Many businesses, including "mom and pop shops" want to use this new thing called social marketing, but don't know where to start. This article will focus on the Social Media side of the issue. While the details are different with SEO or Search Engine Optimization, the general concept is still the same- great results can happen but expect to either pay thousands of dollars on a campaign or so much time that you can't get your core business done. However, even if it isn't your main push, it needs to be addressed to some degree.

The privacy we all need on the Internet isn't automatic and it takes a few steps to achieve. I go over some of those I use on my FaceBook page.

Just like you have to intentionally put curtains up on your windows so people can't look in, you have to intentionally make the Internet so others can't spy on you. I'll mention two things that pertain to the Internet as a whole and four that pertain to one of the big privacy threats on the Internet- FaceBook. By the way, I'm not saying FaceBook is evil, just that social networks can be used for evil and FaceBook is one of the biggest social networks.

A minor problem I've had with firefox4 (4.0.1) is that I couldn't set the homepage to a blank page like the instructions at mozilla.com says to. However, I found another way.

I'm assuming that you want to grow. That means that smaller jobs will get bigger and smaller needs will expand. Long before your online store becomes the next Amazon, it will take some preparation. If you don't prepare for growth then you are starting from scratch each time something is new which will take more time, money and effort.

A relatively new way to process credit card payments, Square-Up is in use now. It was created by one of the pillars in the Web2.0 world (Jack Dorsey who is the "Twitter creator"). However, will it help or hurt the merchant?

Square-up is a device you plug into a mobile device's USB port to make that mobile device a credit card scanner. But this kind of set-up comes with many security problems and it will cause even more problems with PCI-DSS compliance which anybody who takes credit card payments has to now worry about.

Pizza and ecommerce have been soul-mates for over 15 years now. Other businesses that want to go online can learn from pizza shops. Their story can show you the power of social networking and how it can either destroy or build you and your business.

I'll go over the basics of social networking and use Dominos and Pizza Hut as a case-studies on how it can help a businesses P&L.

As convenient as ecommerce can be, it also is confusing and there is a tremendous risk. Here are some ideas that you should keep in mind whenever you are buying something online.

I keep seeing ads floating around the Internet claiming they will keep your information private on the Internet. But how much of their claim is real?

One such program "hide my ip address" says that "The Internet is NOT Anonymous" and "Discover Why Your PC is Broadcasting ALL Your Personal Details And How You Can Hide Your IP Address!" Let's look at their claims here.

What is the difference between Julian Assange and Dan Egerstad? Technically, nothing. Ethically a lot. In this article, I'll go into the details of what happened and how it will affect the Internet.

ID theft can impact your monetary situation like having money stolen from your bank account, your credit ratings ruined, an increase in your income taxes due. It can also hurt you in less tangible ways like keeping you from getting a job.

The need to protect one's name is nothing new. Even Shakespeare talked about it.