6 Neat Reasons Why Small Businesses Are Important To Your Local Community

Small Business Saturday, led by American Express, is coming up November 24th. A day to CELEBRATE local small businesses by SHOPPING at them.

Review this inforgraphic to remind yourself of 6 reasons why small businesses are so important to our economy.

You'll find several interesting facts about small businesses â€" that's US â€" who are in local communities all across this great country.

Big thanks to American Express for spearheading this effort and shining the light on the 30 million (give or take) hard working professionals, entrepreneurs and small business owners who work hard every day to make a living and contribute to our society.

 

 

 

 

 

Smart Devices Make for Smart Small Business Decisions

When it comes to the ability to create personal customer relationships, small businesses would seemingly have advantages over larger competitors. However, as consumers push the demand of smart devices, convenience and value could increasingly take precedence over store loyalty; and if small businesses don't take advantage of smart tools in place now and invest in smart devices, they may be left behind.

Despite the undeniable popularity of smart devices among consumers, a recent Wells Fargo/Gallup study shows the merchant community lagging behind the trend. Fifty-seven percent of small business owners reported no plans to make capital investments in the next year and felt their businesses did not need improvements â€" although 80 percent of small businesses said they would be more likely to invest because of increased sales revenue.

While 60 percent of the population made purchases online in 2011 and spent in-total an average of $608 in the process, according to a CRM Associates study (PDF), the time to invest for a profitable result is now.

Today's forward-looking businesses recognize that embracing their own smart devices such as point-of -sale (POS) terminals that read contactless payments and barcodes, mobile POS, kiosks and table-based catalogs help create a consistent experience for consumers and impact the way they make purchases.

At the same time, to keep up with consumer demands, small business must understand the impact that smart devices are having on how consumers make purchases, capitalize on the anytime, anywhere ability to reach the masses with relevant communication, and ensure all means of communication provide a positive and consistent experience.

Because consumers increasingly use online shopping and mobile technologies in pursuit of greater control, small businesses need to adapt and keep up with this digital command to retain and increase loyal clients.

Beyond Traditional Commerce

Shopping in-store at local businesses is no longer the primary way customers learn about and buy products.  In fact, 52 percent of consumers said accessible information and availability for questions before making a purchase would encourage them to spend more, a recent Harris Interactive study found.

Smart devices allow consumers to be fully connected, providing an integrated shopping experience regardless of location, and create new channels to influence purchasing decisions outside of traditional advertisements and offers. The use of social networks and mobile apps provide a perfect platform for merchants to present highly targeted products and promotions, directly to customers who are looking for them.

New technology such as virtual wallets and electronic promotions make it easy for consumers to track specialized promotions and deals and keep them all in one place. This simultaneously helps small businesses retain loyal customers, provide better loyalty programs and collect detailed information about their customers shopping behaviors.

For example, new technologies, like card-linked offers can electronically attach offers, eCoupons and loyalty programs to a consumer's payment card or mobile wallet enabling streamlined, automatic redemption at the merchant POS with immediate feedback from the payment terminal or smartphone instead of printing purchased online offers to physically present in stores.

While smart devices are influencing today's commerce and helping streamline loyalty programs, the overall payments landscape is evolving and small businesses are seeing more and more opportunities to utilize new technologies with payments.

As more payment options become available, moving from traditional cash payments to systems that facilitate transactions in the cloud, meeting the new demands of Universal Commerce has emerged as a vital strategic consideration of any business.

Smart Devices Adapted to Small Businesses

As smart devices continue to become a larger part of how customers function, small businesses need to understand how they are impacting the consumer decision-making process and what tools will be most effective for their businesses. Since commerce has moved beyond the in-store interaction, many businesses have an online presence, a mobile application and other internet applications, including social media, to better and more closely engage with customers through multiple channels.

The best strategy for small businesses is to ensure customers have positive and consistent experiences across each outlet. Whether a customer is using a mobile app, online, or in store, there should be no question as to which ‘store' a customer will buy from, as they see the same deal offered to them online and at the physical store. Navigation and appearance should follow a parallel structure, while prices, loyalty cards, discounts and all other policies should be the same across all channels.

The appeal of using smart devices is that customers know exactly what they are getting, no matter how they receive the information and product.

