Will You Add? - Internet and Businesses Online

Market Research Ignorance
Recently, I was invited to participate in a focus group for women regarding casual restaurants. The panel consisted of eight other young women who frequented casual restaurants enough to be informed on the subject to be able to properly provide information regarding them.The focus group started off well enough - the panel conductor introduced herself, and asked us to do the same. She did this to simply create a better group dynamic, not for record collection purposes. She then proceeded to ask us to write down our top five casual restaurants on a piece of paper. Once done, as a group we compiled a listing of these restaurants. There was a lot of overlap, especially with the big popular chain restaurants. The more obscure restaurants were crossed off from the list, and the conductor asked us to focus in on three particularly trendy restaurants. The women in the group then freely began voicing their opinions to the conductor on these selected restaurants. When a crossed off restaurant made its way back into the discussion, the conductor gently guided the group back to the discussion of the top three restaurants. This is where things got interesting.One of the women in the group could not understand why the discussion could not involve the restaurants crossed from the list. After becoming defensive about her favorite restaurant (which happened to be crossed off), she began questioning the panel conductor and demanded to know what the "real" purpose behind the focus group was. A

: the social divide (the gap between information rich and information poor in a country); the democratic gap (the distribution of power and influences between those who do and do not make use of ICT to participate in politics); and the global divide (existing between the highly industrialized and developing countries).

The global divide was discussed on July 2000, by the leaders of the eight major industrialized democracies at the 26th G8 summit in Okinawa. The communiqu? (G8 Communiqu? Okinawa, 2000) confirms that their aim was to 'maximise the benefits of IT and ensure that they are spread to those at present with limited access'. Additionally, the Okinawa Charter on Global Information Society (http://www.dotforce.org/reports/it1.html, 2000) states that 'everyone, everywhere should be able to participate in and no one should be excluded from the benefits of the global information society'.

Grant Funding for Small Businesses
The idea that there are millions of dollars in grant funds – free money -- waiting for the small business owner to tap into them is true and at the same time, not true.In most cases, grant funds are not designed to start a new business. There are some specialized businesses that may qualify for start-up money, but 99.9% of the businesses in the Yellow Pages would be ineligible to receive start-up funding.Yet there are millions of dollars available to help fund existing small businesses and employment programs, particularly in the non-profit arena. The trick is to be able to research grants and find those that are most aligned with your company’s mission and/or project.Grants fall into two categories: government and corporate. They all come with strings attached and very specific requirements for those who will be awarded the funds. Funders look for businesses and organizations that already exist, that will use the money for a worthwhile project, i.e. jobs in inner cities, providing training to specialized groups, etc., and that will develop a self-sustaining program.For small businesses that are looking for funding for expansion or for equipment purchases, it takes a creative mind to find a grant that could apply to your specific needs while filling the requirements of the grant funders. That is where the services of a professional grant writer are invaluable.For example, a company may want grant money to fund an expansion of their sales force and

The sources used for this study were a combination of books, electronic journals, departmental reports, and World Wide Web pages. The initial search strategy returned over one thousand results but this was reduced significantly by adjusting the search strategy to look for specific documents relating to definition, origin, validity, type, measurement, and resolution.

References were selected based upon authority, scope, currency, purpose, and objectivity
Only electronic journals accessed via recommended University databases were used
Only web pages from departmental web sites were used
All references had clearly defined scopes
All references were published within the last ten years
References were primarily focussed on UK data backed up with secondary US and Global data.

The words 'digital divide' have become buzz words in the world of information management. This paper reviews the literature relating to its definition and when and where it originated. It questions if it is quantifiable, and if so how each type can be measured. Programs and methods to reduce the digital divide are evaluated at local, national, and global levels.

While world leaders make plans to bridge the divide, some commentators argue if the divide really exists, whilst others have opposing opinions as to what it actually is. Research by Hongladarom (2003) reports that some commentators believe the phrase should not be used at all and should be replaced with the more positive 'social inclusion'.

The phrase was first coined in 1995 by the US government when the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) issued the report titled 'Falling Through the Net' (Servon, 2002, p.2). The report highlighted the existence of a digital divide in America that separated those with access to information technology and those without.

Cullen (2003) describes the digital divide as 'the gap that exists in most countries between those with ready access to the tools, information and communication technologies (ICTs), and those without such access or skills'. Conversely, Servon (2002, p.2) reasons that 'the technology gap is only one link in a causal chain that has bound certain groups repeatedly to disadvantage. The digital divide is, therefore, a symptom of a much larger and more complex problem - the problem of persistent poverty and inequality'.

