NZ loses ground in global tech rankings

New Zealand has slipped six places in the World Economic Forum's ranking of economies based on their ability to benefit from new digital technologies.

The Forum has just released its Global Information Technology Report 2013, which assesses the digital ecosystems of 144 countries.

Those countries collectively account for more than 98 per cent of global GDP.

Each country was examined in terms of its preparedness to leverage advances in information and communication technologies (ICTs) to drive economic productivity and social development.

New Zealand dropped back to 20th in the rankings with an overall score of 5.2 out of 7, down from 14th last year with a score of 5.4.

The country scored particularly poorly in two key areas - infrastructure and digital content, and affordability.

On the Networked Readiness Index (NRI), New Zealand placed 128th for mobile tariffs, 96th for internet and telephony competition, 82nd for fixed broadband internet tariffs, and 81st for mobile network coverage (percentage of population).

New Zealand managed to top the list in three indicators, judicial independence, number of days to start a business, and number of procedures to start a business.

In compiling its report, the Forum scored economies on the quality of their regulatory, business and innovation environments, their degree of preparedness, and the usage of ICTs by the public.

"The assessment is based on a broad range of indicators from Internet access and adult literacy to mobile phone subscriptions and the availability of venture capital," the report says.

"In addition, indicators such as patent applications and e-government services gauge the social and economic impact of digitization."

Northern European countries dominated the overall rankings, with Finland in first place, Sweden in third, and Norway and the Netherlands also in the top ten.

A second group of economies that posted "a remarkable performance" were the "Asian Tigers", the report said.

These included Singapore, Taiwan (China), the Republic of Korea, and Hong Kong SAR.

"All boast outstanding business and innovation environments that are consistently ranked among the most conducive in the world.

"The Tigers also stand out for their governments' leadership in promoting the digital agenda, and the impact of ICTs on society tends to be larger in these economies."

This year's report focused on 'growth and jobs in a hyper connected world' and found that digitisation has a measurable effect on economic growth and job creation.

"In emerging markets, a comprehensive digital boost could help lift over half a billion people out of poverty over the next decade," the report said.

"New technologies have already transformed sectors from healthcare to farming, case studies in the report show."

By Ben Chapman-Smith Email Ben

World PC sales plunge as Windows 8 flops

Microsoft's Windows 8 software appears to be driving buyers away from PCs and toward smartphones and tablets, research firm IDC said today. That's leading to the fastest drop in PC sales the firm has ever seen.

Global shipments of PCs fell 14 per cent in the first three months this year, IDC said. That's the sharpest plunge since the firm started tracking the industry in 1994.

The report comes after a year of bad news for the PC. Consumers, especially in wealthy countries like the U.S., are steering their dollars toward tablets and smartphones rather than upgrading their home PCs. It's the biggest challenge to the personal computer since the IBM PC was released in 1981.

In an attempt to keep the PC relevant, Microsoft released a radical new version of Windows on Oct. 26. Windows 8 has a completely new look and forces users to learn new ways to control their machines.

"Unfortunately, it seems clear that the Windows 8 launch not only didn't provide a positive boost to the PC market, but appears to have slowed the market," IDC Vice President Bob O'Donnell said.

The newest version of Windows is designed to work well with touch-sensitive screens, but the displays add to the cost of a PC. Together, the changes and higher prices "have made PCs a less attractive alternative to dedicated tablets and other competitive devices," O'Donnell said.

Representatives of Microsoft were not immediately available for comment.

Another research firm, Gartner Inc., reported an 11 per cent decline in PC shipments in the quarter. That, too, is the sharpest decline it's seen since it started tracking the market in 2001.

Microsoft shares fell 28 cents, or 0.9 per cent, to $30 in extended trading, after the release of the report. They had gained 67 cents in regular trading.

Hewlett-Packard, the world's largest maker of PCs, saw a 24 per cent drop in shipments in the first quarter compared with the same period a year ago. The industry's No. 2, China's Lenovo Group, is benefiting from sales to first-time buyers in China and other developing countries. As a result, it held sales steady, alone among the world's top 5 PC makers, according to IDC's figures.

HP shares fell 27 cents, or 1.2 per cent, to $22.05 in extended trading. They had risen 10 cents in regular trading.

Shares of Intel, which makes four out of five PC processors, fell 27 cents, or 1.2 per cent, to $21.99, after rising 51 cents in regular trading.

Gartner noted one bright spot: Businesses are buying more PCs, and account for about half of the market.

Both firms track shipments of PCs from the manufacturer rather than retail sales. Shipments correlate closely with sales. The figures include shipments of Apple's Macs, which account for about 5 per cent of the worldwide market.

-AP

World PC sales plunge as Windows 8 flops

Microsoft's Windows 8 software appears to be driving buyers away from PCs and toward smartphones and tablets, research firm IDC said today. That's leading to the fastest drop in PC sales the firm has ever seen.

Global shipments of PCs fell 14 per cent in the first three months this year, IDC said. That's the sharpest plunge since the firm started tracking the industry in 1994.

The report comes after a year of bad news for the PC. Consumers, especially in wealthy countries like the U.S., are steering their dollars toward tablets and smartphones rather than upgrading their home PCs. It's the biggest challenge to the personal computer since the IBM PC was released in 1981.

In an attempt to keep the PC relevant, Microsoft released a radical new version of Windows on Oct. 26. Windows 8 has a completely new look and forces users to learn new ways to control their machines.

