SXSW 2013 began today and this is a great time for small business in Downtown Austin to attract a lot of customers. Austin, the city, is actually proud to be known as a city that is “weird†and what that should mean to Small Business is the word Innovative. It is very interesting to see the techniques used to attract customers.
Use messaging that is FACT - Fun, Attention Getting , Collaborative and uses Technology
Special offers tailored for the attendees
Find innovative places to display your message
Use mobile technology using QR codes to engage
Even induce ‘would be’ customers to have some fun
Have you seen any innovative ways Small businesses are marketing themselves If you are at SXSW, please come and say “Hi†to us at the SXSW Small Business Meetup - March 9th from 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm (CST) at the Proof Annex, 711 E. 6th Street, Austin, TX 78701. You can register for the free event here.
SXSW 2013 began today and this is a great time for small business in Downtown Austin to attract a lot of customers. Austin, the city, is actually proud to be known as a city that is “weird†and what that should mean to Small Business is the word Innovative. It is very interesting to see the techniques used to attract customers.
Use messaging that is FACT - Fun, Attention Getting , Collaborative and uses Technology
Special offers tailored for the attendees
Find innovative places to display your message
Use mobile technology using QR codes to engage
Even induce ‘would be’ customers to have some fun
Have you seen any innovative ways Small businesses are marketing themselves If you are at SXSW, please come and say “Hi†to us at the SXSW Small Business Meetup - March 9th from 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm (CST) at the Proof Annex, 711 E. 6th Street, Austin, TX 78701. You can register for the free event here.
MailChimp, the email marketing tool that allows you to design, send and share newsletters, has launched a complementary app called Gather. It’s an easy SMS alert system for events.
Here’s how it works: You’re running an event and your attendees are given the option to get SMS alerts when they RSVP. Come event day, your keynote speaker is stuck in traffic and things are going to be delayed. Email’s not going to work for an urgent message to your attendees, so this is where Gather comes in. Sending a text to hundreds of attendees is just as easy as sending a text to a friend.
MailChimp says a key aspect of Gather is their commitment to privacy, permission and abuse prevention. When an attendee opts-in for SMS updating, they can rest assured that their phone number will be automatically deleted from the system when the event is over. And when you, the organizer, send a message to all those folks, they don’t see your private cell number. You get a separate number that’s used only by Gather.
The pricing is simple â€" you pre-pay for bundles of texts. For 500 messages, it’s $18.99. For 2000, it’s $48.99. The app’s available for iOS and Android devices.
If you haven’t thought of a use for Gather yet, MailChimp’s blog has a list of ideas:
Meetup Organizers - Are you running a meetup group Keep your members engaged with periodic text messages about speakers and venues, or poll them for the next topic leading up to the meetup date.
Sports Teams - Coaches can ask parents to join a team-specific Gather group to communicate about rain delays, schedule changes, or snack reminders.
Schools and Parents - Teachers can use Gather to keep in touch with parents throughout the school year. It’s also perfect for a class parent who’s organizing an event.
Real Estate Agents - Realtors can use Gather to notify colleagues or clients about upcoming homes for sale, price changes, or new listings.
MailChimp also announced some new features for their namesake tool. Their new drag and drop editor has some notable improvements. For instance, your newsletter’s footer can now be moved around anywhere, and your previous newsletters are saved to be used as templates for future email campaigns. This functionality is so basic, it’s hard to believe it wasn’t there before.
Has MailChimp helped your business Have you given Gather a shot yet Let us know in the comments below!
With close to a million apps in Apple’s store and hundreds of thousands of Android apps in Google Play, it’s tough to cut through the competition and get your app out there.
A new study suggests text messaging is the way to go to engage users and monetize apps. The study, Communicate, Connect & Curate: 3 Ways You Can Encourage Mobile App Re-engagement With SMS, was put together by tyntec and Mobile Groove and is full of interesting findings and food for thought.
The core statistic that the entire concept hinges on is “48 percent of 18-24 year olds believe text messaging is just as meaningful as an actual conversation with the person on the phone.†It’s plain to see that younger generations are more comfortable communicating through text, and for advertisers, SMS is global, fast, cheap and discreet.
Getting to your customers with text messaging is also a valuable direct one-on-one connection and takes control of the app delivery system. “Telling your audience to find your app in an app store is like sending them into a warehouse piled high with competing products,†states the report. With a text message, you bypass the whole app store environment.
Your text message should provide users with a one-click call-to-action to get your app. GET IT Mobile, a company that specializes in SMS campaigns, has achieved customer conversion rates of up to 30 percent with SMS calls-to-action. One of GET IT’s clients “drove over 100,000 installs in just three months, saving $100,000 in acquisition costs,â€Â  according to GET IT President Steve Gleitsmann.
Those are some impressive numbers and the immediacy of text messaging is definitely worth considering. The value of textual communication is only going to go up with future generations. There’s more on marketing through SMS in our archive.
MailChimp, the email marketing tool that allows you to design, send and share newsletters, has launched a complementary app called Gather. It’s an easy SMS alert system for events.
