New York SBDC Research Network

I have become fascinated by the “latest phenomenon” in cyberspace (there’s probably a new one already), the rise of social computing and such – or, what they are calling “Web 2.0.” Here is a brand new article about its impact on the business world: Fast Company, The Network Unbound And an older one on the same general topic (a sort of preview of a book by the same name): Wired Magazine, The Long Tail Here is an excellent article giving an overview of the phenomenon, from a reference librarian’s blog: Infotangle (blog), The Hype and the Hullabaloo of Web 2.0 Incidentally, the concept is also being applied to libraries, as “Library 2.0” You can read more about that here (a Squidoo “lens,” - a sort of pathfinder). -Ben Ropp

I’ve mentioned www.trendwatching.com before but Amelia and I were talking about the customer-designed phenomenon and I thought I’d check back at trendwatching.com to see what they were calling it – since they like to come up with so many snappy names for trends, and sure enough their May/June Trend Briefing is “ Customer-Made Update ”. This is becoming a popular way for companies to build interest in their products. Some I have noticed is L.L. Bean who’ve created “build-a-tote. Land’s End do it for jeans. Now the world of bespoke is becoming available to the masses. Even children’s medicine can be adjusted to be palatable to your tot’s tastes. Consumers are used to being able to communicate with their favorite brands and maybe these companies are seeing that the customer really is always right. It’s the ultimate lesson: don’t create a product and then look for a market, create a product that is needed or wanted. Check out this site to see how companies are innovating with borr

The hunt for the elusive national networking association continues… A couple months ago, Josee mentioned the social networking sites. Here are a few links to organizations that are more about benchmarking and connecting entrepreneurs and small to mid-size companies. Need the email address of a friendly expert willing to answer your question? Try: The Entrepreneurship Network http://www.tei.net/ask.asp The website provides “A database of hundreds of experienced solution providers compiled to facilitate "networking" and assist the growth of mid-market companies.” Users can search for experts by specialty or geography yielding full contact information. Need help benchmarking? Want to discuss how other companies manage their billing process (or one of dozens of other topics)? Try: The Benchmarking Network http://www.benchmarkingnetwork.com/ Offers lists of benchmarking resources organized both by industry and by process. Each topic seems to have its own benchmarking association t

Last week, New York State Commissioner of Taxation and Finance Andrew S. Eristoff announced a new Department service that helps businesses more accurately determine which local sales tax jurisdictions should receive revenue from certain sales tax transactions, and the correct sales tax rate to apply to those transactions. Sales tax on purchases is generally credited to the county or city in which the sale occurred, the service performed, or the tangible property delivered. However, problems arise when vendors use zip codes to determine the local taxing jurisdiction for New York addresses. Because postal zip codes may overlap county or city boundaries, sales tax revenue may be incorrectly credited to the wrong local taxing jurisdiction. Sales Tax Jurisdiction and Rate Lookup Important Information Sales Tax Jurisdiction and Rate Lookup

Looking for angel investors for any of your clients? Check out these sites: 1) vFinance, Inc. - Angel Search - Here, you can search a database with "[o]ver 20,000 potential angels" by any number of variables (amount needed, industry & subindustry, state, ZIP, etc.). Searching is free. However, there is a fee for purchasing the complete record of any angel investor. 2) Inc.com (June 2005 issue) - Directory of Angel-Investor Networks - Provides links to any number of Web sites, depending on the U.S. region in which the company is located. When your client has secured a meeting with a potential angel, he or she might also want to check out a page called " Pitching Angel Investors ," located on the Web site of the Kauffman Foundation. The page is a collection of articles on how a company can prepare itself to maximize its chances for financing when meeting with angels.

The Library: Next Best Thing to an MBA Across the country, public libraries are giving would-be entrepreneurs ahelping hand with resources and expert guidance. May 30, 2006 Business Week: Small Biz By Stacy Perman Public libraries get their due in this Business Week Small Business article. The author talks about entrepreneurs who discover " that owning a business takes a lot more than just raising money and finding a location". The article discusses how business-owners can learn how to write a business plan, create a website, and praises librarians as "the most valuable resource". Apparently, according to a 2006 study by the American Library Association , 61% of small businesses found libraries to be important in getting them started.

I was working on a question one afternoon about goat milk. After finding part of my answers elsewhere, I went to Google to enter the term. I looked over to the right side of the screen, to the sponsored section of the page and came across local.com , which I clicked on. Lo and behold, lists of goat milk retailers in Albany from nearest location out! Well, not exactly. After picking up the handful of goat milk (and dry goat milk) sources, it picked up goat cheese and other products. Still, it was a useful piece of the reference puzzle for a product that doesn't lend itself to a lot of local data.