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In February 2009, it was widely reported that the Local Business Listing service provided by Google had been compromised. Apparently, individuals were hijacking local listings by masquerading as a local business, yet driving web traffic to another site altogether. How could Google let this happen!? Who has the sophistication to get to the heart of Google’s infrastructure at such a business-critical level? And how could the tech giant be infiltrated by some hacker stealing your prospects and the hard work that was driving them to your Web site?

Owning a small business in this economy can be brutal. I keep driving around my community only to notice another business has closed without warning . . . paint store – empty, local market – closed, favorite dry cleaners – gone. With all this retail space, you could hear your voice echo. How are small businesses surviving? What kind of chance do they have when there are larger corporations in the same industry? What can these local owners do to make customers remember them? These are some of the concerns I continually hear from business owners. Can marketing make enough of a difference to help these businesses stay afloat in this economy – even thrive perhaps?

As we start this new year and embark on a new decade, it’s great to reflect a little at just how far we have come. Just think back for a brief moment…what comes to mind? It’s not like we are picturing mail being delivered on a horse and telegrams being the fastest form of communication… now it’s more like… remember when I picked up an actual phone book? Or read a newspaper that was in my hands vs. the screen of my phone? Technology is advancing at a mind blowing pace and the speed of improvements that are being made seem to be growing at an exponential rate!