Here’s how it works: You’re running an event and your attendees are given the option to get SMS alerts when they RSVP. Come event day, your keynote speaker is stuck in traffic and things are going to be delayed. Email’s not going to work for an urgent message to your attendees, so this is where Gather comes in. Sending a text to hundreds of attendees is just as easy as sending a text to a friend.
MailChimp says a key aspect of Gather is their commitment to privacy, permission and abuse prevention. When an attendee opts-in for SMS updating, they can rest assured that their phone number will be automatically deleted from the system when the event is over. And when you, the organizer, send a message to all those folks, they don’t see your private cell number. You get a separate number that’s used only by Gather.
The pricing is simple â€" you pre-pay for bundles of texts. For 500 messages, it’s $18.99. For 2000, it’s $48.99. The app’s available for iOS and Android devices.
If you haven’t thought of a use for Gather yet, MailChimp’s blog has a list of ideas:
Meetup Organizers - Are you running a meetup group Keep your members engaged with periodic text messages about speakers and venues, or poll them for the next topic leading up to the meetup date.
Sports Teams - Coaches can ask parents to join a team-specific Gather group to communicate about rain delays, schedule changes, or snack reminders.
Schools and Parents - Teachers can use Gather to keep in touch with parents throughout the school year. It’s also perfect for a class parent who’s organizing an event.
Real Estate Agents - Realtors can use Gather to notify colleagues or clients about upcoming homes for sale, price changes, or new listings.
MailChimp also announced some new features for their namesake tool. Their new drag and drop editor has some notable improvements. For instance, your newsletter’s footer can now be moved around anywhere, and your previous newsletters are saved to be used as templates for future email campaigns. This functionality is so basic, it’s hard to believe it wasn’t there before.
Has MailChimp helped your business Have you given Gather a shot yet Let us know in the comments below!
With close to a million apps in Apple’s store and hundreds of thousands of Android apps in Google Play, it’s tough to cut through the competition and get your app out there.
A new study suggests text messaging is the way to go to engage users and monetize apps. The study, Communicate, Connect & Curate: 3 Ways You Can Encourage Mobile App Re-engagement With SMS, was put together by tyntec and Mobile Groove and is full of interesting findings and food for thought.
The core statistic that the entire concept hinges on is “48 percent of 18-24 year olds believe text messaging is just as meaningful as an actual conversation with the person on the phone.†It’s plain to see that younger generations are more comfortable communicating through text, and for advertisers, SMS is global, fast, cheap and discreet.
Getting to your customers with text messaging is also a valuable direct one-on-one connection and takes control of the app delivery system. “Telling your audience to find your app in an app store is like sending them into a warehouse piled high with competing products,†states the report. With a text message, you bypass the whole app store environment.
Your text message should provide users with a one-click call-to-action to get your app. GET IT Mobile, a company that specializes in SMS campaigns, has achieved customer conversion rates of up to 30 percent with SMS calls-to-action. One of GET IT’s clients “drove over 100,000 installs in just three months, saving $100,000 in acquisition costs,â€Â  according to GET IT President Steve Gleitsmann.
Those are some impressive numbers and the immediacy of text messaging is definitely worth considering. The value of textual communication is only going to go up with future generations. There’s more on marketing through SMS in our archive.
The idea of working from home remains alive and well with small business owners.
Last week, news that Yahoo CEO, Marissa Mayer, was discontinuing a policy of allowing company employees to work from home electrified the Internet. AÂ similar policy decision from Best Buy has also caused ripples.
In the U.S., an estimated 13 million, or one in 10 employees, work from home. Small business owners and other entrepreneurs work from home as a way of reducing overhead and increasing flexibility and often have employees working from home for the same reasons.
