New York SBDC Research Network

Have you recently used the links we provide in the online resource center section of nyssbdc.org? If the answer is "no," you're not alone. I have to admit that I'm not familiar with all of them. The list is available here . Do you have any favorite links that we haven't included? Are there things here that just shouldn't be? (The answer is yes, but which ones?) We try to keep up with broken links, but we haven't evalutated for the quality of the sites in a while. I don't feel that we have to offer our visitors the world, but a quick glance at some important resources would be great. What do you think? Feel free to comment here, or send me an email .

The world of the librarian is not always as glamorous as it might seem. Sometimes, it's just trudging through the mire. Someone wanted to know what New York's stand on "green cleaning" is. Not finding sufficient info by looking at databases or by Googling, I decided to make a call to the state Department of Environmental Conservation. I was transferred SEVEN times, before the last person told me that I needed to contact the Governor's office. I was transferred only TWICE before I was given the state Health Department. FOUR transfers later, I found Nancy; SHE knew exactly what I was talking about, but she wasn't the one I wanted; the guy she thought I should talk with was home with a broken leg. Taking pity on me after my tale of woe, she called him at home, and he gave her, and she gave me, the number to a guy named Kurt Larson in the Office of General Services , who, unfortunately wasn't in that day. But he WAS in the next day, and he had my answer.

We're members of the National Restaurant Association (though the only things we cook around here are leftovers at lunch). As such, I get emails from this organization, linking to stories that represent current trends in the industry. Today's email cited a recent story in the Providence Journal (you might - MIGHT - have to register [for free] to read this) as to the trend of naming restaurants after their location. Restaurants rely heavily on word-of-mouth, and if its name includes all or part of its address, then industry insiders feel that these owners have a great advantage. The article cautions against possible trademark infringement, as well as taking care not to create a name that sounds more like a union chapter than a place to eat. However, keep this advice in mind for your restaurant clients who are still debating what they should call their place. (NOTE: There are quotes in this piece that infer that a number-in-the-name strategy is an advantage for people who loo

10 Businesses Facing Extinction in 10 Years They're going, going and may be completely gone by 2017. Check out their odds of survival. By Geoff Williams September 19, 2007 Businesses that should give up the ghost? Entrepreneur Magazine offers a list of businesses that they believe are on their way out - at least in the next 10 years: Record stores Camera film manufacturers Crop Dusters Gay bars Newspapers Pay phones Used book stores Telemarketers Coin operated arcades

I saw this article- THE NUMBERS GUY: Weddings Are Not The Budget Drains Some Surveys Suggest Carl Bialik. Wall Street Journal. (Eastern edition). New York, N.Y.: Aug 24, 2007. pg. B.1 Abstract (Summary) The Knot takes steps to ensure that its respondents are representative in terms of geography and household income. But research manager Kristyn Clement acknowledges that The Knot's members may not be typical spenders. "Our market is brides who are planning an actual wedding and putting resources toward that event," Ms. Clement says. "Are there brides who are not spending money on their weddings? Potentially." Rebecca Mead, staff writer at Conde Nast's New Yorker magazine, writes in her new book, "One Perfect Day: The Selling of the American Wedding," that the survey covered only brides who had made themselves known to the Bridal Group and thereby "already demonstrated an interest in having the kind of wedding that bridal magazines promote.&quo

In an article in yesterday's (September 18, 2007) New York Times by RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA, the paper announced that it would stop charging for access to parts of its Web site, effective at midnight night, "two years to the day after The Times began the subscription program, TimesSelect, which has charged $49.95 a year, or $7.95 a month, for online access to the work of its columnists and to the newspaper’s archives." "In addition to opening the entire site to all readers, The Times will also make available its archives from 1987 to the present without charge, as well as those from 1851 to 1922, which are in the public domain. There will be charges for some material from the period 1923 to 1986, and some will be free." The story indicated that while the Times had generated about $20 million from 227,000 paying subscribers — out of 787,000 over all — and generating, the paper didn't release how much traffic would be generated by the search engines, visitors who

For those of you who like a good map, here's a fun tool: Using GIS data from ESRI (a leader in the GIS software & data field - pssstt... we bought some way cool data from them that you'll be hearing more about soon...) National Geographic's MapMachine offers good looking satellite views, physical maps and road maps. But it also provides theme maps on a range of topics, including weather, population density, natural disasters, and nature & conservation. While many of these topics are probably more applicable to school projects, others (perhaps congressional district maps or land use maps?) just might be useful at work. Whatever your motives, its pretty cool.