Similarly, Lax (2001, p.194) relates to such social and economic factors in his study. He confirms that the cost of setting up a system capable of Internet access is low on the list of priorities in many low-income families in both the US and the UK. Additionally, economic and taxation policies have widened the gap between rich and poor over the past two decades so that the digital divide compares with the economic divide. He reports that figures for UK family expenditure in 2000 showed Internet access at only three percent in the poorest households, and forty eight percent in the richest.

Additionally, Wyatt et al. (2000, p.28) highlight a 'persisting digital divide' in the research conducted by the US Census Bureau on behalf of the NTIA in 1994, 1997, and 1998. Although substantial increases in PC and modem ownership were noted, the growth had taken place 'to a greater extent within some income levels, demographic groups and geographic areas, than in others'. This resulted in an 'even greater disparity in penetration levels among some groups'. The report concluded that in most cases the digital divide had widened.

None the less, Fink & Kenny (2003) challenge these definitions in their research and question the validity of the digital divide. They discuss four interpretations often used by commentators and their possible measurements:

A gap in access to use of ICTs - crudely measured by the number and spread of telephones or web-enabled computers.
A gap in the ability to use ICTs - measured by the skills base and the presence of numerous complimentary assets.
A gap in actual use - the minutes of telecommunications for various purposes, the number and time online of users, the number of Internet hosts and the level of electronic commerce.
A gap in the impact of use - measured by financial and economic returns.

They argue that 'looking at various measures of the digital divide, there is a divide in per-capita access to ICTs but developing countries show faster rates of growth in network development than developed countries. Moreover, when employing a per-income measure of access, developing countries already "digitally leapfrog" the developed world'.

There is no consensus on the extent of the divide or whether the divide is getting larger or smaller. Data supporting all four measurements is lacking and further research is needed to establish evidence to fully illustrate the status of the divide and it's growth or decline. However, researchers are mostly agreed that some sort of divide exists. Norris (2000) describes the divide as having more than one dimension: the social divide (the gap between information rich and information poor in a country); the democratic gap (the distribution of power and influences between those who do and do not make use of ICT to participate in politics); and the global divide (existing between the highly industrialized and developing countries).

The Fear Factor In Starting A Home Business
Starting a home business can be fearful, and bring upon us concern. Fear and worry is only present in the blind future when we can't see ahead, or what's going to happen next. Here is where we can address why we don't try something new, because we can't see into the future, and understand the out come. Does this apply to you? well it's a normal human feeling that's ok, we only fear the unknown.Building a home based business in which we desire to generate residual income or even become a wealth builder for life sounds good. But, yep theirs that word, but. I'm fearful of loosing money, I'm fearful of failing, what ever the fear is it holds us back. That's why as a home business trainer I out line a plan for my students to see into the future and alleviate the fear.Look at each step one by one I would say to them till you master each step before moving on to the next take no action yes I said look and understand first. If you sign up with a home base business opportunity such as I offer for free, fear number one just left h'mmm, it cost you nothing no risk. Now you can look through the whole plan before you take any action that's why I set it up for free.Now let's say you want to go slow and see if you get any results. Good Idea Take the first step and make your 1st dollar and then make 2 dollars until your comfortable with your success. Ounce you start making money confidence will follow, and your future will become clear, fear number two just left fear of failing. Keep

some commentators argue if the divide really exists, whilst others have opposing opinions as to what it actually is. Research by Hongladarom (2003) reports that some commentators believe the phrase should not be used at all and should be replaced with the more positive 'social inclusion'.

A gap in access to use of ICTs - crudely measured by the number and spread of telephones or web-enabled computers.
A gap in the ability to use ICTs - measured by the skills base and the presence of numerous complimentary assets.
A gap in actual use - the minutes of telecommunications for various purposes, the number and time online of users, the number of Internet hosts and the level of electronic commerce.
A gap in the impact of use - measured by financial and economic returns.