Don’t let anyone tell you working from home is a bad career move or that it will stop you from achieving your full potential. A list of great achievers who work from home includes no less than entrepreneur Richard Branson, star Amazon engineer James Hamilton, personal training and weight loss CEO Jeff Hyman, and Craig Newmark, Founder of Craigslist. Business Insider
Don’t believe anyone who tells you that working from home will make you less accessible to clients, suppliers or business partners. Or that employees who work for your business remotely will somehow be harder to manage. One of the upsides (or downsides) often discussed about working from home is that you’re always accessible. Chicago Tribune
According to a Stanford University study, an estimated 600,000 in the U.S. had “mega-commutes in 2010, traveling nearly 90 minutes or 50 miles for work.†Imagine the time lost on your startup or small business due to travel that’s not absolutely necessary. For any business that can be operated virtually or from a mobile location, cutting out the commute means obvious increases in productivity. The Wall Street Journal
Yes, working in an office can offer synergy and chemistry, but it also offers distraction. “For me, it was really challenging working in an office, because you have people walking, stopping by, knocking on your door and bringing you birthday cake,†says self-employed marketer Kelly Ann Collins, who doesn’t miss it at all. CNN Living
The key when working from home or managing a staff who does is to develop an effective policy. In this way, work from home arrangements can be superior to working in an office. They force you to think through the way you manage your own work habits and those of your staff. Randy Conley, Trust Practice Leader at The Ken Blanchard Companies, makes these suggestions about what your policy should look like. Blanchard LeaderChat
An infographic from remote desktop app provider Splashtop shows the many benefits of allowing employees to work from home. For example, those working from home are 10 to 20 percent more productive. Also, 76 percent of telecommuters are willing to put in extra hours and 36 percent of employees would choose telecommuting over a pay raise. With benefits like this, what business owner in his or her right mind could refuse DashBurst
The success of a great work from home program lies in how it is implemented. Here Sandra Wiley, COO of Boomer Consulting, leads us through the steps needed to create the perfect work from home program for your business. Steps include talking with your employees, making work from home an option instead of a mandate and utilizing the right technology to make your work from home program effective. CPA Practice Advisor
Looking at the work from home option, either as a solopreneur or a small business owner with staff, forces you to consider the most efficient way to operate your company. Some jobs cannot be done from home over an Internet connection. But for those that can, Lisa Belkin, Senior Columnist on Life/Work/Family, says entrepreneurs and employees must decide how the office of the future will be run. The Huffington Post
Prerna Gupta, Chief Product Officer at Smule Inc., wants to reinvent the office as a place to communicate ideas and strengthen personal and professional bonds. However, Gupta insists that the real creative insights on which companies base their major innovative leaps come from quiet times spent alone. That alone time is created by having employees working from home at least some of the time, and from giving them the trust and tools to do so. The New York Times
In the end, the main reason small business owners and solopreneurs should consider the work from home approach is that with the technology available, it is often the most practical choice. Executive coach, author, and entrepreneur, Jennie Wong, says there’s no place like home for your small business today. Just keep some important tips in mind that will allow you to manage your home business and office without loosing your mind. McClatchey
Tim Britton had a store full of radio-controlled vehicles, airplanes, and more. Already experiencing success locally with his store, RC Hobbies, Britton wanted to expand his customer base nationwide, so he contacted ReachLocal. Soon after his ReachLocal campaign began, Britton began seeing an increase in foot traffic, online orders, and calls for information.
“ReachLocal statistics are easy to see how the customers increase,†Britton says in a video on ReachLocal’s site. “You can see it increase in phone calls, web orders, and in e-mails.â€
Britton remains impressed with the personalized attention his ReachLocal sales rep, Mike, gives his store. ReachLocal’s sales reps work directly with clients to hone campaigns, frequently revisiting concepts and reviewing statistics. Britton’s rep frequently stops by the store to go over everything in person, which gives clients a chance to ask questions and request specific changes.
RC Hobbies is one of many small businesses that have found success with ReachLocal. That success has extended to ReachLocal itself, which recently boasted fourth-quarter revenue growth of 20 percent over 2011′s fourth quarter. The company currently helps 22,000 companies around the globe through developing highly successful online marketing campaigns.
Perhaps most notable is ReachLocal’s announcement that active advertisers with the service grew 15 percent. The number of active campaigns is up 18 percent from last year’s fourth quarter, ReachLocal says. The company specializes in local businesses, helping them specifically target customers in their own neighborhood. Using “feet-on-the-street†marketing consultants that visit small business owners in person, ReachLocal has been able to help local businesses reach a location-specific group of people in a world where the local phone directory is no longer a source of information.
ReachLocal goes beyond the local retail store, however. Among its many happy customers are:
Physicians. Dr. Lowell T. Ku used ReachLocal to promote his infertility clinic, Dallas IVF. Dr. Ku has found the information he’s gained from ReachLocal has helped him pinpoint issues in his clinic to ensure top customer satisfaction. Since joining forces with ReachLocal, he has found he and his partners in the specialty have gone from being booked a week or two in advance to being booked three weeks out and more.
Veterinarians. All Care Pets Center was a new business, interested in getting the word out about their offerings. The phone book wasn’t bringing the results the veterinary clinic wanted, so they contacted ReachLocal. Once their campaign launched, All Care Pets Center was able to obtain metrics to determine where the campaign was working and what needed to be improved.
Property Management. Lincoln Property Company has been able to increase its traffic markedly since signing on with ReachLocal. In fact, 35-55 percent of its traffic has come from ReachLocal, according to Jennifer Staciokas, VP of training and marketing. The property management company is able to use the information it has gained from ReachLocal to train its staff, improving customer service.
Recently, ReachLocal announced it was taking its offerings a step further, adding local marketing tools to its offerings. ReachSite and ReachConvert will help local business owners turn website visitors into leads, which they can then convert into customers.
“We founded ReachLocal to solve the local marketing problem for SMBs by developing innovative solutions to help them generate leads from local consumers,†said CEO Zorik Gordon. “Now, we’re innovating again by helping local businesses convert more leads and enable their customers to digitally book and buy from them. This is really the next evolution of solving the ‘local’ problem, and we’re excited to yet again be leading the way.â€
Local marketing remains a challenge for many small businesses. But thanks to solutions like ReachLocal, business owners can put their campaigns in the hands of experts who can help them succeed in attracting new customers and achieving their dreams.
