What Small Businesses Are Having the Best 2011?

Now that June has come and gone, we can officially reflect on the first half of 2011. Who’s having a good year and who’s encountering hard times? In this infographic, we look at what small business industries are performing well and which ones aren’t in 2011 — all based on aggregated and anonymized data from QuickBooks Online.

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Understanding The 80/20 Rule

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The Potential of Big Data

Too much information! ‘Big data’ refers to sets of data whose size surpasses that of what data storage tools can typically handle. As the amount of digital data grows exponentially each year, big data has the potential to become the next frontier for innovation, competition and profit.

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The Social Buying Universe: 2nd Dimension

Today, social buying and daily deals websites are found in nearly every corner of the World Wide Web. But as of late, there has been speculation that this space has expanded too rapidly, and, like an old red giant star, is ready to explode.

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New York vs. San Francisco

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Anatomy of the Perfect Employee

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Controversial All-Star Game in Arizona means big bucks for state

What does hosting the 2011 MLB All-Star Game mean for Arizona? Host city Phoenix stands to make $60 million in revenue while the state as a whole will collect an estimated $150 million from baseball fans. The MLB’s vote to play the All-Star Game in Arizona has been a controversial one, in light of the strict immigration bill the state has enacted.

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 A Hierarchy Of Communication

Today’s businesses have many different ways to communicate with customers using social media tools. Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and email can help build engagement, brand awareness, and generate sales. However, depending on your message and desired outcome, one may be more effective than another. Understanding which to use when will help make your social media efforts successful.

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Lost and Found: The Challenges of Finding Your Lost or Stolen Phone

If you have ever lost your phone or had it stolen, you know how horrible it feels. You not only feel disconnected, you quickly start to think about all the valuable information on your phone that you can’t live without – pictures, text messages, contacts, notes and more.  In a new infographic,  Lookout takes a closer look at how people lose their phones and how much it costs to get it back. 

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Why do people become freelancers?

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South Sudan – World’s Newest Country

On July 9^th, South Sudan became the world’s newest country, and will soon be admitted into the United Nations as its 193^rd member state, following in the footsteps of such independent states as East Timor and Montenegro, which joined the international organization as the 191^st and 192^ndmembers in 2002 and 2006, respectively.

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