Monday, July 18, 2011

Affordable Mobile Data In Europe

For the past couple years, when I travel in europe I turn mobile data roaming off on my phone and grab wifi when I can. That's the best way to avoid ridiculous data roaming charges. Last year, on the advice...

Sofía Vergara Nicole Richie Norah Jones Nicky Hilton Garcelle Beauvais

This Week In Startups

A few weeks ago Jason Calacanis stopped by our new offices and recorded an episode of This Week In Startups. It was a fun chat, almost an hour long. My audio is not as good as the audio on Jason...

Bar Refaeli Jessica White Anna Friel Monica Bellucci Minki van der Westhuizen

Put your name on it

Lauren Conrad Arielle Kebbel Jessica Paré Leelee Sobieski Teri Hatcher

Residential Remodeling Index at new high in May

K. D. Aubert Sara Spraker Alexis Bledel Kim Kardashian China Chow

Financing Options: Preferred Stock

Today on MBA Mondays Startup Financing Options series, we are going to talk about the financing option that I specialize in - preferred stock. Almost all venture capital firms and many angel and seed investors will require the company they...

Laura Prepon Ashley Scott Michelle Behennah Julie Benz Saira Mohan

Ritholtz Rates Bernanke

Barry Ritholtz, author of Bailout Nation, says Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is in danger of adopting the worst policies of his predecessor Alan Greenspan. Mon 07/18/11 06:45 AM EST — Gregg Greenberg

Sarah Gellman Eliza Dushku Bonnie Jill Laflin Joanna Krupa Ashley Olsen

What you should worry about

Tamala Jones Yamila Diaz Alicia Keys Tyra Banks Vanessa Hudgens

Debt Ceiling Charade: Almost Over

Cameron Richardson Chandra West Kasey Chambers Megan Ewing Kristanna Loken

From Asimov to Zelazny

Brittany Daniel Kate Moss Zhang Ziyi Nikki Reed Natasha Bedingfield

The SEO Cupcake

The SEO Cupcake

This content from: Duct Tape Marketing

The SEO CupcakeThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing When asked to talk about marketing these days I spend increasing amounts of time explaining the notion of being found. Like it or not, generating leads by putting lots of valuable content in the places where people look for just such a thing is central to marketing [...]

Amy Cobb Deanna Russo Cheryl Burke Olivia Wilde Paulina Rubio

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Weekend Favs July Sixteen

Weekend Favs July Sixteen

This content from: Duct Tape Marketing

Weekend Favs July SixteenThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing My weekend blog post routine includes posting links to a handful of tools or great content I ran across during the week. I don’t go into depth about the finds, but encourage you check them out if they sound interesting. The photo in the post is [...]

Ivanka Trump Blake Lively Christina Applegate Shana Hiatt Tara Conner

14 of the Dumbest Identity Thieves

With today's technology, crime can sometimes be complicated. Forget the old ?club-a-guy-over-the-head-for-his-wallet? crime. Assuming you steal a guy's I.D., your greatest weapon against him will probably be a computer. Here are 15... Read more

Miranda Kerr Sarah Shahi Anna Paquin Diane Kruger Magdalena Wróbel

One on One: Rajen Sheth of Google Chrome

Welcome to another in our One on One series of conversations with some of the most thought-provoking entrepreneurs, authors and experts in business today. Rajen Sheth, Group Product Manager for Google Chrome for Business and Education, spoke with Brent Leary in this interview, which has been edited for publication. To hear audio of the full interview, page down to the loudspeaker icon at the end of the post.

* * * * *

Rajen Sheth of Google Chrome

Small Business Trends: CouldRead More

From Small Business Trends

One on One: Rajen Sheth of Google Chrome

Miranda Kerr Sarah Shahi Anna Paquin Diane Kruger Magdalena Wróbel

15 Accidentally Awesome Inventions

Inventions often happen by accident when scientists, or sometimes even regular people, are looking for one thing and end up finding another. Like when Nicholas Cage tried to make a fantasy movie and instead ended up with a hilarious ironic comedy.... Read more

Bali Rodriguez Izabella Miko Cameron Diaz Sofía Vergara Nicole Richie

Unofficial Problem Bank list declines to 995 Institutions

Minka Kelly Carol Grow Erika Christensen Emilie de Ravin Tara Reed

Wall Street Economists Have This Recovery All Wrong

My Sunday Washington Post column is out, and its titled “Note to investors: It takes longer to bounce back from a credit crisis” The online version gets a different title, Wall Street analysts and economists have this recession recovery wrong. In it, I discuss how the post WW2 recession recovery cycle is the wrong frame [...]

Kelly Clarkson Natalie Portman Jessica Biel Christina Milian Kelly Brook

5 Ways That Content Marketing Has Changed The Art Of Selling Forever

5 Ways That Content Marketing Has Changed The Art Of Selling Forever

This content from: Duct Tape Marketing

5 Ways That Content Marketing Has Changed The Art Of Selling ForeverThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing I?ve often said the difference between sales and marketing is that marketing owns the message and sales owns the relationship. Some folks suggest that the onslaught of social media, content publishing and real-time search has rendered the need [...]

Maria Sharapova Lindsay Price Zoe Saldana Rachel Perry Mary Elizabeth Winstead

Misc: Greece Downgraded, Did Bernanke shift on QE3?

Rachel Hunter Heidi Montag Katharine McPhee T.A.T.u. Amber Valletta

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Writing naked (nakeder than Orwell)

Leonor Varela Joanne Montanez Michelle Obama Kerry Suseck FSU Cowgirls

Modern Community Building

In late May, Joel Spolsky, co-founder/CEO of our portfolio company Stack Exchange, wrote a great post called Modern Community Building. Stack (as I like to call the company) is building out a large network of highly engaged communities (57 as...