"Unfortunately, it seems clear that the Windows 8 launch not only didn't provide a positive boost to the PC market, but appears to have slowed the market," IDC Vice President Bob O'Donnell said.

The newest version of Windows is designed to work well with touch-sensitive screens, but the displays add to the cost of a PC. Together, the changes and higher prices "have made PCs a less attractive alternative to dedicated tablets and other competitive devices," O'Donnell said.

Representatives of Microsoft were not immediately available for comment.

Another research firm, Gartner Inc., reported an 11 per cent decline in PC shipments in the quarter. That, too, is the sharpest decline it's seen since it started tracking the market in 2001.

Microsoft shares fell 28 cents, or 0.9 per cent, to $30 in extended trading, after the release of the report. They had gained 67 cents in regular trading.

Hewlett-Packard, the world's largest maker of PCs, saw a 24 per cent drop in shipments in the first quarter compared with the same period a year ago. The industry's No. 2, China's Lenovo Group, is benefiting from sales to first-time buyers in China and other developing countries. As a result, it held sales steady, alone among the world's top 5 PC makers, according to IDC's figures.

HP shares fell 27 cents, or 1.2 per cent, to $22.05 in extended trading. They had risen 10 cents in regular trading.

Shares of Intel, which makes four out of five PC processors, fell 27 cents, or 1.2 per cent, to $21.99, after rising 51 cents in regular trading.

Gartner noted one bright spot: Businesses are buying more PCs, and account for about half of the market.

Both firms track shipments of PCs from the manufacturer rather than retail sales. Shipments correlate closely with sales. The figures include shipments of Apple's Macs, which account for about 5 per cent of the worldwide market.

-AP

World PC sales plunge as Windows 8 flops

Microsoft's Windows 8 software appears to be driving buyers away from PCs and toward smartphones and tablets, research firm IDC said today. That's leading to the fastest drop in PC sales the firm has ever seen.

Global shipments of PCs fell 14 per cent in the first three months this year, IDC said. That's the sharpest plunge since the firm started tracking the industry in 1994.

The report comes after a year of bad news for the PC. Consumers, especially in wealthy countries like the U.S., are steering their dollars toward tablets and smartphones rather than upgrading their home PCs. It's the biggest challenge to the personal computer since the IBM PC was released in 1981.

In an attempt to keep the PC relevant, Microsoft released a radical new version of Windows on Oct. 26. Windows 8 has a completely new look and forces users to learn new ways to control their machines.

"Unfortunately, it seems clear that the Windows 8 launch not only didn't provide a positive boost to the PC market, but appears to have slowed the market," IDC Vice President Bob O'Donnell said.

The newest version of Windows is designed to work well with touch-sensitive screens, but the displays add to the cost of a PC. Together, the changes and higher prices "have made PCs a less attractive alternative to dedicated tablets and other competitive devices," O'Donnell said.

Representatives of Microsoft were not immediately available for comment.

Another research firm, Gartner Inc., reported an 11 per cent decline in PC shipments in the quarter. That, too, is the sharpest decline it's seen since it started tracking the market in 2001.

Microsoft shares fell 28 cents, or 0.9 per cent, to $30 in extended trading, after the release of the report. They had gained 67 cents in regular trading.

Hewlett-Packard, the world's largest maker of PCs, saw a 24 per cent drop in shipments in the first quarter compared with the same period a year ago. The industry's No. 2, China's Lenovo Group, is benefiting from sales to first-time buyers in China and other developing countries. As a result, it held sales steady, alone among the world's top 5 PC makers, according to IDC's figures.

HP shares fell 27 cents, or 1.2 per cent, to $22.05 in extended trading. They had risen 10 cents in regular trading.

Shares of Intel, which makes four out of five PC processors, fell 27 cents, or 1.2 per cent, to $21.99, after rising 51 cents in regular trading.

Gartner noted one bright spot: Businesses are buying more PCs, and account for about half of the market.

Both firms track shipments of PCs from the manufacturer rather than retail sales. Shipments correlate closely with sales. The figures include shipments of Apple's Macs, which account for about 5 per cent of the worldwide market.

-AP

Create An Uber Cool Facebook Page Without Any Heavy Lifting

You’ve seen the slick Facebook Pages that many big businesses use to get their brands out there on social media. If you’re interested in having a Facebook Page for your business, complete with great design, but you don’t want to pay a whole lot, Decor might be a great solution for you. You can get your Facebook Page up the easy way, with templates, and drag-and-drop editing. Easy peasy.

There’s a free option you can get started with right away. The paid versions start at a little over $5/month. Compare that with Pagemodo (starts at $6.25/month) and Cool Mojito (starts at $9.99/month). Decor comes in four price plans: Free, Basic, Pro and Unlimited.

Here are some folks already using Decor and their experience:

• Nudie Jeans Co has been using the app for a while. They recently ended their global Instagram competition using an extended version of Decor. The effect during the two weeks long campaign was impressive: doubling their total reach and increasing the viral reach with 166%.
• Yamaha Music is another company using the app for creating a Valentines day-competition, headphones promotion and a live-clip page.
• Real Time Channel 31 (A part of Discovery Channel Italy) is the biggest user so far soon reaching 800 000 fans.

From what I’ve seen on their website, Decor’s designs look great. If you’re eager to cut out the hassle of setting up a Facebook page, try them out for free.