Measuring Customer Satisfaction - Six Steps in Conducting a Successful Survey (Part 2 of 3)
Step 1Decide On Your Objectives What do you want to know from the survey? Be specific. Your objectives will form the basis from which your survey questions will be developed. Limit your objectives to just a few. If you try to include too much, you will make the survey too long (customers may not complete it), and you may uncover more than you can handle (you can't respond to it).Step 2Determine Who Should Complete the Survey First and foremost, know who your customers are and which are appropriate to survey! If your market is large, you may have different segments of customers. Or depending upon the industry you may have different levels of customers.Also, give some thought to the number of customers you want to survey. Do you have a few key accounts? Maybe you want to survey each of them. If you have multiple customers, you may have to select a sample to survey. Also, you may want to hear from different individuals at the same customer site. Feedback from individuals other than your direct contact may reflect problems that your contact doesn’t know about and report.Step 3Develop the Survey Having settled on objectives and decided what kinds of customers you'll target, it's time to draft the survey. You'll need to formulate questions whose answers will help you decide what needs to be changed to achieve your objectives. The following tips may help you:<

st of setting up a system capable of Internet access is low on the list of priorities in many low-income families in both the US and the UK. Additionally, economic and taxation policies have widened the gap between rich and poor over the past two decades so that the digital divide compares with the economic divide. He reports that figures for UK family expenditure in 2000 showed Internet access at only three percent in the poorest households, and forty eight percent in the richest.

A gap in access to use of ICTs - crudely measured by the number and spread of telephones or web-enabled computers.
A gap in the ability to use ICTs - measured by the skills base and the presence of numerous complimentary assets.
A gap in actual use - the minutes of telecommunications for various purposes, the number and time online of users, the number of Internet hosts and the level of electronic commerce.
A gap in the impact of use - measured by financial and economic returns.

Picture the Vision
Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "I have a dream," and what followed was a vision that changed a nation. That famous speech is an excellent example of the power generated by a compelling vision of the future. A vision clarifies purpose, gives direction, and empowers us to perform beyond our resources. Unless you know where you are going you cannot get there. You don't "need" a vision, or a mission statement, but those people with clearly defined visions experience greater success than those who haven't any. Which one will you be? A vision is not about yourself or monetary goals, it is however personal. It should be imaginative, bold and audacious—representing a real challenge. It is an idea or image of a more desirable future and your articulation of a destination towards which you will aim. Keep in mind it should be written in the present tense as if it has already been achieved. The difference between a vision and a mission statement is that a mission statement answers the questions: Why does my business exist? What business am I in? What values guide the business? A vision, however, is broader and encompasses more. It answers the question, what will success look like? It is the pursuit of success that will really motivate you. When creating a vision statement first answer or consider the following: What are the things I really enjoy doing? What brings me happiness/joy? What issues do I care deeply about? What thi

ess to use of ICTs - crudely measured by the number and spread of telephones or web-enabled computers.

A gap in the ability to use ICTs - measured by the skills base and the presence of numerous complimentary assets.

A gap in actual use - the minutes of telecommunications for various purposes, the number and time online of users, the number of Internet hosts and the level of electronic commerce.

A gap in the impact of use - measured by financial and economic returns.

Do You Really Need Venture Capital?
Yes to have a pot of money simplifies life and removes a number of complications, but is that the right short term goal? The amount of time that you spend searching for venture capital, may be better utilized working with customers, building a product, figuring out how to get to revenues and getting your business closer to your next big productive milestone.I say this because I have had two different experiences. My first involved spending more than two years looking for elusive VC cash, ignoring real customers who could have supported and carried the business further. End result - death by business plan rewrites and the search for a better valuation.My second experience involved building a business from scratch with no VC funding at all. In the same amount of time it took the first one to fail, the second supported 12 employees and became cash flow positive from its 6th month. Today the businesses grosses 260,000 dollars in revenues in a country where the average per capita income is less than 800 dollars a year. Yes it is small but it is ours.If you run a small profitable business or would like to run one and are not the sharing kind, venture capital is not a good fit for your future plans. Venture capital is expensive risky debt with very onerous terms. The terms make sense when you have pre-established credibility, need to hit key milestones quickly, grow to a certain size inorganically, change the world in a short span of time AND are indifferent to who ends up w

Research by Giri (2002) reports how the United Nations have established a number of projects to help developing countries. Mr. Kofi Annan has emphasized that 'information technologies can give developing countries the chance to leapfrog some of the long and painful stages of development that other countries have had to go through'. In addition to the United Nations, other international organizations such as World Bank, IMF, and WHO are implementing several initiatives to reduce the digital divide by sending volunteers, providing training, and loans and grants to Internet and ICT related projects.

Domestically, the social divide was addressed by the UK government when it announced in March 2000 that all Government services would be available electronically by 2005 (Electronic Service Delivery, 2002), and stated in their 2002 Annual Report (UK Online, 2002) that their goal was to 'ensure that everyone who wants is has access to the Internet by 2005'.

