A Hand Curated List of Small Business Events |  |
- A Hand Curated List of Small Business Events
- Small Business Resources From the Conmmunity
- Google Glass: Not Yet On Sale, But Already Banned in Some Businesses
- Make Your App Development Easier: Programming JavaScript Applications
| A Hand Curated List of Small Business Events Posted: 21 Sep 2013 05:59 PM PDT Welcome to our latest curated list of events, contests and awards for small businesses, solo entrepreneurs and growing companies. To see a full list or to submit your own event, contest or award listing, visit the Small Business Events Calendar. Featured Events, Contests and Awards
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Modern technology and empowered customers have changed the way small business owners market their business and communicate with prospects and customers. Hear from our expert panelists on how the most successful small business owners are navigating through these changes and how you can turn prospects and customers into raving fans. Panelists: More Events
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This weekly listing of small business events, contests and awards is provided as a community service by Small Business Trends and SmallBizTechnology. The post A Hand Curated List of Small Business Events appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Small Business Resources From the Conmmunity Posted: 21 Sep 2013 12:30 PM PDT
It’s time again for another community news and announcement roundup. From time to time we bring you news from the small business community we think you may find interesting — from new website launches and resources to the latest insights from entrepreneurs and small business owners. We take the pulse of the small business community across the Web. If you’d like to help, we’d love to hear about the kinds of stories and posts you think we should share with the community. Check out the bottom of this post for more about how to get involved. Now let’s get started. Collect the Best Ideas From Your Team (EnMast) Sometimes the best ideas are already floating around in your organization. Devan Perine explains how she decided to collect her team’s favorite tweets on small business and leadership. The result was a valuable monthly resource for all her site’s followers. Add Value With Online Critiques (MyWifeQuitHerJob.com) There are many ways to add value to your product or service. But one of the best values you can add is your expertise. Here Steve Chou explains how he created a video critique of eCommerce websites to add value to the training he offers. Those trying to start their own online stores need all the help they can get. The Google Analytics Primer (Get Busy Media) Many powerful resources for transforming your online business are absolutely free…for those who know how to use them. Google Analytics is probably the best example of these. Ricky Dawn gives an overview for the uninitiated. There’s a Secret to Making Real Progress (Green Mango) Except it’s not really a secret. It’s the result of that well-known mixture of patience, time and determination. Business consultant Roy Opata Olende likens it to a morning workout routine. Even if you do it everyday, getting in shape is a slow process. Annie Cushing – Ask Me Anything (Inbound.org) Annie Cushing, who writes excellent pieces about using analytics and spreadsheets to understand data and use it better, has an “Ask Me Anything” thread going on over at Inbound.org. She is essentially opening up for questions and giving answers. A lot of gems are in that thread. It’s technical stuff, but if you want to learn how to work your data better, this is a good start. Crappy Content Won’t Cut It (Function Writing Group) We’ve all heard about the importance of creating content, and lots of it, in an effort to market ourselves and our brands. But content that is not well researched and does not really teach readers anything — or worse yet is unnecessary — is simply a waste of resources. Kelvin Cech explains why. Viral Content Isn’t Everything (Resonance) Marketing consultant Rachel Parker talks about the myth of viral content in this podcast. Do you really need to create it? How much will it really help your business in the end? Rachel also adds this thoughtful comment about why viral content may not be the Holy Grail some online marketers suggest. 50 College Entrepreneurship Programs (Entrepreneur) Increasingly, entrepreneurs are able to locate just about any resource they need online. And now that includes entrepreneurship programs at the college and university level. BizSugar member Ryan Donegan shares this interactive map of 50 top entrepreneurship programs in the U.S. We hope you enjoyed another edition of the community news and announcement roundup. And now, how about taking a minute or two to help make things even better. To suggest a story or link we should share, drop us a suggestion at sbtips@gmail.com or share it on the BizSugar community. If we think it’s worth a mention, you may see it here next week. Thanks for reading! Online Resources Photo via Shutterstock The post Small Business Resources From the Conmmunity appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Google Glass: Not Yet On Sale, But Already Banned in Some Businesses Posted: 21 Sep 2013 09:00 AM PDT
Google Glass isn't officially available to the public yet. But some businesses are already considering the potential impact of allowing such devices to be used on site. And some are putting people on advance notice with “Google Glass banned” signs. The wearable computer, which just a few thousand "explorers" currently have access to, gives users hands-free access to a number of smartphone features. They include the ability to take photos and videos. Both these features are a big part of the reason why some business owners have already decided to ban the device in their establishments. Google Glass BannedSeattle's 5 Point Café claims to be one of the first businesses in that city to ban the device from its premises. The owner stated in a March 5 Facebook post:
