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01.14.08
Technology Use In Small Business
By Stephen Pitts
Tech 'Solutions' Your Small Biz Can't Use...
A lot of highfalutin software and gadgets aim to help you run your company, but too little of it is suited for a small business environment - Gene Marks Business Week
Recently, Business Week offered up a reason to be concerned. In an article (title and subtitle above), by Gene Marks, warns small business owners away from "overhyped and underwhelming technology." The article isn't about usability, as I first expected, rather turned into a rant against products and services that can help small business owners manage their time more efficiently and even help them improve their business in the short and long run. Gene highlighted 10 products/services "that don't work." Now, I will warn you, SEO is on the list, but rather than taking offense to his opinions, I want to highlight some of these and how they can help you improve your business.
Here they are (numbers are based upon order in original article)
1. RSS Feeds
Bob, an electrical contractor, knows what RSS stands for, and I feel sorry for him. He had the misfortune of signing up for an RSS feed. This misnomer is designed to make us feel like we're getting a "feed" of data just like all the really, really important media people do. When he first tried RSS, he thought, "Wow, I can get immediate updates on product and industry developments, important news from Yahoo!, and even get a new joke from The Onion, all as soon as they're published!" Instead, he was "fed" an endless stream of meaningless items displayed in an overly large browser window that winds up distracting more than informing. Like Bob, most of the business owners I know have abandoned RSS and gone back to controlling when they get their information. Still don't know what RSS stands for? Trust me, it's just not that important.
I guess Gene doesn't want anyone to subscribe to Business Week's feed to be the "first" to find out about his wonderful insight!
OK, I'll stop being snarky… for now!
Like many things, if you allow it to have a presence it can become a distraction. Personally, I like researching when the television is on (at home) or my iTunes is going in an endless loop through the 2.3 days or so of music I have plugged into my computer (at work). I know many people that couldn't stay focused on their work while things are going on around them, but for others, they can perform better under these conditions. That doesn't mean that they stop watching TV or listening to music, rather, make sure that you are in the right environment to be productive. If you aren't a stock broker, I wouldn't recommend that you have a stock ticker in your line of sight all day either, it just doesn't make sense. Keep the RSS Reader for a time when you want to stop and see what is going on in your industry or on your favorite website. Oh, and if you are getting too much useless information from a feed, unsubscribe.
4. Blogs
Jamie! You started a blog for your business? That's dope! Now go out and get some accessories, like a pair of black-rimmed rectangular glasses and a Starbucks card. And oh, by the way, you'll need to set aside about 17 hours each day to keep it fresh. Dude, it'll be so viral. What's that, Jamie? You're not in the media business? You don't work for a software company? You just own a hardware store? Dude, that's a drag! If you don't have something new to say each day, no one's going to bother to stop by and check out your blog. It'll be, like, so lame. And if you do have something to say, just be careful you don't give away too much information. You didn't consider all this? You don't have the time? You're not such a great writer? Word.
Aside from the nailing blogger slang, Gene really misses the real power of blogs.
My hardware store owner, please look at what you are trying to do: get more customers in your store, right?
Continue reading this article.
About the Author:
In-house SEO for a private travel company with great success. Has been influential in developing and building a niche travel directory and search engine. I enjoy learning and sharing information on my blog, SEOPittfall.com to others in an effort to build relevant, content driven websites with the user in mind.
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