New Tool to Ease the Life of the Online Business Entrepreneur

Online Business entrepreneurs can now find the perfect .co.uk or .com domain name – thanks to a new free tool from web development company, Bird and Co Creative. The new domain tool is the fastest way to check if a domain is available. With thousands of new businesses starting up in the UK every month, this tool will be vital to many business entrepreneurs.

A website’s domain name is recognised as an essential piece of a company’s branding. The best names can change hands for thousands or even millions. One of the most expensive transactions was in 2009 when the domain name insure.com changed hands for a staggering $16 million.

Many popular terms have already been registered as domain names. So people setting up a new business often find it difficult to find the name that they want. In the past, checking to see if domains were free was a frustrating and time-consuming process. But that has now changed. With Bird and Co Creative’s domain tool it is possible to check the availability of domains instantly. As fast as a person can type, it is checking to see if the domain name can be registered.

The tool can be accessed by visiting the following web page:
http://www.birdandcocreative.co.uk/domainchecker/

The tool was created by the web developers at Bird and Co Creative, Bromsgrove. As Online Marketing Manager Paul Ajao explains “We initially developed this tool to be used in-house, as we create many online campaigns for our clients. Everybody that used it thought it was outstanding, so we decided to make it generally available.”

In today’s economic climate, there are thousands of business entrepreneurs looking to set up an online business. Some people are taking their redundancy money and using it to invest in themselves - they start an online business rather than just wait for another job to become available. The domain tool will help them create a branded website that will give them the best chance of success.
 source:http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=132907

‘Social Media for Business’ – Online Course for Marketers Launched by Oxford Learning Lab

‘Social Media for Business’

Facebook and LinkedIn, are heralding an enormous change to the way businesses market themselves. But are marketers keeping up with the important changes? Oxford Learning Lab, an independent digital publisher that works with renowned marketing experts, is launching a new online marketing course that illuminates how social media can work as a marketing tool for any business. Released to coincide with the launch of Oxford Learning Lab’s revamped website, the course - ‘Social Media for Business’ - is based around high quality video content and downloadable course notes. It is perfect for busy people and affordably priced.

Aimed at professional marketers, marketing students and marketing consultants who wish to increase their knowledge base, the social media course, 'Social Media for Business' provides high quality, flexible learning, round the clock, for the fraction of the cost of an instructor-led course and has the benefit of being eligible as Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for marketers.

All course videos feature highly trained marketing professionals, including authors of popular marketing books, and most of the speakers are collaborating with The Chartered Institute of Marketing. The product is endorsed by Oxford College of Marketing, one of the largest providers of The Chartered Institute of Marketing courses.

Giorgio Burlini of Oxford Learning Lab comments: “The user bases of social media such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook have grown enormously in the last year or so and have become the biggest global channels to market. Businesses are winning work from Twitter and LinkedIn, while Facebook has become a vital advertising medium as well as a channel for direct customer communications. It’s important for marketers to understand the many applications and benefits offered to business by social media in engaging customers as well as benchmarking and measuring activities, and planning ahead with quantifiable, achievable objectives.”

P.L.A.Y. Launches New Business and Website Geared Toward Pet Owners

San Francisco retailer of unique dog beds presents a new option for environmentally conscious and fashion-forward pet owners.San Francisco, CA (Vocus/PRWEB) February 14, 2011

New online retail business P.L.A.Y. (Pet Lifestyle and You) just passed a successful one-month mark in its business, offering pet owners across the US and Canada an affordable, artistically-designed alternative in designer dog beds.

"We can honestly say that we love what we do, and starting this business is one of the best decisions we've ever made. Well, besides getting our own dog, of course," said William Chen, founder and owner of P.L.A.Y. "We've taken that love we have towards our pug and created products that dog-lovers everywhere can appreciate in terms of design, environmental-friendly materials, washable construction and price."

Recognized for its ergonomic construction made with recyclable fill materials, P.L.A.Y. makes designer beds for pets of all sizes. From small beds to extra large dog beds suitable for breeds up to 110 pounds, there is a wide selection of designs and styles, with more in the works.

After solidifying its online ecommerce store, P.L.A.Y. plans to work with brick and mortar retail stores nationwide to allow consumers to physically see and test its products before buying. With quality products and fashionable designs, P.L.A.Y. anticipates expanding into the international market to carve out its own reputation for excellence and care.

"We offer something that is unique," said Chen. "We understand that dog owners want to give the best to their furry friends, so we make that possible at a great price, which is different from many of our competitors. You can get an environmentally-conscious dog bed that is fashionable, made with quality construction and still affordable-all in one pet-friendly package."