Tim Britton had a store full of radio-controlled vehicles, airplanes, and more. Already experiencing success locally with his store, RC Hobbies, Britton wanted to expand his customer base nationwide, so he contacted ReachLocal. Soon after his ReachLocal campaign began, Britton began seeing an increase in foot traffic, online orders, and calls for information.
“ReachLocal statistics are easy to see how the customers increase,†Britton says in a video on ReachLocal’s site. “You can see it increase in phone calls, web orders, and in e-mails.â€
Britton remains impressed with the personalized attention his ReachLocal sales rep, Mike, gives his store. ReachLocal’s sales reps work directly with clients to hone campaigns, frequently revisiting concepts and reviewing statistics. Britton’s rep frequently stops by the store to go over everything in person, which gives clients a chance to ask questions and request specific changes.
RC Hobbies is one of many small businesses that have found success with ReachLocal. That success has extended to ReachLocal itself, which recently boasted fourth-quarter revenue growth of 20 percent over 2011′s fourth quarter. The company currently helps 22,000 companies around the globe through developing highly successful online marketing campaigns.
Perhaps most notable is ReachLocal’s announcement that active advertisers with the service grew 15 percent. The number of active campaigns is up 18 percent from last year’s fourth quarter, ReachLocal says. The company specializes in local businesses, helping them specifically target customers in their own neighborhood. Using “feet-on-the-street†marketing consultants that visit small business owners in person, ReachLocal has been able to help local businesses reach a location-specific group of people in a world where the local phone directory is no longer a source of information.
ReachLocal goes beyond the local retail store, however. Among its many happy customers are:
Physicians. Dr. Lowell T. Ku used ReachLocal to promote his infertility clinic, Dallas IVF. Dr. Ku has found the information he’s gained from ReachLocal has helped him pinpoint issues in his clinic to ensure top customer satisfaction. Since joining forces with ReachLocal, he has found he and his partners in the specialty have gone from being booked a week or two in advance to being booked three weeks out and more.
Veterinarians. All Care Pets Center was a new business, interested in getting the word out about their offerings. The phone book wasn’t bringing the results the veterinary clinic wanted, so they contacted ReachLocal. Once their campaign launched, All Care Pets Center was able to obtain metrics to determine where the campaign was working and what needed to be improved.
Property Management. Lincoln Property Company has been able to increase its traffic markedly since signing on with ReachLocal. In fact, 35-55 percent of its traffic has come from ReachLocal, according to Jennifer Staciokas, VP of training and marketing. The property management company is able to use the information it has gained from ReachLocal to train its staff, improving customer service.
Recently, ReachLocal announced it was taking its offerings a step further, adding local marketing tools to its offerings. ReachSite and ReachConvert will help local business owners turn website visitors into leads, which they can then convert into customers.
“We founded ReachLocal to solve the local marketing problem for SMBs by developing innovative solutions to help them generate leads from local consumers,†said CEO Zorik Gordon. “Now, we’re innovating again by helping local businesses convert more leads and enable their customers to digitally book and buy from them. This is really the next evolution of solving the ‘local’ problem, and we’re excited to yet again be leading the way.â€
Local marketing remains a challenge for many small businesses. But thanks to solutions like ReachLocal, business owners can put their campaigns in the hands of experts who can help them succeed in attracting new customers and achieving their dreams.
Tim Britton had a store full of radio-controlled vehicles, airplanes, and more. Already experiencing success locally with his store, RC Hobbies, Britton wanted to expand his customer base nationwide, so he contacted ReachLocal. Soon after his ReachLocal campaign began, Britton began seeing an increase in foot traffic, online orders, and calls for information.
“ReachLocal statistics are easy to see how the customers increase,†Britton says in a video on ReachLocal’s site. “You can see it increase in phone calls, web orders, and in e-mails.â€
Britton remains impressed with the personalized attention his ReachLocal sales rep, Mike, gives his store. ReachLocal’s sales reps work directly with clients to hone campaigns, frequently revisiting concepts and reviewing statistics. Britton’s rep frequently stops by the store to go over everything in person, which gives clients a chance to ask questions and request specific changes.
RC Hobbies is one of many small businesses that have found success with ReachLocal. That success has extended to ReachLocal itself, which recently boasted fourth-quarter revenue growth of 20 percent over 2011′s fourth quarter. The company currently helps 22,000 companies around the globe through developing highly successful online marketing campaigns.
Perhaps most notable is ReachLocal’s announcement that active advertisers with the service grew 15 percent. The number of active campaigns is up 18 percent from last year’s fourth quarter, ReachLocal says. The company specializes in local businesses, helping them specifically target customers in their own neighborhood. Using “feet-on-the-street†marketing consultants that visit small business owners in person, ReachLocal has been able to help local businesses reach a location-specific group of people in a world where the local phone directory is no longer a source of information.
