Previous Hot Sites

June 23, 2006—The Research Center at Recognize Service Excellence.com consolidates the latest news, trends, tools and technologies to help businesses deliver excellent customer service. The site was created for senior level executives looking for ways to create a corporate culture focused on high quality customer service. Free registration is required to view news, articles, white papers, research documents and more.

June 16, 2006—Want satisfied customers? Check out the resource center at CustomerSat. There you'll find white papers, articles, tutorials, case studies and newsletters all aimed at building customer satisfaction and loyalty. Topics include saving at-risk customers and designing client feedback systems. Free registration is required.

June 9, 2006—Are you working hard to produce a quality e-newsletter for your customers? Make sure they receive it. Clean My Mailbox makes it easy for you to show your clients how to whitelist what you send them and keep it from ending up in a spam filter. Just enter some information about your e-publication, and this free service generates detailed instructions on how to whitelist it in the form of HTML code to place in your newsletter or web site.

June 2, 2006—Wish you had a guide book for your business? Harte-Hanks Market Intelligence Sales and Marketing Guides can help answer your questions about effective direct mail, database marketing, lead management and more. The guides are all free and available as easy to download PDF files.

April 28, 2006—Where's the best place to start when selling to a large company? Selling to Big Companies is a blog by consultant Jill Konrath, an expert in what it takes to win big contracts in the corporate market. Her blog helps sellers get a foot in the door, create demand for their offering and become indispensable resources to their clients. Recent posts include, "How to Sound Impressive—or Not?," "Are You Scaring Your Prospects Away?," "Reaching the Decision Maker," and "3 Deadly Words You Need to Stop Using Now."

April 14, 2006—CRM Guru was created to help business leaders succeed with Customer Relationship Management by offering articles, discussion, newsletters, online events, interactions with CRMGuru expert panelists and industry benchmark reports. The site includes free white papers and webcasts, and more than 1,000 items in its CRM Knowledge Base section.

March 31, 2006—Learn One Thing offers how-to tips on copywriting, marketing, sales, desktop publishing, web tech, SEO, RSS feeds, podcasting, blogging for business and more. It's designed to teach you one thing every business day. Recent articles include "Telephone Conversation Efficiency," "Sell Your Expertise as a Package of Time," "How to Market to Stressed Customers" and more.

March 24, 2006—Created by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Usability.gov provides current and accurate information on how to make web sites more usable and accessible. Though this site was designed for web sites that focus on health-related information, its usability information applies to the business world and all organizations whose goal is clear and effective online communication.

March 17, 2006—SEMPO's Learning Center for Search Engine Marketing Research offers articles, case studies, research, web seminars, editorials and more. It's aim is to demystify the various aspects of search marketing and to drive awareness of search marketing's efficiency and potential. Article include "Five Elements of a Winning Search Engine Marketing Strategy," "Search Engine Optimization and the Bottom-Line," "The Search Engine Ranking Puzzle" and more.

March 3, 2006—Want to be a better leader? BetterManagement is a unique mix of online educational resources and live business conferences. Topics include business intelligence; CRM; financial, IT, leadership, risk, and supply chain management and more. The site provides articles, webcasts, online learning, and business books.

February 24, 2006—How does your web site rank in Google, MSN, Yahoo and other major search engines? UrlTrends shows rankings for any page or domain you select. Not only can you track your own site's results, but you can check on your competitors as well.

February 17, 2006—OnGuardOnline.gov provides practical tips from the federal government and the technology industry to help you be on guard against Internet fraud, secure your computer, and protect your personal information. Learn about spyware, phishing, identity theft, file backups and more.

February 3, 2006—You have 15 seconds to explain your company to someone who knows nothing about it. Explain it well—with precision, passion and persuasion—and you might gain a new client. This scenario may sound unreasonable, but it's not uncommon. Preparing Your Elevator Speech will help you make the most of those valuable seconds. Visit the site for tips on what to say—and what not to say—when delivering your short pitch.

January 27, 2006—Internet Marketing Info.com features a variety of internet marketing products and more than 175 articles to help you build, promote and make money using your web site. Topics range from programming to advertising techniques.

