The Smallbiztechnology Weekly Roundup And Look At What’s Ahead

Each week on Smallbiztechnology.com, we post a lot of articles that help small businesses GROW their business. We want to make sure you didn’t miss anything, so here’s a quick roundup of what we talked about last week and a sneak peek at what we’ll be sending your way in the week to come. Check out our video here, or watch below:

Mobile Technology

Office Tech

Software and Cloud Computing

Social Media

Security

Collaboration

Keep Customers

Get Customers

Next week, we’ve got a look at the best online file-sharing tools for small businesses, how to turn human resources into a system that grows your business, how to get local customers with your mobile website and how to increase sales and save time with the cloud.

You won’t want to miss any of that, and there’s a lot more beyond what I just mentioned, so come on back and let us know what you think in the comments!



Is Virtual Work the Key to the Future of Women in Technology?

women in technology

The lack of women entrepreneurs in the tech industry, and the shortage of female tech employees, have been topics of much discussion. Now a new survey from Elance, Women in Technology, suggests virtual work might be the key to women finally achieving parity with men in tech roles.

The survey, which polled more than 7,000 independent professionals worldwide, found that women are finding more tech opportunities in the virtual world than in the real one. Some 70 percent say online work gives them more opportunities to succeed in technology than traditional on-site work does.

Why are women turning online for tech jobs or to run their tech businesses?

Online Work Offers a Level Playing Field

Online, gender discrimination is neutralized, Elance’s results suggest. Instead of being perceived as women, female entrepreneurs and tech employees can get respect based on their skills, merits and accomplishments.

Online Work Provides Flexibility for Work/Life Balance

For working moms, whether they’re employees or entrepreneurs, flexibility is key. Virtual work enables both tech entrepreneurs and tech employees to balance their work and family time better. Sixty percent of women in the Women in Technology study say online work allows them to manage personal and professional lives.

Online Work Provides the Ability to Build a Business

Sixty percent of women say working as an independent contractor with multiple clients is easier than trying to find full-time work in the tech field. Virtual work enables women to build their own businesses instead of becoming employees.

Online Work Provides Intellectual Challenge

Some 65 percent of women in technology say the diverse projects they encounter enables them to improve their skills and provides more learning opportunities than an on-site job would. For women who’ve been out of the work force due to layoffs or child-rearing, online work can help them learn new skills and rebuild their portfolios to attract clients or land a job.

There’s still a way to go in building more opportunities for women in technology, however.  Women in the Elance Women in Technology survey say the following changes are needed to close the tech “gender gap:”

  • Providing equal pay to men and women with the same skills (66 percent).
  • Parents and teachers providing more inspiration to girls and young women (55 percent).
  • Dispelling stereotypes that boys are better than girls in math and science (49 percent).
  • Providing more mentoring support for women (47 percent).
  • Seeing more women in technology so there are more role models (47 percent).

The lack of female role models or encouragement for women to pursue technology fields is cited by 45 percent of those surveyed as the major impediment to women’s success in technology â€" even more than cited a lack of job opportunities/the local economy (34 percent).

Is online technology work in danger of becoming a “pink ghetto?”

If women continue to feel they can’t enjoy success IRL (in real life) but only online, then yes. But the women in the Elance Women in Technology survey aren’t worried about this. A whopping 80 percent are optimistic about the future success of women in technology, and 32 percent are extremely optimistic.  

Key to the Future Photo via Shutterstock




Is Virtual Work the Key to the Future of Women in Technology?

women in technology

The lack of women entrepreneurs in the tech industry, and the shortage of female tech employees, have been topics of much discussion. Now a new survey from Elance, Women in Technology, suggests virtual work might be the key to women finally achieving parity with men in tech roles.

The survey, which polled more than 7,000 independent professionals worldwide, found that women are finding more tech opportunities in the virtual world than in the real one. Some 70 percent say online work gives them more opportunities to succeed in technology than traditional on-site work does.

Why are women turning online for tech jobs or to run their tech businesses?

Online Work Offers a Level Playing Field

Online, gender discrimination is neutralized, Elance’s results suggest. Instead of being perceived as women, female entrepreneurs and tech employees can get respect based on their skills, merits and accomplishments.

Online Work Provides Flexibility for Work/Life Balance

For working moms, whether they’re employees or entrepreneurs, flexibility is key. Virtual work enables both tech entrepreneurs and tech employees to balance their work and family time better. Sixty percent of women in the Women in Technology study say online work allows them to manage personal and professional lives.

