tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76490308377850350462023-11-16T10:55:09.384-05:00Small Biz 7Unpredictable Insights about Small Business <br>A <a href="http://bit.ly/2lyh9a"> Knowlengr</a> siteknowlengrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01857586646777639084noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649030837785035046.post-79116125002766041292016-05-15T23:52:00.001-04:002016-05-16T19:06:50.520-04:00Meetings - Modest or Mega - Mandate Social Media Marketing<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibM6wUbByLhztVZJUGuBwVLp9em36SPXXLW8VmGTNmnzyBGNc4Xn6vo_4h3UV8M7C_EpYltcvypQqR7rbQeyDy9Ud4JPD29Tc78pfWNoe7uzE2wMYBuLBWeTVwEKZYY3iXFpSoYfne2SW7/s1600/wizkids-booth-8one6-fliickr-1028-4886819738_af043a2f07_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibM6wUbByLhztVZJUGuBwVLp9em36SPXXLW8VmGTNmnzyBGNc4Xn6vo_4h3UV8M7C_EpYltcvypQqR7rbQeyDy9Ud4JPD29Tc78pfWNoe7uzE2wMYBuLBWeTVwEKZYY3iXFpSoYfne2SW7/s640/wizkids-booth-8one6-fliickr-1028-4886819738_af043a2f07_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">E-Marketing for E-vents for Effect (credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/8one6/" target="_blank">8One6</a>)</td></tr>
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The “E” in “Event” may as well stand for “eMarketing.”</div>
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<o:p></o:p>Small business events cover a multitude of categories:</div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]-->In-store or online sales <o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span><!--[endif]-->Intangible events (awards, certifications, distinctions,
new affiliations, partner co-promotion)<o:p></o:p></div>
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At the Event – And Afterward</h2>
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If you thought you’d be able to rest on your laurels once
the event begins, nothing could be further from the truth. True – it’s too late
to improve pre-registration volume, but some of the most effective promotion can
be done <i>during</i> the event. Create and
respond to Tweets using the event hashtag during the event. Live event Tweets
and <a href="http://bit.ly/1VXQdJy"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;">Instagram
posts</span></a> can include everything from countdown announcements to selfies.</div>
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<i>Postmortem</i> Your
eMarketing duty is not fully discharged until you’ve reviewed your event
campaign analytics and received feedback from attendees. No matter how well it went, you’ll be able to improve
tactics for the next event. </div>
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<i><b>Note:</b> The full story is a white label report that appears on a major telecomm site. For more, see <a href="http://bit.ly/1T5hCrR">Storyteller.tech</a> where you can <a href="http://bit.ly/23Vrhls">browse previous story summaries</a>.</i></div>
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<i>Image credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/8one6/" target="_blank">8One6 @ Flickr </a></i></h4>
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knowlengrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01857586646777639084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649030837785035046.post-70352380486605055802016-05-13T01:49:00.002-04:002016-05-13T01:49:13.016-04:00Text-based Collaboration Channels Still on Top <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguhVjAD41VFPuJW1Cz38MLU8jpT6lOPVeQJJB7WNOq35lRQ9cEbtlqG2Gdtb7Ropo65KvLUlRPY8C2JsgGRD5uol41NSSLTci0B0ptJfiPwQEHKpJEvM0lcQIuqBF-p7RvdshGwPzNhgTY/s1600/microsoft-chatbat-tay.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguhVjAD41VFPuJW1Cz38MLU8jpT6lOPVeQJJB7WNOq35lRQ9cEbtlqG2Gdtb7Ropo65KvLUlRPY8C2JsgGRD5uol41NSSLTci0B0ptJfiPwQEHKpJEvM0lcQIuqBF-p7RvdshGwPzNhgTY/s400/microsoft-chatbat-tay.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Microsoft's Chat Bot Tay </td></tr>
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It never gets much love, and it's never blessed with the "killer app" label, but text has much to recommend it, which is why Twitter,
Facebook Messenger, Gchat, ICQ and Skype for Business are widely used.
Computers and people can read it efficiently and easily. Text-to-speech and
speech-to-text increasingly allow for bidirectional conversion with speech.