Businesses should also capitalize on the anytime, anywhere ability smart devices provide, allowing customer interaction with the brand on their terms and schedules.  With customer purchasing behaviors captured through loyalty programs, merchants can send specific communications to a target channel based exactly on customer preferences.

Strategic adaptation to smart devices is small business' best instrument for providing customers with a superior shopping experience, while thriving in the new world of Universal Commerce and keeping a robust and satisfied customer base.

HP Introduces the ElitePad 900: A True Tablet For Business And Beyond

HP  recently introduced new competition into the tablet market with it's HP ElitePad 900.  With it's beautiful design and enterprise-grade features, functionality and support, this tablet was created with business (and government) in mind.

Ramon Ray (Editor & Technology Evangelist, Smallbiztechnology.com) had the opportunity to see the HP ElitePad 900 up close and personal.
He told us, “HP's new tablet is one of the best tablet'sI've seen, in
regard to overall functionality. With it's battery pack (for added long
life), productivity jacket and other accessories the tablet HP's designed is a serious business tool. It's a tool, and running Windows 8 (made for tablets), that is optimized for out of office use (on the road) and for use inside the office with ports, external monitor and keyboard.

The HP ElitePad 900 is an ultrathin, lightweight tablet designed for Windows 8.  It offers the full serviceability, enhanced security and manageability found in HP Elite PCs, and military-grade durability for drops, vibration, dust, temperature extremes and high altitude.  This is a tablet that your employees will want to work with and has features that will keep your IT department happy.

Powered by next-generation Intel® mobile processors, the HP ElitePad delivers PC productivity for those on the go and Intel x86 compatibility for existing business application support. It is designed for Windows 8 and supports touch-, pen- or voice-based input.

Other key features of the ElitePad 900 include:

• HP ElitePad Productivity Jacket-includes an integrated keyboard, connectivity ports, SD card reader and adjustable viewing angles for a complete computing experience.
• HP ElitePad Expansion Jacket-adds USB, HDMI and other connectivity to get more done on the go. Adds even longer battery life when bundled with the optional HP ElitePad Jacket battery.
• The HP ElitePad Rugged Case-provides military-grade reliability and enhances the stylish profile of the ElitePad for added protection.
• HP ElitePad Docking Station-delivers an enterprise-class desktop experience with an added keyboard and monitor and also charges the tablet. Or, use it to set the tablet up as a secondary screen for phenomenal multitasking.
• HP Executive Tablet Pen-lets customers write messages and notes in their natural handwriting directly on screen and then save or convert to typed text for use in other applications.
• 1080p front-facing video camera and 8 megapixel (MP) rear camera with an LED flash and included CyberLink YouCam software.

The HP ElitePad 900 is expected to be available in the United States in January 2013. Pricing information will be announced closer to availability.

Adobe investigates zero-day that bypasses Reader X sandbox

Adobe Systems is responding to reports of a critical zero-day exploit being sold in the criminal underground that targets a zero-day flaw in Adobe Reader X.

According to company spokesperson Wiebke Lips, the software maker has reached out to Group-IB, a Russian-based cybercrime investigation company that discovered the exploit for sale and is apparently available in a custom version of the notorious Black Hole attack toolkit. Adding the exploit to the automated toolkit makes the potential for widespread attacks greater, say experts.

"We are now in communication with Group IB so we can make a determination whether or not this is in fact a vulnerability and a sandbox bypass," Lips said. "Without additional details, and in particular a sample, there is nothing we can do, unfortunately -- beyond continuing to monitor the threat landscape and working with our partners in the security community, as always."

The exploit is able to weaken the security of computers running the latest versions of Adobe Reader, Adobe X and XI, by evading sandbox protection in the programs, which was first implemented by the software company in 2010, according to Group-IB. The first report of the zero-day came earlier this week by Brian Krebs of Krebs on Security.

The sandboxing technology implemented by Adobe, wraps its Reader software in a protective layer, intended to keep malicious code from breaking out onto a victim's machine. "Adobe has made great steps in mitigating the attacks against the PDF reader by implementing sandboxing, but, if the report has it right, then these counter-measures are all in vain, since the exploit can easily bypass the sandbox," said Catalin Cosoi, chief security strategist at Romanian antivirus provider Bitdefender.

