Wednesday, March 5, 2014

WhatsApp Will Add Voice Service, But What Form Remains Uncertain

WhatsApp Will Add Voice Service, But What Form Remains Uncertain

Link to Small Business Trends

WhatsApp Will Add Voice Service, But What Form Remains Uncertain

Posted: 04 Mar 2014 02:30 PM PST

voice chat whatsapp

Some question whether WhatsApp will be poised to become the next Skype. We’ve noted recently that Skype has been a tremendous benefit to small business owners who are saving thousands on international calls each year.

Microsoft’s instant messaging service allows video calls to be made for free between users. And now, it appears there may be another similar service on the horizon.

WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum announced recently that a voice messaging feature will be added to the already popular SMS app. The service is available on all manufacturers’ smartphones. Koum told those gathered at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona that this feature could be added by the second half of 2014 on all smartphones. Android and iOS users will see the feature added sooner, according to an Engadget report.

It’s unclear how voice messaging will be incorporated into WhatsApp. The company recently added a voice texting feature (pictured above). It allows users to send small voice messages as if they were text messages. So it will surely be something different than that.

If the new WhatsApp voice feature is more like Skype, it will likely be a major competitor. This will especially be true if its cost remains very low. WhatsApp has 330 million active daily users, according to the company. And it probably stands to gain millions more when a $19 billion acquisition by Facebook, announced recently, is finalized.

On the official WhatsApp blog, Koum recently explained that the merger with Facebook will not change the company’s basic mission. That is to provide inexpensive communication between users no matter where they are on the planet:

“There would have been no partnership between our two companies if we had to compromise on the core principles that will always define our company, our vision and our product.”

That raises the question of whether WhatsApp will remain just as inexpensive after the new service is fully integrated. Right now, users can take advantage of the service free for the first year. After that, users are charged $0.99 cents per year to continue using it.

Image: WhatsApp

The post WhatsApp Will Add Voice Service, But What Form Remains Uncertain appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Windows 8.1 For Free? A Version May Be In The Works

Posted: 04 Mar 2014 12:30 PM PST

windows 8.1

When people think of free products, they are more likely to think of Google rather than Microsoft. But Redmond seems to be seriously considering up-ending the apple cart. Microsoft could be experimenting with a free slimmed down version of Windows 8.1, the Verge reports.

A free Windows 8.1 version would have two advantages. One, it would upgrade people who are still on Windows 7, who are procrastinating about the cost of upgrading. Two, it would motivate more people to take the leap and become more integrated into Microsoft’s services.  Perhaps this would tempt away some of those currently using Google’s free apps.

If a free version does become available, it won’t include the full feature of the paid version of Windows 8.1. Instead it will be a version with more restricted apps and services bundled in. These could include Bing, Office, Skype and OneDrive. Some business owners may still opt to use the full version of Windows. However, small businesses who are on a tight budget may welcome a stripped down version of the software.

For Microsoft there is only one problem. If they start giving away the product for free, why would anyone bother to pay for a Microsoft operating system in the future? That is the dilemma Microsoft leadership seems to be grappling with right now.

How can the company strike the right balance between free software and monetizing it at the same time?

If Microsoft sees a serious amount of revenue walking out the door, will they do what Google eventually did with Google Apps, and stop the freebies? Will it be a case of “one hand giveth and the other hand taketh away?” On the other hand, Microsoft is looking at their biggest rival, Apple, giving away their last OSX operating system, Mavericks, for free.

The consumer climate is shifting, and Microsoft has been slow to respond.

Another option Microsoft is considering is cutting the Windows license fee to computer makers to either very little or free, if the limited version is installed. This has led one website to dub such computers “Bingbooks” (as opposed to Chromebooks). Microsoft is even thinking about giving the Windows Phone OS to phone manufacturers free of charge. Windows Phone is currently lagging behind iOS and Android.

Of course, Microsoft is already experimenting with giving things away. The company is currently offering 100GB of OneDrive space for one year in exchange for 100 Rewards credits in its Bing Rewards program.

Credits are earned every time you log into Bing with your Windows Live account and make a search. The question is whether these offers will be enough to attract more small business users to Microsoft.