January 20, 2006—Many people rely on the web to find answers to questions that arise throughout the day, but it's time consuming to wade through the thousands of irrelevant links large search engines produce. You may be able to save time by starting your search with wiseGEEK. wiseGEEK is a straightforward site that offers answers to common questions. Topics cover everything from business and economics to home and garden to animals and the environment. Answers are in the form of short articles. Bookmark this resource.

January 6, 2006—Whether you are a small business interested in starting a newsletter for customers, or a Fortune 500 looking for direct email campaign advice, you'll need information and resources to get started. Email Marketing Reports offers more than one-thousand reviewed links to business reports, media articles and other relevant material for marketers.

The site includes a resources blog with links to the web's newest articles about direct email marketing developments and advice. For those in need of a laugh, check out the cartoon section.

December 16, 2005—Looking for an Online Business Course? World Wide Learn offers access to a variety of online training courses with topics including starting your own business, time management training, leadership skills, interviewing techniques, business strategy, call center training and much more. "Soft skills" courses include, business writing, conflict management, negotiation and stress management.

December 9, 2005—Most people have a few passwords that they use over and over again on different web sites. This isn't secure, but people do it because it's difficult to remember a unique password for each and every web site. Password Maker creates unique, secure passwords that are easy for you to retrieve, but no one else. Nothing is stored anywhere, anytime, so there's nothing to be hacked, lost or stolen.

December 2, 2005—Create your own HTML e-newsletters, blogs and RSS feeds using the IMN Resource Library. In addition to resources for designing and maintaining your Internet marketing campaign, this site offers free articles and white papers on topics including branding, content and design, list management, spam and the challenges and opportunities that come with e-marketing.

November 2, 2005—The Wi-Fi-FreeSpot™ directory is a listing of Wi-Fi enabled locations that offer free wireless high-speed Internet access. USA State-by-State listings come first with Europe and other regions of the World listed further down the page.

Whether you're a local resident or a business or vacation traveler just passing by, The Wi-Fi-FreeSpot™ Directory will help you find all types of free Wi-Fi locations. You'll find cafes, restaurants, coffeeshops, libraries, downtown business districts, malls, stores, laundramats, auto repair shops, RV parks, airports, hotels, vacation rental properties, etc.

October 17, 2005—Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is a web content syndication format that's becoming increasingly popular as an easy way to market a web site and its content. RSS Specifications tells you everything you need to know about RSS and how to use it. This site is not just for tech experts. Anyone will benefit from its list of RSS uses, FAQs, forums and more.

September 30, 2005—Business Owners' Idea Cafe is a colorful, fun and useful site with centers for taxes, grants, networking, stress management and more. Use this site to give and receive feedback on business ideas, for tips on starting and running a company, and to check out the latest "Biz Celebrities."

September 23, 2005—All About Branding examines all issues relating to branding, including creating a corporate or product/service brand, marketing and managing the brand and measuring its success. The site features books and an extensive article archive featuring titles such as, "The ABC's of Great Brands," "Branding and Small Companies," "How Your Supply Chain Can Build or Destroy Your Brand," and many more.

August 26, 2005—What is a Podcast? It's audio content that is either downloaded from a web site or delivered automatically via an RSS feed to your desktop or portable music player. The Podcast Network offers a large collection of podcasts covering a variety of business and personal interests. Subscribe to the entire network or to individual shows or channels.

August 19, 2005—BannerReport.com hosts a massive gallery of banner ads of special interest to graphic designers, web developers, marketing professionals and as those involved in online advertising. The site also offers resources and tutorials on banner creation, and a discussion forum called the Internet Advertising Resource Guide.

August 5, 2005—The Home PC Firewall Guide provides easy access to basic information about Internet security and privacy products for home, telecommuter, and small office, home office end-users. The site offers independent, third-party reviews and links to hundreds of resources. Topics include personal firewalls, anti-spyware, security freeware, security news, privacy software, anti-spam and more.

July 22, 2005—SmartBiz is a repository of all kinds of information on starting and managing a small business. The site offers profiles, forums, articles, downloadable forms, a tech center and links to related sites. Topics include sales, family business, marketing, finance and human resources.

July 15, 2005—The Manager.org is a management-focused Internet portal geared toward managers at all levels and the employees who work for them. The site offers an extensive knowledge base with articles, studies, checklists and FAQs. Topics include operations, strategy, marketing, human resources, finance, legal and more.

