Google+ Introduces Enterprise Social Networking Features for Businesses

Google+ Introduces Enterprise Social Networking Features for Businesses
A Secret to Green Business Success
How To Survive Political Campaign Season
Ideas Carry Potential: Action Carries Outcome
Radio Shack Launches No-Contract Mobile Service

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 01:00 PM PDT

Businesses that use Google Apps received some potentially good news this week. The company announced that it has started testing some new enterprise social networking features for Google+, including some elements that would allow easier collaboration for users of Google Apps.

The public preview of the Google+ enterprise version includes workplace-specific features like more controls over sharing and privacy, improved administration controls, added support for video, and integrations with other products like Google Calendar.

The aim behind all of these features is to make communication between employees and business professional easier.

More specifically, business owners can use the new features to configure Google+ for their employees, restrict the sharing of posts between a company's employees and its full network, launch Google Hangout meetings directly from apps like Gmail, and even edit documents together within a Hangout.

Businesses and organizations that use Google products can use the new business features of Google+ for free through the end of 2013. No details on pricing have been released for after that time period, but that statement does hint that Google plans to charge for the enterprise features in the future.

Google Apps, the online document, calendar, and spreadsheet service, is already used by many businesses. There is also a free version of Google Apps for consumer use.

Google+ was launched in 2011 as a consumer social networking site. The company hinted last year that it would eventually launch a workplace version. The site itself does already offer a few features that could be used for networking or promotional purposes for businesses, but until now it didn't have anything specifically to address corporate needs.

But as with most Google products, the company has continually changed things up to make services tailored for different groups and needs.

In the future, Google plans to add more features like a mobile version of Google+'s enterprise social network and more IT administration features, and then possibly a full distinct enterprise offering by 2014.

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A Secret to Green Business Success

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 11:00 AM PDT

On any big corporation's web site these days, you'll likely find their page devoted to environmental sustainability. It typically describes what initiatives the corporation has to lower its carbon emissions, recycle more, or save energy or water. It provides numbers and data that explain how much progress the company has made to reduce its environmental footprint.

eco footprint

Small businesses may feel like such data gathering and number crunching is too time-consuming or not worth the effort. They probably don’t have budgets, after all, to hire sustainability consultants.

But for most businesses, it's worth spending a little time measuring green progress: Small businesses can greatly enhance their sustainability progress – while adding credibility to their green marketing – by using data to better measure and track their sustainability performance.

While it does take time to measure and track your green progress, it doesn't have to be an all-consuming process.

Here are three key steps:

Find Your Baseline

You need to know your starting point to know whether you've made any progress. How many kilowatts of electricity do you use each year? How many miles do your company autos travel each year (and what's their gas mileage).

Do a thorough review of your current environmental footprint. You can find much of the information about your energy use, for instance, by reviewing your electric and gas bills. This will likely probably help you identify opportunities for improvement.

You can keep track on a monthly or quarterly basis using an Excel spreadsheet. Local organizations can also help. Check to see if there's a sustainability networking group, such as a BALLE (Business Alliance for Local Living Economies) chapter in your community.

Some utility companies will also provide free or low-cost energy and water audits that give you a breakdown of your current usage.

Set Goals

Once you know your current footprint, you can identify ways to lower it. Consider writing a sustainability plan, even if just a short one, that lays out your goals. Writing a plan allows you to think through your sustainability priorities and formalize them.

You might even consider publishing that plan on your web site, if you think your customers will care.

Keep Track Of Your Progress

Keep a spreadsheet that documents your company's green progress. If a goal is to reduce electricity use by, say, 10%, write down your monthly kilowatt usage (which is typically displayed on your utility bills). This will make it easy come year-end for you to see whether you've met your goals.

After you've collected all this great information about your environmental footprint – and know how much progress you've made in reducing it – you have something to brag about. Use that information to engage your customers around your green initiatives. You’ll have numbers to back it up, after all.

Eco Footprint Photo via Shutterstock

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How To Survive Political Campaign Season

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 08:00 AM PDT

If you belong to the growing number of Americans who believe that the federal government is generally useless, then no doubt you are tearing out your hair in frustration right now. After all, this is campaign season, when the federal government is even more useless than usual.