Image: Microsoft

The post Windows 8.1 For Free? A Version May Be In The Works appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Top 10 Social Media Plugins for WordPress

Posted: 04 Mar 2014 10:00 AM PST

social media plugins for wordpress

Social media is a crucial component for any online marketing strategy. If you're running your small business website on the WordPress platform, it's incredibly easy to integrate social. There are hundreds of ready made social media plugins for WordPress to choose from.

Your choice of social media plugins for your WordPress website will depend on which social platforms you use actively, what kind of content you offer on your site, and the best look and placement of social tools that complements your website design. From simple to richly featured, below are some of the best WordPress plugins for social media.

Social Media Plugins for WordPress

Digg Digg

This versatile plugin by Buffer comes with plenty of customization options and integrates with virtually any social media platform. With Digg Digg, you can create either a floating social media bar with left or right scrolling options, or sharing buttons that automatically populate at the top or bottom of each of your blog posts.

Digg Digg can be used with Twitter, Facebook, Buffer, Google+, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Reddit, Tumblr – just about any social channels you might use. Facebook options include both Like and Share, and "lazy loading" helps you cut down on load times for your website.

Flare

Simple and eye-catching, the Flare plugin not only gives you customizable share buttons, but also lets you create and display a Follow Me widget, so your visitors can one-click follow your social media channels right from your website.

The plugin is compatible with major social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ and more. You can customize the appearance of the buttons, and place the share bar at the top or bottom of posts, or to the left and right of your pages. The left and right options scroll down the page with viewers, and auto-hide when not in use.

ShareThis

With great customization, tons of features, and more than 120 supported social media platforms, ShareThis is one of the popular social media plugins for WordPress that's been downloaded more than 1.5 million times. This plugin tool offers more than social buttons, which come in the form of a Hovering Bar that can be displayed on the right or left side of your pages, with counters and your choice of small or large buttons.

In addition, ShareThis has built-in social analytics, a CopyNShare widget that helps you track shares when your content is copied and pasted, and more.

Share Buttons by AddThis

One of the most popular and recognizable social media plugins for WordPress, AddThis Share Buttons let you integrate with more than 330 social platforms and bookmarking sites, as well as email sharing. While there isn't an option for a floating sidebar, the plugin gives you plenty of layout choices – and you can also get free analytics when you create an AddThis account.

Floating Social Media Icon

Highly rated and popular, the Floating Social Media Icon plugin gives you a customizable, configurable social bar that flies onto the screen and scrolls along with visitors. You can also disable floating and set up static icons with this plugin.

Floating Social Media Icon gives you more than 20 different icon styles to choose from, so you can match the themes and styles of your website. It also supports multiple widgets, so you can display various social media buttons separately on your pages.

Social Media Feather

Lightweight yet powerful, Social Media Feather is a simple, high-performing social plugin that keeps speeds up and load times down by not using JavaScript. The buttons have a clean, modern look, and you can customize the appearance with social icons skins.

This plugin supports shortcodes, and is currently the only social sharing plugin that supports Retina and high-resolution displays used by mobile devices like the iPad 5.

Slick Social Sharing Buttons

If you're looking for a social media plugin for WordPress that's easy to implement and comes with plenty of options, try Slick Social Sharing Buttons. This plugin lets you customize button types, specify which pages and posts to display social sharing on, and choose from either a floating or slide-out share bar. You can also customize location, direction, floating speed, animation speed and more.

Slick Social Sharing Buttons supports shortcodes, and gives you a social analytics dashboard to help you track your sharing activity.

Social Media Widget

With a long list of supported social platforms, including email and RSS, and some fun and interesting customizations, Social Media Widget is an easy-to-use plugin that creates a sidebar widget for social sharing, with links that open a separate tab or window when clicked.

Social Media Widget offers three icon sizes, four icon styles (Web 2.0, Sketch, Heart and Cutout), and four animation types to make your social media buttons stand out on the page.

Shareaholic

The feature-rich, powerful Shareaholic offers more than social sharing. With a stated aim to help you get readers to "actually discover and submit your articles to numerous social bookmarking sites," this plugin supports Facebook (both Like and Send), Google+, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn and other major social platforms, with share counters for many of them.