Emma Watson Amy Smart Sarah Wynter Jaime Pressly Ashanti

Misc: Greece Downgraded, Did Bernanke shift on QE3?

Carrie Underwood Rosario Dawson Tricia Helfer Elena Lyons Brooke Burns

Facebook working with news outlets on ?Facebook editions?

Prepare for more news content on Facebook than ever before. Facebook is reportedly working with publishers to create “Facebook editions” of their products to deliver news to social networkers, according to a Forbes report.

For years, news organizations have been …

Amanda Peet Xenia Seeberg The Avatars of Second Life Daniella Alonso Gina Gershon

The SEO Cupcake

The SEO Cupcake

This content from: Duct Tape Marketing

The SEO CupcakeThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing When asked to talk about marketing these days I spend increasing amounts of time explaining the notion of being found. Like it or not, generating leads by putting lots of valuable content in the places where people look for just such a thing is central to marketing [...]

Gisele Bündchen Jennifer Aniston Amy Cobb Deanna Russo Cheryl Burke

This Week In Startups

A few weeks ago Jason Calacanis stopped by our new offices and recorded an episode of This Week In Startups. It was a fun chat, almost an hour long. My audio is not as good as the audio on Jason...

Gina Carano Sanaa Lathan Ana Beatriz Barros Maria Menounos Shakira

The arrogance of willful ignorance

Elena Lyons Brooke Burns Lena Headey Ali Larter Angelina Jolie

Cutting Edge Marketing from the Front Lines

If you’re looking for the�future�of small business marketing, look no further. Here are the top stories from the cutting edge with ideas�ready for your next marketing campaign on the small business front lines. Got a tip, technique or strategy of your own you’d like to share? Leave a comment below and add to our list of marketing tips from small business leaders just like you.

Marketing Trends

The power of the simple text. Whether marketing for a “cause” or forRead More

From Small Business Trends

Cutting Edge Marketing from the Front Lines

Karen Carreno Bijou Phillips Marika Dominczyk Dita Von Teese Rachel Nichols

Groupon Updates Privacy Rules, Including on Mobile Tracking and Sharing of Personal Information

Groupon sent out emails to its users this weekend, about changes it has made to its privacy statement and terms of use.

Among the most notable changes is more information about the Chicago-based social buying start-up's collection and use of mobile location information.

In other words, if you let them, in order to improve the experience and make the app more useful, you're being tracked.

Yvonne Strzechowski Rhona Mitra Kelly Rowland Danica Patrick Josie Maran

Groupon Updates Privacy Rules, Including on Mobile Tracking and Sharing of Personal Information

Groupon sent out emails to its users this weekend, about changes it has made to its privacy statement and terms of use.

Among the most notable changes is more information about the Chicago-based social buying start-up's collection and use of mobile location information.

In other words, if you let them, in order to improve the experience and make the app more useful, you're being tracked.

Whitney Port Minka Kelly Carol Grow Erika Christensen Emilie de Ravin

This Week In Startups

A few weeks ago Jason Calacanis stopped by our new offices and recorded an episode of This Week In Startups. It was a fun chat, almost an hour long. My audio is not as good as the audio on Jason...

Shiri Appleby Kelly Hu Michelle Rodriguez Mena Suvari Georgina Grenville

How Sony blew the chance to make a Kindle killer (updated)

Sony’s planned August update to its Reader line of e-book devices is the company’s last shot at reclaiming the market it pioneered in 2006. But it may already be too late.

Despite having a multi-year head-start, Sony’s Reader has lagged …

Anna Faris Lil Kim Kelly Ripa Yvonne Strzechowski Rhona Mitra

Friday, July 15, 2011

Koolhaas, Delirious in Beijing

Source: NYT, Koolhaas, Delirious in Beijing

Natasha Bedingfield Audrina Patridge Simone Mütherthies Carrie Underwood Rosario Dawson

The Good, the Bad and the Time-Consuming: Yahoo Pushes to Settle Alibaba Dispute Before Earnings, But Don't Hold Your Breath

After picking a noisy fight in June with its Chinese partner Alibaba Group, Yahoo has made certain at several public junctures since then to loudly stress that talks to settle the differences are progressing.

But that doesn't mean closure of such a deal, which is what the Silicon Valley Internet giant has been hoping to happen before it announces its second quarter earnings next Tuesday.

Jennifer Scholle Tatiana Zavialova Tila Tequila Tamie Sheffield Kelly Monaco

Start Making Video Calls on Facebook Right Now

Start Making Video Calls on Facebook Right Now

This content from: Duct Tape Marketing

Start Making Video Calls on Facebook Right NowThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Yesterday Facebook announced the addition of Skype enabled video calls inside the walls of Facebook. (Hmm, wonder if they own those too – but that’s another issue) Today I’m seeing some folks anxiously awaiting for this feature to come to their page, [...]

America Ferrera Haylie Duff Talisa Soto Julianne Hough Paula Garcés

The invisible crossroads

Nicky Hilton Garcelle Beauvais Kristy Swanson Ali Campoverdi Giuliana DePandi

Give and get

Jessica Simpson Mandy Moore Shannon Elizabeth Maggie Gyllenhaal Foxy Brown

Affordable Mobile Data In Europe

For the past couple years, when I travel in europe I turn mobile data roaming off on my phone and grab wifi when I can. That's the best way to avoid ridiculous data roaming charges. Last year, on the advice...

