Hi All!

Sorry for the big gaps in publishing. Our conference has really kept us all swamped but we are heading for the home stretch and things will get back to normal soon.

Have a great week!

Linda Riley
News Editor

Anything Could Happen - Twitter - Evan Williams
Evan Williams's first little idea shifted the culture. (You can thank him for the ubiquity of blogging.) His new business, called Twitter, will be entering your consciousness right...about...now. Why does this stuff happen? Because he lets it.

Submitted By: Rachel
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Is your website competitive? Ask Google's New Benchmarking Tool
Google launched a new Benchmarking service as a part of their Analytics offering. They did this without much fanfare, but this is a very powerful tool for business owners to analyze how their website stacks up against their competition. Now you can finally use your analytics data to get some competitive insights.

Submitted By: ijidak
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5 Business Decisions You Will Absolutely Regret
All in all, these 5 business mistakes should definitely be kept in mind. You'd be surprised as to how many online entrepreneurs end up not being able to maximize results because of them.

Submitted By: LindaRiley
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The 2 Hours After the WordPress 5 Minute Install
Everybody knows that WordPress has it's famous 5 minute install that will get you up and running. What next though and more importantly, in what order? Here are the steps I go through, in the order I go through them, to get a blog ready for use.

Submitted By: calevans
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A Little Favicon Goes a Long, Long Way
I remember when favicons first started to appear, it was like, hey, how cool is that. But now they are so common that I hardly notice them anymore. Well, no, that's not exactly true. I do notice them, and like them, it's just that I'm not surprised to see them anymore. But I AM surprised when I don't see them.

Submitted By: DavidWallace
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11 Essential Content Marketing Insights from 2008 Custom Content Conference
Learn what some of the smartest people in the business had to say about 21st-century marketing. Here are the essential 11 content marketing insights to guide small business thinking, strategy, and tactics in the months and years to come:

Submitted By: newtbarrett
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Google Apps can be a small firm's best friend
When Ritu Raj opened Wag Hotel here as a luxury home-away-from-home for pampered dogs, he decided he would run the business on Google applications. Employees check in dogs on touch-screen monitors, make appointments and use e-mail, all with Google Apps.

Submitted By: Aaronontheweb
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6 Simple Steps for Word of Mouth
Holly Suttmann, a former schoolteacher, started the Black & Light Candle company. Holly really understands word of mouth. She's proof that every business can master these inexpensive techniques. There are lot of global companies that should study what she's doing.

Submitted By: LindaRiley
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How to Make Email Marketing More Mobile-Friendly
Mobile technology continues to develop. The number of consumers with mobile devices capable of retrieving and viewing email continues to increase rapidly. The early adopters of the Blackberry have given way, in numbers at least, to those using what are fast becoming fully functional internet-ready devices.

Submitted By: LindaRiley
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Five 5 Minute Tweaks that Will Make Your Blog Better
Got five minutes? Take five minutes to make your blog better, faster and more user friendly. Here are 5 things you can do in less that five minutes that will make your blog better instantly.

Submitted By: Lisa-BFWM
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Interview with Jill Konrath, Author of "Selling to Big Companies"
I discovered that 75% of small businesses close their doors because the owners were working too darn hard for the amount of money coming in the door. I kept asking myself, "How can I help these people?" I couldn't do one-on-one consulting with them, because they were living on the edge and didn't have the money to pay me.

Submitted By: dking
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The Perfect StumbleUpon Post
This is a great look at what StumbleUpon really is and how it can impact your business. Patrick provides great advice to the business owner on how to improve traffic flow through five common sense approaches. He summarizes, "The idea of this post is to tell you how you can take advantage of the enormous promoting potential of StumbleUpon, while making sure you improve the overall SU experience. That’s the win-win. If your traffic is worth it, traffic you will get."

Submitted By: Rachel
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E-mail Secrets of a Top Converting Web Site
Proflowers is a conversion-rate heavyweight. Its top-line conversion rate has been in the double-digits for the past few years, and it consistently appears in the top 10 converting Web sites according to the folks at Nielsen Online. This is not an accident.

Submitted By: LindaRiley
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The Skinny on Thin Laptops
Ultraportables used to be objects that many people lusted over but few bought, what with their exorbitant price tags and countless drawbacks. Although prices are still high, the latest ultraportables have far fewer shortcomings.

Submitted By: LindaRiley
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Online Shipping Discounts Coming in May
For the first time ever, the U.S. Postal Service is offering discounts based on volume, as well as other incentives including online discounts, for Express Mail, Priority Mail and other shipping services, effective May 12, according to the USPS. These rate changes are now possible due to a change in federal law, enabling the Postal Service to better compete in the shipping market, said Steve Rifai, director of marketing for Endicia, an Internet postage service and an approved licensed vendor of the USPS.

Submitted By: LindaRiley
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