In addition, Shareaholic comes with Classic Bookmarks, a Recommendations & Related Content tool, built-in Social Analytics, and official support for Google's URL shortener as well as Google Analytics.

Share Buttons by AddToAny

Offering support for more than 100 social sites in 19 languages, AddToAny Share Buttons is one of the most popular social media plugins for WordPress with almost 3 million downloads. It's easy to customize and fully featured, and supports both shares and interactive clicks – including Facebook Likes, a Tweet button for Twitter, a "Pin It" button for Pinterest, a +1 button for Google+ and more.

Bookmarking and email buttons integrate with the most popular email services (Gmail, Yahoo! Mail, Outlook / Hotmail, AOL, and nearly every Web-based or desktop email program).

You can customize the appearance and position of the AddToAny share bar, and integrate with Google Analytics to make the most of your social marketing.

BONUS: Microblog Poster

A different kind of social plugin, Microblog Poster lets you automatically push your WordPress blog content to various social media platforms. This plugin currently supports Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Delicious and more. It also supports shortcodes and multiple accounts on the same platform.

Social Media Photo via Shutterstock

The post Top 10 Social Media Plugins for WordPress appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Rep. Sam Graves Proposes Requiring More Government Contracts for Small Businesses

Posted: 04 Mar 2014 07:30 AM PST

sam graves

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves wants to raise the federal government’s goal for the amount of government contracts that must be awarded to small businesses.

Graves, who heads up the House Small Business Committee, introduced the Greater Opportunities for Small Business Act of 2014. The bill calls for the federal government to award 25 percent of its prime contract work to small businesses.  That’s 2% more than the federal government’s current goal of setting aside 23 percent of government contracts for small businesses.

New reports suggest that the federal government may actually meet that 23 percent quota, according to Bloomberg BusinessWeek. That would be the first time the federal government hit its goal since 2005.

Last year, we reported that the federal government fell short of its 2012 goal by about $3 billion.

But data available through the Small Business Administration shows that the federal government awarded $83.2 billion to small businesses for the year ending in September 2013, about 23 percent according to Bloomberg.

The additional two percent proposed by Graves may sound small, but the numbers are large.  It could mean up to $10 billion more in federal contracts for small businesses nationwide, according to a statement from the Congressman.

Graves also wants to award more subcontracted federal government work to small businesses. Right now that quota is at 35.9 percent. The new bill would raise that goal to 40 percent.

In addition to the call for higher award goals, Graves also introduced legislation that aims to hold the federal government more accountable in the way it reports the money awarded to small businesses, the Contracting Data & Bundling Accountability Act of 2014.

In a statement, Graves  (R- Missouri) said:

“These two pieces of legislation will go a long way towards increasing opportunities for small companies who want to grow and create jobs by doing business with the federal government. By increasing the federal-wide goal for contracts to small businesses, and requiring greater accuracy, transparency and accountability in contract bundling and consolidation, we make it easier for small businesses to enter this marketplace and compete for contracts. The federal government spends nearly half a trillion dollars on contracted goods and services, therefore, we must ensure that the money is being spent efficiently, and small businesses have proven that they can do quality work cheaper and often faster.”

Small Business Administration administrator nominee Maria Contreras-Sweet was asked about government contracts to small businesses during her recent confirmation hearing.

Contreras-Sweet pledged to work toward getting government agencies closer to their quotas. She said the SBA must do more to help smaller companies bid for this work. Sweet also said that the federal government must work to “debundle” larger contracts that often go to larger companies.

Image: Graves.House.gov

The post Rep. Sam Graves Proposes Requiring More Government Contracts for Small Businesses appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Is Your Business Asking All The Wrong Questions?

Posted: 04 Mar 2014 05:00 AM PST

Sponsored Post

business asking questions

Many entrepreneurs start a business because they have an overwhelming passion around a certain interest. They want to help people accomplish a stated goal. A problem develops in growing their business because they continually ask the wrong question:

"I wonder if my exciting idea can help other people?"

This question is entrepreneur-centric and does not revolve around what the customer wants. Just because a person is passionate about an idea and its solution does not mean that people will pay for it.