The attack has only been successfully tested on Adobe Reader installed on Microsoft Windows. Proof of concept of the zero-day was posted on YouTube by Group-IB. The exploit executes its own shellcode with help of deformed PDF-documents,  according to a report on Group IB's webisite. Black Hole is used to distribute banking Trojans such as Zeus, Spyeye, Carberp and Citadel with the help of vulnerabilities in client-side software.

"[This] means that anyone who gets infected has a strong chance of having their accounts depleted," Cosoi said in an email to SearchSecurity.com.

The exploit is being sold on the black market for prices between $30,000 and $50,000, however, Group IB reports that so far it is only circulating among a small number of members of the cybercrime community. Enterprises have the most reason to worry about this vulnerability, Cosoi said, because they often allow PDF files through the corporate firewall by default.

"Any computer user who opens a PDF file rigged with the exploit can inadvertently install a backdoor at the network level, through which the attackers can gain access to company data, intellectual property, customer information or technological processes," Cosoi said.

According to Andrey Komarov, head of the international projects department of Group-IB, one limitation of the vulnerability is that it can only successfully be exploited once the user closes and restarts the browser.

Mac Planet: Peak Apple?

An Ars Technica forum poster called The Real Blastdoor delivered this clever epistle back in June 2010, but I can't help thinking how accurate it is going by the tenor of some of the comments that appear here. And it's not just me who was impressed by this: it recently reappeared on other Mac postings, such as Farley's tumblr page.

What do you think? Does it hurt, ring true, make you laugh or make you recoil in anger?

The Apple haters' stages of grief go something like this:

1. Predict failure of new Apple product
2. Attribute early success of new Apple product to rabid fanbois affected by the reality distortion field
3. Attribute longer term success of product to stupidity of consumers
4. Purchase previously scorned product for stupid relatives so they stop bothering you to help support the open source version of Apple product sold by Super Lucky Technology Extreme Inc that you convinced them to buy
5. Purchase previously scorned product for yourself just to see what all the fuss is about
6. Admit that you now own and use the product, but complain about the product's lack of SD card slot on random internet forum
7. Forget prior criticism of product, claim that it was revolutionary and an example of how Apple used to be really innovative, but has now lost its edge.

Well, people have been relishing proclaiming doom for Apple as long as I can remember. Back before the Mac first came out in 1984, the finger of scorn was levelled at the 'stupid' mouse and 'childish' icons of the Graphic User Interface by 'real' computer users. Of course, history indicates pretty clearly what triumphed across all computer platforms on those counts.

When Apple was at its former peak of around 12 per cent usage in the US, here and in Australia, England and other places, back in the late 1980s, the naysayers didn't slacken with their criticisms. In fact, the only time I remember the traffic of negativity slackening was immediately before and after Apple was at its lowest, and Steve Jobs came back. Its imminent demise quietened the invective, and then there was a period where everyone wanted to see what was going to happen.

But soon the stream picked up with a vengeance, and Apple's eventual rise to monetary success, despite its Macs and iDevice introductions and designs invigorating markets as much as it invigorated copyists, had the scorn rising to an unrelenting level.

With the passing of Steve Jobs, there has been a lot of angsting (of which I am also guilty) about where Apple is doing and what Apple is all about, but people like me still live and breathe inside an Apple world - on a Mac Planet, if you will.

But recently a former Apple employee has joined the chorus in an opinion piece in The Guardian.

Dan Crow worked at Apple for four years in the late 1990s, as a software engineer and engineering manager. He joined during the disastrous reign of Gil Amelio, what he calls "the desolate end of a desolate decade for the company." Crow was there when Steve Jobs returned and executed the most spectacular business turnaround of our lifetimes, got to know Steve "quite well and Apple really well".

Though still an avid Mac user, Crow prefers Android - he also worked at Google for five years. Crow uses Maps as a starting point to what he thinks is the clarion call of Apple's forthcoming decline, because it wasn't a failure on a road to a better product so much as instrument of a vendetta against Google. He says "Apple deliberately offered an inferior product, because its fight over Android was deemed more important than its users."

