Is Email on its Deathbed?

"We don't think a modern messaging system is going to be email," said Mark Zuckerberg earlier today.

The CEO of Facebook was announcing a new messaging system that will be rolled out to users in the coming months, as reported by Yahoo!

Quite what it will look like is not clear. But Zuckerberg's intentions are. "If we do a good job, some people will say this is the way the future will work," he told the audience. Which is an understated way of claiming to be replacing email with something much, much better. And with the Facebook stamp all over it.

The fact is that young people don't use email. They message one another through texts, status updates and chat. Curiously they don't seem to have wholeheartedly embraced Twitter although its short form communication fits right into their way of doing things.

Of course it's far to early to know what will become of email. And it's highly unlikely that long form digital communication, in the form of person to person messages, will disappear. It will always have a place, as do handwritten notes and face-to-face encounters.

The way email integrates with other systems will definitely change. Facebook's new communication system will pull together telephone text messages, online chats, emails and Facebook messages into a single system that is driven by user preference rather than technology. The term email may, in time, become redundant as it's absorbed into a wider form of digital communcation.

Quite what the new Facebook system will look like and how it will impact on our lives is yet to be seen. Zuckerberg had the wisdom not to trumpet it as the new way of sharing information; we've all seen what became of the much vaunted Google Wave, which was meant to transform the way we worked but has died quietly because no one used it.

Email is not dead, or even dying. In fact it could be on the road to rejuvenation and a completely new look.

Do You Use Bribes to Secure Business?

Your answer to the question in the title is probably 'no'.

But from April next year it might not be so clear, especially if you or your company provide any form of corporate hospitality as part of an export business. Your firm will also be responsible for the behaviour of people acting on your behalf, which means you need to be doubly careful.

The purpose the of Bribery Act 2010, which takes effect from April 2011, is to clear up the current mess of legislation under which people and firms are currently prosecuted for bribery. It's also an attempt to clean up what the government calls an "increasingly sophisticated, cross-border use of bribery in the modern world."

Businesses of all sizes are concerned about the impact of this legislation. David Frost, director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce warned that the new law could have a major impact on small businesses. He's reported in the Telegraph.co.uk as saying: "Where small businesses are exporting and are using an agent or third party, how will they ensure that everything is above board?"

The Federation of Small Businesses wants 'specific' guidance for firms with less than five staff. And the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) wants the government to clarify the rules on corporate hospitality.

Firms and individuals will need to take care that they are not breaking the new rules. The Serious Fraud Office has set up a special unit to deal with bribery and the new law will result in a new focus.

So even if your answer at the start of this article was 'no', and you don't think there's even a risk that bribery is going on, it would be wise to have a stated policy of zero-tolerance. And if you're working with people where you believe there's a real risk of bribes changing hands it might a good time to find alternative ways of doing business.

Google Add Another Feature to Search

Yet more information is now available to users of the Google search engine.

Yesterday Google announced the launch of Instant Previews. The concept is very simple - the user sees a snapshot of the page that was found by the search engine.

If you're using Google regularly you might have already spotted this. But it's not obvious because to make it work you need to click in the area of the search result to turn it on (at least, that's how it seemed to work in Google Chrome).

Once on, the preview changes everytime you move the mouse cursor over a different search result. It didn't work for sponsored links.

What does Instant Previews mean for businesses?

Users can see a preview of your website before they choose to click on it, and what they see might make a difference between whether they click through to you, or not.

In a search of 'plumber london' the fourth site listed come up as 'no preview available.' That might be because their site uses the nosnippet meta tag - Google warn that this turns off the preview function.

Another website has an ugly grey box at the top of the preview, indicating that it requires a plugin. When opened, the page contained a moving Flash graphic. This looks great on the page itself, but it spoils the preview.

According to Google searchers are 5% more likely to be satisfied with the page they choose when they've previewed it first.

So why not take a look at how your website appears in a preview, and think what you can do to make it more attractive.

More information on Google Instant Previews.

How To Make Someone Redundant Without Feeling Too Bad

Telling someone their job is no longer required is rarely easy.

Doing it in the environment of a small business is particularly hard. Big companies can blame the cut on faceless executives and the market's insatiable desire for results. There's almost a safety in numbers.

But when you're the owner of a small firm and you decide you can't afford somone any more, it can be very, very hard to deliver the news. Trust and personal relationships are on the line, along with a nervousness about whether it's really the right thing to do.

Here are some tips to help make the process a little less painful. You'll still feel bad afterwards because (almost) everyone does, but these may help to smooth what's always a difficult path.

1. Don't delay. If you've decided you need to act, then do it. Don't hold off in the hope that next week things will pick up or that your staff might leave before they're pushed.

2. Always take professional advice. Don't assume that your staff will understand and go quietly, even if you know them very well. It's amazing how someone's attitude can change once they're made redundant. Get advice about the process and follow it to minimise the risk of being taken to a tribunal.

3. Be honest about the reasons. You need to spell out why someone is being made redundant. Partly because it's essential to make it clear it's the role, not the person, that's being cut. And partly because it's the right thing to do. If someone was making you redundant, you'd like to understand why.