ReachLocal goes beyond the local retail store, however. Among its many happy customers are:
Physicians. Dr. Lowell T. Ku used ReachLocal to promote his infertility clinic, Dallas IVF. Dr. Ku has found the information he’s gained from ReachLocal has helped him pinpoint issues in his clinic to ensure top customer satisfaction. Since joining forces with ReachLocal, he has found he and his partners in the specialty have gone from being booked a week or two in advance to being booked three weeks out and more.
Veterinarians. All Care Pets Center was a new business, interested in getting the word out about their offerings. The phone book wasn’t bringing the results the veterinary clinic wanted, so they contacted ReachLocal. Once their campaign launched, All Care Pets Center was able to obtain metrics to determine where the campaign was working and what needed to be improved.
Property Management. Lincoln Property Company has been able to increase its traffic markedly since signing on with ReachLocal. In fact, 35-55 percent of its traffic has come from ReachLocal, according to Jennifer Staciokas, VP of training and marketing. The property management company is able to use the information it has gained from ReachLocal to train its staff, improving customer service.
Recently, ReachLocal announced it was taking its offerings a step further, adding local marketing tools to its offerings. ReachSite and ReachConvert will help local business owners turn website visitors into leads, which they can then convert into customers.
“We founded ReachLocal to solve the local marketing problem for SMBs by developing innovative solutions to help them generate leads from local consumers,†said CEO Zorik Gordon. “Now, we’re innovating again by helping local businesses convert more leads and enable their customers to digitally book and buy from them. This is really the next evolution of solving the ‘local’ problem, and we’re excited to yet again be leading the way.â€
Local marketing remains a challenge for many small businesses. But thanks to solutions like ReachLocal, business owners can put their campaigns in the hands of experts who can help them succeed in attracting new customers and achieving their dreams.
Bring Your Own Device, or “BYOD†is the new acronym that the busy professionals love, they can get all their work information on their personal mobile device or tablet so they can work virtually wherever and whenever.  The Aberdeen Group even reports that 70% of businesses now allow their employees to use their mobile devices for work.  However, the solutions for printing within this mobile working environment is still a developing process, because most mobile devices just simply weren’t designed with printing in mind.  But with 50% of companies still reporting that printing is still a vital part of their business, printer solutions are needed to ensure the two ends can connect.
Printer manufacturers like Cannon and Xerox are now working rapidly to find some solutions to the mobile print problem. Many of the more advanced printing devices are now including features like Google Cloudprint or Apple AirPrint, which means there’s no installation of a driver required. If Cloudprint or AirPrint is enabled on a printer, you can then just tap the print button, select the enabled device and simply wait for your document to print.
With security being an increasing concern among companies in these BYOD environments, some printing companies are also looking for other services that can provide extra protection to their printing environments.  So software, like Xerox’s ConnectKey, are offering a solution.  ConnectKey uses protection from McAfee, but also has an extra layer of security to protect the data paths using Cisco’s TrustSec.
“ConnectKey was designed for one purpose: to simplify how work gets done in a secure, ‘always on’ world,†said Douraid Zaghouani, president, Channel Partner Operations, Xerox.
Although still in its early stages, mobile printing solutions will likely become a major focus of businesses and printer manufacturers over the next several years.  The Global market intelligence firm, IDC Corp., estimates that the mobile printing market will be worth about $1 billion by 2015.
These days, technology evolves at the speed of light, as do the technology needs of small business. Rich Rao, Director of Worldwide Sales and Operations for Google, joins Brent Leary to discuss Google small business technology and the changing technological needs of small businesses.
* * * * *
Small Business Trends: Can you tell people a little bit about yourself and your background
Rich Rao: I have been at Google for five and a half years and have been building up the Google Apps business during that time frame.
I came to Google because I wanted to be on the leading edge of technology. Hence, I wanted to make a move into the consumer market. But when I came here, I quickly realized what Google’s vision for the enterprise was. Essentially the company wanted to take all of this great, leading edge consumer technology and bring it to the enterprise.
So in a lot of ways, what I am doing now brings consumer technology to small businesses. Helping them to understand how to use that technology.
Small Business Trends: You have been at this for about five years with respect to Google Apps. What are some of the biggest changes when it comes to small business and their need for technology
Rich Rao: I witnessed a three-phase evolution over the last decade. The first phase is what I would call one of poor choice. Essentially, small businesses were faced with a poor choice when it came to technology. Either they had to choose from software that was built for a large company that carried a huge price tag, or they chose inexpensive software that lacked the functionality they needed.
Then, right around 2006, comes cloud computing. All of a sudden, the playing field is level. For the first time small companies had access to all of the same technology that larger companies had and features that small businesses never dreamed of.
Right now I think we are in what I would call the third phase of technology for small businesses. This phase I would call “work the way that you live.†What has happened is employees have discovered that since the best technologies are in their personal lives, I am going to try to bring it into work.
