’s happening. Months after announcing a controversial ban, New York City will soon begin fining restaurants and food establishments $200 for serving nonalcoholic, sugary drinks in cups larger than 16 ounces. But they will get a little bit of a respite: During the early months of the ban, businesses will receive citations, not fines, in an effort to push them into compliance. As Ernie Smith reported a few months ago, the ban has been criticized by the American Beverage Association and other similar trade associations, which have filed lawsuits seeking to stop the measure and reached out to the public to make their case for soda freedom.

Asking the right questions: What type of conversationalist are you? According to this article in Fast Company, the best conversationalists don’t just ask questions, they ask the right ones that lead into an engaging back-and-forth. “The problem is, most of us ask terrible questions. We talk too much and accept bad answers (or worse, no answers). We’re too embarrassed to be direct, or we’re afraid of revealing our ignorance, so we throw softballs, hedge, and miss out on opportunities to grow,” the author explains. But the right question will move you forward, especially while networking or during an interview.

Nonprofits communicate: Nonprofits are working hard to grasp things like cloud computing and social media, but they’re looking to push it into overdrive this year. According to this infographic, nonprofits have high hopes for social media in 2013. More than nine out of 10 are increasingly active on Facebook and will be experimenting with some of the more visual social networks, such as Pinterest and Instagram. If these channels spark your interest, check out 2012’s most inspiring nonprofit Pinterest campaign, UNICEF’s Ami Musa, which links to a page soliciting donations to the nonprofit’s clean drinking water initiative. Has your organization used these social networks to attract donors?

What cool stuff have you been reading today? Let us know in the comments.

(Flickr/Wolfman-K)