And if you’re serious about marketing your business on Facebook, you need to take a look at Ramon Ray’s book, The Facebook Guide To Small Business Marketing.

If you’ve got a Facebook Page for your business, shoot us a link in the comments! We’d love to see what you’ve done.

Create An Uber Cool Facebook Page Without Any Heavy Lifting

You’ve seen the slick Facebook Pages that many big businesses use to get their brands out there on social media. If you’re interested in having a Facebook Page for your business, complete with great design, but you don’t want to pay a whole lot, Decor might be a great solution for you. You can get your Facebook Page up the easy way, with templates, and drag-and-drop editing. Easy peasy.

There’s a free option you can get started with right away. The paid versions start at a little over $5/month. Compare that with Pagemodo (starts at $6.25/month) and Cool Mojito (starts at $9.99/month). Decor comes in four price plans: Free, Basic, Pro and Unlimited.

Here are some folks already using Decor and their experience:

• Nudie Jeans Co has been using the app for a while. They recently ended their global Instagram competition using an extended version of Decor. The effect during the two weeks long campaign was impressive: doubling their total reach and increasing the viral reach with 166%.
• Yamaha Music is another company using the app for creating a Valentines day-competition, headphones promotion and a live-clip page.
• Real Time Channel 31 (A part of Discovery Channel Italy) is the biggest user so far soon reaching 800 000 fans.

From what I’ve seen on their website, Decor’s designs look great. If you’re eager to cut out the hassle of setting up a Facebook page, try them out for free.

And if you’re serious about marketing your business on Facebook, you need to take a look at Ramon Ray’s book, The Facebook Guide To Small Business Marketing.

If you’ve got a Facebook Page for your business, shoot us a link in the comments! We’d love to see what you’ve done.

There’s A Storm A Coming! 4 Key Points To Know About Emergency SMS/Voice Broadcast Systems

While the devastation of blizzards, tornados, hurricanes, floods, and other natural disasters is tremendous, there are many stories of lives saved by receiving quick notification of approaching storms and dangerous situations through Emergency Short Message Service (SMS) and Voice Broadcast Systems.  Receiving a heads-up via text messaging when most other means of communication are down...

The post There’s A Storm A Coming! 4 Key Points To Know About Emergency SMS/Voice Broadcast Systems appeared first on Small Business Technology.

Tax Break Reversal: California Bills Small Business Owners, Investors

Owners and investors of small businesses in California are ruing a federal court decision that sticks them with more than $120 million in bills for back taxes.

Now, according to several reports, state lawmakers are being urged to reverse a court decision that eliminated the Qualified Small Business Stock tax break. The tax break allowed a small business owner or an investor in small businesses based mostly in California to exclude 50 percent of their income from state tax filings.Read More

The post Tax Break Reversal: California Bills Small Business Owners, Investors appeared first on Small Business Trends.

There’s A Storm A Coming! 4 Key Points To Know About Emergency SMS/Voice Broadcast Systems

While the devastation of blizzards, tornados, hurricanes, floods, and other natural disasters is tremendous, there are many stories of lives saved by receiving quick notification of approaching storms and dangerous situations through Emergency Short Message Service (SMS) and Voice Broadcast Systems.  Receiving a heads-up via text messaging when most other means of communication are down can be extremely beneficial for businesses, universities, and of course, emergency services organizations.

These affordable, mass notification tools are needed to notify customers of store closings due to weather, let employees know not to come to work today, notify students of class cancellations due to storms and make city residents aware of potential disasters.

There are four key points to know before getting started with Emergency SMS/Voice Broadcast Systems:

1. It is not complicated.  All that is required is a phone and internet connection and an assigned “point person” or administrator in the organization or group.  Once registered with an internet telephony provider, such as CallFire, the administrator creates a keyword and notifies recipients.  Per the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the emergency alert subscribers are required to opt-in.  Then, the administrator compiles a list of the telephone numbers of participants.  When an emergency occurs, the administrator logs into the organization’s account to create and distribute an SMS or Voice Broadcast message.  Additional messages can be sent as frequently as needed.

2. Understand the rules.  The FCC requires that businesses and organizations offering Emergency SMS/Voice Broadcast Systems obtain both opt-in and opt-out permissions from each cell phone owner to be contacted.  Though academic institutions are required by the Clery Act to send emergency notifications when certain emergencies occur, they too must abide by the same FCC regulations as businesses and other organizations.

3. The system is efficient and affordable.  Emergency SMS/Voice Broadcast Systems will send your message to recipients within seconds.  The average transmission time for all mobile carriers for the service is less than seven seconds and offers an almost 100 percent open/answer rate.  Also, unlike regular mail messages, SMS communications also are not subject to spam filters and bypass full voice mailboxes.

4. Everyone wins.  Emergency SMS/Voice Broadcast Systems work to provide communications during very stressful situations.  County and city authorities, school administrators, and company leaders can instantly provide information that can direct people to safe havens out of harm’s way and give real-time directives when needed.

Implementing an emergency notification system is simply smart business.  CallFire, Rave Alert, and SMSMatrix are just a few examples of companies providing easy, affordable set-up for Emergency SMS/Voice Broadcast Systems with some plans starting at $10 per month.