Text can be easily annotated and bookmarked. Chat sessions fit smoothly with web
content such as tutorials, eLearning modules and FAQs. Chat requires an agent
who can type, but beyond that, in its simplest versions, a chat channel
requires little additional training.</div>
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Future versions will be integrated with intelligent assistants and exhibit more seamless handoffs from software agent to human agent -- and vice versa.</div>
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<i><b>Note:</b> The full story is a white label report that appears on a major telecomm site. For more, see <a href="http://bit.ly/1T5hCrR">Storyteller.tech</a>. </i><br />
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<i>Image credit: Microsoft on Twitter </i></div>
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knowlengrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01857586646777639084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649030837785035046.post-31654934454991583822016-05-03T14:58:00.000-04:002016-05-03T14:58:26.340-04:00Kaushik's Slow Dance of Click-to-Call and Caller-to-Web<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nostri-imago/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Click to Call and Call to Web: Slow Dance Required (Credit: Cliff at Flickr)" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtLsh2LLSzjA54OL4_KUkvH5F8ZW8RCr5hEJexVfMTq9w0GNe6PVtpxskX1WvKxnryKyRUpMMN7mzR3Vy4ET6f2u9W42gsQ0fS2RJlrZb6U1XCFPlaM6B5iTmL-hKaH4FLxPvCMyN-9TUj/s400/slow-dance-cliff-flickr-3216385738_c9d21e26ab_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Click to Call and the Reverse: Kaushik's Slow Dance Required</td></tr>
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Click-to-Call and Caller-to-Web technologies are increasingly visible within mobile apps, and does appear on some web sites. Increasingly, agile organizations can swing both ways: get web visitors to phone, and get support calls to refer to web resources (including peer to peer social content). </div>
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Some technologies combine the best of voice calling and web
sites. Online self-service is now the most common (one hesitates to use the
word “popular”) channel for customers, according to <a href="http://bit.ly/1Uu7BV3"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif;">a
2015 Forrester report</span></a>.</div>
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Future collaboration tools – all reliant on steadfast
Internet connectivity – will increasingly blur the distinction between video,
chat, phone and web. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://bit.ly/24kGQsm" target="_blank">Avinash Kaushik’s “slow dance” strategy</a> may be slow, but it will likely have a greater variety of personalized steps.</div>
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<i style="text-align: justify;"><b>Note:</b> The full story is a white label report that appears on a major telecomm site. For more, see <a href="http://bit.ly/1T5hCrR">Storyteller.tech</a>. </i><br />
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<i style="text-align: justify;">Image credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nostri-imago/" target="_blank">Cliff</a> | Flickr</i>knowlengrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01857586646777639084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649030837785035046.post-41264107880344103982016-04-28T23:54:00.001-04:002016-04-29T00:00:12.261-04:00Customer Data Security Tops ISP Survey of Small Business Patrons<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="422" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtWEfREwQGmrWP6EhrZQbMxTEjtiKLnaQF4yWFzsgPoyVKbUw_AXFC_84E0hyuijBmiHRSUUrfKdWfrnPkWf5odhaaAYcd1ne8olNc6uI3rZoov0jftgwnQv-OsUgjbTty0OABH8fr6cSw/s640/bank-vault-jason-baker-flickr-9027029071_ab7695723b_o.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Data Security Tops Small Business Patron Concerns</td></tr>
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<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonbaker/" target="_blank">https://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonbaker/</a></div>
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A recent survey of more than 800 patrons of small businesses examined consumer attitudes toward company web sites, use of social media and responsiveness to product and service reviews. While some findings followed intuition -- such as the preference women express for companies which are active on Facebook -- a surprising outcome was about something else altogether.</div>
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More than any other factor, customers cited the need for small businesses to protect the privacy of data they hand over. In other words, expectations are high for companies to crunch data to personalize and target, but even higher for that data to be protected. Fully 79% of respondents cited securing their private data as the highest priority for companies they would patronize.</div>
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<i><b>Note:</b> The full story is a white label report that appears on a major telecomm site. For more, see <a href="http://bit.ly/1T5hCrR">Storyteller.tech</a>. </i></div>
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<i>Image credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jasonbaker/" target="_blank">Jason Baker</a> (Flickr) </i></div>
knowlengrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01857586646777639084noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649030837785035046.post-34097878830183110172016-04-26T12:19:00.002-04:002016-04-26T12:19:24.814-04:00Cloud Technology: Helping to Level the Playing Field<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQAL-FRA2SxgrrFl5NOz_WgPhHJsobbrXdp3jZEMRuTnpYSh4UItzqexhv3veWYrLbyaBPtk_x2BpA_uQ16rZGJMNI4NBFAopX0FF7kVGRw4NfW_gPzN6oprmVdVjavKmcHobZhBsnkR3T/s1600/wellton-border-patrol-station-army-corp-engineers-4888261783_b9702d6275_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQAL-FRA2SxgrrFl5NOz_WgPhHJsobbrXdp3jZEMRuTnpYSh4UItzqexhv3veWYrLbyaBPtk_x2BpA_uQ16rZGJMNI4NBFAopX0FF7kVGRw4NfW_gPzN6oprmVdVjavKmcHobZhBsnkR3T/s640/wellton-border-patrol-station-army-corp-engineers-4888261783_b9702d6275_o.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Army Corps of Engineers: Wellton Border Control Station Construction 2010</td></tr>
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<a href="http://bit.ly/1Ud1LXT" target="_blank">Transborder data flows</a>, video "surveillance" for <a href="http://bit.ly/1JU0iD2" target="_blank">child care</a> and <a href="http://bit.ly/1qN80Wq" target="_blank">crowdsourced sales leads</a> were three disparate domains where three small businesses leveraged cloud services. This piece emphasizes the ubiquity of cloud services and how cloud services can help to even the playing field against larger competitors.</div>
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I would have preferred to interview the principals, but that option was not available to me.</div>
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<i>Image credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/usacehq/" target="_blank">Army Corps of Engineers</a> | Flickr </i></div>
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knowlengrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01857586646777639084noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649030837785035046.post-14672126994031433842016-04-11T21:57:00.002-04:002016-04-11T21:57:38.332-04:00Google Places: Where a Business Can be Found <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ7D_bbuHLhtcohSGyij9gN1ext-petEX2Souxg237I3B1KT1QKSfmUwbRtsAxovX0OMgnGSADIqPvC0MOVcN9I_ugpTlZHi0YVPUv8PIjSnGDPdCZ7gHUlYpjCcln4DG8cSqK9J3oKWxo/s1600/storefront-kevin-dooley-flickr-2056-20220451736_2a38dc99ab_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo by Kevin Dooley on Flickr for Story about Google Places | Google My Business by Mark Underwood" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ7D_bbuHLhtcohSGyij9gN1ext-petEX2Souxg237I3B1KT1QKSfmUwbRtsAxovX0OMgnGSADIqPvC0MOVcN9I_ugpTlZHi0YVPUv8PIjSnGDPdCZ7gHUlYpjCcln4DG8cSqK9J3oKWxo/s640/storefront-kevin-dooley-flickr-2056-20220451736_2a38dc99ab_o.jpg" title="Story about Google Places | Google My Business by Mark Underwood" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://www.google.com/business" target="_blank">Google My Business</a>: Essential for Storefronts and Brands</td></tr>
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<b>SNIP</b> This story is about a place that isn’t a place anymore.<br />
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Internet giant Google’s initial foray into business listings
for search and social media was called Google Places. The idea likely stemmed
from a sensible observation: that many businesses offer services to a specific
geographical region. That observation is best demonstrated with mobile search.
When a hungry smartphone owner is in the vicinity of a restaurant, a search for
“pizza restaurant” should, by default, show nearby pizza restaurants, not the
headquarters web site for Dominos, Pizza Hut or Little Caesars.</div>
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How does this work?
And why, even if there are numerous pizza restaurants nearby, does
Google Search only show three restaurants on the search engine results page
(SERP)?<o:p></o:p><br />
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<i><b>Note:</b> The full story is a white label report that appears on a major telecomm site. For more, see <a href="http://bit.ly/1T5hCrR">Storyteller.tech</a>. </i><br />
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<i>Image credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/pagedooley/">Kevin Dooley</a> </i></div>
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knowlengrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01857586646777639084noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649030837785035046.post-81497174888071147902016-04-04T23:45:00.000-04:002016-04-04T23:55:05.911-04:00Growing Loyalty for Loyalty Programs among Small Business<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Screenshot: VentureBeat Story on FiveStars Capitalization" border="0" height="339" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtVp-PqVdejDUr1AcNvNR1jvWH7uIZ1-FBtfm9Guq0kjQfL80ryGK-Xv4Cin5lqGOOkzkE3GaVqlvZPCkP8J4rCLmyHnrcIKmo_3k4YEhg_wNqXV8p183AW6PlnWcqzshxGXsDlvy5d6O4/s640/fivestars-vc-third-round-20160122.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" title="VentureBeat Story on FiveStars Capitalization" width="640" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://bit.ly/1XdP5Pk" target="_blank"><i>VentureBeat </i>Report</a> on FiveStars<br />
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<span id="goog_516233030"></span><span id="goog_516233031"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a></div>