July 1, 2005—Marketing World News offers the latest developments in marketing; a daily tip; information about email broadcasting, opt-in lists, lead generation, search engine tactics and more. For inspiration, check out their success stories or submit one of your own.

June 24, 2005—Run by the Family Business Institute, the Family Business Experts web site offers a broad range of strategies, tips and resources to address the unique issues that impact family businesses. The site claims that family-owned businesses are among the most complex organizations in the world and they account for almost 70% of the Gross Domestic Product. To keep these companies running smoothly, the site provides information on everything from succession management to business plans to self help.

June 17, 2005—Workhelp.com offers articles, tips, links and communication tools to help people succeed at work. Topics include conflict management, communications skills, customer service, management and more. The site also offers a selection of product reviews, checklists and helpcards on topics that range from starting a new job to getting the most from your employees. Need a break? The workplace humor section provides stories, anecdotes and jokes about the workplace.

June 3, 2005—SalesForceAudio.com is a paid service that enables you to send "Audio Postcards"—emails that include a recorded message of your voice. These can be used to follow up after a sales call, announce a new product, or remind clients about upcoming meetings and events. The site offers prospective users a free sample so they can send an audio email to their own address or to a friend's address to see how the service works.
(Please note: This web site has sound.)

May 20, 2005—Geared toward desingers and creative professionals, Creative Business is a site that offers articles, books, web resources, and free downloadable business forms. Visit the site or subscribe to its newsletter for information on licensing, presentations, use of samples, branding and more.

April 29, 2005—UK-based Management-Issues is an independent online resource which focuses on leadership, management and people issues in the workplace. The site provides news, blogs, links to related sites and books, and articles on topics ranging from absenteeism to offshoring to boardroom dynamics. The site also offers a "Hot Topics" section with articles about work-life balance, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and women in the workplace.

April 22, 2005—Finding quality images for your web site or marketing materials may be a challenge. The task is even harder when you know you need photos you can openly and freely use without needing to pay royalties or one-time publishing rights. Where To Find Great Free Photographs And Visuals For Your Own Online Articles has gathered some of the best online free image resources available all in one place. (PSDA members: Don't forget to search PSDA's Marketing Library for a wide variety of free industry-related images.)

April 15, 2005—Using marketing ROI metrics, marketers can plan budget allocation, track performance and substantiate the value of marketing investments. Use this general ROI calculator to explore your marketing performance.

In addition to the ROI calculator, this site includes a section of articles on topics such as integrating sales and marketing programs, lead generation, web content management and more.

April 1, 2005—A Business Jigsaw is an online business contact marketplace where people can buy, sell and trade business contact information. It offers members access to an online database of fresh and accurate corporate contact information and increases efficiency by shortening the time required to find valuable business contacts. A web-based subscription service, Jigsaw works on a pay or play model. Members are given the option to pay $25 per month to join the service, or play, which requires members to add 25 new contacts every month to maintain their subscription.

March 18, 2005—SE-Tools has all the tools you need for search engine submission and optimization. Use this site to check your link popularity, rankings, kewords and more. Use its SE-Spider feature to see how search engine spiders crawl your pages and follow your links.

March 11, 2005—At a loss for words? Marketing Words helps businesses develop effective and targeted copywriting for their marketing projects. The site offers an article archive, sample press releases, SEO copywriting, a free e-zine and more.

February 18, 2005—The ClickZ Marketing Excellence Awards recognize the technologies, companies, and campaigns that made a positive difference in the online marketing industry in recent years. Categories include marketing technology, email, research and analytics, and more.

February 11, 2005—The EmailLabs Email Marketing Resource Center provides marketers with a range of resources including articles, statistics and best practice tips for building and managing a successful email marketing program. Article topics include email content, personalization, trends, spam laws and how to avoid ending up in a junk mail folder.

February 4, 2005—Email Newsletter Experts shows how to write, design and distribute effective e-newsletters; manage subscriptions; implement opt-in email marketing and choose a software program or email service provider to streamline your operation. The site is published by Connectiv Media.

January 28, 2005—The Email Marketing Resource Center contains articles about email marketing and email list management, a review of popular related software programs, and tips for building effective campaigns. Recent articles discuss how to create an e-newsletter, B2B rules and more.