This perceived personal element (as also a former Google employee and Android user) colours Crow's interpretation, but it's still a valid commentary worth consideration.

Crow makes the point (which I have to agree with) that when Jobs turned on his infamous hype, he needed an outstanding product to back it up, since "products like the iMac, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad really were exceptional, breakthrough products. Steve's showmanship was justified."

But the launch of the latest revisions of the iPad and iPhone were also accompanied by amazing levels of hype: "I don't think the level of invention has been matched by anything we've ever done", "This is the biggest thing to happen to iPhone since the iPhone".

Crow notes "Don't get me wrong, the iPhone 5 is an excellent product; it's probably the best smartphone on the market right now. But it's only an incremental improvement over the iPhone 4S."

As the recent new owner of an iPhone 5, I have to say I agree. It's an excellent device. Perhaps it is the 'best' - perhaps not. But it's not breathtakingly better than even my previous iPhone, a lowly 4.

More tellingly, though, Crow levels the charge that Apple is suffering from "serious structural faults." He thinks the pace will slacken and "Apple will not return to the levels of execution and brilliance we saw in the first decade of this millennium."

I don't know if I agree with that. Apple still has incredible R&D clout and buying power (which is much the same think - if you can't innovate in a particular space, you can always buy the innovators).

Crow goes further, maintaining that Apple "has shifted away from Jobs's laser-like focus on building the best and most complete user experience, and started putting its [corporate] interests way ahead of those of its users. It hasn't introduced a truly new product since the launch of the iPad nearly three years ago; instead it's making incremental and overhyped improvements to its current lines. In reality, these signs and portents are relatively small. Apple is still producing excellent products and for every Maps app, there's a great new iPad Mini or iPod Touch to brighten up the outlook. But, doesn't it all feel a little... flat?"

He further charges that Apple is emerging from a virtual dictatorship, and its present serious structural faults are the consequence.

In the end, Crow's concerns are his opinions, albeit well informed. As to where Apple actually will go, we'll just have to see. It's not impossible that Apple will get through whatever it's currently going through, but Crow's piece certainly adds to and enumerates genuine concerns.

I wholeheartedly concur that I prefer an Apple that focusses on building the best and most complete user experience. That's what attracted me in the first place, way back in the days of the first line of Macs.

Crow finishes "I may be wrong. I hope I'm wrong. But something tells me I'm not."

By Mark Webster

Twitter overshoots password reset need

Twitter mistakenly reset too many passwords on Thursday in response to a security incident, the company has said.

Twitter reset the passwords, and sent out letters informing people of the action, to a larger number of account holders than was necessary, the company said in a status update post.

"In this case, we unintentionally reset passwords of a larger number of accounts, beyond those that we believed to have been compromised," Twitter said. "We apologise for any inconvenience or confusion this may have caused."

An unknown number of user accounts may have been compromised "by a website or service not associated with Twitter," the company said in its letter.

Looking For New Tech Talent? Find Workers Based on Social Engagement

While the unemployment rate has created a large pool of candidates for most employers, tech recruiting still remains a challenge. According to Smart & Associates president Bradford Smart, only 25% of hires are considered top performers. When it comes to the technology that runs your business, however, you can't trust your hardware and software to just anyone.

Remarkable Hire can help your company save money each year. The site uses a unique social networking approach to hiring that lets employers find talent on industry sites. Instead of relying on resumes on job boards, your small business will be able to find passive talent from industry communities.

“When people participate in social tech and design communities like GitHub, Stack Overflow, and Dribble, there are multiple ways for their peers to implicitly endorse or approve their work,” a Remarkable Hire video explains. “Whether through likes, votes of approval, or followers.”

Remarkable Hire uses this “social evidence” to provide candidates with proven experience in specific areas, like JavaScript, CSS, and MySQL. This experience is validated through a scoring system that evaluates each person's knowledge in that area. Each candidate's skills are listed in detail and rated on a scale of one to four stars.

Results will be ordered based on the candidate's proficiency in these skills, not just how many times those skills are listed on a resume. A bio and contact information is also listed, giving employers a way to recruit those hires.