Tamala Jones Yamila Diaz Alicia Keys Tyra Banks Vanessa Hudgens

MBA Mondays Is On Vacation

Happy July 4th Everyone I'm taking a break to celebrate the July 4th holdiday with friends and family. We'll be back next Monday with the next topic in our Financing Options For Startups series: Convertible Debt.

Whitney Port Minka Kelly Carol Grow Erika Christensen Emilie de Ravin

The overwhelming fear of being wrong

Alice Dodd Kate Walsh Autumn Reeser Camilla Belle Blu Cantrell

Why Going Back to School can Help You Run a Business

Going back to school is a tough decision to make. You must consider how it will affect your life as well as the cost of tuition and other factors that may change. If you?re looking to get ahead and run your own business, going back to school... Read more

Amanda Marcum Leila Arcieri Kate Mara Izabella Scorupco Carla Campbell

Affordable Mobile Data In Europe

For the past couple years, when I travel in europe I turn mobile data roaming off on my phone and grab wifi when I can. That's the best way to avoid ridiculous data roaming charges. Last year, on the advice...

Carla Campbell Penélope Cruz Kristen Bell The Pussycat Dolls Isla Fisher

Stellar students: Present at Stanford for a spot at DEMO

You know how ?whipper snappers? always tend to know how to use those ?new fangled? devices? We think they are ahead of the curve as well. That is why DEMO created AlphaPitch for College and is extending its talent search …

Erica Leerhsen Angela Marcello Paz Vega Rebecca Mader Eva Green

Dependency on external motivation

Carol Grow Erika Christensen Emilie de Ravin Tara Reed Avril Lavigne

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Waiting for the fear to subside

Aubrey ODay Drew Barrymore Marley Shelton Thalía Brooke Burke

DataQuick: Bay Area Home Sales "Surge" in June

Mariah Carey Taylor Swift Milla Jovovich Maggie Grace Luján Fernández

Managing Your Small Business With Mastery

Managing a small business can be a thankless job, but if the business is at least yours there are some rewards. For years, large companies had the spotlight with better news coverage and higher salaries. Today, the coverage is all too often negative and the salaries are being cut or frozen. If you run a small business today, you’re the superstar. You operate a company that could help the flagging economy and change the world. Here are some resources justRead More

From Small Business Trends

Managing Your Small Business With Mastery

Tatiana Zavialova Tila Tequila Tamie Sheffield Kelly Monaco Gisele Bündchen

Bored Of Directors (continued)

I did a few posts on this topic back in 2004 when I was just starting to get this blogging thing. the original the followup the second followup These posts were inspired by my friend Brad Feld's initial post on...

Giulianna Ramirez Ashley Greene April Scott Mia Kirshner Elisabeth Röhm

And So the AsiaD Speakers Begin: Google, Alibaba, Twitter, Asus, Nvidia and More to Come!

D: All Things Digital is going to Asia and here's some of the people we'll be grilling onstage at the event, which will be held in Hong Kong from October 19 to 21.

Chandra West Kasey Chambers Megan Ewing Kristanna Loken Aubrey ODay

Worried About IPO Filing Backlash, Groupon Surveys Consumer and Merchant Reaction

Groupon's S-1 filing for an IPO last month certainly got a lot of ink.

Unfortunately, much of it was negative, focused on several controversial parts of the document.

So the social buying service conducted a poll to find out the impact.

Lacey Chabert Amber Brkich Gretha Cavazzoni Marla Sokoloff Jennifer Love Hewitt

Hotels: Occupancy Rate increased 2 Percent compared to same week in 2010

Jessica White Anna Friel Monica Bellucci Minki van der Westhuizen Katharine Towne

Why Going Back to School can Help You Run a Business

Going back to school is a tough decision to make. You must consider how it will affect your life as well as the cost of tuition and other factors that may change. If you?re looking to get ahead and run your own business, going back to school... Read more

Sara Spraker Alexis Bledel Kim Kardashian China Chow Alecia Elliott

10 CEOs Who Were Murdered in Cold Blood

It?s a stressful job being a CEO but it isn?t normally physically dangerous. CEOs may sometimes make a killing, but they don?t get killed�? usually. However, when some people say they want to strangle their boss, they may be speaking... Read more

Marisa Tomei Shannyn Sossamon Rachael Leigh Cook Elisha Cuthbert Ciara

Half life

Jaime King Lokelani McMichael Freida Pinto Eva Longoria Susan Ward

How many jobs are needed over the next year to keep the unemployment rate steady?

Nicole Scherzinger Jill Arrington Tami Donaldson Padma Lakshmi Sarah Mutch

Viral Video: Apple Fan Girl (Who Runs the World) Beyonc�

This is a spoof from Electric Spoofaloo of Beyonc�'s "Girls (Who Rule The World)" mashed up with Apple's retail stores.

Okay, it's Friday.

Sarah Gellman Eliza Dushku Bonnie Jill Laflin Joanna Krupa Ashley Olsen

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Misc: New Policy Ideas for housing being discussed, Realtor group overstates house prices

April Scott Mia Kirshner Elisabeth Röhm Lily Allen Emmanuelle Chriqui

Top Gmail Apps and Plug-ins for Running a Business

Gmail has been popular with small businesses because it?s easy, affordable and has a lot of functionality. But you really aren?t getting everything you can out of Gmail until you start taking advantage of some of the many third-party apps that make Gmail even more powerful. Some Gmail apps require a download; others plug into the Web version.

Gmail

Regardless, if you find yourself spending a lot of your workday in Gmail, check out these apps that willRead More

From Small Business Trends

Top Gmail Apps and Plug-ins for Running a Business

Brittny Gastineau Ashley Tisdale Rachel Blanchard Sienna Guillory Tricia Vessey

The Small Business Bottom Line

Even if you?re terrible at accounting (but great with customers), you still know the basics of money: We want to be in the black instead of the red. I mean, red is my favorite color everywhere except on a financial statement.