4. Don't make unrealistic promises. It's too easy, in the heat of the moment, to offer more help with finding another job than you can reasonably give. Or to make commitments to the staff who remain. You can't guarantee that there won't be a need for more redundancies in the near future, so don't say there won't be any.

5. Don't use redundancy as a cloak for dismissal. Sometimes you need to get rid of someone because they're not up to the job or their behaviour is poor. It can be tempting to do this as redundancy because it's relatively easy and less confrontational. But it can create distrust amongst the remaining staff who know what's really going on.

Want More Web Site Visitors? Add More Content

If you want your web site to keep attracting fresh eyes, it's important to keep adding fresh content.

There are stacks of businesses out there who don't bother. They invest time, effort and (usually) money in building a site. They might even pay someone to weave some SEO magic over it. Then they let it sit for months without adding a single new word.

As a result less and less people visit the site. Successful sites aren't static, they're active.

This blog is a case in point. It hasn't been updated for about three weeks. As a result the level of incoming traffic has dropped off. The same thing happened when it was neglected over the summer. No new content means visitor numbers decline.

Any business that wants its web site to play a key role in marketing or sales needs to make the effort to keep the content fresh. Adding a new page every now and again, or simply posting new blog entries, will make a difference.

It may not seem entirely logical. After all, if you have a site that's packed with information about, say, dog biscuits, then it'll keep attracting visitors searching for information about dog biscuits, won't it? Well, yes, it will. But if the content isn't changed or added to, the number of visitors will fall.

There is a continuous stream of competing new sites and pages being added daily. Search engines often have a preference for newer sites. And there's simply the effect of time - if it's old, it's generally less interesting.

So the message for me and for you is simple. If I want this blog to attract more visitors and if you want your web site to get more hits, we need to keep adding new content. It's very simple.

Have You Joined a Trade Association?

According to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) there are around 12,000 trade associations in the UK.

That is, organisations that represent commercial enterprises of all shapes and sizes. A trade association generally covers one specific trade or commercial activity, such as the Carpet Foundation (a forum for carpet manufacturers) or the National Hairdressers' Federation (whose membership should be obvious).

Whatever industry you're in, there's probably an association with your name on (or something close to it). Some of them are very specific, such as the Road Emulsion Association or the Adhesive Tape Manufacturers' Association.

The purpose of these associations is usually to share knowledge and good practice across their industry, and to represent their sector in the media. They may well provide guidance on standards along with training or directories of resources, and perhaps networking opportunities and even social events.

Associations can be a huge benefit to those going into business for themselves. In addition to the resources on offer, they can also provide the encouragement needed by a sole trader when they're wondering why they ever embarked on that path. Self-employment can be a lonely and frustrating way of earning a living, particularly in the early days, and making contact with an association can help relieve this.

So if you haven't already, how about taking a moment to see if there's a group that represents your trade, and spend some time investigating, to see whether it's worth joining.

Directories of trade associations can be found on the websites of the Trade Association Forum or British Services.

Celebrating Small Enterprise in the Countryside

This summer, up and down the country, small businesses have been promoting their wares at rural shows and fairs.

The British landscape is dotted with these celebrations of table-top enterprise. Quaint and curious stalls spring up selling anything from home-made jams and chutneys to hot tubs or army surplus Landrovers. What was often a hobby in times of plenty has, for many, become their main source of income - an essential financial lifeline.

We recently visited the Galloway Country Fair. Held in southern Scotland, just south of Moffat, it's squarely aimed at the hunting-shooting-fishing fraternity, so it's not to everyone's taste. But the fair provided a great opportunity to see local entrepreneurs at work, selling their varied collections of products.

A newcomer to the show was Helen Knowles of Tinnisburn Plant Nursery. For years she's been growing plants as a hobby and she's working towards converting her passion into profit. She specialises in unusual plants, often the older varieties which have been long-neglected but still have plenty of charm, even if they're not so fashionable.
In the craft tent, Duncan Smith was selling his unique range of hand-made glass birds and animals. A regular at the Country Fair, he was pleased that this year's event was relatively dry and attracting a good crowd. A craftsman in glass, Duncan has developed his own techniques for creating a distinctive range of gifts items. No two models are identical and even the simplest involve hours of work.

The photo at the top of this post is an example of his work and more information is available from the DS Glasscraft website.

Everywhere you looked at the show there were enterprising individuals who were turning their expertise into income. Makers of cheeses, fudges or cider, wood turners and cabinet makers, jewellery designers and creators of hand-made gifts. One or two regional or national businesses were also represented, but they were definitely in the minority.

While the recession might be formally over, belts remain tight and no one is complacent in the face of a possible double-dip. The ranks of the rural entrepreneurs seem likely to be swelled in coming months as more people seek alternatives to employment, partly through necessity as the job market remains static or even shrinks.

The summer of 2011 may see even more small businesses promoting themselves at fairs and shows across the country. Who knows - one of those behind the table might even be you!