The Small Business Marketing Evolution

[Jim Cavale, COO of Iron Tribe Fitness]

You could easily liken small business marketing and digital marketing today to an old quote from Samuel Clemons (Mark Twain) about the weather in New England:

“If you don’t like the weather in New England, wait a few minutes.”

And it will change.

For many small business owners, just as they familiarize themselves with one marketing strategy, another one comes along claiming to trump all others. Add to that Google’s ever-shifting (and mostly secret) algorithm changes and it becomes increasingly difficult for entrepreneurs to stick to a marketing plan.

I caught up with several business owners at Infusionsoft’s annual Infusioncon Conference a few weeks ago to see how (or even if) they’ve refocused their marketing efforts in the past two years.

Bourn Creative

Jennifer and Brian Bourn run Bourn Creative, a company that helps other small businesses create websites and build their brands, so they have a thorough understanding of how marketing has shifted. Jennifer says that in the last two years, the “tools haven’t changed, but the way we have to use them” has. Previously, she adds, it was easier for businesses to gain market share, and business owners could get away just doing some self-promotion.

Today, with so much information about your business readily available to your customers (both current and potential), Jennifer advises business owners to focus on branding and building a reputation for their businesses.

For their own business the Bourns say they were “greatly rewarded” after Google changed its algorithms. “Never try to game the system,” they warn, and don’t think SEO is a “magic pill.” They advise business owners to do what’s worked for them in the past two years, “Create great content and optimize it for the end user. Always put the user first.” One of the best ways to do this is creating a blog. “Adding a blog to your website,” Jennifer says, “creates a new opportunity for customers to find you online.”

Another change the Bourns have experienced is the increased effectiveness of Twitter generating traffic to their website. To handle the load, they’ve turned to some third-party automation tools like HootSuite and Tweetbot to augment their real-time conversational tweets. There’s so much competition online these days Brian says so you have to more directly ask for the sale and make it easy for customers to click through and buy. As for Google, he says you can’t fight the changes it (and Facebook) makes so “you have to change and adapt.”

One of the biggest marketing shifts in the past two years has been towards mobile marketing. Brian says make sure your content looks great on mobile devices and that you incorporate responsive design. He suggests you start with a mobile website and not a separate app.

Iron Tribe Fitness

Another entrepreneur who has experienced the rapidly evolving marketing environment is Jim Cavale, the COO of Iron Tribe Fitness (pictured above), a franchiser of gyms. Iron Tribe, which won the Infusionsoft Ultimate Marketer award last year, was launched by Forrest Walden in 2010 with a single location and today boasts 41 franchises. The company is on track to reach 300 units by 2017. Cavale opened the second gym and then teamed with Walden to launch the franchise.

In the beginning Iron Tribe’s primarily used offline marketing, with about 88 percent of potential customers walking into the gym after seeing an ad. In an enormous shift, last year, Cavale says, 88 percent of its customers came from online leads. Email marketing is a more effective tool now for Iron Tribe, and Cavale attributes that to Infusionsoft’s system which automates a good portion of the process.

Cavale’s also noted that SEO is not giving Iron Tribe the return it once did. Today the company is much more active on social media. YouTube has proved very successful for Iron Tribe, as well as Google Local, which Cavale calls very “affordable.” A lot of potential customers check the reviews on Google Local before they come in. Each Iron Tribe has a Facebook “fan page” and all locations use Twitter for customer service and support. Cavale says they actually sold a franchise from a Twitter connection.

SmallBizTechnology

Marketing and technology evangelist Ramon Ray of Smallbiztechnology.com and Infusionsoft says there’s been a marketing shift in the last 24 months to “more engaging and relevant content. Just having a product or service is not enough,” he adds, “business owners must feed the search engines.”

Ray is, of course, using technology to focus more on existing clients in order “to create rabid customers who can turn into evangelists.” And he’s doing more to automate his engagement with new customers, which allows him to reach more people in a shorter time frame.

These entrepreneurs are definitely taking advantage of the rapid pace marketing is evolving. They’re jumping into the fray armed with new strategies and tools to give them a competitive edge. And of course they’re keeping an eye out for the “next, new thing.” But as Ramon Ray says, right now the important thing is to focus “less on selling and more on relationship building.”

SFVision Launches Salesforce v2.0: The iPad App For Mobile Salesforce Users

SFVision for Salesforce has launched the newest version of its Salesforce app, SFVision for Salesforce™ v2.0,  for iPad, the application designed specifically for the mobile sales person.

The app was designed by SFVision Technologies and was the first app for Salesforce and the new Version 2 sees a number of new improvements and features for sales on the go.

The app will collate data for the user from across Salesforce, bringing everything together into one simple interface that’s easy-to-use and navigate, constantly updating Salesforce so you’re only working with the latest data.

“It quickly became evident that most mobile sales professionals view their daily interaction with Salesforce as tedious and the repeated data entry a waste of time. In many cases sales management was using incentives to get the sales team to input minimal information,” explains SFVision co-founder and CEO Kevin Mooney on the app’s uses and newest updates.

The app lays out all your contacts in an easy-to-view design with customizable information for each, such as role, responsibility or other pertinent information, with simple ‘drag and drop’ functions make for easy moving of contacts and other information. 

“With the only goal to provide a solid platform that delivers on our vision of Extreme Salesforce Simplicity, we spent a great deal of time taking input from our early users,” says Kevin. “We learned more about what they liked, didn’t like and what else was needed.”