Small Business Trends: What area has Google Apps had the most impact on regarding the way small businesses interact and collaborate in the Cloud
Rich Rao: The first is this idea that we live in a multi-screen world. People just expect to do things on multiple devices from anywhere. Google Apps really enables that through its cloud computing technology. What we have found is that 90% of employees expect to do work across multiple devices.
The second effect that we have seen is this notion that the speed of business has increased. Technology has not only kept pace, but it has enabled the speed to occur. So real time collaboration is an area of huge investments for Google, one that we are seeing a lot of business take advantage of.
What they are finding is that the employees in small businesses can make edits in a document in real time and see what each other is editing. They can connect via video conferencing with Hangouts and it is all simply integrated within their calendar system. So it is easy way to connect and do things in the real time. It is the second thing that I have seen.
Small Business Trends: Under the Google Apps umbrella, are there any particular applications that you think companies aren’t taking advantage of
Rich Rao: Google+ is an example of a new product that we introduced. I think there are huge benefits of potential out there for small businesses in a couple of ways. One challenge small businesses face is around marketing their company. Google Plus provides some instant ways for a company to have a personalized page that allows them to connect with their own customers and partners in a very intimate way and develop those connections.
Google+ has integrated in a key feature that few people have and that is called Hangouts. That feature allows for multiple users to be in real time video conferencing with great, unique features.
Small Business Trends: How difficult it is to keep up with today’s small business looking to this technology to help them compete
Rich Rao: That is a great question. Technology is changing so fast that there are so many small businesses who are developing their own dream scenario use cases. Part of what we do is, we study how our own customers are using our technology.
For example, if you are a designer, all of a sudden a dream scenario is becoming obvious to you. You can create an appointment in the calendar and if you include the address, Google will tell you when you need to leave your office to arrive at that location on time. Google maps will help you navigate there in your car. Then once you arrive, you have all of your information in Google Drive.
So as a designer, if you are meeting with a prospective client, you can review your designs and all of your content in real time on a tablet. You can take notes and when you return to your office, you can email that prospective client. You can follow-up and share the very content that you looked at in the meeting.
All of that is just part of what comes in the standard suite of Google Apps. We are also working on making even the most rudimentary parts of that easier.
Small Business Trends: I still feel a lot of small businesses and business people in general are living in their email applications. Are you seeing that as well And will we see that going forward
Rich Rao: There was something written about the death of email at one point and that hasn’t occurred at all. I think it goes to show that some of us can’t predict what will happen. But what we will certainly observe is that people are spending as much time in the emails as they have before.
In a lot of ways, the main change that has happened is that the connection points have been increased between email and other parts of application suites. So for example, with any email you can actually now preview a document right from your email. You can connect to the Hangouts I mentioned earlier from email. So I think that the integration points have become better, stronger and more useful.
As far as the future patterns, as I mentioned, we will see how usage evolves. Then naturally build functionality in the areas where we see users want to go to.
This interview is part of our One on One series of conversations with some of the most thought-provoking entrepreneurs, authors and experts in business today. This interview has been edited for publication. To hear audio of the full interview, click the right arrow on the gray player below. You can also see more interviews in our interview series.
Bring Your Own Device, or “BYOD†is the new acronym that the busy professionals love, they can get all their work information on their personal mobile device or tablet so they can work virtually wherever and whenever.  The Aberdeen Group even reports that 70% of businesses now allow their employees to use their mobile devices for work.  However, the solutions for printing within this mobile working environment is still a developing process, because most mobile devices just simply weren’t designed with printing in mind.  But with 50% of companies still reporting that printing is still a vital part of their business, printer solutions are needed to ensure the two ends can connect.
Printer manufacturers like Cannon and Xerox are now working rapidly to find some solutions to the mobile print problem. Many of the more advanced printing devices are now including features like Google Cloudprint or Apple AirPrint, which means there’s no installation of a driver required. If Cloudprint or AirPrint is enabled on a printer, you can then just tap the print button, select the enabled device and simply wait for your document to print.
With security being an increasing concern among companies in these BYOD environments, some printing companies are also looking for other services that can provide extra protection to their printing environments.  So software, like Xerox’s ConnectKey, are offering a solution.  ConnectKey uses protection from McAfee, but also has an extra layer of security to protect the data paths using Cisco’s TrustSec.
“ConnectKey was designed for one purpose: to simplify how work gets done in a secure, ‘always on’ world,†said Douraid Zaghouani, president, Channel Partner Operations, Xerox.
Although still in its early stages, mobile printing solutions will likely become a major focus of businesses and printer manufacturers over the next several years.  The Global market intelligence firm, IDC Corp., estimates that the mobile printing market will be worth about $1 billion by 2015.
Microsoft is to release seven bulletins on next week's Patch Tuesday, four of which are rated as critical.
According to the advance notification ahead of next week's release, the critical bulletins address vulnerabilities in Microsoft Silverlight, Internet Explorer, Office and Microsoft Server Software. The three important-rated bulletins will address issues in Microsoft Windows and Office.
Three of the critical patches fix remote code execution flaws, while the other fixes an elevation of privilege vulnerability. The important patches cover two information disclosure flaws in Office, while the Windows patch covers an elevation of privilege vulnerability.