About P.L.A.Y.
P.L.A.Y. (Pet Lifestyle and You) began with the mission to create the perfect dog bed for Momo, the pug belonging to P.L.A.Y. owner and founder William Chen. Collaborating with a manufacturer of infant and children products for the ultimate standard in safety and comfort, the company paired with San Franciscan designer David Collins to offer aesthetically pleasing, top quality designs. Each pet product is made with recycled materials, making P.L.A.Y. dog beds great for the environment, your pet and your interior design.

House Republicans lead charge to reduce regulations

WASHINGTON — House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa gaveled Thursday's hearing to order with two posters displayed behind him: "How do regulations block private sector job growth?" asked one. "We're listening," promised the other.

The problem, said Democrats on the panel, is whom the committee is listening to: business owners, their lobbyists and conservative think tanks who came with a built-in bias against federal health and safety regulations.

"We need to expand the scope of our inquiry to include the benefits of regulation, as well as the costs," said Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., the committee's top Democrat. "We also need to expand the groups we are seeking input from beyond those who want to repeal regulations."

The oversight hearing was part of a coordinated GOP effort to "expose job-killing regulations." A judiciary subcommittee held a similar hearing Thursday afternoon, followed by floor debate on a resolution requiring House committees to list and review regulations in their jurisdiction.

Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, the resolution's sponsor, said stronger oversight was necessary to "rein in big government and shine light on our federal regulatory process."

Democrats questioned the necessity, if not the goals, of the effort.

"A meaningless gimmick that only wastes time," said Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y. "Nothing more than a vehicle to rehash old politically motivated fights," said Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif. "A feel-good resolution from the Republican majority," said Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va.

President Obama is conducting his own review of regulations. He told the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on Monday that he would work with business leaders to "get rid of regulations that have outlived their usefulness."

Rep. John Tierney, D-Mass., said Congress should "weed out the hyperbole" and look at specific regulations.

Issa, R-Calif., agreed that more work remained to be done but said Congress first needs to raise awareness of the impact of regulations on jobs. "We think what we can be is the canary in the coal mine," Issa told reporters.

"It's easy to rail against regulations in the abstract. It's like railing against taxes," said Nicholas Bagley, a law professor who studies regulation at the University of Michigan. "But it's hard to sell to the American people that we should water down environmental or consumer protection regulations specifically."

Even if Republicans aren't successful in rolling back existing regulations, the effort could make regulators think harder about the costs of compliance.

Brasil Telecom S.A. - Financial and Strategic SWOT Analysis Review

Brasil Telecom S.A. (Brasil Telecom) is a holding company engaged in the provision of telecommunication services. It is principally involved in the business of providing local fixed-line telephone, long-distance services. In addition, the company offers broadband services to customers including fixed line telephone as well as mobile service, free Internet access data and voice, national and international long-distance, data center,


broadband and dial-up internet access. Furthermore, the company also involves in support services through call center. Brasil Telecom offers the package in bundled solutions to private, public and industrial accounts including home, corporate and city.

This comprehensive SWOT profile of Brasil Telecom S.A. provides you an in-depth strategic analysis of the company´s businesses and operations. The profile has been compiled to bring to you a clear and an unbiased view of the company´s key strengths and weaknesses and the potential opportunities and threats. The profile helps you formulate strategies that augment your business by enabling you to understand your partners, customers and competitors better.

This company report forms part of the ´Profile on Demand´ service, covering over 50,000 of the world´s leading companies. Once purchased, highly qualified team of company analysts will comprehensively research and author a full financial and strategic analysis of Brasil Telecom S.A., including a detailed SWOT analysis, and deliver this direct to you in pdf format within two business days. (excluding weekends).

The profile contains critical company information including*,

- Business description – A detailed description of the company´s operations and business divisions.
- Corporate strategy – Analyst´s summarization of the company´s business strategy.
- SWOT Analysis – A detailed analysis of the company´s strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats.
- Company history – Progression of key events associated with the company.
- Major products and services – A list of major products, services and brands of the company.
- Key competitors – A list of key competitors to the company.
- Key employees – A list of the key executives of the company.
- Executive biographies – A brief summary of the executives´ employment history.
- Key operational heads – A list of personnel heading key departments/functions.
- Important locations and subsidiaries – A list and contact details of key locations and subsidiaries of the company.
- Detailed financial ratios for the past five years – The latest financial ratios derived from the annual financial statements published by the company with 5 years history.
- Interim ratios for the last five interim periods – The latest financial ratios derived from the quarterly/semi-annual financial statements published by the company for 5 interims history.

Note*: Some sections may be missing if data is unavailable for the company.