New features of the app include:

The SFVision Console

• Puts all critical sales data up front with easy access to SFVision Opportunity Pipeline, Calendar and Chatter Everywhere
• Interactively filters the pipeline from the console to list all opportunities in specific sales stages and closing dates
• Allows easy single touch modification of opportunity stages

The SFVision OrgView

• Displays all contacts in an account, laid out in an organizational view
• Manages strategic indicators for all contacts in the OrgView including roles, sentiments and decision making abilities
• Uses “Drag and Drop” on the OrgView to setup or correct “Reports To” alignment

Contacts and Calendars

• Create a new contact or lead in Salesforce with a simple touch
• Instantly pulls new contact information from your iPad address book, or push Salesforce contacts into your address book
• Create a contact or lead from a vCard in an iPad email or from a QR code using the iPad camera
• Access your full Salesforce calendar and load calendar events to your iPad iCal for both connected and disconnected event management

The SFVision Chatter Everywhere

• Make comments to your specific account activities, opportunities and leads
• Share your current status

SFVision was the first of its kind, making it the only iPad app for Salesforce and Version 2 retains that unique edge that the app has with no other apps offering the same functions. The company firmly believes that the app continues to offer real benefits to every kind of salesperson.

SFVision Launches Salesforce v2.0: The iPad App For Mobile Salesforce Users

SFVision for Salesforce has launched the newest version of its Salesforce app, SFVision for Salesforce™ v2.0,  for iPad, the application designed specifically for the mobile sales person.

The app was designed by SFVision Technologies and was the first app for Salesforce and the new Version 2 sees a number of new improvements and features for sales on the go.

The app will collate data for the user from across Salesforce, bringing everything together into one simple interface that’s easy-to-use and navigate, constantly updating Salesforce so you’re only working with the latest data.

“It quickly became evident that most mobile sales professionals view their daily interaction with Salesforce as tedious and the repeated data entry a waste of time. In many cases sales management was using incentives to get the sales team to input minimal information,” explains SFVision co-founder and CEO Kevin Mooney on the app’s uses and newest updates.

The app lays out all your contacts in an easy-to-view design with customizable information for each, such as role, responsibility or other pertinent information, with simple ‘drag and drop’ functions make for easy moving of contacts and other information. 

“With the only goal to provide a solid platform that delivers on our vision of Extreme Salesforce Simplicity, we spent a great deal of time taking input from our early users,” says Kevin. “We learned more about what they liked, didn’t like and what else was needed.”

New features of the app include:

The SFVision Console

• Puts all critical sales data up front with easy access to SFVision Opportunity Pipeline, Calendar and Chatter Everywhere
• Interactively filters the pipeline from the console to list all opportunities in specific sales stages and closing dates
• Allows easy single touch modification of opportunity stages

The SFVision OrgView

• Displays all contacts in an account, laid out in an organizational view
• Manages strategic indicators for all contacts in the OrgView including roles, sentiments and decision making abilities
• Uses “Drag and Drop” on the OrgView to setup or correct “Reports To” alignment

Contacts and Calendars

• Create a new contact or lead in Salesforce with a simple touch
• Instantly pulls new contact information from your iPad address book, or push Salesforce contacts into your address book
• Create a contact or lead from a vCard in an iPad email or from a QR code using the iPad camera
• Access your full Salesforce calendar and load calendar events to your iPad iCal for both connected and disconnected event management

The SFVision Chatter Everywhere

• Make comments to your specific account activities, opportunities and leads
• Share your current status

SFVision was the first of its kind, making it the only iPad app for Salesforce and Version 2 retains that unique edge that the app has with no other apps offering the same functions. The company firmly believes that the app continues to offer real benefits to every kind of salesperson.

Top U.S. Retailers Meet Mobile Website Expectations, But U.K Retailers Fall Short. Why It Matters

When someone visits your business website on their phone, do they get a mobile-optimized website, or are they met with your regular old desktop website

According to a new report from Skava, 100 per cent of the 100 top retailers in the US have optimized their websites for mobile shopping, compared to only 50 per cent of the UK’s top retailers. Apparently Americans are ahead of the game on this, while the UK has lagged behind.

Skava tells us, “A smartphone user has a distinct set of expectations when browsing on a mobile device compared to how they interact with their desktop or even their tablet. Retailer’s websites which have not been optimized for tablet experience a far lower rate of conversion compared to one that has been specifically optimized for the device. Retailers need to be able to respond quickly to the ever shifting digital landscape and influx of new devices, by making sure their e-commerce website is not only working properly but optimised for conversion across all devices.”

Skava, which has created unique mobile experiences for American retailers like Macy’s and Banana Republic, has opened a London office to meet the needs of European retailers. But mobile websites aren’t just for the big dogs.

If you don’t have a mobile website for your business, you might be missing sales. SmallBizTechnology uses Mobstac for our mobile website. Check it out. I’ll wait here. Take out your phone and check out our mobile experience. Let us know what you think of it! With Mobstac, you can try a starter site out for free.

But when you’re setting up your mobile website, whatever way you end up doing it, make sure there’s an option to go back to the desktop version. Maybe it’s just me editorializing, but I can’t stand when a website shunts me over to its mobile version and offers me no choice to use the desktop version instead. One website that does this is Twitter. It’s forever irritating to me, because there are specific functions that the desktop website can do that are not replicated in the mobile version. Learn from Twitter. Allow for a desktop option.