This is the biggest mistake entrepreneurs make when they try to convert a hobby to a business. They have a dream that they want to earn a living doing what they love. This is a result of a misinterpretation about the feel-good directive that an entrepreneur needs to be passionate about their work.

While this is true, a better view is that an entrepreneur needs to be passionate about what the customer wants them to do. Therefore, the better question to ask is:

"I wonder if the customer has the money to solve a pain which I am excited about?"

This question focuses on what the customer wants, not what the entrepreneur needs. The customer cares only about solving their problem, not the passion of the entrepreneur. The answer to this question is the core of what any business needs to focus on. Customers always buy painkillers before they buy vitamins.

Other Wrong Questions to Ask

Would This Product Help Your Company?

Again, most prospects will say yes as not to confront or embarrass anyone. Unfortunately, this may not reflect the action they would truly take.

Instead ask: What would it be worth to your company if I could fill this need (resolve this pain)?

With this question, the entrepreneur establishes what the customer wants and the monetary value of solving their need.

Are You Interested in Buying the Product?

Most prospects will simply say yes because they want to be agreeable and not seem negative. What prospects say and what they do are two different things.

Instead ask: Where can I send your order?

This is an assumptive close and pushes the action to now. It will also immediately raise any hidden objections.

When Should I Contact You Again?

Most prospects will give a date in the future and then never respond again.

Instead ask: Should I contact you in the future? If so, what will be different then as opposed to now?

This gives the prospect an ability to say no, so time is not wasted in the future. This also self qualifies them for another call and gives insight into what is holding their purchase back now.

What questions are you asking? And are you really listening to the answers?

This article, provided by Nextiva, is republished through a content distribution agreement. The original can be found here.

Question Photo via Shutterstock

The post Is Your Business Asking All The Wrong Questions? appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Bye Bye Birdie: Is a Redesign at Twitter Taking Things Too Far?

Posted: 04 Mar 2014 02:30 AM PST

twitter new logo

First there was a report that Twitter is testing a new format more like Facebook. Now sources say the iconic site is redesigning its logo to a much more abstract version. (And by abstract, we mean it’s hard to tell by looking at it just exactly what it is.)

A report from the Marin Independent Journal in California notes that among the many changes at the new company headquarters, a new logo is there, too.

That Twitter new logo could be a very abstract version of Twitter’s iconic bird. Rather than an actual bird, one mock-up of the Twitter new logo by designer Roberto Manzari of Milan, Italy, shows a simple circle with a partial triangle protruding from one side.

One comment reacting to the redesigned Twitter logo notices that there’s no bird and it doesn’t even use letters identifiable with Twitter:

“I'm all for minimalism, it's a big part of why the existing bird icon with no wordmark is successful. But explain to me how turning it into a mark that resembles a lowercase "o" (or at best, a stubby lowercase "d") could possibly be strong and recognizable for Twitter.”

When Twitter announced it was changing its logo in 2012 for only the second time, it said on the company blog that the bird was Twitter:

“From now on, this bird will be the universally recognizable symbol of Twitter. (Twitter is the bird, the bird is Twitter.) There's no longer a need for text, bubbled typefaces, or a lowercase "t" to represent Twitter.”

Twitter is giving the new look a test run on select profiles. These changes are certainly a departure from the current look, which was just unveiled in January to look more like Twitter’s Android and iOS app interfaces, according to a company tweet.

Are the proposed changes going too far? Will Twitter lose its identity? Some already believe so and when they visited their new profile, they thought they were somewhere else, even if half-jokingly.

With millions of daily users, Twitter can afford to tinker with its look.  Small businesses may not have the same luxuries. Rebranding and changing the look of your business, especially too often, could confuse or alienate customers — not to mention involve a lot of expense.

Sometimes, though, changes are necessary. Twitter’s revamping is coming at a time when it’s lagging behind its competition, namely Facebook. The company’s stock, according to recent reports, has been on a downward trend after its latest earnings statement and the service struggles to add new users.

Image: Behance

The post Bye Bye Birdie: Is a Redesign at Twitter Taking Things Too Far? appeared first on Small Business Trends.
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