Wolfgang Kandek, CTO at Qualys, said: “Bulletin one will be on the top of our list next week. It fixes critical vulnerabilities that could be used for machine takeover in all versions of Internet Explorer from 6 to 10, on all platforms including Windows 8 and Windows RT.â€Â
Ziv Mador, director of security research at Trustwave, said: “Two of the patches definitely require a reboot of your machine, three of them might and two you can get away without restarting after installation.â€
Before I was a cartoonist, and even before my first day job, I was a musician. In fact, I went to college and got my music degree playing the trombone.
I was a fairly good jazz trombonist and even played professionally for a very short time before hanging up my mouthpiece. Which means that I’ve spent a lot of time with microphones. And as I’m sure you ‘ve experienced, there’s no worse sound on the planet than that squealing microphone feedback.
Of course, feedback also refers to getting information about how people feel about things.
So, being a cartoonist, you add a little positive feedback, a little negative feedback - and you get a business cartoon like this.
Before I was a cartoonist, and even before my first day job, I was a musician. In fact, I went to college and got my music degree playing the trombone.
I was a fairly good jazz trombonist and even played professionally for a very short time before hanging up my mouthpiece. Which means that I’ve spent a lot of time with microphones. And as I’m sure you ‘ve experienced, there’s no worse sound on the planet than that squealing microphone feedback.
Of course, feedback also refers to getting information about how people feel about things.
So, being a cartoonist, you add a little positive feedback, a little negative feedback - and you get a business cartoon like this.
The Mandiant report on the alleged Chinese state-sponsored hacking group APT1 has revealed too much information about its tactics, according to industry experts.
Speaking to SC Magazine, SANS Institute instructor and cyber security expert at Secure Anchor Consulting Dr Eric Cole said that in the Second World War, if the US had acted on all of the intelligence it had on the Nazis, then they would have known what they were doing - instead only some of it was acted upon.
Cole said: “I have mixed feelings on the report as on the one hand, it is an impressive piece of work. It is intellectual on the level of detail and what they went through and the analysis I thought it was very impressive and especially on information sharing.
“However, the other side of my brain as a realist kicks in and says ‘is this going to help us or hurt us' Because for every organisation that now knows some additional indicators of compromise, they have in essence told the Chinese everything we know so if you are Chinese what are you going to do - change
“So the concern I have is you don't ever want to come out and tell an adversary everything you know about them, as while a lot of people did not know what was in the report and they found it valuable, and [there are] a lot of people working in this space - the report has taken six years of research - and [the level of detail has] almost invalidated it as you know the adversary is going to change and work differently. So I read it and have flip flopped back and forth as I have the two different views where on the one hand, it is very impressive but on the other, I wonder if it is too much informationâ€
Also speaking to SC Magazine, Joe Stewart, director of malware research at the Dell SecureWorks counter threat unit, said that despite the report's findings, there is still no hard evidence to prove the connection, and called it ‘circumstantial evidence'.
“I would like to see more of a connection in what China is doing as I like to deal in facts, and it is not enough without that,†he said.
“Maybe if there was another report from another company you'll get a better pattern, now the Chinese government has an easy way out as they can ignore all the evidence on it as they will say that there is nothing coming from us. Hackers use proxies and any internet protocol-based evidence may not be enough, as we may need more perspective.â€
Cole said that with an advanced adversary if you focus on one indicator, you will miss the others. “I am just concerned that some entities and organisations may not use it in the correct fashion. Now organisations may focus on the one and miss the other four,†he said.
When the report was released, China dismissed the allegations as ‘groundless', with Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei telling the Associated Press that he doubted that the evidence would withstand scrutiny.
US-based security blogger Jeffrey Carr said in a blog post that he felt that the report refused to consider what everyone knows and that those in the intelligence community acknowledges - that there are multiple states engaging in this activity; not just China.
Mandiant CEO Kevin Mandia said in a presentation at last week's RSA Conference that it was "time to stop saying it could be China and show it is China, and guys in uniform".
Mandiant's director of consulting Marshall Heilman said that rather than picking on China, it had been tracking groups from different counties and organisations, as the community wants to know what is going on and the following day after the report was released, it saw changes in the actions of the group.
The proposed changes to the European Data Protection Directive need to include streamlining on cooperation and the process needs to be slowed down.
Speaking at the annual cloud computing conference in Brussels, Viviane Reding, vice president of the European Commission, acknowledged that the current 1995 directive is too widespread in terms of national law and that there is a "need to ensure that the same rules apply to all businesses providing services to EU residents".
She acknowledged that the world has changed since 1995, and the ‘great debate' about the proposed changes, which were announced a year ago, had been "intense, vibrant, fascinating".
“Since the beginning of the negotiations, the story has remained the same. Those who want to maintain a high level of protection in Europe have recognised the need to move fast. Those who want to lower the level of protection in Europe have tried to slow the file down. I will not let this happen,†she said.