“We strongly believe that the best candidates are not spending their time hanging out on job boards or frequently keeping their LinkedIn profile up to date and polished,” Remarkable Hire co-founder Jamey Jeff told The Washington Post. “The best folks are already in jobs and doing a good job at them.”

While there are no shortage of job sites online, Remarkable Hire notes that many of these sites charge listing fees to employers, who then must spend large amounts of time weeding through resumes. Many of these resumes are padded with inaccurate information that fails to tell employers a potential hire's actual expertise in a particular skill. With Remarkable Hire, employers are able to find candidates that are acknowledged as experts by others in the same field.

According to Remarkable Hire, companies spend an average of $10,000 on hiring and recruiting talent, only to find that the majority of those hired aren't top talent. Remarkable Hire's plans cost $349.99 per month to pay monthly, but you'll get the first week free, allowing you a chance to try the site out. Or you can pay annually and save $50 per month.

Experts publish DKIM flaw best practice

Messaging security experts have published best practice guidance on how to avoid flawed implementation of the DKIM anti-phishing standard.

Google was among companies caught out in October using DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) keys that were too short, allowing a researcher to spoof emails to Sergey Brin and Larry Page, purportedly from each other.

The Messaging, Malware and Mobile Anti-Abuse Working Group (M3AAWG), which counts Google as one of its sponsors, published guidance on Tuesday calling on business enterprises to replace previously secure 512- and 768-bit verification keys with 1024-bit and higher encryption.

"Technology is advancing, and to keep pace with hackers, the industry needs to revisit its practices in light of their expanding capabilities," M3AAWG co-chairman Chris Roosenraad said in a statement.

The group recommended that keys be rotated quarterly, and that signatures should have an expiration period greater than the current key rotation period. Email services using DKIM should avoid sending messages in testing mode apart from during a testing period, and should monitor receiver performance using Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance (DMARC).

Frank Eliason of Citibank: The Right Customer Experience

Frank Eliason, Global Director of Social Media for Citibank, and author of, “At Your Service: How to Attract New Customers, Increase Sales, and Grow Your Business Using Simple Customer Service Techniques” believes customers want a pleasant experience the first time around and not necessarily social service after you've failed to provide that.  Tune in as he joins Brent Leary for an in-depth discussion on the concept.

* * * * *

Small Business Trends: You're the Director of Global Social Media for CitiBank and you also wrote a book, “At Your Service.” Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Frank Eliason: Most people probably remember me more for my work at Comcast, where I founded Comcast Cares. I view myself as a simple customer service guy. I look at social media with that hat on.  That's the hat that really makes a lot of sense to work in social media with.

Small Business Trends: You started with social media from the perspective of customer service.  Do you see a lot of companies starting like that today, or are they really looking at customer service over social channels -primarily through a prism of promotion?

Frank Eliason: I think they're looking at it from a promotion. I think that what people find is that it really just doesn't work. As customers start talking back to them and as they talk back, people said: ‘Oh, social services is what they want.'

“It is really fascinating to me because I haven't found customers that really want social service. I found that customers want the right experience, at the right time.”

Not that long ago, I did a presentation about this. I called social media customer service a complete failure and I have reasons for that. I made the point that customers don't want social service, they want it handled right the first time.

There was someone from a major pizza chain on a panel during that seminar. She said:

“Our customers, they want social service.”

I was fascinated by this. So the first thing I did was pull up their Facebook page. The first post I saw was:

“I called three times, and you still can't get it right.”

They did not want social service.

Small Business Trends: They wanted a pizza…

Small Business Trends: Do you think companies were providing the right kind of customer experiences and customer service before social media?

Frank Eliason: No. We have been in the dark ages for customer service for 20 years or more.

Look at technology and everything else. In the past 30 years, the amount of technology that has gone into customer service is amazing. New tools come out all the time, they display their gadgets â€" think about it as a customer.  Do you think customer experience is better now â€" or better back then?

We try to make it all process. We try to make it a process for everything. Unfortunately, we forgot to give a copy of that process to the customer.

Small Business Trends: So customers want to have the best possible experience they can have. Whereas for companies it's more about call reduction times and lower costs â€" i.e. get off the phone?

Frank Eliason: The thing is, companies do this all the time. Social media is one of these areas where companies have to learn, if you can tap into one's passion, people will praise you. They will do all kinds of different things. Instead, we tend to destroy it.