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Are small businesses convinced that loyalty programs can work for them, too? Apparently the VC firms behind FiveStars believe they are. as FiveStars has been rewarded with a third round of $50 million to support the firm and its 350 employees. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
I look at the general outline for loyalty programs and the benefits and risks for small businesses. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i><b>Note:</b> The full story is a white label report that appears on a major telecomm site. For more, see <a href="http://bit.ly/1T5hCrR">Storyteller.tech</a>.</i></div>
knowlengrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01857586646777639084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649030837785035046.post-37391219922787817232016-03-30T23:37:00.003-04:002016-03-30T23:47:26.849-04:00Coupons: Reports of Death Highly Exaggerated<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE5tx45yA6gCV2bZrUzOHlOThY6j1rAYlcPUEVXjwoYtOheuUKHreYGdARflIJ117RlClNjQJs4bncyJZcJL1LKeOplq2XtXBdmrNKR-P01U35_8JbWu0qqzc84VZxWCJwA7yTAQNuF5JF/s1600/coupons-hobbies-on-a-budget-flickr-credit-8430922414_354fe5ea46_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE5tx45yA6gCV2bZrUzOHlOThY6j1rAYlcPUEVXjwoYtOheuUKHreYGdARflIJ117RlClNjQJs4bncyJZcJL1LKeOplq2XtXBdmrNKR-P01U35_8JbWu0qqzc84VZxWCJwA7yTAQNuF5JF/s400/coupons-hobbies-on-a-budget-flickr-credit-8430922414_354fe5ea46_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Coupons (Credit: Hobbies on a Budget <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/62030038@N02/" target="_blank">Flickr</a>)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
SNIP: "To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports of the death of coupons
have been greatly exaggerated. Coupons – and their cousins, discount codes --
can play nicely with digital marketing systems. Evidence suggests that coupons
still work for a significant number of people, especially in retail. . .<br />
<br />
And paper still rules. Inmar estimates that 2.4 billion paper coupons were redeemed in 2015, but only 62 million of those were digital."</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>White label story produced by <a class="g-profile" href="https://plus.google.com/106155868348926484438" target="_blank">+knowlengr</a> | <a href="http://storyteller.tech/">Storyteller.tech</a>.</i></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
knowlengrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01857586646777639084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649030837785035046.post-74136231071760888282016-03-22T23:59:00.002-04:002016-03-23T00:01:34.137-04:00Limits on Advertising Claims in the US? Check with the FTC<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUh2HUb1lpNCRlA1MUSH4zH0Ae319n4VOhQo3AX5B4VozSC2XU_lDTEx09UJ_WTYEokEuPmQOnSQuf9g47l4OT9H6Kc_BZ4DwRGbU4lZVoAEboscWb0kXrLwbP65JH1ooX1fNcZjy6R7E8/s1600/ftc-logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUh2HUb1lpNCRlA1MUSH4zH0Ae319n4VOhQo3AX5B4VozSC2XU_lDTEx09UJ_WTYEokEuPmQOnSQuf9g47l4OT9H6Kc_BZ4DwRGbU4lZVoAEboscWb0kXrLwbP65JH1ooX1fNcZjy6R7E8/s640/ftc-logo.png" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
"Can they say that?"<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
You may be wondering whether the seemingly outrageous claims made by a competitor can be made despite their dubious truth value. Maybe not. </div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The <a href="http://1.usa.gov/1UgyegS" target="_blank">FTC offers guidelines for small business advertisers</a>, and one aspect should be evident to everyone. Advertising claims that touch on health and safety will receive particular FTC scrutiny. Digital channels mean that content can be created and distributed rapidly, but not that editorial review is as obsolete as billboard ads. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The FTC's advice:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l1 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -.25in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "symbol"; text-indent: -0.25in;">·<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">“In most cases, ads that make health or safety
claims must be supported by "competent and reliable scientific
evidence" - tests, studies, or other scientific evidence that has been
evaluated by people qualified to review it.”</span> </blockquote>
<br />
<br />knowlengrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01857586646777639084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649030837785035046.post-50520715273311251712016-02-14T15:51:00.001-05:002016-02-15T11:50:27.392-05:00You Surf While They Shear and Shape <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQjXGGihZxExoPKvMFhapnboQraQiYHaGsUIcwABpedeo_d0WzMmdNDdB5X924SwAUU4Dlolz1_I_ZVcaGpPWbBizzz2a2nBVaBTtlioxn0RnHb9r8Wj8Rj5SMUu_GpOM_x4dwAxMF8VP_/s1600/hairstylingbyjoseph-home-page.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="home page for Hairstyling by Joseph in Midtown Manhattan" border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQjXGGihZxExoPKvMFhapnboQraQiYHaGsUIcwABpedeo_d0WzMmdNDdB5X924SwAUU4Dlolz1_I_ZVcaGpPWbBizzz2a2nBVaBTtlioxn0RnHb9r8Wj8Rj5SMUu_GpOM_x4dwAxMF8VP_/s400/hairstylingbyjoseph-home-page.png" title="Surf while they Shear and Shape: Wi-Fi at a Leading Salon" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Web Site of <a href="http://hairstylingbyjoseph.com/" target="_blank">Hairstyling by Joseph</a> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>STORY SNIP</b> When the likes of Cicily Tyson, The Shirelles, and The