A color can show you the bottom line about your company?s financial state at that point in time.� But what if you are in the red for one quarter and the profits from another quarter have to cover thatRead More

From Small Business Trends

The Small Business Bottom Line

Teri Polo Summer Altice Rose McGowan Bar Refaeli Jessica White

10 CEOs Who Were Murdered in Cold Blood

It?s a stressful job being a CEO but it isn?t normally physically dangerous. CEOs may sometimes make a killing, but they don?t get killed�? usually. However, when some people say they want to strangle their boss, they may be speaking... Read more

Salma Hayek Jennifer Scholle Tatiana Zavialova Tila Tequila Tamie Sheffield

Sales Advice for Small Business Today

You know how important sales is to your small business. That’s why we’ve created this small business news roundup focused on sales advice to help you. Increasing your sales is the simplest and best way to grow your business with better cash flow and more satisfied customers to spread the word and bring back referrals. Here are some thoughts about how to boost your sales and how to fix problems as they arise.

Basics

Why honesty is the best policy.Read More

From Small Business Trends

Sales Advice for Small Business Today

Natassia Malthe Victoria Silvstedt Hilary Swank Whitney Port Minka Kelly

How to Pick Up the Blogging Habit

As people, we?re creatures of habit. Whether you?re trying to lose weight, start a blog or train for your first marathon, to be successful in that goal, you must develop the habit of actually doing it. The habit of running, of eating, of finding that time to write and publish blog posts. And that takes practice.

I write a lot – for multiple blogs, multiple times a week. And in order for me to get that blogging done and stillRead More

From Small Business Trends

How to Pick Up the Blogging Habit

Carol Grow Erika Christensen Emilie de Ravin Tara Reed Avril Lavigne

The Evolution of Productivity: Paper to Digital

The invention of paper did wonders for mankind's organizational skills. With the invention of papyrus, a thousand things became possible for the Egyptians: hieroglyphic shopping lists (goats, bread, and charcoal eyeliner), 'Things-to-Avoid'... Read more

Jennifer Morrison Adrianne Palicki Amanda Righetti Michelle Branch Melissa Howard

This Week In Startups

A few weeks ago Jason Calacanis stopped by our new offices and recorded an episode of This Week In Startups. It was a fun chat, almost an hour long. My audio is not as good as the audio on Jason...

Tyra Banks Vanessa Hudgens Sarah Michelle Gellar Olivia Munn Melissa Sagemiller

Jaw-dropping: Dropbox raising $200-$300M round at a $5B valuation

Cloud storage service Dropbox is raising a new $200-$300 million round of funding at a $5-$10 billion valuation, reports TechCrunch.

Previously, Dropbox was valued at just $7 million. The new funding round, if true, would put Dropbox on the same …

Jennifer Morrison Adrianne Palicki Amanda Righetti Michelle Branch Melissa Howard

Everything You?ve Heard About Google+ Is Wrong

Everything You’ve Heard About Google+ Is Wrong

This content from: Duct Tape Marketing

Everything You’ve Heard About Google+ Is WrongThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Now, before my buddy Chris Brogan, who currently seems obsessed with Google+, gets riled up, let me explain that title. It’s not that any one specific thing being professed is wrong, it’s just that it’s probably wrong for your situation. See, that’s the [...]

Garcelle Beauvais Kristy Swanson Ali Campoverdi Giuliana DePandi Pamela Anderson

Bank Failure #51: Signature Bank, Windsor, Colorado

Bali Rodriguez Izabella Miko Cameron Diaz Sofía Vergara Nicole Richie

New List of Contests and Awards for SMBs

This list of contests, competitions and awards for small businesses is brought to you every other week as a community service by Small Business Trends and Smallbiztechnology.com.

If you’ve entered and won a contest or award listed here, let me know so we can share your news.

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* * * * *

HP Smart Color Sweepstakes
Enter by July 13, 2011

HP is giving away an HPRead More

From Small Business Trends

New List of Contests and Awards for SMBs

Ana Hickmann Mischa Barton Jamie Lynn Sigler Stacy Keibler Rihanna

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Moody?s downgrades Ireland to Junk with negative outlook

Mila Kunis Samaire Armstrong Selita Ebanks Michael Michele Marisa Tomei

CloudPlayer.me to Resurrect 11-Year-Old Battle with RIAA

Since the start of 2011, top technology companies like Google, Apple and Microsoft have been ramping up efforts to push consumers on their cloud computing services. Before we continue, I'm sure some of you are wondering what the "cloud" is. Polls... Read more

Selita Ebanks Michael Michele Marisa Tomei Shannyn Sossamon Rachael Leigh Cook

Europe: Bond Yields up Sharply for Italy, Greece, Ireland and Portugal

Melissa Joan Hart Bianca Kajlich Giulianna Ramirez Ashley Greene April Scott

Give and get

Paulina Rubio Kirsten Dunst Vanessa Minnillo Katie Holmes Victoria Beckham

Groupon Updates Privacy Rules, Including on Mobile Tracking and Sharing of Personal Information

Groupon sent out emails to its users this weekend, about changes it has made to its privacy statement and terms of use.

Among the most notable changes is more information about the Chicago-based social buying start-up's collection and use of mobile location information.

In other words, if you let them, in order to improve the experience and make the app more useful, you're being tracked.

Larissa Meek Gina Carano Sanaa Lathan Ana Beatriz Barros Maria Menounos

Yahoo Loses Global Search Business Head Chi-Chao Chang

In the ongoing talent drain at Yahoo, longtime Yahoo search veteran Chi-Chao Chang is the next to swirl away from the Internet giant.