I was flying on United Airlines. When I flew back, I got to the airport early. I looked and saw a earlier flight. Instead of having to wait five hours for a flight, I can take a flight in two hours. I said:

“Ok, I would like to do this. Can I fly standby?”

The response was:

“No. Well you can â€" but you have to pay $75.”

The plane had tons of seats. So what are they doing? My goal is to get home. I am highly passionate about getting home. Instead of living up to my passion, you try to make money off of it.

So what did I do? I paid the $75.  Then blasted the brand for doing this. It's funny because I actually do like the brand.

Small Business Trends: Do you think that companies try to use technology to drive down cost as opposed to improving experience?

Frank Eliason: I will be blunt about it. Look at how we look at the customer. So many companies look at customers with one thing, what is the customers' life time value?  That financial metric, this is one thing that drives me insane.  When I hear a company talk about a customers' life time value. Because if you are doing it right, that value should be consistently increasing.

It becomes interesting to me because there is a finite number of people that can be your customers. What fascinates me about social, because social is really about relationships, it is core to what business at one time was about.

What really becomes interesting with that, when we made it about numbers, we took away people's art form. We made everything so finite. But people have a craving when they do work to be artistic. It is a natural craving we have.

Small Business Trends: Having a human element is actually good for business because you are doing business with other humans.

Frank Eliason: That is exactly it. What's really fascinating is, we're hitting a time where people look at social media and find it to be all negative stuff. A lot of people blast and say all kinds of things.  I don't necessarily disagree with some of that stuff and part of the reason is â€" we have driven people to that point.

I think it is easier not to do that when you have a human connection. When you feel very differently. These are the things that we can certainly do in social media.

Small Business Trends: Where can people find your book?

Frank Eliason: My book is available anywhere books are sold.

Frank Eliason by smallbiztrends

Big Data (aka Business Intelligence) Part II: Size Up Your Business With A Few Clicks

Running a business is never easy. Between dealing with customers, competitors, partners, and vendors it becomes difficult to strategize effectively. Sure, being busy might make you feel productive, but there is a fine line between busy work and worthwhile work. Fortunately, the problem can be solved by harnessing the power of big data  so you can analyze the marketplace around you with ease.

We talked about what big data, aka Business Intelligence, is in the first article of this series and how valuable it can be to your business. We also mentioned that you shouldn't let the term intimidate you. Although “big data” used to be only for enterprise corporations, today there are numerous tools that let companies of all sizes use analysis to make more informed  businesses decisions.

SizeUp is a company which literally allows you to size up your company against competitors and partners with only a few clicks. Simply enter your industry and location and SizeUp will let you map out competitors and partners. Additionally color overlays show figures such as average revenue, average employee turnover, average revenue per capita and more as they relate to your location. Other helpful features of SizeUp include salary, health insurance premium and  worker's compensation valuators which can help to determine if you are paying more than necessary for either of those services.

Once you finish evaluating your company, SizeUp provides an excellent advertising lead evaluation tool which allows you to filter communities by numerous metrics such as:  household income, total revenue, most under served markets, and more in just a matter of a few clicks. These results can be viewed in both a list or on a map, with the additional option to search for potential leads. Although the data is currently limited to larger cities and regions, SizeUp still provides valuable insights as today lots of business can be done over the internet.

Before implementing a business intelligence campaign it is important to evaluate if you getting enough out of your networking and cold calls. By utilizing a contact relationship management platform (CRM) you can track leads from all stages of the sales pipe â€" meetings, calls, support requests, purchase history and more can all be monitored from a central location with ease. Although CRMs had their beginnings in enterprises, today the technology has become common enough that even solopreneurs can afford to integrate such systems into their workflow. While there are a wide array of platforms on the market, one of the best platforms for users who want a simple yet powerful suite is Zoho CRM.  Another well respected CRM platform is SugarCRM which one ups Zoho in that you can install it on your own server and not pay monthly fees (unless you need one of the higher tier packages). SugarCRM also offers hosted packages however Zoho holds the advantage in terms of simplicity and ease of use.