Comments to the post were mixed. Some patrons seemed happy with the business's concern for their privacy, while many others criticized the move as a publicity stunt and accused the owner of hating technology. The owner has since admitted that part of his intention was to be funny and get a reaction from Facebook followers. But he is serious about the ban. And he's not the only one to openly discuss the issue. Other types of businesses, including movie theaters, casinos and strip clubs, have also considered banning the devices preemptively. Fast Company, which is tracking the banning of the devices, reports New Jersey gaming authorities have already given local casinos permission to ban the devices. The National Association of Theatre Owners is preparing to develop a policy for their use at cinemas. In fact, Search Engine Journal has published a list of 10 places likely to ban the devices. They include businesses like banks and any business like a health club or gym that might include a locker room or changing area. Stop the CyborgsOne group, in particular, is pushing to raise awareness among business owners and the community. “Places where people expect to socialize freely like bars, clubs or restaurants are likely to be impacted,” said Jack Winters of the privacy advocacy site Stop the Cyborgs in a recent email interview. The website is part of an organization founded to draw attention to some of the privacy issues surrounding wearable tech like Google Glass. Winters said that places like schools or doctors' offices where children may be present should consider some of the legal issues surrounding allowing cameras and recording devices and the distribution of the images they create. And Google Glass isn't necessarily just another recording device. Smartphones and other mobile devices already give many individuals the ability to take photos and record videos at a moment's notice. But Google Glass users have the ability to do so without actually showing any signs of recording. “Your smartphone probably lives in your pocket, in your bag or on a table. There is a clear change in role from ordinary person to photographer, audio recorder or camera man. This both discourages you from constantly capturing stuff and acts as a series of social cues announcing that you are about to start recording,” Winters said. He added that while it is possible for people to take photos or videos using their phones without attracting much attention, it doesn't happen often. However with Google Glass, there are programs that can take a series of photos or record automatically without even requiring the user to press a button or use a voice command. In addition, the advanced technology used by Glass opens the door for other anti-privacy features like real-time facial recognition, although Google has announced that it will not allow applications that use such technology. “Face recognition is potentially a huge problem with the power to end anonymity and enable stalking and stigmatization. However, we are pleased that Google is taking this issue seriously and have banned face recognition at the moment,” Winters said. But the possibility is there for the technology and capabilities of Google Glass to expand over time. And whether or not Google ever changes its stance on facial recognition, third party developers may find ways to integrate such features into wearable devices. That's why Winters and his partners at Stop the Cyborgs are trying to start a public debate about the issues surrounding wearable tech. While he acknowledges that there are important uses for wearable computers, the impact of allowing just anyone to wear recording devices into homes or businesses shouldn't be ignored. "The real issue is about establishing social norms," he said. "We felt that if Google Glass was left unchallenged, people would assume that it is okay to wear them everywhere and would not bother to ask permission." To combat that, Stop the Cyborgs offers free downloadable signs on its website for business owners or homeowners to let others know that they would prefer Google Glass not be brought inside. Image: Stop the Cyborgs The post Google Glass: Not Yet On Sale, But Already Banned in Some Businesses appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Make Your App Development Easier: Programming JavaScript Applications Posted: 21 Sep 2013 06:00 AM PDT
Fortunately some writers get their message to the heart quickly. One who I think got it is Eric Elliott, author of Programming JavaScript Applications: Robust Web Architecture With Node, HTML5, and Modern JS Librarie. Elliott is a JavaScript application development veteran. He is currently a member of the Creative Cloud team at Adobe. I'm usually searching for open source development tools and developer meetups, so I was lucky that I discovered a early release online version via O'Reilly – special thanks to Revolunet, a French web developer that has collected a great reading library for web developers. Where It All Started FromA brief technical history is in order: JavaScript is a client-side programming language, meant to operate website functions without having the browser contact a server in the process. Originally those functions were limited to those infamous pop up windows you'd see when arriving at a website – harmful or beneficial depending on the pop up content. Today JavaScript is providing real value, as Elliott highlights the watershed moments that lead to today's internet experience.
Such moments also influenced analytics – most analytics rely on Javascript tags, event tracking and regular expressions to measure site performance, so Elliott espouses on the right touchstones. Learn How to Serve "The Other White Meat" of ProgrammingI call Javascript “the other white meat” because of its growing prowess as a programming choice among a multitude of programming choices. More than a history, the book offers itself as a cookbook of sorts for objects and functions. Programming can be analogous to cooking, so to be a good "chef" in the digital "kitchen" a cookbook should give clear instructions. In this case, Elliott explains advanced JavaScript in context of the Internet. Diagrams that show how programming works with Internet infrastructure will help managers plan activities and a supporting budget to implement. The handiness of the acronyms – like, DRY, which means Don't Repeat Yourself – helps to refine functions for developers. They can also lend ideas for how to approach elements in a project that have to be coded. Take this example for DOT – Do One Thing:
Steps associated with advanced material get covered pretty well, such as Callbacks, "functions that you pass as arguments to be invoked when the callee has finished its job."
This material may be a bit much for those who don't program, but I didn't find it incredibly overwhelming to managers who have heard of programming languages but have never used an editor. For those who fear code, fear not. Elliot offers some great suggestions on starter material, as well as additional links for new libraries. Programming JavaScript Applications is meant for programmers, without question. I have no doubt developers will have a better formation of an app. Moreover, it's worth a browse for the tech-curious business owner. It can explain some details to make app development easier, and save small business owners some headaches and training costs in understanding some of the programming issues encountered. The post Make Your App Development Easier: Programming JavaScript Applications appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
Programming ain't easy. What’s harder is to convey concepts into printed words. Books can sometimes lag behind the latest-and-greatest moments in a given technology, overlooking the heart of decisions and choices behind the code.
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