End of the Noughties Looking Nice?

On December 8, 2009

End of the Noughties Looking Nice?

We've seen lots of speculation that Australia may have ducked the worst of the global economic crisis, but the proof will really be in the Christmas pudding. According to a forecast from business analysts IBISWorld, Australian companies are expected to spend over $560 million on Christmas celebrations this year (that's an increase of 76 percent over 2008). The number of company Scrooges is expected to shrink as well, with 92 percent of businesses predicted to be hosting a holiday bash (only 67 percent did last year). Not only will there be more parties, but companies are looking to make them more lavish as well --- while the average spent per employee was $75 in 2008, this year that figure is...


On December 8, 2009

How to Lose Friends and Irritate People through Self-Promotion

A few weeks ago, I blogged about how small business owners should get over self-promotion shyness by remembering that their business fills a niche and is likely genuinely wanted or needed by some segment of the population. But as commenter Rodney rightfully pointed out, many small business owners go to the opposite extreme. Whether they [...]


On December 8, 2009

HOW TO: Manage Successful Social Media Promotions

Ben Straley is the CEO of Meteor Solutions, provider of the leading word-of-mouth analytics and optimization platform that enables marketers to measure, manage, and monetize earned media. With holiday shopping in full swing, social shopping is already making a big impact. Data from Hitwise shows that downstream traffic to the Retail 500 coming from both Facebook [...]


On December 8, 2009

Pubs to Take Glossies Digital With Online Newsstand

Five leading American publishers, including Time and Conde Nast, officially unveiled what is, effectively, an online digital newsstand on Tuesday. The announcement ended months of speculation about the project. The five will offer a service from which readers can buy subscriptions to their publications.


On December 8, 2009

AOL Goes Back to the Drawing Board

AOL is shaking loose from Time Warner and heading into the next decade the way it began this one, as an independent company. Unlike the 1990s, though, when AOL got rich selling dial-up Internet access, it starts the 2010s as an underdog, trying to beef up its Web sites and grab more advertising revenue.


On December 8, 2009

It’s a Great Time to Grow! Self Employment Rate Increases 4.5%

How entrepreneurial growth trends are complimented by great Web-based servicesAccording to a recent statistic cited on Entrepreneur (pulled from the Kauffman Index of Entrepreneurial Activity), American self-employment rates have shown an annual increase of 4.5% over most of this decade. No surprise, eh? Entrepreneurs are a resilient lot, prone to serial entrepreneurship, collaborations, and [...]


On December 8, 2009

Judge Sees ‘Deep Potential for Injustice’ in Copyright Act

A graduate student who must pay four record labels a combined $675,000 in damages for downloading and sharing songs online has been ordered to destroy his illegal music files -- but a judge declined to force him to stop promoting the activity that got him in trouble.


On December 8, 2009

Optimism Index Imitates Thermometers In November

Perhaps it's just the onset of Seasonal Affective Disorder, but the National Federation of Independent Business Index of Small Business Optimism did some backtracking in November.  Following October, the Index slid a not-inconsiderable 0.8 points.

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