And both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue are never more useless than when they are contemplating small business policy.

Political Campaign Season

An Example

So President Obama has been fighting with the Republican-controlled House this summer over whether or not to extend the Bush era tax cuts for an unspecified amount of time — longer or shorter, depending on who you talk to.

President Obama wanted to extend those cuts but only for the “middle class,” or those households earning less than $250,000 in adjusted gross income. The upper income taxpayers excluded from the extention the President contemplates represent the top 10% income bracket.

You would think that House Republicans would leap at the chance to keep any expiring tax cuts in place, wouldn't you?

After all, if you show yourself willing to work with your political opponents, there is always the possibility that your good faith negotiation will get you more of what you wanted further down the road.

During more reasonable times – say about two decades ago – members of Congress were statesmen enough to be willing to take half of what they wanted rather than walk away empty-handed. That kind of give-and-take also opened the opportunity for further amendments and other legislative tweaks that could get you evenmore of what you were pushing for in the first place.

That Was A Long Time Ago

Yes, boys and girls, once upon a time, our nation’s leaders were more interested in addressing the country’s problems than they were in raw partisan political power. Or, to be more accurate, they were smart enough to understand that those two things were not mutually exclusive.

Predictably, House Republicans voted down what President Obama was billing as a middle class and small business tax cut last month, because said tax cut would exclude those top earning small business owners … and everybody else.

According to House Small Business Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) "President Obama's proposed tax hike on 900,000 small businesses" would cost jobs, while the limbo in which President Bush's taxes might expire (but we're not really sure if that'll happen yet) produces levels of uncertainty that cause small business owners to be unable to function.

Of course, the 900,000 small businesses to which the Chairman refers are actually 900,000 small business owners – or, to be still more accurate, 900,000 taxpayers who report any "small business" income at all on their tax returns.

Some of these small business owners, you may recall from the debates in 2003, include former President George W. Bush, former Vice President Dick Cheney and former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice. And, of course, the vast majority of the folks that those House members are fighting for have nothing at all to do with small businesses.

Besides all of which, even if we permit Chairman Graves to get away with his "900,000 small businesses," we're still only talking about roughly 3.5% of all the nation's small businesses. Not exactly a move that is likely to completely crush the world’s second largest economy.

Meanwhile

President Obama had another attack of his "We Can't Wait"-policymaking-without-consulting-the-nation's-legislature, and announced a slate of small business initiatives that mostly don't require Congressional approval. By and large, they consist of a passel of tax cuts and loan programs, none of which meet the needs of the vast majority of small businesses.

While most microbusiness owners like the idea of paying less in taxes, many more of them would prefer tax simplification and other forms of regulatory relief. Nobody ever seems to talk about that when they talk about small businesses. But, then again, that's not really the point of any of these exercises.

The point of all these exercises is to give all parties involved something to complain about on the campaign trail.

President Obama gets to propose so-called small business friendly legislation that isn't going to be approved by the House (because the House isn't going to approve anything that'll give the President any sort of legislative victory) and then complain that Congressional Republicans aren't doing enough to help small businesses.

House Republicans simultaneously get to move legislation that they know perfectly well is going nowhere because (they know perfectly well) President Obama is not going to sign it (always assuming they could get it past the Senate, which is unlikely) and then they can complain that President Obama isn't doing enough to help small businesses.

The Best Part Of This Silly Game

Neither side in this kind of mud slinging match has proposed anything that would actually help the majority of small businesses anyway.

You see, that's the nature of political campaign season. If you want to play spectator, a sense of humor helps to avoid high blood pressure and other symptoms of excessive stress.

Otherwise, you could end up with an ulcer just from listening to all that sound and fury that signifies nothing.

Campaign Season Photo via Shutterstock

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Ideas Carry Potential: Action Carries Outcome

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 05:00 AM PDT

An idea is only as powerful as the action that follows it. In a recent article for AMEX OPENForum, Anita Campbell asked the question that has been on my mind for months:

“Are You The Real Reason Your Company Isn't Innovative?“

idea action

In this article she highlights:

"Four signs that you might be your own worst enemy when it comes to innovation."