Chang was VP and GM of the global search business at Yahoo and has been at the company since 1999.

More importantly, he has been a key exec in Yahoo's troubled search alliance with Microsoft.

Claudette Ortiz Julia Stiles Marisa Miller AnnaLynne McCord Emma Heming

Fukushima: IAEA International Fact-Finding Mission Updates

IAEA: A team of international nuclear safety experts today completed a preliminary assessment of the safety issues linked with TEPCO’s Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident following the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. The team – created by an agreement of the IAEA and the Government of Japan – sought to identify lessons learned [...]

Marisa Tomei Shannyn Sossamon Rachael Leigh Cook Elisha Cuthbert Ciara

Affordable Mobile Data In Europe

For the past couple years, when I travel in europe I turn mobile data roaming off on my phone and grab wifi when I can. That's the best way to avoid ridiculous data roaming charges. Last year, on the advice...

Kate Hudson Adriana Lima Brittany Daniel Kate Moss Zhang Ziyi

How Digital Signage Affects Our Everyday Lives

We hardly notice it anymore, but we live and breathe digital signage. It's all over the place. This infographic does a nice job of making that point and drawing out some of the consequences. Digital Signage: It's all around us compliments... Read more

Dania Ramirez Lucy Liu LeAnn Rimes Adrianne Curry Jennifer Gimenez

Statement by the Eurogroup

Katy Perry Vinessa Shaw Rebecca Romijn Nadine Velazquez Pink

How Much Money To Raise

Image via Wikipedia I spent some time yesterday talking to an entrepreneur about this topic and I thought I'd share what I told him with everyone. When your company is growing really fast, doubling employees year over year, adding users...

Chandra West Kasey Chambers Megan Ewing Kristanna Loken Aubrey ODay

The "Fred Wilson School Of Blogging"

Tom Anderson, the Tom we were all friends with on MySpace, wrote a guest post on TechCrunch suggesting that there is a "Fred Wilson School Of Blogging." I'm not sure about a "school" but I do have some points of...

Tara Reed Avril Lavigne Bridget Moynahan Noureen DeWulf Nicollette Sheridan

Monday, July 11, 2011

Why Going Back to School can Help You Run a Business

Going back to school is a tough decision to make. You must consider how it will affect your life as well as the cost of tuition and other factors that may change. If you?re looking to get ahead and run your own business, going back to school... Read more

Chloë Sevigny Janet Jackson Georgianna Robertson Reese Witherspoon Jordana Brewster

Schedule for Week of July 10th

Rihanna America Ferrera Haylie Duff Talisa Soto Julianne Hough

15 Accidentally Awesome Inventions

Inventions often happen by accident when scientists, or sometimes even regular people, are looking for one thing and end up finding another. Like when Nicholas Cage tried to make a fantasy movie and instead ended up with a hilarious ironic comedy.... Read more

Amber Arbucci Christina Aguilera Kate Hudson Adriana Lima Brittany Daniel

The overwhelming fear of being wrong

Kate Mara Izabella Scorupco Carla Campbell Penélope Cruz Kristen Bell

Lighten Up Already

Lighten Up Already

This content from: Duct Tape Marketing

Lighten Up AlreadyThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Humor and lightness are powerful tools in the hands of a creative marketer. Far too often business is treated as a serious, “just the facts,” grind it out kind of thing. Both employees and customers benefit from a business where play and laughter are as treasured as [...]

Bar Refaeli Jessica White Anna Friel Monica Bellucci Minki van der Westhuizen

Unofficial Problem Bank list increases to 1,004 Institutions

Piper Perabo Anna Kournikova Esther Cañadas Kate Beckinsale Shiri Appleby

Groupon Updates Privacy Rules, Including on Mobile Tracking and Sharing of Personal Information

Groupon sent out emails to its users this weekend, about changes it has made to its privacy statement and terms of use.

Among the most notable changes is more information about the Chicago-based social buying start-up's collection and use of mobile location information.

In other words, if you let them, in order to improve the experience and make the app more useful, you're being tracked.

Missy Peregrym Sarah Gellman Eliza Dushku Bonnie Jill Laflin Joanna Krupa

Google+ Exec Is Now Really Plus One

Usually, I don't fall for this kind of stuff, but a posting tonight on Google+ about a marriage proposal in Paris by one of the key execs involved in its recent launch, Bradley Horowitz, is too adorkable to resist.

Better still: It's not complicated.

Melania Trump Summer Glau Mía Maestro Virginie Ledoyen Lindsay Lohan

The Evolution of Productivity: Paper to Digital

The invention of paper did wonders for mankind's organizational skills. With the invention of papyrus, a thousand things became possible for the Egyptians: hieroglyphic shopping lists (goats, bread, and charcoal eyeliner), 'Things-to-Avoid'... Read more

Laura Prepon Ashley Scott Michelle Behennah Julie Benz Saira Mohan

Nokia's Stephen Elop Jumps Off Burning Platform Onto D9 Hot Seat: The Full Interview (Video)

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop has not had the best of times since he left a top job at Microsoft to take over the reins of the Finnish mobile giant.

What with layoffs, executive shakeups, an earnings scare and stock drops, along with a need to completely rehaul its offerings, he's had a lot to wrangle with.