Ronettes visited the East Village storefront of <a href="http://hairstylingbyjoseph.com/"><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif";">Hairstyling
by Joseph</span></a> in the late1950’s, those luminaries were no different from
other salon customers of the day – at least in one respect. They expected a
selection of magazines to read while they waited. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Today HSbJ is the largest black hair care salon on the East
Coast.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Today the salon’s magazines are supplemented by on-premises
Wi-Fi, because, as VP of Business Affairs Adrienne White explained, </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-align: justify;">
“. . . If you know anything about
black hair care, you would know that our clients spend an average of two hours
in the salon. And because we have so many professionals who are serviced, it is
imperative that we provide them with the Internet access they desire. A lot of business is conducted during these
client visits!”</blockquote>
<i>Full story by Mark Underwood for Renegade | Time Warner Cable Business Class </i><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: .5in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
knowlengrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01857586646777639084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649030837785035046.post-3193054847788274202016-01-11T22:24:00.000-05:002016-01-15T13:07:21.518-05:00“I Am Not A Number” – Personalization through Technology<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsRVUu1YUeZxT0g3AaSo5iUWJf7v4UkezjjCuwLkJPvQErSugMnEuGGt6bYV9vbmNEsPwCd2jq0ZvwCqrL8lGEG-AmGZwiDj88WyPitZ21nIfbi0ZeVBsPkezS_IyKNAS-tmfnd_3xkShQ/s1600/Prisoner_sm-wikipedia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsRVUu1YUeZxT0g3AaSo5iUWJf7v4UkezjjCuwLkJPvQErSugMnEuGGt6bYV9vbmNEsPwCd2jq0ZvwCqrL8lGEG-AmGZwiDj88WyPitZ21nIfbi0ZeVBsPkezS_IyKNAS-tmfnd_3xkShQ/s1600/Prisoner_sm-wikipedia.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
In the 1960’s influential TV series <i>The Prisoner</i>, the protagonist known only as Number Six repeatedly insists, “I am not a number, I am a free man!” </div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Customers, partners and employers may not like being referred to as a number either -- yet some small businesses may not be utilizing affordable technologies to avoid inflicting that indignity. Asking a person for a number is an instance of weak <b>personalization</b>, an all too common practice in many settings.</div>
knowlengrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01857586646777639084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649030837785035046.post-42795138638850366002015-03-13T18:35:00.001-04:002015-03-13T18:35:06.835-04:00Your WordPress Site Not Worth Hacking? Guess again.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4RBEGsF9b9fiNcwHG9vtgoGxX1ykldg-A2sPDk6BcNmruzzfoPy3j5OslyMHnrbKRhfJeFA1S7oEa01XJ1ty1cBB0q_cf-zs8O_olGg_ZCXj4-7oxHkfsauEtBl_kpx4V2TgsKGyIjEzC/s1600/updraft-on-hack-attempts-20150313.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Updraftplus Post on WordPress hack attempts" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4RBEGsF9b9fiNcwHG9vtgoGxX1ykldg-A2sPDk6BcNmruzzfoPy3j5OslyMHnrbKRhfJeFA1S7oEa01XJ1ty1cBB0q_cf-zs8O_olGg_ZCXj4-7oxHkfsauEtBl_kpx4V2TgsKGyIjEzC/s1600/updraft-on-hack-attempts-20150313.png" height="256" title="Why are hackers interested in your (WordPress) website?" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Post by Simba Hosting, UK (13 March 2015) </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Self-serving? Yes, <a href="http://bit.ly/1L8udXz" target="_blank">this post by Simba Hosting</a> is a bit predictable for a firm that sells backup software, but it deserves a wider read. Statistics are not readily available, but it seems a reasonable assumption that most WordPress sites are small and have comparatively little traffic. They may also have relatively weak defenses against attacks. Most likely rely upon hosting companies to patch or notify them of needed updates for WordPress, MySQL or PHP. As the Simba author notes, "WordPress runs around a quarter of all web sites on the internet," and the motivation is money. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
A recommended read.</div>
knowlengrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01857586646777639084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649030837785035046.post-14202885885156562042015-03-12T22:31:00.002-04:002015-03-12T22:35:26.272-04:00Big Companies Absorb & Destroy Tactics<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLlIPUhlIZQR4_AP-TStnnOSuQ9D4LRJprChyqLKtSVb225HAbZ7TZo1xdRaYxZn-a9Hc0tQU8BooFmcsV1CI8SHyCMFxfwoHBqAu9VRo55NPSa0p4UWYal6WBES9W_P13k3XBW25g-kIb/s1600/sean-davis-flickr-flip-phone-640px.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLlIPUhlIZQR4_AP-TStnnOSuQ9D4LRJprChyqLKtSVb225HAbZ7TZo1xdRaYxZn-a9Hc0tQU8BooFmcsV1CI8SHyCMFxfwoHBqAu9VRo55NPSa0p4UWYal6WBES9W_P13k3XBW25g-kIb/s1600/sean-davis-flickr-flip-phone-640px.jpg" height="310" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flip phone (Credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/seandavis/" target="_blank">Sean Davis</a> | Flickr}</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It's great news for entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and early start-up employees. The start-up gets acquired by a much larger firm. Cash spills forth.<br />
