From the desk (and BlackBerry) of Keith Parnell

A good internet video, says Kelsey Group (www.kelseygroup.com) analyst Michael Boland, can be more powerful than traditional advertising because viewers are sitting at their computers instead of on their couches.

Watch a TV ad, and you’re likely to do no more than make a mental note of the product. Watch an ad on YouTube, and you can immediately search the company’s website. “It’s that lean-forward medium,” Boland says.

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Users don’t care about the difference between rich Internet apps and desktop apps. They just want software that is simple to use no matter where you lead them.

Have you lost touch with their needs?

“The Rocky Mountain News, gone. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, gone. Today the Ann Arbor (Michigan) News announced it would publish its last edition in July. Three other papers announced today they’re cutting back to three print editions a week. At least 120 newspapers have shut down since January 2008, according to Paper Cuts, a Web site that tracks the industry.” *

This is not good news at all for the newspaper industry. Yes, I am one of those people that lean more towards the Internet to get my news today but I don’t blame me (or my kind). I blame the newspaper companies for not changing with the times.

This has been coming for a long time. And it seems like the good-old-boy newspaper network has been sitting idley by and denying this premonition to be true.

Well, here we are. And companies are now failing for not providing the service their consumers want.

Good news: it’s not too late. Get with it guys. The Internet is here to stay. You have the information we want. Now you must get it on the platform where we live.

* Source: CNN.com.

Small business owners have a growing amount of resources on the Internet. I encourage you to search them out and read. There are tons of great info and tips out there so take advantage of the experiences of others.

Business.gov hails themselves as the official business link to the US government. They have information on starting a business, finance, licenses & permits, home-based businesses, non-profits, and much more.

The Small Business Administration is another resource that you should not miss.

What do Apple Computer, Hershey Chocolate, Mary Kay Cosmetics, and the Ford Motor Company have in common? They all started out as home based businesses. Over half of all U.S. businesses are based out of an owner’s home.

Secure Backups and Storage

AMI Partners recently produced survey results about home-based business, which of course falls into the small business world.

• There are over 16 million home-based businesses in the US. This is approximately 2/3 of all businesses in the US.
• Close to 15 million of these businesses have at least 1 personal computer.
• On average these businesses have 2 personal computers, 1 desktop and 1 notebook.
• Over 80% have a broadband Internet connection.
• All up, they spend close to $700 million each year on backup and storage solutions.

My point to these numbers is to remind you, as a small business owner, to not skimp on costs where the results could be catastrophic for your business. Backup your computers regularly so you can sleep soundly at night.