One of those signals is when the entrepreneur keeps changing his mind following one great idea on Monday, a different outstanding idea on Wednesday, and the team gets lost somewhere in the middle. Anita makes a great point here:

"Eventually, your employees burn out from chasing you first in one direction, then another. They stop putting effort into your ideas (why bother?) and eventually stop listening to you altogether."

As small business owners we spend too much time:

Learning to accept the fact that we need a team.
Putting a team together.

Don’t just let it fall apart because we can’t capture an idea and ride that horse until we break it in. There's something to be said for tenacity and focus. In fact, you don't have to be a great idea man (or woman) to be a game changer. A single great concept that's well executed holds more power than 25 unused proposals.

Ideas Carry Potential, Which Is Why They’re So Attractive

But like children, if the idea is worth something, then it has be guided into maturity. Action carries outcome.

If you're serious about doing something new, there are three sets of questions that should follow every brainstorming session:

How extensive is this idea? Do I have to create a new division to make it work? Build a new team? Launch a completely new product or service?
Who do I need to help me implement this idea? Do I already have a team in place and is there enough time in their work schedule to add this new project?
After reviewing the numbers, does the idea still make sense?

Honestly, as small business owners, if we don't have the time to answer those questions, then we don't have a true passion to bring the idea to life right now.

If that’s the case, simply file it away in your idea folder — the day may come.

Ideas to Action Photo via Shutterstock

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Radio Shack Launches No-Contract Mobile Service

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 02:30 AM PDT

Radio Shack has become the latest retailer to make a foray into the wireless field. The electronics chain has announced a no-contract mobile service that includes some attractive budget features for business. The announcement follows the launch, earlier this year, of a prepaid “casual use” WiFi system from WalMart able to network up to five devices. These tools offer ever widening options for companies and consumers as the trend toward wireless, mobile business continues.

Making a Connection

Upward mobility. The new no-contract wireless service from Radio Shack is $25 a month for 300 voice minutes and $35 a month for 1000 minutes on “feature” phones. Plans are $50 a month with 1GB of full-speed data and $60 a month with 2.5GB of full-speed data for smartphones. Both plans include unlimited voice and domestic text messaging and the $60 plan also includes unlimited international text messaging. PC World

Out of the office. If you want proof a mobile company can be just as effective as one in which employees all share the same space, look no further than Automattic, Inc., the tech titan behind popular blogging platform WordPress.com. The most distinctive thing about the company’s main office is that there isn’t one. Instead, 123 employees work from their homes spread out across 26 countries, 94 cities, and 28 U.S. States. The Wall Street Journal

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. Turns out that having employees mobile and working from a remote location isn’t just convenient for them and less expensive for you. It may actually make them more engaged. If you want to learn about how mobile workers are more productive, simply have a look at this post. Harvard Business Review

Objects in Motion

Mad men. Some of the most important customers are not only affluent and online, but their preference is moving rapidly toward shopping with mobile devices. Rieva Lesonky reveals in this report how statistics show men 18 and over with household incomes of $100,000 or more are shopping online like never before. Grow Smart Biz

The world is flat. Smartphones aren’t the only mobile devices customers are beginning to use more frequently. Especially in the world of e-commerce, shoppers are showing a preference for tablets. Knowing this, Web based entrepreneurs need to be thinking one step ahead as they tweak and develop their Websites for a world that is not only increasingly mobile but increasingly flat…the world of the tablet. Unleased Technologies

App Attack

Evernote sets the perfect tone. As business becomes more mobile, app creator Evernote is building a tool especially designed to meet the new challenges companies face. Evernote Business will allow those running a firm of any size to manage company data, share information with employees, create directories, and help in many other ways. Small Business Trends

App Happy. Using apps like Evernote and others to make your business work better in a mobile world takes time and skill. Every tool is different, but some of the basics businesses need to use mobile apps successfully are the same. Here are five tips you might want to consider when trying to make the latest mobile business app work for you. Get App

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