<br />
Things are often not so great for customers. </div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Wikipedia tracks many of them. One I was particularly fond of <a href="http://bit.ly/1ByDv90" target="_blank">was Meebo</a>, whose flexible instant messaging application and emerging group collaboration tools were purchased by Google. Another <a href="http://bit.ly/3jhbRM" target="_blank">was Zimbra</a>. Zimbra was sold to Yahoo, then to VMWare and then to Telligent, which renamed itself to Zimba. For a time no development happened on the product, though reportedly it was restarted in its latest incarnation.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
But perhaps the most galling acquisition was Cisco's purchase of Pure Digital's Flip, the genre-creating portable video camera. Cisco spent half a billion dollars to acquire the firm, and in 2011 killed the product line. Writer <a href="http://cnn.it/1ByEpCn" target="_blank">Brian Chen at <i>Wired</i> opined that it was killed</a> by market conditions (smartphones), lack of socnet interop and an uninspired high end version. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
There was probably another factor: hunger. Maintaining the entrepreneurial hunger in a large firm is notoriously difficult -- especially after an acquisition resulting in newly minted millionaire-engineers. Fast forward to B-school case study, where the potential company- and product-preserving innovations, absent the creative forces inside the start-up, are no longer visible.</div>
knowlengrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01857586646777639084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649030837785035046.post-79567852293458129352015-03-12T18:26:00.000-04:002015-03-12T18:26:20.262-04:00The Blogger's Life: Inside a Forbes Blogger<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDgdzI5cl9LkkXasqYflQjpGmmSfTWWjH_PHqflFs_R4s13Ow-rYUMvOUTOcbh6BO3pO9N5wGVNuYMr7LYQwtwt9l5LVf_KrFiFU9OXAvMSDa9aZWOST1clDDJtcSFNcPmofKTgVo5Sni6/s1600/susannah-breslin-how-to-become-a-forbes-blogger.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDgdzI5cl9LkkXasqYflQjpGmmSfTWWjH_PHqflFs_R4s13Ow-rYUMvOUTOcbh6BO3pO9N5wGVNuYMr7LYQwtwt9l5LVf_KrFiFU9OXAvMSDa9aZWOST1clDDJtcSFNcPmofKTgVo5Sni6/s1600/susannah-breslin-how-to-become-a-forbes-blogger.png" height="339" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Forbes Blogger Susannah Breslin (2011)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Forbes is a marquis web property. Being a blogger there would, presumably, be a significant boost for a small business. But before embarking down that road, you might want to see how Forbes manages -- i.e., incentivizes -- its bloggers. Getting web traffic is the central objective at Forbes, and according to this blogger, the magazine set "very, very" ambitious traffic levels for bloggers.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As Ms. Breslin wrote in this 2011 post, should illustrate the changing role of online writing for today's market.</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
These days, it’s not enough to be a good writer online. You have to be a smart marketer, your own content factory, your own publicist. If you can do it all, you are golden. If you cannot, you are screwed.</blockquote>
knowlengrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01857586646777639084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649030837785035046.post-59426055434064193022009-09-25T00:19:00.001-04:002015-03-12T19:04:29.389-04:00Fairness in Funding? Tesla vs. Ford and Nissan<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-qbFzCJDgV_HwyCC00L_ITeGFWUV-bOOkXQ0YGhkHZ504CN8ULrWOysqRPpc94THiuyWMi0be6gTIbbap10zeJOu-cfCbpIQBblbsz6jv4MMFuldXH2a7ZQexuDku7FfHm1AQBgCN4jOh/s1600/tesla-grant-from-feds-2009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-qbFzCJDgV_HwyCC00L_ITeGFWUV-bOOkXQ0YGhkHZ504CN8ULrWOysqRPpc94THiuyWMi0be6gTIbbap10zeJOu-cfCbpIQBblbsz6jv4MMFuldXH2a7ZQexuDku7FfHm1AQBgCN4jOh/s1600/tesla-grant-from-feds-2009.jpg" height="348" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CNN Announcement of USG Grant to Tesla Motors</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
A tweet highlighted this small business predicament.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<blockquote>
RT @timoreilly: <a href="http://bit.ly/rQN9c">Tesla gets $465M DOE loan</a> to build "model S" - Ford got $4.9B and Nissan $1.6B under same program.</blockquote>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It's generally accepted that a different set of rules applies for extremely large firms, yet a core tenet of capitalist Herbert Spencer's <a href="http://bit.ly/34bH68">Survival of the Fittest</a> suggests a different policy. What about firms smaller than Tesla? Shouldn't better ideas receive the larger share of funding?</div>
knowlengrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01857586646777639084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649030837785035046.post-61127499599589376242009-06-14T09:44:00.009-04:002009-06-14T21:34:24.390-04:00Pay More to Get Less Health Care: Rural Small Biz Realities<div align="justify"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEftlcrslHzQDHvnxBP2uaqlUcaTQit2R2Qh7bVD9YqPMnITxVcUxifBTB_PfN-c_TFGTT1sWDW3_UxnUH3HmS4Wr4_vO7Xo1qyCqTyHJ3IZoLn5j2KUMS1amqYtH3w0Ign_vmrI5LYBZF/s1600-h/npr-small-biz-health-ins-20090614.jpg"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 258px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 156px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5347355409306826114" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEftlcrslHzQDHvnxBP2uaqlUcaTQit2R2Qh7bVD9YqPMnITxVcUxifBTB_PfN-c_TFGTT1sWDW3_UxnUH3HmS4Wr4_vO7Xo1qyCqTyHJ3IZoLn5j2KUMS1amqYtH3w0Ign_vmrI5LYBZF/s320/npr-small-biz-health-ins-20090614.jpg" /></a>While much as been written about the <a href="http://bit.ly/JEewj">financial burden of health benefits for General Motors</a> and Chrysler retirees, less attention has been given to health insurance for small businesses. Howard Berkes' <a href="http://bit.ly/yqXFl">NPR story on the current situation facing many small businesses</a>, especially in rural America, reminds listeners of an <a href="http://bit.ly/xdvmB">April 2009 research finding</a> by the Center for Rural Affairs that being a small business owner or an employee of a small business were the two biggest factors in predicting non-insurance.</div><p align="justify">For ranchers and farmers, the problem is perhaps worse because they must depend on individual insurance plans (33 percent of them, according to this report). That same study found that 1/3 of this group depend on individual insurance, which is four times the rate for any other group. Further, among those with insurance, high-deductible policies mean that outlays for health costs -- taking premiums and out of pocket costs together -- are also high for agriculture's small business community. And while this story did not deal with health care access or quality, the number of available practitioners and facilities is also lower in rural areas. It could be said that rural America is paying more to get less health care.</p><p align="justify">The NPR story is accompanied by an excellent fast-facts table. Perhaps the most significant fact suggests that problem is a larger one than most people think. Fully 25 percent of the U.S. population is defined as rural.</p>knowlengrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01857586646777639084noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649030837785035046.post-77103392822666038692009-06-10T15:37:00.000-04:002015-03-12T19:07:57.401-04:00Head Count as Value Metric: IBM's Understated Impact<div style="text-align: justify;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">IBM Watson Portal in 2015</td></tr>
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The value of a company can be measured in several ways. Market capitalization is one, but that metric often misses the economic impact of a firm. As General Motors and Chrysler enter bankruptcy reorganizations, shedding thousands of jobs in the process, some comment that in other sectors, U.S. industry remains strong. This may be true when market cap is considered, but the head count for Google vs. General Motors shows the weakness in a metric that only looks are market value. Even after the BK, GM is <a href="http://www.workforce.com/section/00/article/26/46/06.php">expected by some</a> to keep 23,000 salaried workers, where as Google today only <a href="http://royal.pingdom.com/2009/05/14/congratulations-google-staff-210k-in-profit-per-head-in-2008/">has 20,000</a> employees. As Pingdom (May 2009) noted, at 400,000 workers, "IBM has more employees than Microsoft, Intel, Dell, Cisco, Apple, Amazon and Google all put together."</div>
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Contrast this with <a href="http://royal.pingdom.com/2009/05/14/congratulations-google-staff-210k-in-profit-per-head-in-2008/">profit per head count</a>, which says little about a firm's indirect contribution to employment, or to the societies where those workers spend, raise children and diffuse IBM's corporate culture into local customs and practices. Consider the possible impact that IBM's current <a href="http://www.semirealgames.com/2009/06/ibm-tivoli-promotion-uses-game-based.html">game-based Tivoli promotion</a> might have in places where games may be seen as a leisure time activity for decadent Western teens.</div>
knowlengrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01857586646777639084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649030837785035046.post-70633242936422080482009-05-17T22:50:00.003-04:002015-03-12T19:12:00.158-04:00Size Matters: Inefficiencies of Scale<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhizC8257qRhWohzeS5oT2BAI-nhAWYb3MuJEKKIUq0yoctJK3D-siUePDvHvbTp4jDKgEWeU8gTpYT4j1x3BqnOvNEfq5TbdBSushw-lbShvBxrx2jiQlu0qvFJFfqgOyiqkRymlXwhbJG/s1600/npr-more-foreclosures-2009.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhizC8257qRhWohzeS5oT2BAI-nhAWYb3MuJEKKIUq0yoctJK3D-siUePDvHvbTp4jDKgEWeU8gTpYT4j1x3BqnOvNEfq5TbdBSushw-lbShvBxrx2jiQlu0qvFJFfqgOyiqkRymlXwhbJG/s1600/npr-more-foreclosures-2009.png" height="260" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NPR Analysis about Foreclosure Rates in 2009</td></tr>
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As <a href="http://bit.ly/z8ry2">discussed in the context of U.S. mortgage loan servicers</a>, bigger firms proved less able to adapt to the new way of operating after the collapse of credit markets and inflated real estate values.<br />
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In one analysis of <a href="http://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/hlthec/v13y2004i11p1091-1116.html">inefficiencies of scale in physician practices</a>, it was shown that efficiencies of scope are possible, but efficiencies of scale did not result.<br />