Nicole Richie Norah Jones Nicky Hilton Garcelle Beauvais Kristy Swanson

Report: EU to consider Greek Default

Mia Kirshner Elisabeth Röhm Lily Allen Emmanuelle Chriqui Anna Faris

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Give and get

Ashley Tappin Carmen Electra Amanda Marcum Leila Arcieri Kate Mara

ADP: Private Employment increased by 157,000 in June

Magdalena Wróbel Connie Nielsen Melissa George Cameron Richardson Chandra West

More than meets the eye: Rebound in U.S. employment in the offing?

Priuer du Plessis is surprisingly bullish on US job creation: > Stock prices tumbled while the yield on the U.S. 10-year note fell to its lowest level in a month as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Services (BLS) June employment report shocked the market with a paltry gain of 18 000 jobs in payroll employment [...]

Patricia Velásquez Jennifer Morrison Adrianne Palicki Amanda Righetti Michelle Branch

Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen Is Not a Flash in the Pan: The Full D9 Interview (Video)

Adobe Shantanu Narayen did a very funny video for the ninth D: All Things Digital conference about how he needed to become a flashier speaker.

Get it? For those who did not, Flash is the name of one of the software company's highest profile offerings and the one most under siege by fast-changing trends.

Karen Carreno Bijou Phillips Marika Dominczyk Dita Von Teese Rachel Nichols

European Financial Crisis: Italy

Aki Ross Ashley Tappin Carmen Electra Amanda Marcum Leila Arcieri

The ethics of sunscreen

Taylor Swift Milla Jovovich Maggie Grace Luján Fernández Charli Baltimore

14 of the Dumbest Identity Thieves

With today's technology, crime can sometimes be complicated. Forget the old ?club-a-guy-over-the-head-for-his-wallet? crime. Assuming you steal a guy's I.D., your greatest weapon against him will probably be a computer. Here are 15... Read more

Julia Stiles Marisa Miller AnnaLynne McCord Emma Heming Vitamin C

Employment Summary, Part Time Workers, and Unemployed over 26 Weeks

Diane Kruger Magdalena Wróbel Connie Nielsen Melissa George Cameron Richardson

Globalization (continued)

I made a friend online today. It happens to me most every day. Tyrone lives in Cape Town South Africa. The first time I came across Tyrone in the indie while you work room at turntable.fm, he was chatting up...

Lauren German Cindy Crawford Mariah OBrien Uma Thurman Alice Dodd

Despite pushback from Twitter and Facebook, Schmidt says Google is open to partnerships

Now that Google has its own social network, it’s happy to invite Facebook and Twitter to the party too.

Even though it has launched �Google+, Google is happy to forge partnerships with other social networks,�Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt …

Ashley Tisdale Rachel Blanchard Sienna Guillory Tricia Vessey Aki Ross

Weekend Favs July Two

Weekend Favs July Two

This content from: Duct Tape Marketing

Weekend Favs July TwoThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing My weekend blog post routine includes posting links to a handful of tools or great content I ran across during the week. I don’t go into depth about the finds, but encourage you check them out if they sound interesting. The photo in the post is [...]

Soft Cell Beyoncé Nelly Furtado Leeann Tweeden Bali Rodriguez

Adopt vs. adapt

Carla Campbell Penélope Cruz Kristen Bell The Pussycat Dolls Isla Fisher

Saturday, July 9, 2011

How do you know when it's done?

Jessica Alba Kylie Bax Diora Baird Laura Prepon Ashley Scott

Nokia's Stephen Elop Jumps Off Burning Platform Onto D9 Hot Seat: The Full Interview (Video)

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop has not had the best of times since he left a top job at Microsoft to take over the reins of the Finnish mobile giant.

What with layoffs, executive shakeups, an earnings scare and stock drops, along with a need to completely rehaul its offerings, he's had a lot to wrangle with.

Shakara Ledard Vanessa Marcil Rachel McAdams Kristin Cavallari Brittany Murphy

Women Small Business Owners Grow More Optimistic About Economy

Women entrepreneurs are more optimistic about the economy than they were six months ago, according to the biannual Key4Women Confidence Index survey, conducted by the Center for Women’s Business Research in April and released in June.

Asked if they thought the economy would stay the same, worsen or improve in the next 6 months, 10 percent thought it would worsen (compared to 17 percent in the prior Key4Women survey in November 2010), 43 percent thought it would stayRead More

From Small Business Trends

Women Small Business Owners Grow More Optimistic About Economy

Brooke Burke Thandie Newton Liz Phair Aaliyah Katherine Heigl

Reis: Office Vacancy Rate flat in Q2 at 17.5 Percent

Rachel Nichols Dido Joss Stone Majandra Delfino Maria Bello

10 Most Momentous Strikes of the 20th Century

Strikes are renowned as the bane of governments and anybody who wants their garbage collected on time, and yet often are the only resort left to workers. They remain a divisive topic on both the left and the right, with their consequences having... Read more

Marley Shelton Thalía Brooke Burke Thandie Newton Liz Phair

Greece: More Discussions about Debt Reduction

Minki van der Westhuizen Katharine Towne Malia Jones Jennifer ODell Jenny McCarthy

World?s newest country, South Sudan, liveblogs its own birth

The new nation of South Sudan celebrated its birth with flag-waving, street celebrations and an official liveblog.

“FREE at last!” proclaims the website, goss.org, which states it is the official website of the South Sudanese government.

Scroll down, and you …

Amber Valletta Paris Hilton Victoria Pratt Shakara Ledard Vanessa Marcil

Start Making Video Calls on Facebook Right Now

Start Making Video Calls on Facebook Right Now

This content from: Duct Tape Marketing

Start Making Video Calls on Facebook Right NowThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Yesterday Facebook announced the addition of Skype enabled video calls inside the walls of Facebook. (Hmm, wonder if they own those too – but that’s another issue) Today I’m seeing some folks anxiously awaiting for this feature to come to their page, [...]