January 21, 2005—Where do you go online to find maps, definitions, currency converters, language translation or even your high school sweetheart? Web users don't need to memorize countless URLs to access the best of these services on the Internet, because iTools has gathered them all in one place. iTools acts as a portal to the best of the web, including heavy-weight sites like Google and Merriam Webster. Use it to quickly find everything from area codes to exchange rates to discussion groups.

January 14, 2005—According to the Copyright Website, almost everything on the Internet—even email—is protected by copyright law. The site answers questions about these laws, intellectual property issues, and how businesses can implement copyright strategies for their own online and offline creations. It also shows famous cases involving copyright infringement from music, movies and the art world.

December 17, 2004—SalesLobby.com provides a list of software and tools designed specifically for executives, managers, and sales operations personnel. In addition to a section on sales compensation, the site showcases an online magazine—SLC Insider—with book reviews, articles and how-tos. Articles include, "Sales Compensation: Getting It Right," "Automating Software for Objective-Based Incentive Compensation Programs," and "The Three Traps of Selling Conventionally in a Complex New World."

December 10, 2004—Mind Tools provides articles, ebooks, coaching and courses to help people develop life and career skills in more than 100 areas including time and stress management, memory improvement, information skills, practical creativity, problem solving, decision making and more. The site also offers a bookstore, PDF versions of all its articles, a free newsletter and more.

December 3, 2004—The Online Marketing Blog is an internet marketing web log covering news, resources and tactics regarding search engine optimization, search engine marketing and online public relations. The site is published and maintained by Lee Odden, founder of TopRankResults.com, and its content includes links to other marketing blogs and sites of interest.

November 19, 2004—MarketingFind provides tips, tools and ideas for online marketing success. Find an internet marketing provider, get the latest e-marketing news and information, review beginners guides and access extensive resources and special offers from experts in the field. Topics include email marketing, affiliate programs, search engine optimization (SEO), creative design, web analytics and more.

November 12, 2004—Use the Summit Media Spider Simulator to find out how search engines react to your web pages and the simple steps you can take to improve your rankings. Just type in a URL, and this free search engine spider simulator provides you with a report on how highly the page is ranked and some general usability feedback.

October 22, 2004—How can small businesses best use technology for efficiency and competitiveness? CMP Media's Small Business Pipeline site helps by offering information about product news and trends; how-to explanations for those without deep technology backgrounds; case studies detailing small business' use of technology; and comprehensive product directories that segment the technology market into separate, easy-to-understand categories.

October 15, 2004—A strong brand is a valuable asset for many successful companies. When properly managed, brands can provide a secure stream of income for a business. But what about your own brand? Is it delivering its full value? BuildingBrands provides online resources to help you successfully manage your brand. The site offers articles, anecdotes, relevant term definitions, games, quizzes, book reviews and more.

October 8, 2004—Marketleap has designed its Link Popularity Check to help web site owners find out who is linking to their site, and to give a useful benchmarking report showing where they stand in comparison to competitors and other major online players. This tool simultaneously measures link popularity across five search engines (AlltheWeb, AltaVista, Google, HotBot and MSN). Just enter your link and up to three competitors' links to find out how you stack up against each other.

October 1, 2004—Can you confidently say that your website is working? Can you measure its success? Unfortunately, most website owners cannot. They do not know what to measure or how to measure it. Measuring the Success of Your Website is a companion site to the book by Hurol Inan. The site contains articles, tips and techniques that you can use to find out just how valuable your site is to your bottom line.

September 24, 2004—Articles911.com offers more than 2,000 work-related articles that cover all aspects of work life including management, performance appraisals, conflict resolution, human resources, teamwork, creativity, business ethics and more. Visit the site when searching for information and insight on a particular topic, or when you just feel like browsing for something good to read.

September 17, 2004—Sending an important email? Make sure it doesn't end up stuck in a spam filter somewhere. Before hitting the send button, email marketers can run their message through ContentChecker, a free anti-spam utility from Lyris, to receive a detailed report about any red flags the message may have triggered and how likely it is to get blocked.

September 10, 2004—BellaOnline's Small Office Home Office section offers articles and tips on topics ranging from accepting credit cards online to zoning issues. Search the archive for past features on creating press releases, bartering, customer service and marketing strategies and more. The site also includes a discussion forum for sharing questions and advice on operating a small/home-based business.