The UK Government aims to:

raise awareness of the Internet by: informing citizens about the services they can access and the places they can do this.
promote affordable Internet access at home, at work, on the move and in the community by: supporting a range of channels including the personal computer, DTV, and public Internet access points.
improve ICT skills by: providing opportunities for citizens to acquire the appropriate skills and the confidence to use the Internet.
build trust in the Internet by: advising citizens about how best to use the Internet safely and by building a coherent regulatory framework to increase consumer confidence.

The targets aim to address four key issues, not dependant on socio-economic status alone, highlighted by Cullen (2001) from the Gartner Group Report, 'The Digital Divide in American Society': physical access to ICTs; ICT skills and support; attitudes; and content.

These key issues require further research and measurement to test the suitability and effectiveness of the UK Governments strategy: have we closed the digital divide by providing communal access to ICT, or must ICT be available in the home? Does ICT have to mean a PC equipped with modem, or can it consist of a digital television or mobile phone? In any case, it should be noted that studies carried out by Whaley (2004) demonstrate that although any resulting growth in computer ownership and Internet use will offer optimism that the digital divide is narrowing, focused intervention such as public and private programs, focus groups, and pocks of community activism will still required to correct any disparity of access.

An independent study conducted for British Telecom (http://www.btplc.com/Societyandenvironment/PDF/Digitaldivide2025.pdf, 2004) summarises that the 'profile of the digitally excluded population in the UK highlights the complexity of issues involved in the debates surrounding digital inclusion and the digital divide'. It concludes that digitally excluded adults are more likely to be older and to have no educational qualifications. Of the 9.5 million adults living on low incomes over seven million are digitally excluded. These statistics are useful in developing a baseline for research into the progress of the divide. The report also attempts to predict the status of the digital divide in 2025. This acts as a useful indicator to where we might be as 'Bridgers' of the digital divide in the future, but cannot possibly account for changes, or the pace of change in technology.

To conclude, the digital-divide is well documented although interpreted differently by many commentators. It is accepted by most as real, including Governments and international organisations, and resources have been made available to counter the growing gaps between the information rich, and the information poor. However in a world of full of standards there is clearly a question to be asked regarding the lack of structured measurement and control of such an important dilemma as the digital divide. There is much scope for further research in this area.

References

Cullen, R. (2001) 'Addressing the digital divide', Online Information Review, 25(5), pp. 311-320.

Cullen, R. (2003) 'The digital divide: a global and national call to action', The Electronic Library, 21(3), pp. 247-257.

Electronic Service Delivery (2002) Available at: http://www.e-envoy.gov.uk/publications/esd_menu.htm (Accessed: 13/09/05).

Fink, C. & Kenny, C.J. (2003) 'W(h)ither the digital divide ?', info, 5(6), pp. 15-24.

G8 Communique Okinawa (2000) Available at: http://www.g8.gov.uk/servlet/Front?pagename=OpenMarket/Xcelerate?ShowPage&c=Page&cid=1097587800852 (Accessed: 17/09/05).

Giri, J. (2002) 'Digital Divide: Exploring National and International Approaches to Bridge the Digital Divide and Formulating a Strategic Model that can be Implemented in Developing Countries', IT Journal.

Hongladarom, S. (2003) 'Exploring the philosophical terrain of the digital divide', Computers and philosophy, 37, pp. 85-89.

http://www.btplc.com/Societyandenvironment/PDF/Digitaldivide2025.pdf (2004) (Accessed: 16/09/05).

http://www.dotforce.org/reports/it1.html (2000) (Accessed: 15/09/05).

Lax, S. (2001) Access Denied in the Information Age. Hampshire: Palgrave.

Norris, P. (2000) A Virtuous Circle: Political Communication in Post-Industrial Democracies. New York: Cambridge University

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There are three different methods commonly used to provide computer training to Information Techs. IT training can be done on an individual basis using a study guide. It can be done at a special training facility often using what is called the boot camp method of training. Finally, it can be done by onsite training. Onsite training refers to the training being done right at the IT's place of employment.

If you're like many small, independent restaurants offering great food and good service to a loyal clientele, you feel pretty good about your business. Until, perhaps, you turn see a slick TV ad promoting one of your local franchised competitors. Then it's easy to feel a bit out gunned. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. Even in the age of multimilliondollar ad budgets and powerful national TV campaigns, it's possible for local restaurants with limited resources to out-market the major chains.

Time Tracking with Timeclock, a buzz work in the workforce industry these days. Lets get into this and try to understand the goodies.

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