Tell us in the comments about your experiences with mobile websites! Do you have one How did you make it Have you noticed more conversions since implementing it

Top U.S. Retailers Meet Mobile Website Expectations, But U.K Retailers Fall Short. Why It Matters

When someone visits your business website on their phone, do they get a mobile-optimized website, or are they met with your regular old desktop website

According to a new report from Skava, 100 per cent of the 100 top retailers in the US have optimized their websites for mobile shopping, compared to only 50 per cent of the UK’s top retailers. Apparently Americans are ahead of the game on this, while the UK has lagged behind.

Skava tells us, “A smartphone user has a distinct set of expectations when browsing on a mobile device compared to how they interact with their desktop or even their tablet. Retailer’s websites which have not been optimized for tablet experience a far lower rate of conversion compared to one that has been specifically optimized for the device. Retailers need to be able to respond quickly to the ever shifting digital landscape and influx of new devices, by making sure their e-commerce website is not only working properly but optimised for conversion across all devices.”

Skava, which has created unique mobile experiences for American retailers like Macy’s and Banana Republic, has opened a London office to meet the needs of European retailers. But mobile websites aren’t just for the big dogs.

If you don’t have a mobile website for your business, you might be missing sales. SmallBizTechnology uses Mobstac for our mobile website. Check it out. I’ll wait here. Take out your phone and check out our mobile experience. Let us know what you think of it! With Mobstac, you can try a starter site out for free.

But when you’re setting up your mobile website, whatever way you end up doing it, make sure there’s an option to go back to the desktop version. Maybe it’s just me editorializing, but I can’t stand when a website shunts me over to its mobile version and offers me no choice to use the desktop version instead. One website that does this is Twitter. It’s forever irritating to me, because there are specific functions that the desktop website can do that are not replicated in the mobile version. Learn from Twitter. Allow for a desktop option.

Tell us in the comments about your experiences with mobile websites! Do you have one How did you make it Have you noticed more conversions since implementing it

16 Tips for Saving on Small Business Expenses Infographic

Your top three business expenses are your employees’ wages, inventory and rent. According to an infographic from Bolt Insurance, 1 in every 5 dollars your business earns goes toward paying your employees. That’s a tough expense to cut, but there’s a lot you can do to reduce your costs on equipment, taxes, utilities, phone service and shipping.

You might not save a lot on your business expenses right away, but these kinds of savings add up once you’ve implemented Read More

The post 16 Tips for Saving on Small Business Expenses Infographic appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Notebook Tablets Provide Great Alternative for Small Businesses

It’s a laptop. It’s a tablet. It’s both.

As tablets are taking over the consumer market, some small business owners are hesitant to switch to the new technology. Productivity in many entrepreneurial tasks requires full PC functionality, including an easy-to-use keyboard. The ability to stream movies, play games, or draw a new artistic masterpiece are rarely relevant to business environments.

Still, there are instances where a tablet can come in handy. Scribbling notes using a stylus in meetings, for instance, or demonstrating a website to a client. What if you had a laptop that allowed for the screen to be removed when a tablet was needed, then returned to the keyboard when it was time to once again type

That’s the very question electronics manufacturers seem to have asked themselves. The “notebook tablet,” as it’s being called, provides a hybrid model that makes tablets a useful option for small business owners. Here are a few of the latest and greatest notebook tablets on the market.

HP Envy x2

Featuring an 11.6-inch diagonal display and views that are clear from every angle, the HP Envy x2 is ideal for watching movies and listening to music, thanks to Beats Audio. Built-in Near Field Communication prepares you for the next big thing in technology and magnetic connectors for easy connecting. Hard drive space of up to 64GB and 2GB RAM are available. Two USB ports, an HDMI port, and a memory card slot round the HP Envy x2 off. The lack of a CD/DVD-ROM drive can be a bit of a stickler for small business workers, who occasionally need to install software or access client files via optical drive. All in all, the HP Envy x2 features an innovative, lightweight design that may be just what small business owners are looking for.

 Dell XPS 10 Tablet

The Dell XPS 10 Tablet comes with an optional mobile keyboard dock. The tablet comes with the unpopular Windows 8 RT operating system, which is a lighter version of Microsoft’s latest operating system. One of the best things about the XPS 10 is its almost-unbelievable 16-hour battery life when docked on the keyboard, making it perfect for those on the road all day. The tablet features two USB ports, a mini-HDMI port, and covered micro-SD and micro-SIM slots. The tablet comes with either a 32 or 64 GB hard drive and the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, designed to power the Windows 8 RT operating system. While the RT operating system may be a drawback for some, Dell lovers may want to check this one out.

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer TF101

ASUS has become a serious contender in the laptop market in recent years, offering a variety of options. The Transformer features the Android 3.2 Honeycomb operating system, which can be an adjustment for Windows lovers. With Polaris Office 3.0 included however, business users can edit, create, and save presentations, word processing documents spreadsheets, and more. Still, the lack of Microsoft Office on this model could be a big negative for business users. The Transformer TF101 offers up to 16 hours of battery life when docked, 1GB RAM, 16GB or 32 GB hard drive space, two USB ports, and one card reader (MMC/SD/SDHC).

Tablets are still iffy for business users, but with this keyboard dock option, businesses now have a way to enjoy tablet functionality without sacrificing the convenience of having a keyboard. At prices that are easy on most small businesses’ budgets, notebook tablets may start popping up at businesses across the country.