September 3, 2004—Where can a salesperson turn when faced with questions about dealing with tough customers, closing deals, and negotiating commissions and bonuses? AskASalesPro.Com is designed to provide answers. Simply submit your question to a group of veteran sales professionals (those who answer questions must have a minimum of fifteen years of professional selling experience) and you'll receive an answer within 48 hours. There is no cost to use the site.

August 27, 2004—WorkRelationships combines the expertise of law and psychology to teach effective interpersonal skills and to prevent and eliminate offensive behavior in the workplace. Articles, case studies and other areas of the site address issues such as sexual harassment and discrimination, conflict resolution and dealing with difficult people, cross-cultural communication and interpersonal skills for technical managers.

Why spend time on these issues? According to the site, reasons include high turnover—people leave a job because of the people, not the work; lowered productivity—disrupted work relationships directly impact morale and lower productivity; and legal risk—inappropriate workplace behavior creates an atmosphere of tension that can escalate into legal issues.

August 20, 2004—Give To Get Marketing offers hundreds of direct marketing ideas, tips, tutorials, case studies and articles for growing a home-based or traditional small business. Use this site to get to the bottom of marketing myths or to determine your marketing results and product profits with useful online calculators.

August 13, 2004—The Sideroad aims to be "your road to expert advice," and its extensive business section offers just that—articles written by experts on topics including sales, public speaking, trade shows, time management, office design, legal issues, customer service and more. New articles are added each week, and if you qualify as an expert on a relevant topic, you can submit an article for possible publication on the site.

August 6, 2004—How do you mount the best defense against a virus? What are the most important email security tips? How can I ensure my privacy while conducting e-commerce? Why is spyware so bad and what can I do about it? ProtectedComputer.com answers many of your most important computer security questions and provides free tips and techniques to help you remain in control of your system, or regain control if your machine is infected with spyware. Their tips and FAQs are authored by computer security consultants, and they provide tutorials and recommendations for books and software to help protect your PC.

July 30, 2004—Visit Marketing Magic for marketing and selling techniques, tips, feature articles, personal advice and useful links to help you build your business and boost profits online or offline. The site offers workshops, online mentoring, web site appraisals, a bookshop and more

July 23, 2004—How innovative is your organization? InnovationNetwork offers ideas, tools, articles, tests and training—all focused on helping organizations develop innovation. The site's aim is to help businesses create work environments where people can tackle important challenges using creativity and collaboration.

July 16, 2004—BNET provides action-oriented knowledge and tools such as white papers, case studies, webcasts, audio conferences, book summaries, checklists, spreadsheets and other interactive content to help leaders solve problems at work. Topics include communications, finance, HR, leadership, marketing, operations, sales and strategy. The site also offers a leadership-focused blog and rankings of the most popular topics and search items so you can see what your peers are focusing on.

July 9, 2004—With portable computers, high speed telecommunications links and pocket communications devices, many employees today can work almost anywhere. Working for America's Interagency Telework Site provides information for employees who think they might like to telecommute (or are already doing so), for managers who supervise teleworkers, and for agency telework coordinators. The site was created by The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and the General Services Administration (GSA).

June 25, 2004—Sales Analysis is a portion of Ohio University's online Sales Centre. It covers a wide variety of sales-focused topics including training, consulting, job searching, statistics, research, software and more.

June 18, 2004—ManagerWise features articles, book reviews, a glossary of management terms, online courses and other resources about the theory and practice of business management. Its knowledge bank includes articles on more than 40 topics including employee retention, finance, goal setting, negotiation, stress management and more.

June 11, 2004—Better Workplace Now offers ideas, tools, examples and inspiration for improving the workplace, increasing morale, and bringing out the best in employees. Included are ideas for making meetings faster, better, and less frequent; how to find balance at work; and how to help coworkers get along.

June 4, 2004—Stay Safe Online is designed to help users secure their home or small business computers. The site, which was created by the National Cyber Security Alliance, offers tips on how to safeguard your system, a self-guided cyber security test, educational materials, and other internet resources.