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Scale efficiencies should be contrasted with <a href="http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=KwTDJRp8xq9WhXyTrQy89pg8Lp4QS8TDvmMMGsxXysZ5QQRrfBrC%21-1128969256%21670820238?docId=5001648323">scale elasticity</a>.<br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">
Investopedia refers to scale inefficiencies as "<a href="http://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/diseconomiesofscale.asp">Diseconomies of Scale</a>," clarified in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diseconomies_of_scale">a Wikipedia entry</a>.<br />
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Inefficiencies of scale affect government, IT, media -- all shapes and sizes of organizations. Supply chain considerations may drive size up, but quality objectives may at times exert an opposite effect.</div>
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knowlengrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01857586646777639084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649030837785035046.post-63549714224075886652009-01-14T10:11:00.000-05:002015-03-12T19:16:57.253-04:00What about TARPs for small business?<div align="justify">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYMPuIS_DbXVk7jfrfal55ymXrjDtTgd4Xc0iLrDmp_9acPOJQQsZOfc1_IrFBfjmHIw6hii8Zk_qmeh_M0zbUrPR5JXNFhOrkHEKBREi1qGoBCPqfQCe33Q0oBJ1uF7kJkOhIpJVgIKLM/s1600/small-business-loan-stressors-20090114.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYMPuIS_DbXVk7jfrfal55ymXrjDtTgd4Xc0iLrDmp_9acPOJQQsZOfc1_IrFBfjmHIw6hii8Zk_qmeh_M0zbUrPR5JXNFhOrkHEKBREi1qGoBCPqfQCe33Q0oBJ1uF7kJkOhIpJVgIKLM/s1600/small-business-loan-stressors-20090114.png" height="358" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marketplace Story (2009)</td></tr>
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Today's <a href="http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2009/01/14/small_business_loans/">Marketplace radio</a> report on an SBA program originally intended to help disadvantaged and woman-owned small businesses highlights the need to look beyond Citibank and AIG. The small business engine is sputtering too, but it's not getting the attention it deserves.<br />
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The SBA's Office of Advocacy (as <a href="http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/smallbusiness/a/sbadrives.htm">reported</a> by about.com) stated in 2005 that:</div>
<blockquote>
<div align="justify">
Small businesses are job creators. Office of Advocacy funded data and research shows that small businesses represent 99.7 percent of all firms, they create more than half of the private non-farm gross domestic product, and they create 60 to 80 percent of the net new jobs. In 2004, there were an estimated 23,974,500 businesses in the U.S. Of the 5,683,700 firms with employees, 5,666,600 were small firms.</div>
</blockquote>
<div align="justify">
Loans provided to small businesses arguably have a faster track to the real economy. TARP funds have been used for banks to acquire other banks, to prop up pension funds, to increase reserves against future losses, and to pay attorneys to develop plans that never come to fruition. Loans to big business potentially affect more employees and indirectly a broad network of suppliers and communities, but huge sums lend to large firms represent a small number of huge bets.</div>
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</div>
<div align="justify">
A similar analysis was provided by <a href="http://bit.ly/k5Btu">an AllBusiness.com story</a> that appeared around the time of this post.</div>
knowlengrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01857586646777639084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649030837785035046.post-65814275170273648742008-12-22T17:40:00.002-05:002015-03-12T19:20:13.994-04:00SBA Watch?<div style="text-align: justify;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwDKBRHeHw5E2QIQ8sqQUWfDh8RXor6oPOsKkajPYctnF6OqGJEbfH9uex6091V2EWV6n2fX2O5R4YR6z9IzuBzVcYootjBBDur1JNV1QtKW5SPWTc6_8s2G4IarGYc2wryM2zd6S7oEAS/s1600/sba-home-pg-screenshot-20150312.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwDKBRHeHw5E2QIQ8sqQUWfDh8RXor6oPOsKkajPYctnF6OqGJEbfH9uex6091V2EWV6n2fX2O5R4YR6z9IzuBzVcYootjBBDur1JNV1QtKW5SPWTc6_8s2G4IarGYc2wryM2zd6S7oEAS/s1600/sba-home-pg-screenshot-20150312.png" height="326" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SBA.gov Home Page (March 2015)</td></tr>
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Is there an "SBA Watch" site? There are blogs consuming the SBA's content, and there is an SBA advocacy blog sponsored by the SBA itself, but who's watching out for transparency and accountability in the SBA? Is this a case of the small (businesses) unable to oversee the big (agency)?</div>
knowlengrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01857586646777639084noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7649030837785035046.post-9720748177239449442008-12-22T16:12:00.001-05:002009-06-11T23:31:26.109-04:00Recession Ripple Effects Differ for Small Biz<div style="text-align: justify;">With few voices in Washington, how will the voice of small business be heard? How long will it take for any help to trickle down? The pain trickles down quite rapidly. The problem is that many small voices, howling herds of cats, won't be heard over the well-heeled lobbyist megaphones.</div>knowlengrhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01857586646777639084noreply@blogger.com0