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How Building Corporate Confidence in Cloud Services Will Help Bigger Businesses

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Cloud Services

If the Cloud works, then it behoves bigger businesses to get in on it. That’s a simple given. So clearly building corporate confidence in the technology will help to introduce more businesses to its benefits.

The key question, then, is this. Is the Cloud ready for big business, or indeed for any business at all? I mean, we hear the word being bandied around every day, but it still isn’t clear whether the Cloud is really anything new or definable – or just another industry buzzword for a bunch of existing technologies, repackaged to sell a shiny new service we don’t need.

The idea behind the Cloud is simple enough. You no longer “own” your own software tools, instead you hire them from a company that is responsible for maintaining them all, buying the licences and ensuring that you always have access to the latest technology in your service package. The location of all the services you buy is more conceptual than actual – hence the name. When you live and work “in the Cloud”, you take down both the software tools you use and the processing power to make them run properly from discrete locations owned or leased by the company from which you are purchasing time and backup. → Read More

5 Reasons Business Owners Should Use Automated Direct Messages on Twitter

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Twitter for Business

As a business, you no doubt understanding the importance of marketing . . . and hopefully you understand the importance of social media in today’s technology-centered market. If you are already making use of popular social networking sites like Twitter, then congrats You are in the here and now, so to speak, and you have a much better chance of staying current in the current consumer market. However, did you know that there are things you can do with Twitter besides just tweeting to take your marketing above and beyond? One of those methods is called automated direct messaging, and if you are not taking advantage of this powerful Twitter feature, your business could be missing out. Here are five reasons business owners should use automated direct messages on Twitter.

Why not just tweet? Automated direct messages are different from tweets in that they are not broadcast for all to see, but rather sent to a follower’s private mailbox in Twitter. In effect, they are like private emails that you automatically send to new followers to say, “Thanks for the follow I look forward to hearing your tweets” (. . . or something to that effect.) → Read More

Why You Should Not Use Google+ to Market Your Business (Yet)

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Google Plus

If you are into business marketing, then there’s no doubt you understand how social media has taken business marketing by storm. Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn have literally revolutionized how the general public interacts, how information is shared, and how businesses communicate with their customers. The latest player in the social networking arena is Google+. Google+ has been getting a lot of attention and, although its membership is steadily expanding, there is still some debate over just how successful Google+ will be. Are you contemplating adding Google+ to your social networking marketing roster? Maybe you should give it some more time. Here’s why you shouldn’t use Google+ for marketing your business (yet):

The “wow” factor. Every piece of business marketing you put out into the public speaks for your brand. After all, it has your name on it and leaves customers (and potential customers) with a taste in their mouths. You want that to be a good taste, right? Well, Google+ Business pages are so new – and oh, so basic – that they really are nothing more than a profile page that you can insert your business logo into. Needless to say, millions who are aware of Google’s on-hand engineering were shocked and disappointed to find the addition of Google+ Business nothing more than a lackluster reworking of the basic Google+ profile page. Want to “wow” your customers and attract new ones? Google+ is not the way to do it. As a matter of fact, a Google+ Business page will probably only put your customers to sleep. → Read More

9 of the Best Startup Companies to Come Out of London

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Great Britain Flag

London is currently one of the world’s biggest emerging entrepreneurial powers. Today, the city has about 1400 startup companies – but which of these are the most prominent? Here is a list of 9 of the best startup companies that have come out of London:

King

King.com is a successful casual-game developing company that boasts more than 200 games available in 14 languages. King games can be accessed through their website or on Facebook, and users can even access them via mobile phone. The company has 27 millions users a month (that produce well over 800 million gameplays), and employs developers in offices all over the world – including Milan, Los Angeles, Hamburg, London and Stockholm.

Cheapflights

This company basically started the concept of finding the cheapest online flight prices, and comparing those prices with other sites. Since its origin, Cheapflights has proven to be a highly reputable and lucrative endeavor. In addition, users praise its easy accessibility and many features – in addition to finding affordable flights; the site has options for online travel agents and special package deals. → Read More

Cultivating a Long-Distance Business Relationship

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Business Communication

Communicating with overseas business partners is becoming increasingly easier to do. But, that doesn’t necessarily mean people are doing it.

The technology to stay-in-touch with long distance business partners is certainly available, but taking advantage of such technology is a totally different issue.

Whether you’re in a tech-savvy industry or something a little less cutting-edge, you can take advantage of simple technology to stay connected to your not-so-close clients and partners.

Email Communication

Needless to say, your business is already using email. But, are you using it effectively? Communicating effectively through email isn’t as easy as you may suspect. Many times, we don’t express in our writing as clearly as we think we do.

When writing important emails to distant clients that you don’t have the opportunity to speak with directly, take time to make sure you’re expressing yourself accurately. Define clear action points with bullets or numbers. Summarize your thoughts at the end and make it clear what type of response → Read More

First Netflix, Now Redbox Increases Prices

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Redbox

$1-per-night DVD rentals are no more.

