Small Business Computing Staff

Entrepreneur: Turning Social Media Conversations Into Sales Gunelius makes the distinction between ‘interruption’ marketing and ‘engagement’ marketing and explains how SMBs can make the two work together to generate sales. “Remember back when a marketer’s primary goal was to catch the attention of consumers in any possible way? The content of the ad, brochure or […]

InformationWeek: Beware ‘Tabnappers’ On Phishing Expeditions The exploit developed by Mozilla’s Aza Raskin involves substituting bogus content on a hidden but open tab page so it appears to be a log-in for an online service. Browser companies need to figure out how to stop it, users need to be wary of entering log-in information in […]

PC Magazine: Dell Streak – Not An iPad Alternative The Streak, available in Europe next month, is not the next big tablet product, the alternative to the iPad that everybody has been waiting for, Ulanoff says. It’s a phone. Proceed accordingly. “I get it. If I were a consumer electronics device in 2010, I’d want […]

CNet: Review – Skype Video Conferencing Skype came late to the online video conferencing market but its service is familiar and wildly popular. How good is the new beta multi-party video chat feature? Could you use it in your small business? The short answer: maybe. But you might want to wait for the next version […]

PCmag@Work (Small Business): FonGenie Guarantees Increased Sales From Phone Ads The company claims that 35% of callers to small businesses using its service end up purchasing products or services featured in ads inserted in automated phone greetings. “FonGenie is an online service that serves as an online receptionist for your retail or small business. It […]

Entrepreneur: E-mail Marketing + Social Media – 5 Steps To Success Goodman explains how to get involved in social media conversations and leverage the relationships and information gained to power e-mail marketing. “Right now online, your customers, clients, members and prospects are chatting up a storm. Whether they’re tweeting on Twitter, posting on Facebook, forwarding […]

InformationWeek SMB: Local Online Advertising For Dummies – Avoiding Dummy Mistakes Cunningham shares strategies and tips in the book that can help SMBs seize opportunities in local markets and sidestep common mistakes. Here he lists the ten most common mistakes, including assuming your customers behave like you and not knowing your limits. “This foray into […]

PCWorld: Best Places To Purchase A Laptop PC World evaluated retailers not just on the deals they offered but also on the quality of the advice they gave, and their selection and return policies among other factors. The winners: Amazon ranked first, Best Buy second. (Look for similar reports from PC World on other product […]

Smartphones & Cell Phones: First Look Review – T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide Smartphone The T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide, which will be available June 2 for $179.99 with a data plan and two-year contract, ultimately disappointed the reviewer. The slide-out QWERTY keyboard isn’t as good as the one on the earlier G1 phone from HTC and […]

InformationWeek SMB: Google Unveils iPhone-killer Android 2.2 The new version of Google’s smartphone operating system, nicknamed Froyo, is the latest salvo in a growing religious war between the open source community and everyone else (but especially Apple) for the hearts and minds of smartphone users. “Android 2.2 is coming soon, with support for Flash, speed […]

PCmag@Work (Small Business): Office 2010 Not The Only Productivity Suite for SMBs PC magazine looks at alternatives such as Google Docs, iWork 2009 for the Mac and the venerable WordPerfect and analyzes their strengths and weaknesses. “Microsoft Office 2010 will probably be the office suite of choice for most users, but should it be? As […]

PCWorld: Review – HTC EVO 4G Smartphone The pros: great 8-megapixel camera, beautiful 4.3-inch touchscreen. Cons: you won’t get 4G coverage everywhere. Price: $200 plus $80+ a month for unlimited data. “HTC has struck gold again with the HTC EVO 4G ($200 with a two-year contract from Sprint), which is easily the best smartphone available […]