The reality is that information that was once only available to large enterprises is now available for even the smallest of companies to harvest and use to their advantage.  Just make sure that you understand the information you are looking at and that it has a value to you.

NY Events: Media App Summit, Inside Social Apps 2012 and AllFacebook Marketing Conference All Coming To NY

Check out these three great events coming up the beginning of December in NYC.

Check out the Media App Summit, December 3 in New York City for an extensive look into the cutting-edge world of media app design, demographics, and distribution. You'll learn how to create eye-catching content and maximize your discoverability. The full-day conference unites publishers, authors, developers, social media gurus, digital content strategists, and marketers for insight from industry experts.

Speakers include Deborah Forte of Scholastic Media, Allegra Burnette of the Museum of Modern Art, Claudia Romanini of Barnes & Noble Digital Products, Lyle Underkoffler of Disney Publishing Worldwide, Jason Hirschhorn of The ReDEF Group (former president of Myspace), and Amanda D'Acierno of Random House Audio.

View the full program here.

Enter our exclusive promo-code: SBT15 and save 15% when you register now.

 

Inside Social Apps, San Francisco's largest conference dedicated exclusively to the emerging social apps industry, is heading to New York on December 3. Join us at the full-day event as expert speakers discuss the topics and events that directly impact social app developers, marketers, investors and platform operators.

You'llhear from experts at TripAdvisor, Wildfire, Oracle, Electronic Arts (EA), Heyzap, Disney Interactive Media Group, GSN Digital, Zynga Mobile,FanAppz, and more.

Sessions include:

• The Future of Mobile App Discovery & Marketing
• Social & Mobile Game Product Design and Development
• Maximizing Audience Engagement
• Monetizing Social & Mobile Games

View the full program here.

Enter our exclusive promo-code: SBT15 and save 15% when you register now.

 

AllFacebook Marketing Conference is heading to New York City on December 4-5 for an inside look at Facebook innovations and monetization issues impacting today's top digital media and marketing experts. You'll learn how to navigate the big opportunities and fast-changing risks that are quickly emerging across the Facebook and mobile social landscape.

Joinus for two days of immersive learning, top-level networking and fresh insight, while connecting with the most sought-after community of socialmedia thought leaders and industry strategists. Speakers include experts from HBO, ESPN, Barclays Center, Rosetta Stone, Salesforce.com, Gap, UNICEF, and more.

View the full program here.

Enter our exclusive promo-code: SBT15 and save 15% when you register now.

Demystifying Management Phrases

This cartoon was a great deal of fun to write because I got to exorcise some old phrases I loathed hearing before I quit to become a cartoonist:

• “Are you sue that's the best way to handle this?” Apparently not, so why don't you just tell me what you'd rather I do.
• “Why don't you give him a call back…” So I get to give them the bad news? Super!
• “You may want to have another look at those.” So there's a problem that needs to be corrected, but first I must solve a series of puzzles…

It's one of my more popular cartoons because I think everyone recognizes this situation.

Social networking represents the biggest risk to information security

A recent survey by McAfee has found that social networking is the number one threat to information security, according to IT professionals.

Almost 62 per cent of 133 IT and business executives surveyed cited the use of social network sites as a significant threat to their organisation's data security. The second largest threat was the growth of emails and other unstructured data, with 59 per cent stating it was a risk.

The recent growth of ‘bring your own device' (BYOD) within companies was addressed in the McAfee survey, with less than one in five (19 per cent) professionals surveyed stating that their business had a comprehensive BYOD policy for users' personal mobile devices. Almost half of those surveyed (46 per cent) said that personally owned consumer devices represented a significant threat.

In terms of mobile security, the biggest concerns of those surveyed was the practices and behaviour of users, with over half (59 per cent) stating the failure of employees to follow data retention policies as the highest risk and 58 per cent stating lost or stolen devices.

“With employees wanting the same experience in the office as they have at home, it's no surprise that social networking emerges as a serious concern for the IT department,” said Raj Samani, EMEA CTO at McAfee. “As the consumerisation of IT continues to extend its reach into the workplace, it's crucial for IT to take control and set manageable policies for employees to follow.”

McAfee recently launched its ‘Online Safety for Kids' program in the UK designed to raise awareness of the potential risks and share knowledge about how to stay safe online.