Sara Foster Natassia Malthe Victoria Silvstedt Hilary Swank Whitney Port

Time for a workflow audit

Cinthia Moura Monica Potter Brittany Snow Lauren German Cindy Crawford

Twitter adding promoted tweets to your stream this summer

The golden age of tweeting without being barraged by ads will end this summer. Twitter’s new product, “Promoted Tweets To Followers,” which places targeted ads in the timeline, is readying to launch by early August, according to All Things D.…

Katie Cassidy Estella Warren Cinthia Moura Monica Potter Brittany Snow

Survey: Small Business Hiring in June a "Bust", but hiring plans turn positive

Natalie Imbruglia Patricia Velásquez Jennifer Morrison Adrianne Palicki Amanda Righetti

ISM Non-Manufacturing Index indicates slower expansion in June

Alessandra Ambrosio Amanda Detmer Emma Stone Raquel Alessi Marisa Coughlan

Friday, July 8, 2011

ISM Non-Manufacturing Index indicates slower expansion in June

Tricia Helfer Elena Lyons Brooke Burns Lena Headey Ali Larter

Globalization (continued)

I made a friend online today. It happens to me most every day. Tyrone lives in Cape Town South Africa. The first time I came across Tyrone in the indie while you work room at turntable.fm, he was chatting up...

Willa Ford Desiree Dymond Teri Polo Summer Altice Rose McGowan

Consumer Bankruptcy filings Decrease 8 Percent in First Half of 2011

Natasha Bedingfield Audrina Patridge Simone Mütherthies Carrie Underwood Rosario Dawson

Google +1: Another Irritating Social Web Button?

Google has a history of social tools that were tried and failed, like Wave and Buzz. People just haven’t connected with these tools the way they do other social media and sharing tools. So now, it’s a bit of a surprise that Google’s trying again with its +1 tool. Essentially, when you search a term, you have the option (once you set it up) to click the “+1″ button next to a URL, indicating you likeRead More

From Small Business Trends

Google +1: Another Irritating Social Web Button?

Claudette Ortiz Julia Stiles Marisa Miller AnnaLynne McCord Emma Heming

ISM Non-Manufacturing Index indicates slower expansion in June

Lacey Chabert Amber Brkich Gretha Cavazzoni Marla Sokoloff Jennifer Love Hewitt

QOTD: Keep Calm and Carry on, Twitter!

In any case, I hope Google+ succeeds. Given the blog posts saying this will kill Tumblr, Twitter, Foursquare, etc, you might wonder why I feel that way. Well first, I don’t think competitors kill companies and services. I think the vast majority of “deaths” are self inflicted. – A VC Fred Wilson, on the newest [...]

Brittany Daniel Kate Moss Zhang Ziyi Nikki Reed Natasha Bedingfield

6 Questions to Ask Yourself for a Better Converting Contact Form

For many of us, our business website is structured to funnel people toward our contact form. That?s where we want them to go. We want potential customers to land on that page and fill it out so that we can take a relationship to the next level, whether that means someone is ordering catering services for a large event or looking to receive a quote from your lawn care service.

But have you optimized your contact form to increase yourRead More

From Small Business Trends

6 Questions to Ask Yourself for a Better Converting Contact Form

Ehrinn Cummings Sienna Miller Cindy Taylor Halle Berry Catherine Bell

The overwhelming fear of being wrong

Rachel Blanchard Sienna Guillory Tricia Vessey Aki Ross Ashley Tappin

The ethics of sunscreen

Michelle Trachtenberg Amanda Bynes Ana Ivanovi Jessica Cauffiel Emmanuelle Vaugier

QOTD: That Said, Damning Google+ With Oldster Demo Praise

Google+ fills a void between public and private, it serves what is likely to be an older demo less interested in hooking up or hipstering out and more interested in the social utility it provides. A VC Fred Wilson, in a later part of the same post on social networking companies.

Melissa Rycroft Chloë Sevigny Janet Jackson Georgianna Robertson Reese Witherspoon

Twitter raising $400M round, valued at $8B

Micro-blogging service Twitter is in the process of raising $400 million in funding that would value the company at $8 billion, according to a report by the New York Times.

The site has more than 300 million registered users who …

Nichole Robinson Monet Mazur Rozonda Thomas Rachel Weisz Miranda Kerr

Modern Community Building

In late May, Joel Spolsky, co-founder/CEO of our portfolio company Stack Exchange, wrote a great post called Modern Community Building. Stack (as I like to call the company) is building out a large network of highly engaged communities (57 as...

Paige Butcher Amanda Peet Xenia Seeberg The Avatars of Second Life Daniella Alonso

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Yes, That Is a Cat on the Head of a Soon-to-Be Public Company CEO. (And, of Course, It's Groupon's Andrew Mason.)

Do you think Zynga's Mark Pincus would put a cat on his head for a national magazine shoot? Or LinkedIn's Jeff Weiner? Or, perish the thought, Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook?

But the wacky stylings of Groupon CEO and co-founder Andrew Mason seem to demand it.

Laura Prepon Ashley Scott Michelle Behennah Julie Benz Saira Mohan

The James Franco of the Internet -- Jack Dorsey of Twitter and Square: The Full D9 Interview (Video)

Jack Dorsey has certainly had a multi-faceted career, from plotting bike messenger routes to inventing microblogging giant Twitter to his newest payment start-up, Square.

But what he really wants to do is...