Redbox, the popular kiosk-based DVD rental company, has announced a price increase for standard DVD rentals. Instead of the convenient and easy-to-remember $1 price, DVD rentals will now be $1.20 per night.

The price change can be blamed on increased costs in operating expenses. Movie studios now want more money from Redbox to carry their film titles in order to make up for lost revenue in DVD sales. Additionally, there has also been increases in debit card fees, which Redbox has decided to pass on to the consumer.

This marks a similar move Netflix took to battle the rising costs of attaining movies from movie studios. However, Redbox’s new pricing is a 20% increase, whereas Netflix’s was 60%. With the recent announcement that Netflix lost a whopping 800,000 members, and, needless to say, hundreds of millions of dollars in future revenue, I can’t imagine Redbox having to face much flak for its price increase decision.

First and foremost, the increase is only 20 cents. This clearly won’t break the bank for anyone. In fact, since Redbox kiosks are commonly found at McDonald’s restaurants and gas stations, you may even find 20 cents in dropped change that a previous customer neglected to pick up. → Read More

How Much Will Apple Be Affected by the Loss of Steve Jobs?

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Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs is one of the few people who became a worldwide legend during his lifetime. His death, naturally, has many wondering what will happen to Apple, the company that he co-founded and led for so long. For many people, Steve Jobs was Apple. He filled many roles at the company, including visionary, supreme marketer, demanding taskmaster, innovator, and unsurpassed strategist. In fact, Jobs has been called this generation’s Thomas Edison. Like Edison, he was one of those rare individuals who changed the everyday lives of much of the world’s population. What will happen to Apple without such a man?

The answer is that Apple will be just fine. It’s a lot more than just one man. In fact, in terms of market capitalization, it’s the world’s second largest corporation behind Exxon Mobile. Sometimes, Apple even surpasses Exxon, depending on stock prices. Right now, Apple is worth about $350 billion compared to Exxon at $359 billion. Apple also has $80 billion in cash in reserve. The company’s huge cash cushion gives it room for some missteps while it adjusts to life without Steve Jobs. In addition, Apple is trading at the rather modest P/E ratio for a technology company of 12 to 1. James Altucher, a prominent tech investor, believes that Apple could become the first company in history with a market cap of $1 trillion. Analysts are skeptical of this, but many of them agree that a stock split could lead to a substantial increase in the company’s value. So, even without Jobs, Apple will remain a valuable company for years to come. → Read More

Why Should I Join LinkedIn?

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LinkedIn

People generally consider Facebook, Twitter and Google+ when discussing social media websites. These websites enable us to remain connected to our friends and family, and to follow up on our interests, hobbies and new. While most Social Media websites may be fine for personal use, as a professional the use of LinkedIn is essential for your continued success in the business world.

LinkedIn is a social media site devoted to professionals. It does not have the real time feed or news capabilities that are on some of the other sites, therefore it is not as appealing to the general public. However, the lack of clutter makes LinkedIn perfect for the business person. The lack of distractions makes it easier for a professional to meet and contact other business people and potential employers. → Read More

Facebook and Twitter In The Office – A Business Killer?

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Twitter and Facebook

A lot of people seem to get fired in a business for spending a lot of their time sneaking around Twitter and Facebook and you can see the damage that it can cause a business if their employees aren’t working and are chatting away to their friends and followers instead. On the other hand, if you own a business I wouldn’t rush into banning social media in the work environment straight away. There are both positives and negatives to allowing these services in the office.

The Negatives

Productivity

The first major downside to allowing your employees on Twitter and Facebook during working hours is that they could easily spend half their time on the service. Even if you monitor how much they are pushing out on their walls it doesn’t mean they aren’t chatting away to their friends on the Facebook chat or sharing private messages on Twitter. Productivity across the company could drastically fall with the introduction of Twitter and Facebook. → Read More

6 Time and Money Saving Cloud-Based Services

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Cloud Based Services

Want to make your business more time and cost effective without spending a ton of money on new hardware and software or hiring new people? Consider the cloud.

Today’s savvy small business owners are turning to the cloud to help them accomplish a number of unique and valuable tasks, quickly and economically. If you’ve been wondering if cloud computing is right for your business, here’s a list of cloud-based services (many of which are free) that can save you both time and money.

1. FreshBooks (Accounting Manager)

Face it. You’re good at what you do, but if you’re like a lot of business owners, your strong suit might not be keeping track of the dollar sign$. That’s where FreshBooks comes in. From generating and managing invoices to keeping track of expenses and time sheets, FreshBooks does it all for you in a professional and user- friendly way. An added bonus is that by using a service like FreshBooks, your small business may appear bigger than it actually is. → Read More