Online Work Provides the Ability to Build a Business

Sixty percent of women say working as an independent contractor with multiple clients is easier than trying to find full-time work in the tech field. Virtual work enables women to build their own businesses instead of becoming employees.

Online Work Provides Intellectual Challenge

Some 65 percent of women in technology say the diverse projects they encounter enables them to improve their skills and provides more learning opportunities than an on-site job would. For women who’ve been out of the work force due to layoffs or child-rearing, online work can help them learn new skills and rebuild their portfolios to attract clients or land a job.

There’s still a way to go in building more opportunities for women in technology, however.  Women in the Elance Women in Technology survey say the following changes are needed to close the tech “gender gap:”

  • Providing equal pay to men and women with the same skills (66 percent).
  • Parents and teachers providing more inspiration to girls and young women (55 percent).
  • Dispelling stereotypes that boys are better than girls in math and science (49 percent).
  • Providing more mentoring support for women (47 percent).
  • Seeing more women in technology so there are more role models (47 percent).

The lack of female role models or encouragement for women to pursue technology fields is cited by 45 percent of those surveyed as the major impediment to women’s success in technology â€" even more than cited a lack of job opportunities/the local economy (34 percent).

Is online technology work in danger of becoming a “pink ghetto?”

If women continue to feel they can’t enjoy success IRL (in real life) but only online, then yes. But the women in the Elance Women in Technology survey aren’t worried about this. A whopping 80 percent are optimistic about the future success of women in technology, and 32 percent are extremely optimistic.  

Key to the Future Photo via Shutterstock




Lawyers: Protect Yourself With Professional Liability Insurance

Lawyers Professional Liability Insurance

The new U.S. economy has created more lawyers professional liability insurance exposures than would be commonly assumed.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 25,000 legal services jobs have been lost since August of 2008.  A displacement of this magnitude has created an employment ripple throughout the legal industry, felt from the largest international firms down to small-town practices.

When insurance carriers are underwriting a lawyers professional liability insurance policy, recent hiring and firing of lawyers is taken into account. A law firm may let a lawyer go for many different reasons, but the actions leading up to release can potentially lead to professional liability insurance exposures.

The new U.S. economy hasn’t only affected employment.  With revenue falling across industry practices, competition between law firms has become very aggressive.  Law firms are starting to take on new practices in which they have little to no expertise, in an effort to increase revenue.  Organizational inexperience within a law firm can lead to mishandled and/or misfiled paperwork, which is a leading concern in cases involving lawyers professional liability insurance.

Technology has also played a role in the recent spike of professional liability claims.  Law firms have taken to the Internet to market their business.  Electronic communication , filing, mobile technology and social media advertising have all generated a another new form of liability, cyber liability.

What Can Law Firms Do To Protect Themselves?

Be prudent when purchasing lawyers professional liability insurance coverage.  Cheaper is NOT better when it comes to procuring professional liability for a law firm.  The exposures that law firms face are vast, and the language within legal industry insurance contracts can often be vague.

Make sure you work with an insurance professional with experience in both the legal industry and in writing professional liability insurance.  Additionally, be upfront and honest with everything that your firm does. Things you must disclose to your insurance professional are:

  • All law practice lines (including pro-bono).
  • Communication methods.
  • Advertisements.
  • Data storage.
  • Publishing (written articles for magazines, online content, newsletters).
  • Employment practices.

The worst thing that you could do when purchasing lawyers professional liability insurance is withhold activities for the sake of saving money on insurance premiums. In many cases, additional activities of law practices do not come with an increase in premium but the addition of policy forms to cover the risk.

So, by opening up and properly disclosing all activities within the law firm, the result is many times more coverage, not more cost.

The Insurance Take-Away

Lawyers beware, professional liability insurance claims can arise from any action in which you act in a professional capacity.

How often do lawyers act in a professional capacity?  I’d say it’s pretty much what they do all day long. Every phone call taken, every document processed, every piece of advice given can lead to a lawyers professional liability insurance claim.

The increase in lawsuits associated with the depressed U.S. Economy expands the professional risk lawyers take on two fronts: More work for less lawyers and higher propensity of clients to sue their lawyer.

The first line of defense for all law firms is lawyers professional liability insurance, a coverage that should not be taken lightly.