Key benefits of buying this profile include,

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Understand and respond to your competitors´ business structure and strategies, and capitalize on their weaknesses. Stay up to date on the major developments affecting the company.
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Equip yourself with information that enables you to sharpen your strategies and transform your operations profitably.
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Small-business optimism in Canada

Sentiment among small- and medium-sized businesses in Canada was down slightly last month, according to a monthly survey.

The Canadian Federation of Independent Business on Wednesday said its "business barometer" for January was 68.9, down from 69.3 in December.

Despite the decline, the CFIB said the results show the rise in optimism that took place late in 2010 has continued into the new year. The barometer spent most of last year in the mid-60s.

The CFIB says scores greater than 50 show most business owners expect conditions to improve over the next year. If the index is between 65 and 75, that's usually indicative of economic growth, it says.

Earlier this week, Statistics Canada said there was a 0.4 per cent expansion in gross domestic product in November, the most economic growth seen in eight months.

The CFIB said the current optimism among small-business owners is showing up in increased orders and intentions to invest in production equipment.

"It appears to be the business-to-business side of the economy that is powering this latest improvement," said CFIB chief economist Ted Mallett.

"After supporting the economy so well earlier in the recovery, the consumer-led sectors have remained in the background."

The strongest business sentiment is being seen in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Newfoundland and Labrador, and British Columbia. The weakest is in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

The CFIB's January business barometer was based on web surveys with 967 businesses. The results are considered representative within 3.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

KC company in forefront of Internet advertising business

The biggest advertising spots on the Internet are household names: Google, Facebook, Bing.

But by pulling together all sorts of digital advertising — from e-mail and search-engine ads to mobile ads and online-game offers — a Kansas City company, Adknowledge, has become the No. 4 digital advertising network.

And it plans to keep growing after announcing in January that it attracted $200 million in new outside financing.

Scott Lynn, Adknowledge’s chief executive officer, said most of the roughly million online advertisers today turned to Google. And heavily trafficked websites such as The New York Times, ESPN and Expedia attract big-brand advertisers.

But “the remainder of the Internet is very, very difficult to advertise with,” he said. “We’re trying to create a single advertiser marketplace for those other segments so that advertisers can go to a single website, enter a credit card number and buy traffic with all of these different companies through a one-stop shop.”

In just six years Lynn’s company has put together those pieces, roughly doubling its annual revenue last year to $300 million.

Its work force has grown to 330, about half of them in Kansas City. Adknowledge also has offices in New York; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Chicago; Fort Myers, Fla.; Britain; and Australia.

The Silicon Alley Insider, a website that focuses on tech business news, last year ranked Adknowledge No. 18, after Hulu and before TheLadders.com, on its list “The Digital 100: World’s Most Valuable Start-Ups.” The report estimated Adknowledge’s value at $900 million.

Some of the building blocks of Adknowledge’s success:

•A huge database of consumer profiles and their interaction with ads, used to predict where businesses should put their ads to get the best response. Adknowledge emphasizes that it does not use “cookies” to follow people online, as some companies do, and that its profiles are anonymous — consumer interactions are not linked to any person’s identity. Adknowledge has more than 60 terabytes — a terabyte is 1,000 gigabytes — of that behavior data and says it runs more than 20 billion calculations a day “to determine what ad to show to each consumer.”

•A sophisticated matching site, bidsystem.com, that makes it easier for advertisers and digital advertising channels to find one another. Adknowledge says more than 10,000 advertisers bid for traffic — to put their ads where they’re most likely to be seen. And the company says it generates “more than 280 million clicks per month” for its advertisers across “multiple channels, including e-mail, display and social advertising.”

•A series of acquisitions in the past two years to expand those channels.

Lynn said the company’s 2009 acquisitions of social media businesses such as Super Rewards (an Internet advertising company that offers points or other rewards to online users who sign up for services) and the media division of Miva Inc., one of the largest independent online advertising networks, supported Adknowledge’s vision of creating a single marketplace for online advertising.

And last summer Adknowledge acquired the Hydra Group, which has thousands of online advertising affiliates — sites that get commissions when the ads they display are clicked, especially if they generate sales or other desired actions, such as requesting information on products or services.

“We currently maintain market leadership positions with our social media and e-mail advertising businesses,” Lynn said at the time of the acquisition, “and believe that Hydra will allow us to achieve the leading position in the affiliate industry.”

Lynn said another factor in Adknowledge’s success was that “a majority of the company is technology-focused,” enabling it to come up with powerful, innovative products such as bidsystem.com and its programming to predict which advertising approach would be most effective for a particular client.