Normal.dotm 0 0 1 221 1263 predictify 10 2 1551 12.0 0 false 18 pt 18 pt 0 0 false false false "We've signed an agreement with Barnes & Noble to distribute Smashwords e-Book titles, all of which are self-published or from small independent presses,” CEO Mark Coker told me this afternoon. “As you might imagine, I'm thrilled.  It marks the next stage of our development as we evolve to become a full-scale e-Book distributor. “We originally hoped to do a formal press release on this news rather than release it late on a Friday afternoon, but we needed to give our 1,200+ authors and publishers advance notice so they can prepare their titles for distribution,” he continued. “It's...

The latest Healthcare Roundup looks at a rift among Democrats over the public option, CCHIT's plans for EHR certification, ONC's technology extension centers, the financial squeeze on medical device makers, and a new Minnesota website that compares provider prices.

GlaxoSmithKline suggested that reports of liver failure associated with its diet drug Alli might be the fault of the patients, not the drug.

In the realm of insurers, midwesterner Edward Rust Jr. could be Warren Buffett's alter ego. No, his company is not as big as Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, which is ranked 13th on the Fortune 500, but State Farm, where Rust is longtime CEO, does occupy the 31st spot, up one from last year. State Farm is the nation's largest home insurer and possibly the U.S.'s  biggest insurer since American International Group met its Waterloo in 2008. In keeping with Berkshire Hathaway, State Farm has weathered the recession in style. In 2008 State Farm wrote 1.7 million new policies and added 218 more agents. And like the Oracle of Omaha, Rust has a reputation for frugality with his company's money. While he...

About 900 people left Aegis in its recent round of cost-cutting -- far more than the 780 reported earlier -- the agency holding company said today, and it still isn't enough, according to the Guardian. This chart tells you what's going on at Aegis.

This is a post by guest blogger Jonathan I. Ezor.

The first blog in this series discussed how while some words do have legal weight, agreements should still be written in clear, understandable language in order to do what they're meant to. The second blog in this series examined warranties.

One of the biggest mysteries of any business relationship is the non-disclosure provision, aka the confidentiality clause, mostly because people aren't sure what it means, and what it requires them to do
(and not do). Here's the first, mission-critical concept: whatever the contract says, a non-disclosure agreement or provision cannot prevent your company's information from leaking out, but only prohibit unauthorized disclosures. Just like the old saying, a secret shared is no longer a secret. If a piece of information is that potentially damaging to your company, whether in the hands of your business partner or the outside world, do not disclose it. You should also explore other legal protections both for the secret and your right to keep others from exploiting it, like patents.

That said, non-disclosure agreements and provisions are and should be part of most contractual relationships, whether as standalone documents or as provisions of broader agreements, because they set a tone of trust (and provide remedies if that trust is broken). They also help business partners talk, communicate and brainstorm more freely, since they're not worried about watching everything they are saying. Not every industry uses them (venture capitalists, for example, rarely sign them, and attorneys and physicians are already covered by legal obligations to keep information confidential), but for those that do, they can be a helpful addition to the "toolbox," provided they are written in clear and understandable language.

Again, let's look at the sample Web development agreement to demystify a typical, two-way non-disclosure provision:

During the term of this Agreement, each party hereto (the “Disclosing Party”) may disclose to the other party (“Recipient”) information in connection with the performance of this Agreement, and Recipient may otherwise discover information about the Disclosing Party in connection with this Agreement. All such information about the Disclosing Party, including but not limited to technical and business information relating to the Disclosing Party’s products, research and development, production, costs, engineering processes, profit or margin information, finances, customers, marketing, and future business plans, shall be deemed “Confidential Information.” All Confidential Information shall remain the sole property of Disclosing Party and Recipient shall have no rights to or in the Confidential Information. Recipient shall hold the Confidential Information in strict confidence. Recipient shall not make any disclosure of the Confidential Information (including methods or concepts utilized in the Confidential Information) to anyone without the express written consent of Disclosing Party, except to employees, consultants or agents to whom disclosure is necessary to the performance of this Agreement and who shall be bound by the terms hereof, or to the extent it is required to disclose such information in the context of any administrative or judicial proceeding, provided that prior written notice of such disclosure and an opportunity to oppose or limit disclosure is given to Disclosing Party.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, Recipient shall have no obligation under this Agreement with respect to any Confidential Information disclosed to it which:

(a) Recipient can demonstrate was already known to it at the time of its receipt hereunder;

(b) is or becomes generally available to the public other than by means of Recipient’s breach of its obligations under this Agreement;

(c) is independently obtained from a third party whose disclosure violates no duty of confidentiality; or

(d) is independently developed by or on behalf of Recipient without use of or reliance on any Confidential

Information furnished to it under this Agreement.

Apple's deal to provide China Unicom with iPhone handsets is the headline, but Google's Android deal with HTC may prove bigger in the long run.

Do you rank in the search engines for your brand name? It would appear that it is more important than ever to do so based on information that Compete has compiled.

More and more people are using search to get to their destination sites even if they know exactly where they are going. For example, if they're going to YouTube, they'll search for YouTube instead of just typing YouTube.com in their address bar.

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In two recent discussions with a small business owner and a PR firm about many of the things I've recently covered in this column, a big concern that came up was time. "How much time will it take me to create a good social media presence?" Great question. The answer is, of course,"it depends." When I spoke to Mark LePage last year in Building Success by Blogging he mentioned that he spends 10-12 hours a week on bloggin, separate from his standard marketing efforts. If one goes by the old adage that an entrepreneur should spend about 20% of her time marketing, Mark might be spending more time when you factor in blogging and standard marketing (or working 80 hours a week). Sometimes, though, the social media efforts really require some focus and organization. Use tools such as Google Reader to organize RSS feeds from websites you care about, so you don't have to check each site separately. Create Bookmarks in your browser to remind you to check important sites (like your competitors, industry trade association sites, The Startup Toolkit, etc.). Social Media Consultant Chris Brogan notes how much work he does in "How Many Chores Does It All Add". Chris' thoughts are great, but more focused on the high-end social media user. However, the things in his comments below the post can also give you great ideas. If you're using Twitter, consider tools that help manage your incoming messages, such as TweetDeck, CoTweet, PeopleBrowsr, or just look at the @Replies tab on your home page more than your regular page to see if people are talking about you or your company. Don't forget to search twitter for mentions of your company or industry as well. (Disclosure: in the past I have done some consulting for CoTweet, but am not currently doing so.) If you have a blog, make sure new comments are set to come to you in email, so you can respond to them. Make a time, in the morning or afternoon, to check your social presences, such as a facebook fan page, myspace page, or whatever you're using. Check it then don't watch it all day. It is true that Social Media can take a lot of time, and we'd all probably be looking at pictures of our friends on the beach than doing the hard work of running our businesses. But if you make specific appointment times and use those times to check in, respond to questions, and post new content for your customers and fans, you'll be able to manage the time and be more effective. What methods are you using? Share them in the comments below.

Recessions tend to have a devastating effect on smaller automakers. The U.S., for instance, had hundreds of brand names when the Depression started, but many were casualties of the shrinking auto market that continued through the 1930s. The ones that survived cut both production and prices, staying afload on paper-thin margins. Think, the Norwegian company that makes plastic-bodied, two-seat electric cars, has generally lived up to its name. It's tiny, two-seat plastic-bodied EV is both practical and affordable. But despite its prudence, Think was nearly a victim of bear markets and unprecedented tight credit. In early December of last year, the company appeared to have the world by the tail, and was ahead of nearly everybody in Europe getting battery vehicles on the market....