Liability Photo via Shutterstock




Books On Content Marketing: Seven Good Choices

content marketing books

Content marketing is quickly becoming a primary focus on the Web. The expansion of blogs and websites that use content as a main format make it a hot topic for any marketer and content creator. But it is an adapting field like any other, and you might be worried that you’re not exploiting the method as much as you should be.

Content Strategy Versus Content Marketing

There has been a lot of talk lately about content marketing, especially since blogs have become so ingrained with other social media. There has also been a lot of talk about content strategy. The obvious question becomes: What is the difference between the two? Are content marketing and content strategy the same thing?

Not really. A better way to explain the way the two differ is to say that content strategy is the process of developing a plan for marketing a product, website or concept. Content marketing, on the other hand, is a tool that can be used to carry out that strategy.

Developing Your Content Strategy

The process of developing a content strategy begins by understanding the parameters of that strategy. You have to find what your target demographic is, keywords that are relevant and beneficial for use, what kind of content will rate highest with users and ways that you can push content and increase visibility.

It will include a rundown of popular platforms that you will utilize in the course of your strategy. These platforms might include Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, Flickr, YouTube, your blog and anything else you find useful. Each should have their own form of content production and distribution.

Another part of developing this strategy will be finding ways to engage your users. Which is where content marketing comes in.

Using Content Marketing

This is one of the tools that relates to your overall content strategy. There are many ways in which you can use it to your benefit, but the basics are:

  • Creating high quality content for various sources.
  • Using various forms of content, such as video, images, podcasts, blog posts, social media lists, ebooks, webinars and more.
  • Utilizing social media to push this content.
  • Making connections with others to share content, such as guest blogging or guesting on podcasts.

Remember that content marketing is all about how you package and present content for the user to enjoy.

Further Education: Content Marketing Books

The best thing you can do is get the advise of an expert on the topic. Below are some good content marketing books.

1. Content Strategy For The Web

content marketing booksKristina Halvorson is not only an accomplished author of some very informative books on marketing, she is also the CEO and Founder of Brain Traffic.

Being well known for her content marketing strategies, which she has incorporated into her own successful company, Content Strategy For The Web brings all of that expertise into one place.

The second edition is now out, so check it out.

2. Managing Enterprise Content: A Unified Content Strategy (2nd Edition)

content marketing booksAnother book that has been released in second edition, this fantastic guide on content strategy was written by two experts in the field.

Ann Rockley is the Founder and President of The Rockley Group, and Charles Cooper is an accomplished author with quite a few books under his name.

This book not only covers the importance of content, but also a unified strategy for exploiting new platforms for viewing it, such as mobile Web technology.

3. Clout: The Art and Science of Influential Web Content

content marketing booksWhen considering Web influence, there is a good chance your mind goes immediately to more modern social media, such as Facebook or Twitter.

As it should, since this is a primary means of both increasing and establishing influence around the Internet. But content is also an important factor and one that is often neglected.

Colleen Jones discusses the importance of content in the world of online clout.

4. Content Rules

content marketing booksDo you want to know how to make content of all kinds, no matter what the medium?

Ann Handley and C.C Chapman have you covered with this extensive guide. Learn the ‘rules’ for creating great blog posts, podcasts, videos, ebooks, webinars, conferences and much more than have a focus of engaging customers for business growth.

5. Managing Enterprise Content: A Unified Content Strategy

content marketing booksAnother great book by Ann Rockley, this book looks at the way that social media and other Web platforms have changed the way users search for and view content. Then it presents simple guidelines to improving your own content to match this demand.

To the point, thorough and well written, this is a must for any content marketer’s reading list.

6. Get Content Get Customers: Turn Prospects into Buyers with Content Marketing

content marketing booksThis unique partnership created a very unique book. Joe Pulizzi is obsessed with all things content marketing and he swears by its effectiveness.

Newt Barret is a marketing veteran. Everything here is less about visibility and more about using content marketing for direct sales.

It is great for ecommerce use of content marketing.

7. The Elements of Content Strategy

content marketing booksYou can get this book cheap in ebook form, which is one of many of its benefits. Written by Erin Kissane, it breaks content marketing down into more manageable explanations, looking at the overall strategy of its use.

You will get a true understanding of what content marketing is, how it became popular, why it should be used today and how to do it properly.

Do you know of any good content marketing books out there?