However she said that the challenge to the changes "relates to the speed with which we will reach a deal", as "some will say this is all going too fast" and that the ramifications are huge.
Reding said that individual decisions will still be taken by national data protection authorities and it needs to streamline cooperation on issues with implications for all of Europe.
Also in her speech, Reding said that there are three reasons why the data protection reform is so important: data protection is a fundamental right in the EU; data protection is a market opener; and there is a need to ensure that the same rules apply to all businesses providing services to EU residents.
She said: “This is not a revolution but an evolution. We do not change the fundamentals. The same goes for other core elements of the proposal - the definition of personal data, the provision on profiling. The commission didn't invent data protection in 2012. The principles of the 1995 directive remain valid. They simply need to be refreshed. If your business model is in line with the current rules, you have nothing to fear. Things are fine if you comply.â€
Christian Toon, head of information risk Europe and global security services at Iron Mountain, said: “The news that Brussels is under pressure to relax strict data protection rules may come as a relief to many organisations, but this does not mean that they can afford to be complacent with the information they hold.
“Businesses need to understand what information they hold and embrace good practice as part of doing good business to prevent potential data losses, regardless of whether or not the EU legislation is ultimately watered down.â€
Gary Clark, vice president EMEA at SafeNet, said: “Regulations are key so long as they are enforceable and don't have unintended consequences like inhibiting the economic development that European citizens desperately need to see.
“So the reports of the European Commission reviewing its initial proposals on harmonising data protection laws are welcome especially if it promotes a consistently strong data protection culture and economy across all member states.â€
If you use Facebook to spread the word about your brand, you may have seen a drop-off in the number of interactions your posts receive. Business owners, marketers and others are noticingâ€"and they are not happy.
Of course, Facebook does offer paid promotions to increase the visibility of your brand. The price for these depends on the number of fans or followers in your network.
But without paying, page owners don’t seem to get the same exposure to their followers as they used to.
“When Facebook introduced promoted posts, my unpaid posts started averaging 15-18 impressions each, which represents about 10% of my total follower base. I tried promoting a post once as an experiment and yes, it did get many more impressions.â€
New York Times Reporter, Nick Bilton, described a similar phenomenon. In a recent column, Bilton said that when he promoted a post for $7, he saw a 1,000 percent increase in interactions on the link he posted.
Despite the option for businesses to pay to get posts in front of more of their followers, the issue is that Facebook’s change in algorithm deliberately decreases the reach of unpaid posts so that you have to promote them if you want to have the level of visibility you were once accustomed to.
In other words: You have to pay in order for your posts to be seen by your own followers on Facebook.
Facebook has denied claims that its algorithm has been changed to force brands to shell out more money to reach the same followers they once could for free. In a post on the official Facebook Studio blog, Facebook Ads Engineer, Phillip Zigoris, insisted:
“While we make changes to news feed occasionally, the fundamental way it works has not changed…News feed works to serve up messages - organic and paid -that people are most likely to interact with.â€
Aside from paying, there are few options for page owners.
Parker said to use image posts as often as possible because they consistently generate more interactions. She also suggested tagging other Facebook pages whenever it’s relevant since that can expose you to that page’s followers.
Another option is to ask followers to opt-in to receive notifications when you create posts, wrote Tristan Higbee in his blog Osmosio. In theory, this would always get your posts seen by those followers. Though Higbee admitted he hadn’t noticed a measurable difference in views and interactions on his first attempt employing this technique, he said he plans to attempt it again in the future.
In an email interview, Higbee also said he believed Facebook will probably experience fallout for its new policies:
“Facebook is charging because it wants to make money. I get that. But when it gets to the point where publishers aren’t posting to Facebook because their fans aren’t seeing their content, Facebook has a bigger problem on its hands.â€
Parker agreed. She said she has noticed more of an interest in other platforms like Google+ since the change in algorithm that caused a drop-off in interactions on Facebook:
“I’ve liked Google+ from the beginning, and it seems to be gaining traction among businesses who have ‘had it up to here’ with Facebook.â€
But not all page owners have given up on Facebook or even its unpaid posts. Ramon Ray, Editor of SmallBizTechnology and Author of, “The Facebook Guide to Small Business Marketing,†said that while he has used paid promoted posts to gain reach, he wouldn’t discount the value of organic reach on the site just yet:
“Free posting does work, but it must be frequent and engaging.â€
And with all the changes to the news feed, the necessity of frequent and engaging content is the one thing that hasn’t changed.
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With close to a million apps in Apple’s store and hundreds of thousands of Android apps in Google Play, it’s tough to cut through the competition and get your app out there.
Bring Your Own Device, or “BYOD†is the new acronym that the busy professionals love, they can get all their work information on their personal mobile device or tablet so they can work virtually wherever and whenever.  The 
Small Business Trends: Can you tell people a little bit about yourself and your background
If you use Facebook to spread the word about your brand, you may have seen a drop-off in the number of interactions your posts receive. Business owners, marketers and others are noticingâ€"and they are not happy.