“Children are increasingly technology savvy, yet they are not always so savvy when it comes to recognising risk,” Gert-Jan Schenk, president of EMEA at McAfee, said. “The Online Safety for Kids programme allows our employees to use their expertise for the benefit of their local communities, and ultimately ensure that young people understand the risks involved with surfing the web.”

Woman arrested as part of media hacking probe

Police have arrested a 45-year-old woman as part of an investigation into computer hacking linked to a media phone-hack scandal.

The woman was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit offences under sections one and three of the Computer Misuse Act, which deal with unauthorised access to computers, and sections one and two of the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, which concern the interception of data.

She was taken from her home in south-west London on Thursday morning as part of Operation Tuleta, the Metropolitan Police said in a statement on Thursday. Hers was the 18th Operation Tuleta arrest. The woman was questioned at a south London police station, and a search was carried out at her home.

Operation Tuleta is an inquiry into alleged computer hacking that is running in parallel to phone hacking investigation Operation Weeting. The two inquiries revolve around allegations of phone hacking by news media including journalists at the now-defunct Rupert Murdoch publication News of the World.

The woman's arrest was "not directly linked to any news organisation or the activities of journalists," said the police.

Icahn Investment in Netflix Could Cause Conflict

Entrepreneurs know the importance of vision in any business, but sometimes when disparate visions collide, the resulting conflict can hurt the business overall. News last week that activist investor Carl Icahn had acquired about 10 percent of video streaming company Netflix aroused fears among analysts that conflicting visions between Icahn and company management might disrupt operations. From initial investment to the growth of a business, conflict is inevitable. Think about these issues from the beginning so that when conflicts arise, your vision for your business comes shining through.

Struggle for Power

The poison pill. Netflix management said they were open to Icahn's “perspective” as a major shareholder last week, but this week management deployed a so-called “poison pill” strategy to dilute Icahn's shares and prevent take-over. Small businesses don't generally need to deal with activist investors, but if you take investment funds from friends, family or anyone else when starting your business, you will need to decide how much of a role they will play. CNBC

The Icahn effect. Icahn's role at other companies has often been to unlock maximum value for investors by making management changes or even by selling off assets if he thinks it's the best way extract value. But analysts worry this philosophy may come into conflict with management's efforts. Maximizing profit is, of course, a consideration, even in the smallest company, but be sure to do what's best for your business in the long term too. MarketWatch

Angling for Investment

The needs of the many. One possible source of funding for businesses that can help entrepreneurs maintain control is what's called micro investment. This approach has entrepreneurs seeking smaller amounts of money from a larger number of investors. As blogger Ian Goddard explains, “$1 from 1001 people is better than $1000 from one person…and a lot easier to get!” It's also a lot easier to keep control when everyone owns a smaller share. Expert Business Advice

Angels we have heard on high. The angel investors are back. According to the latest data from the Center for Venture Research at the University of New Hampshire, the angel investor seems to be on the rebound. Angel investment hit $9.2 billion over the first two quarters of 2012, an increase of 3.1 percent over the same period in 2011. Investments were made in a total of 27,280 entrepreneurial businesses, up 3.7 percent over the same time the previous year. Grow Smart Biz

From Start to Finish

Startup strategies. Control over your business's direction has to do with who gives you startup finances. It's also determined by the partners and co-founders you choose in the beginning and how well they fit in with your vision. Martin Zwilling shares some co-founder strategies and their pros and cons. When beginning your entrepreneurial journey, be sure to choose carefully who you want along for the ride. Startup Professionals Musings

Refresher course. From the time you start, to well into your business's operation, maintaining the energy and passion you had in the beginning is imperative for keeping your business vision alive. Business blogger Ellen Rohr has five tips for recharging your business batteries when you feel you've run out of inspiration and energy. Here are some suggestions that will get back your enthusiasm. Bare Bones Biz

In the beginning. Though you will likely need to make compromises in your company as you move forward, as you face budget constraints, bring others into the business, and bring on investors, you'll need to keep thinking about changes to make along the way. Keep your vision from straying too far by beginning with a clear idea of what kind of business you are building and where you are going. Then stick to your ideals as your business grows, and build the business you envision. Corporation Centre