Content Photo via Shutterstock




Books On Content Marketing: Seven Good Choices

content marketing books

Content marketing is quickly becoming a primary focus on the Web. The expansion of blogs and websites that use content as a main format make it a hot topic for any marketer and content creator. But it is an adapting field like any other, and you might be worried that you’re not exploiting the method as much as you should be.

Content Strategy Versus Content Marketing

There has been a lot of talk lately about content marketing, especially since blogs have become so ingrained with other social media. There has also been a lot of talk about content strategy. The obvious question becomes: What is the difference between the two? Are content marketing and content strategy the same thing?

Not really. A better way to explain the way the two differ is to say that content strategy is the process of developing a plan for marketing a product, website or concept. Content marketing, on the other hand, is a tool that can be used to carry out that strategy.

Developing Your Content Strategy

The process of developing a content strategy begins by understanding the parameters of that strategy. You have to find what your target demographic is, keywords that are relevant and beneficial for use, what kind of content will rate highest with users and ways that you can push content and increase visibility.

It will include a rundown of popular platforms that you will utilize in the course of your strategy. These platforms might include Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, StumbleUpon, Flickr, YouTube, your blog and anything else you find useful. Each should have their own form of content production and distribution.

Another part of developing this strategy will be finding ways to engage your users. Which is where content marketing comes in.

Using Content Marketing

This is one of the tools that relates to your overall content strategy. There are many ways in which you can use it to your benefit, but the basics are:

  • Creating high quality content for various sources.
  • Using various forms of content, such as video, images, podcasts, blog posts, social media lists, ebooks, webinars and more.
  • Utilizing social media to push this content.
  • Making connections with others to share content, such as guest blogging or guesting on podcasts.

Remember that content marketing is all about how you package and present content for the user to enjoy.

Further Education: Content Marketing Books

The best thing you can do is get the advise of an expert on the topic. Below are some good content marketing books.

1. Content Strategy For The Web

content marketing booksKristina Halvorson is not only an accomplished author of some very informative books on marketing, she is also the CEO and Founder of Brain Traffic.

Being well known for her content marketing strategies, which she has incorporated into her own successful company, Content Strategy For The Web brings all of that expertise into one place.

The second edition is now out, so check it out.

2. Managing Enterprise Content: A Unified Content Strategy (2nd Edition)

content marketing booksAnother book that has been released in second edition, this fantastic guide on content strategy was written by two experts in the field.

Ann Rockley is the Founder and President of The Rockley Group, and Charles Cooper is an accomplished author with quite a few books under his name.

This book not only covers the importance of content, but also a unified strategy for exploiting new platforms for viewing it, such as mobile Web technology.

3. Clout: The Art and Science of Influential Web Content

content marketing booksWhen considering Web influence, there is a good chance your mind goes immediately to more modern social media, such as Facebook or Twitter.

As it should, since this is a primary means of both increasing and establishing influence around the Internet. But content is also an important factor and one that is often neglected.

Colleen Jones discusses the importance of content in the world of online clout.

4. Content Rules

content marketing booksDo you want to know how to make content of all kinds, no matter what the medium?

Ann Handley and C.C Chapman have you covered with this extensive guide. Learn the ‘rules’ for creating great blog posts, podcasts, videos, ebooks, webinars, conferences and much more than have a focus of engaging customers for business growth.

5. Managing Enterprise Content: A Unified Content Strategy

content marketing booksAnother great book by Ann Rockley, this book looks at the way that social media and other Web platforms have changed the way users search for and view content. Then it presents simple guidelines to improving your own content to match this demand.

To the point, thorough and well written, this is a must for any content marketer’s reading list.

6. Get Content Get Customers: Turn Prospects into Buyers with Content Marketing

content marketing booksThis unique partnership created a very unique book. Joe Pulizzi is obsessed with all things content marketing and he swears by its effectiveness.

Newt Barret is a marketing veteran. Everything here is less about visibility and more about using content marketing for direct sales.

It is great for ecommerce use of content marketing.

7. The Elements of Content Strategy

content marketing booksYou can get this book cheap in ebook form, which is one of many of its benefits. Written by Erin Kissane, it breaks content marketing down into more manageable explanations, looking at the overall strategy of its use.

You will get a true understanding of what content marketing is, how it became popular, why it should be used today and how to do it properly.

Do you know of any good content marketing books out there?

Content Photo via Shutterstock