New York SBDC Research Network

According to a recent story on the Hispanic Business website: Business.gov , the official business link to the U.S. government, has launched new search features and expanded content to make it easier for small business owners to find information they need to run their operations. First under the list for the state and local resources: The Small Business Development Center.

I've received a couple of requests in the last month that were looking for a listing of the current issues that concern small business owners. These are typically the legislative agenda items for such groups as the National Federation of Independent Businesses or the National Association of Women Business Owners. Related to those is the current " Top 10 List of Current Rules for Review and Reform ," published each March by SBA's Office of Advocacy . According to their most recent issue of The Small Business Advocate , the list was drawn from over 80 rules nominated by small business owners as those whose reform or removal would be most beneficial. As you'll see, all of these items concern current requirements as mandated by Federal agencies. Some are very industry-specific (e.g., EPA should revise outdated or inaccurate testing requirements for dry cleaners), while others have a much broader (and larger) target audience (such as the request that the IRS simplif

Earlier this week, I was asked by a client if they had image rights to a caricature that was purchased from a street vendor. After searching and searching for the answer, I called the U.S. Copyright Office. Their response was that the street artist owns the copyright and person who purchased the caricature has to get permission from the artist in order to use the print. Well then, how can the purchaser find the artist? Go wandering the streets of the same city in the hopes that they may run into him or her? Unlikely. Instead, they need to make a Good Faith Effort into locating the artist. The referenced link gives multiples locations to look for the original creator. Good Faith Effort does not mean that if the owner posts the caricature after trying to locate the artist and failing, they are free to use the image as wanted. For specific copyright laws, go to The United State Copyright Office . If you can't find the answer, do what I did, and call 202-707-5959.

Who is Your City? by Richard Florida I have not read this book. I was in Barnes and Noble and came across this title that naturally strikes a chord with me. I had a quick gander and thought I would like to read it and then, while in my car I was teased with a promise of a program discussing the book with the author that never materialized for me. So, I went looking for the story and ended up at this site and took the short survey to discover my best city - of the cities I listed as places I would consider living. The site offers some information about the book and also has themed maps for things such as innovation, economic activity, "mega-regions of Asia", and personality maps, all fun stuff. I have always said I would like to live in an amalgamation of the best cities I have lived in: Brooklyn's frank neighborliness, San Francisco's creative happiness, London's energy and brains...so if SanFrooklyn exists, I'm there.

I have to give the video game industry some credit – they are willing to provide information about their industry on the web. It’s a real pleasure to find associations & websites that offer substantive reports, factsheets and articles, even to non-members. So here are a just a few good sites for video game design & sales: International Game Developers Association http://www.igda.org/ Indie Games http://www.indiegames.com Gamasutra: The Art & Business of Making Games http://www.gamasutra.com/ Entertainment Software Association: http://www.theesa.com

From the SBA Press Office: WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration launched a new Web site, www.NationalSmallBusinessWeek.com , for National Small Business Week 2008, featuring information about the agency’s premier annual event. The celebration of National Small Business Week is April 21-25, with events in Washington, D.C., April 21-23 and in New York City April 24-25. Among the featured speakers confirmed are Secretary Mike Leavitt, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Ambassador Susan C. Schwab, United States Trade Representative; Newt Gingrich, former House Speaker; David Latimore of the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City; John Bryant of Operation HOPE, and other prominent business leaders, CEOs and politicos. Visitors to the site will find it richer, deeper, and easier to navigate, with a look and feel that conveys the spirit of excitement surrounding this year’s Small Business Week events. Up-to-the-minute highlights, multimedia content and information

This article from CNet notes that Adobe rolled out their brand-new Photoshop Express feature on March 27th. It's seen as a direct response to Google's Picasa application. This looks way cool to me. I've gone back-and-forth over the years as to whether I should buy Photoshop for my PC at home. Now, there's no need. If you've been looking for a low-cost means to touch-up, correct, re-color, or re-format your digital photos, and/or felt a need to store your current shots off-site, then this is the site for you. "Low-cost" with this application means "free," and off-site storage of 2 GB is available. The site will try & sell more sophisticated products to professional & hardcore amateur enthusiasts, but for people like me (who simply point & click), then the options offered by this site is plenty. The application is also usable via blog owners & This is a beta version, so there are likely bugs & hassles in there somewhere