May 28, 2004—Marcomwise is a marketing and communications site offering industry book reviews, a glossary of terms, Java-based calculators to help you predict campaign profitability, and a directory of online marketing and business courses. The site also has a section of articles categorized by subject area and a vendor directory.

May 21, 2004—WomensBizNews offers headlines and articles geared toward women but useful for anyone interested in improving business. Titles in the article archive include: Shift to Full Power Marketing, Difficult Customers Increase Your Profits, How To Fire A Customer, Are You Reaching Everyone Who's on the Internet?, Giving the Gift of Great Customer Service, How To Survive "No, Thanks" In Business, and more.

May 14, 2004—ALLBusiness is a site for small and growing businesses that offers more than 2000 articles and resources for solving business problems, raising capital, enhancing sales and marketing, obtaining strategic advice and leveraging the business community. Topics include starting a business, human resources, sales & marketing, finance & accounting, incorporation, legal, internet & technology, buying/selling a business, insurance and lessons learned.

May 7, 2004—Which businesses have the best (and worst) chances of success? How much does the average small business owner keep from each dollar of revenue? Find out at BizStats.com, a site that offers effective and understandable online analysis of businesses and industries, and free instant access to financial ratios, statistics and benchmarks. Find the total number of U.S. businesses, largest employers by industry, number of businesses by state and more.

April 30, 2004—The Wells Fargo Management Archive is a well-organized, easy-to-use site that offers articles on a variety of business management topics. Each article features a list of corresponding short tips. Topics include attracting and retaining employees, choosing a compatible business partner, effective delegation, making the best use of space and more.

April 16, 2004—The tips and ideas section of Progeny Marketing's web site offers articles and bite-sized bits of information useful for jumpstarting your marketing campaign. Topics include employee recognition, sales contests, seminar ideas, online marketing and more.

April 9, 2004—At EZine-Tips.com, email marketers can find information on email strategy, format, content, list management, and how to comply with the Can-SPAM Act of 2003. Take a look before sending your next email promotion.

April 2, 2004—MarketingSherpa publishes case studies and best practices data about marketing, advertising, and media relations. The site offers tactics and advice about what works in marketing. Information is gathered through monthly interviews with professionals in the field.

March 26, 2004—The award-winning Sales Tip Website is comprised of hundreds of free sales tips, marketing techniques and telemarketing strategies. The site was created by sales trainer Stan Rosenzweig, but many of the tips are submitted by site visitors. The site also offers articles including How To Eliminate 5 Reasons Your Sales Techniques Fail, How to Turn Around Your 10 Big Sales Mistakes and more.

March 19, 2004—Business Owner's Toolkit offers news, articles, checklists, business plans, an online advice columnist and e-training courses, all geared toward running a small business. Topics range from marketing to human resources to taxes and finance. The site also offers an online store for business-related reference books, software and more.

March 12, 2004—PowerPointers offers tips and articles on how to plan, build and deliver an effective presentation. Visit this site for help with public speaking, meetings, interviews, negotiating, using presentation technology and more.

March 5, 2004—The Center for Business Planning provides managers and entrepreneurs with resources for creating and managing a business. The site offers information about market and competitive analysis, production management, tax problems, legal issues, preparing financial statements, writing business plans and more.

February 27, 2004—Fambiz.com is a one-stop site for information about family business issues and challenges. Family-business owners can find resources on topics like estate planning, hiring, and sibling rivalries. The site is hosted by Northeastern University's Center for Family Business and connects to many other university-based centers for family business.

February 20, 2004—Workindex.com offers a comprehensive index of workplace-related links, HR resources, news and editorial, along with three sub-sites devoted to staffing, training and benefits. Tools include a salary calculator, software tester, legal clinic and events calendar. Visitors can participate in or read results from a monthly poll and download free business forms.

February 13, 2004—EntreWorld offers more than 1,000 articles, audio clips, tools, databases and even town-to-town small business event listings. Recognized by USA Today, Forbes Inc. and Fast Company as a premier online resource for small business owners, the EntreWorld search engine delivers useful information, guidance and contacts for entrepreneurs.

Also offered are dozens of original management articles written especially for EntreWorld, including features from entrepreneurial icons such as Jim McCann of 1-800-FLOWERS®, Lillian Vernon, Guy Kawasaki of Garage.com and other successful business founders.