Lauren German Cindy Crawford Mariah OBrien Uma Thurman Alice Dodd

Google+ Offers Great Business Potential

Google+ Offers Great Business Potential

This content from: Duct Tape Marketing

Google+ Offers Great Business PotentialThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing News in the online world this week has been dominated by Google’s unveiling of their long anticipated social play dubbed Google+. Headlines wonder if this is their answer to slow Facebook’s growing dominance in the social space. The company is rolling Google+ out in limited [...]

Jessica Paré Leelee Sobieski Teri Hatcher Lauren Bush Natalie Zea

A relentless race to the bottom

Katy Perry Vinessa Shaw Rebecca Romijn Nadine Velazquez Pink

Globalization (continued)

I made a friend online today. It happens to me most every day. Tyrone lives in Cape Town South Africa. The first time I came across Tyrone in the indie while you work room at turntable.fm, he was chatting up...

Mary Elizabeth Winstead Piper Perabo Anna Kournikova Esther Cañadas Kate Beckinsale

Greece Update: Will ECB accept temporary default?

Anna Paquin Diane Kruger Magdalena Wróbel Connie Nielsen Melissa George

The Truth (and Lies) About Financial Regulation

In just a couple of weeks, Dodd-Frank law ignominiously celebrate its first birthday. The WSJ, working with PolitiFact — the Pulitzer Prize-winning fact-checking service of the St. Petersburg Times — looked at “some of the most controversial statements about Dodd-Frank, how PolitiFact scored them.” These are the more interesting statements told by various Congress critters [...]

Tina Fey Gina Philips Jamie Gunns Ananda Lewis Kate Bosworth

Orange County: Construction Employment up Year-over-year

Deanna Russo Cheryl Burke Olivia Wilde Paulina Rubio Kirsten Dunst

Lighten Up Already

Lighten Up Already

This content from: Duct Tape Marketing

Lighten Up AlreadyThis content from: Duct Tape Marketing Humor and lightness are powerful tools in the hands of a creative marketer. Far too often business is treated as a serious, “just the facts,” grind it out kind of thing. Both employees and customers benefit from a business where play and laughter are as treasured as [...]

Gretha Cavazzoni Marla Sokoloff Jennifer Love Hewitt Tina Fey Gina Philips

The last minute (a case against brinksmanship)

Roselyn Sanchez Soft Cell Beyoncé Nelly Furtado Leeann Tweeden

Zillow prices IPO, now has nearly $400M valuation

Online real estate company Zillow on Wednesday filed new SEC documents that declare its IPO pricing between $12 and $14 a share, which gives the company a $378 million valuation. The company intends to raise up to $55.7 million in …

The Avatars of Second Life Daniella Alonso Gina Gershon Ehrinn Cummings Sienna Miller

Quest for a better answer online

Jenn Prentice is content manager of technology Q&A site Experts Exchange.

With the rise of Quora, Hipster and other question and answer services, Q&A sites have once more become a hot topic. The resurgence begs the question: �What makes a …

Jessica Biel Christina Milian Kelly Brook Robin Tunney Kate Groombridge

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

How Much Money To Raise

Image via Wikipedia I spent some time yesterday talking to an entrepreneur about this topic and I thought I'd share what I told him with everyone. When your company is growing really fast, doubling employees year over year, adding users...

Maggie Grace Luján Fernández Charli Baltimore Denise Richards Jennifer Sky

Founder Labs (continued)

Roughly three months ago, I wrote a post noting that Founder Labs was coming to NYC. Last night the first Founder Labs program in NYC wrapped up wtih the final presentations in USV's event space. I have liked the idea...

Shannyn Sossamon Rachael Leigh Cook Elisha Cuthbert Ciara Rachel Hunter

Why I'm Rooting For Google+

The day Google+ launched, I sent a friend at Google who was involved in building the service an email requesting an invite. I got the invite late that day and started playing with the service. Here's my profile. I'm not...

Monica Bellucci Minki van der Westhuizen Katharine Towne Malia Jones Jennifer ODell

Financing Options: Vendor Financing

Last week's financing options post was about getting your customers to finance your business. This week's post is about getting your suppliers to finance your business. Truth be told, this is not very common in the startups I work with....

Jamie Chung Alicia Witt Radha Mitchell Melissa Rycroft Chloë Sevigny

Schedule for Week of July 3rd

Hilary Duff Lake Bell Amerie Rachel Bilson Karen Carreno

Disney's Bob Iger Makes Me Dis "Bambi": The Full D9 Interview (Video)

Disney CEO Bob Iger is a very crafty guy, turning the tables on me many times in this wide-ranging interview about the iconic media giant and its challenges in the digital age.

He tried to press me on my love of Disney fare, which is, well, nonexistent.

Mía Maestro Virginie Ledoyen Lindsay Lohan Heidi Klum Vogue

"Why wasn't I informed?"

Kelly Brook Robin Tunney Kate Groombridge Dania Ramirez Lucy Liu

15 Everyday Products with WTF Origins

It?s tempting to assume that in the back of every Wal-Mart (and some of the seedier Targets) there?s a machine that combines obscure, sterile chemicals and a dash of cancer into everything the modern human needs. Looking at the ingredient... Read more

Portia de Rossi Jolene Blalock Nichole Robinson Monet Mazur Rozonda Thomas

More Tips For The Online Entrepreneur

It’s the Fourth of July here in the U.S., and small business owners around the world are celebrating their independence with increased activity in the online space. Working online allows small businesses access to new global markets, opportunities for new low cost marketing options and an incredible new array of networking and other tools. Here’s our roundup of tips for the online entrepreneur. Have something you think we’ve missed? Share it in the comment section below:

Blogging

Does your businessRead More

From Small Business Trends

More Tips For The Online Entrepreneur

Laura Harring Naomi Watts Leonor Varela Joanne Montanez Michelle Obama