Notebook Tablets Provide Great Alternative for Small Businesses

It’s a laptop. It’s a tablet. It’s both.

As tablets are taking over the consumer market, some small business owners are hesitant to switch to the new technology. Productivity in many entrepreneurial tasks requires full PC functionality, including an easy-to-use keyboard. The ability to stream movies, play games, or draw a new artistic masterpiece are rarely relevant to business environments.

Still, there are instances where a tablet can come in handy. Scribbling notes using a stylus in meetings, for instance, or demonstrating a website to a client. What if you had a laptop that allowed for the screen to be removed when a tablet was needed, then returned to the keyboard when it was time to once again type

That’s the very question electronics manufacturers seem to have asked themselves. The “notebook tablet,” as it’s being called, provides a hybrid model that makes tablets a useful option for small business owners. Here are a few of the latest and greatest notebook tablets on the market.

HP Envy x2

Featuring an 11.6-inch diagonal display and views that are clear from every angle, the HP Envy x2 is ideal for watching movies and listening to music, thanks to Beats Audio. Built-in Near Field Communication prepares you for the next big thing in technology and magnetic connectors for easy connecting. Hard drive space of up to 64GB and 2GB RAM are available. Two USB ports, an HDMI port, and a memory card slot round the HP Envy x2 off. The lack of a CD/DVD-ROM drive can be a bit of a stickler for small business workers, who occasionally need to install software or access client files via optical drive. All in all, the HP Envy x2 features an innovative, lightweight design that may be just what small business owners are looking for.

 Dell XPS 10 Tablet

The Dell XPS 10 Tablet comes with an optional mobile keyboard dock. The tablet comes with the unpopular Windows 8 RT operating system, which is a lighter version of Microsoft’s latest operating system. One of the best things about the XPS 10 is its almost-unbelievable 16-hour battery life when docked on the keyboard, making it perfect for those on the road all day. The tablet features two USB ports, a mini-HDMI port, and covered micro-SD and micro-SIM slots. The tablet comes with either a 32 or 64 GB hard drive and the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, designed to power the Windows 8 RT operating system. While the RT operating system may be a drawback for some, Dell lovers may want to check this one out.

ASUS Eee Pad Transformer TF101

ASUS has become a serious contender in the laptop market in recent years, offering a variety of options. The Transformer features the Android 3.2 Honeycomb operating system, which can be an adjustment for Windows lovers. With Polaris Office 3.0 included however, business users can edit, create, and save presentations, word processing documents spreadsheets, and more. Still, the lack of Microsoft Office on this model could be a big negative for business users. The Transformer TF101 offers up to 16 hours of battery life when docked, 1GB RAM, 16GB or 32 GB hard drive space, two USB ports, and one card reader (MMC/SD/SDHC).

Tablets are still iffy for business users, but with this keyboard dock option, businesses now have a way to enjoy tablet functionality without sacrificing the convenience of having a keyboard. At prices that are easy on most small businesses’ budgets, notebook tablets may start popping up at businesses across the country.

Stop Collecting And Start Engaging With Your Twitter Followers

Social media marketing on Twitter is not a numbers game, and most companies don’t realize this. Brands focus on collecting as many Twitter followers as they can by any means possible, even though most of these followers never engage with the brand or add any value to the social media marketing campaigns of these companies.

Companies that have thousands of followers on Twitter have very little engagement from these followers, as most of these accounts are either fake, inactive or are owned by other companies that have nothing in common with the brands.

One of the biggest mistakes a company can make is following other Twitter accounts that have nothing in common with the company or collecting Twitter followers that do not share the same interests as the company.

Instead of wasting time on collecting followers, focus your energies on improving engagement with your Twitter followers. Most small businesses have limited resources and cannot afford to have inefficient social media marketing campaigns.

To ensure that your Twitter marketing campaign succeeds, you need your followers to share your tweets and content with their followers. You want actively engaged followers who will also give honest feedback and pave the way for open dialogue between your brand and its followers. Below are a few pointers that will show you how.

Follow the Right Users

It goes without saying that instead of focusing on the number of followers, you need to focus on the type of followers you are collecting. This is why you need to follow the right Twitter users, who will in turn follow you back, as such users will have a lot in common with your brand.

Ensure that the accounts your brand is following have similar profiles and are in the same industry. Following industry experts is a great way to gather valuable content on Twitter that you can share with your followers. This method may not give you a follower base in the thousands, but it will ensure that most of your followers actively engage with your content and brand.

Tweet Valuable Content to Your Twitter Followers

Even after collecting relevant followers, there may be no engagement with your brand if your tweets are irrelevant. You need to establish your brand as an industry expert to maximize engagement. This can be done if you tweet valuable and original content. Tweet links to your company blog posts that have relevant and interesting content.

Instead of rehashing existing articles, offer your own point of view and predictions. Your followers will find it useful and will want to retweet your tweets.

Respond to Your Twitter Followers Promptly

To continue conversations with clients and to have stronger relationships with them, you need to respond to their comments, retweets, shout-outs, questions, etc. as quickly as possible. By using the @replies feature on Twitter, you can check the “interactions” and “mentions” of your brand on Twitter and reply to questions promptly.

Also make sure to have an FAQ blog post. Link to it regularly on Twitter so that followers can follow the link if they have more questions. Always remember to thank followers who retweet, share and comment on your tweets, and use ‘@[Their Username]’ in the tweet to give them a shout out.

You can also use direct messages to communicate with engaged followers who require more information about your brand.

Offer Fun Tweets to Your Twitter Followers

It may not always be possible to create long blog posts with valuable content and tweet them on a daily basis. In such cases, tweeting daily tips or fun facts is a great idea, as such tweets generally get a lot of engagement. Also, these posts are bite-sized and easy to read, which is always a good thing on Twitter.

You can also include behind-the-scenes images or ask interesting questions to followers.

Participate in “Follow Friday”

Follow Friday is not exactly a Twitter feature, but an event created by Twitter followers to highlight other users. Use the #FollowFriday hashtag in your tweet to place the spotlight on certain followers who engage with your brand frequently. This is a great way to reward certain followers and to appreciate their efforts.

You can also create special edition #FollowFriday events with specific themes and tag followers accordingly.

Blue Bird Photo via Shutterstock

LulzSec trio to face sentencing next month

Three members of the LulzSec hacking group have pleaded guilty to computer crimes and face sentencing next month.

Ryan Ackroyd, Jake Davis and Mustafa al-Bassam - who was not named until now because of his age - have all admitted their involvement in the 50-day hacking spree, which hit businesses including Sony and 20th Century Fox and governments and police forces in summer 2011.

Ackroyd was known as 'Kayla' while Davis was the main spokesman known as 'Topiary'. Ackroyd was arrested in September 2011, while Davis was charged with unauthorised computer access and conspiracy to carry out a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack in August 2011.

All three pleaded guilty to launching DDoS attacks against the CIA and Serious Organised Crime Agency in the UK. Both men were named by the FBI when LulzSec leader Sabu was revealed to have been working as an informant for the bureau in March 2012.

US air force deems some cyber tools to be \'weapons\'

Six cyber tools have been designated as weapons by the US air force.

According to Reuters, Lieutenant General John Hyten, vice commander of Air Force Space Command, said the new designations would help ‘normalise' military cyber operations as the US military works to keep up with rapidly changing threats.

Hyten said that with this designation, this could help programs compete for a share of the defence budget and give cyber more attention. Speaking at the National Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Hyten said the recent decision by Air Force Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh to designate certain cyber tools as weapons would help ensure funding. "It's very, very hard to compete for resources. You have to be able to make that case," he said.

While Hyten said that the US air force is also working to better integrate cyber capabilities with other weapons, he gave no details on the new cyber weapons, but did say that the Pentagon has become more open over the past year about its work to develop offensive cyber capabilities in the face of escalating cyber attacks.

Jarno Limnéll, doctor in military science and director of cyber security at Stonesoft, said: “Increased funding and the normalisation of cyber tools as a form of weaponry, coupled with leaks that President Obama now has the authority to initiate a preventive cyber strike in the face of a looming attack on the US, shows it is difficult to imagine future wars without cyber activities.

“The development of advanced forms of computer network attacks, such as Stuxnet, require investments of both time and capital. The classification of cyber capabilities as weapons shows it is clear the world has entered a new arms race era. This will become increasingly active as governments launch attacks, create malware, write Trojans and infect computers to achieve their political objectives.

“Cyber capabilities are a fifth dimension of warfare - in addition to land, sea, air and space - and while it's unlikely future battles will be completely online, it is difficult to imagine future wars or conflicts without cyber activities.”

UK cyber security efforts called \'embarrassing\'

The UK's investment in cyber security has been branded as ‘embarrassing' by the former US cyber intelligence officer at the department of defence.

Bob Ayers, a former cyber intelligence officer for the US Army and the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) who also worked with the Ministry of Defence (MoD), told Computing that the government's investments and attention to cyber security nowhere near matched what he had in the US over 20 years ago.

He said: “The US government had an organised cyber security programme with 155 assigned staff and a $100 million-a-year budget - and that was a continuing $100 million a year. Now, 20 years later, the UK is spending a phenomenally smaller figure and starting into [its cyber security strategy] and we're saying this is good No, this is embarrassing.”

Ayers told SC Magazine earlier this year that when he was the senior cyber security adviser for Britain's £650 million cyber security defence programme in 2010-11, "the MoD was roughly where the US Department of Defense was in 1992, roughly 20 years behind".

Yesterday, it was announced that a £500,000 Global Centre for Cyber Security and Capacity Building will be based at the Oxford Martin School at the University of Oxford and act as a research hub that aims to help the UK and other nations better understand how to adequately protect themselves from cyber attacks.

Ross Brewer, vice president and managing director for international markets at LogRhythm, welcomed this move, calling it a way for the ‘good guys' to collectively fight back.

He said: “The UK government has long been thought to shy away from the issue of cyber security. Our own research last year validated that sense of public frustration, with 45 per cent of respondents demanding that the government steps up the protection of national assets against cyber threats, and 43 per cent believing that the threat of international cyber war and cyber terrorism must be taken very seriously now.

“However over the last year, government officials have upped the ante on cyber security and Britain is now leading the way with funding and initiatives to support the on-going international struggle against cyber crime - despite recent claims to the contrary. This announcement heralds the next logical step to achieving that objective, and strikes a good balance, as the often proposed alternative of pre-emptive strikes could incite terrible consequences from an international relations perspective.”