February 6, 2004—TutorGig.com has links to thousands of online and traditional courses on subjects ranging from business to biochemistry. Users search the database of more than a million online tutorials by keyword. This site also offers access to lists of best selling books, discussion forums, and related links on the subject of interest.

January 30, 2004—The Tax and Accounting Sites Directory is a comprehensive index of web-based tax and accounting resources designed to be a starting point for individuals or businesses searching for tax and accounting information, products and services. The site includes a section on payroll and human resources.

January 23, 2004—Working in the 21st Century is a portrait of the U.S. workforce at the beginning of the New Millennium. This site, created by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, offers a slideshow and related information about subjects ranging from education levels to retirement plans. Some facts from the site: The trend in years spent with an employer is down for men and up for women, the most common alternative employment arrangement is independent contractor, and the workplace is becoming safer.

January 16, 2004—What are the demographics of my web site visitors? How many unique customers do I have, and how many of these are repeat visitors? How long does a visitor spend on each page? What are my most popular pages? How successful was my banner advertisement in attracting visitors to my site? What are the peak periods of activity on my site? Funnel Web Analyzer helps find the answers to these questions and more by allowing you to analyze how users interact with your site. The service is free.

January 9, 2004—How can you build customer loyalty, sidestep marketing mistakes and motivate prospects? Small Business Now's How-To Article Library has articles to help small and home-based businesses tackle the above topics and more than fifty additional topics related to sales, marketing and management. New articles are added to the site regularly.

January 2, 2004—Harvard Business School's Working Knowledge site offers articles, columns and faculty question and answer sessions on topics including career effectiveness, finance, innovation, leadership, marketing, operations, technology and more. The site also covers current affairs which impact the business world and books and web sites worth checking out.

December 19, 2003—Dotfactor provides tools, ideas and internet marketing resources for businesses that sell online. The site includes lists of links to information about advertising, e-commerce, e-books and more. It also offers a section on web site promotion and development.

December 12, 2003—MyWorkTools.com is an employee to employee (E2E) knowledge exchange that offers tools for specific business tasks. Use this site to find dozens of no-cost and low-cost web-based tools and checklists specifically for business development, strategic alliance, executive presentation, due diligence and RFP purposes. In the Business Development section alone you'll find boilerplate contracts and agreements, information on hiring and firing, marketing plans, financial operating plans and more.

December 5, 2003—PeerSpectives.org provides "information, insight and inspiration" for business owners. This site contains hundreds of articles and information briefs organized by topic and subtopic. Categories include Defining and Serving a Market, Building and Inspiring an Organization, Acquiring and Managing Finances, Legal Issues and Taxes, Human Resources Management and Operations and Technology.

November 7, 2003—CorporateInformation.com offers detailed analysis of 20,000 companies around the world. Use this site to find company profiles; research reports; analysis summaries; and sales, price and earnings analyses. Another useful feature of this site is that it allows you to search by industry and country. For example, select Paper and Printing in the United States, and get a list of companies and relevant links which match that criteria.

October 24, 2003—If you hate cold calling, are worried about an upcoming presentation or just looking for ways to make the best of a new sales opportunity, eyesonsales.com is worth a look. This site was designed to inform, equip and encourage salespeople of all levels, whether new to the job or seasoned professionals. Numerous articles are divided into sections including cold calling, negotiating and closing, personal performance, presenting and speaking, relationship management, sales management, sales questioning, sales strategy and time management.

October 10, 2003—How much money are you losing with your "dirty" list? Don't know? Visit List Clean Up to find out. The Data Quality ROI Calculator estimates the number of records on your mailing list that may be outdated, badly formatted or duplicated. It then factors in the cost of your mailing and the number of times you are mailing to that list, and delivers a "Return on Data Quality Investment" figure which will tell you how much money you could be saving if you used list clean up services -- specifically, the ones offered here via online file upload. Source: Larry Chase's Web Digest for Marketers

September 12, 2003—Your sales team is screened, hired, trained on the features and benefits of your product, and ready to hit the street. But what about their sales approach? How Sales Techniques Work—a special edition of the award-winning HowStuffWorks—looks at some of the more effective selling techniques out there, including relationship selling, high probability selling, basic sales tips and techniques, and using technology to enhance sales.

August 29, 2003—EmailReplies.com helps to ensure that your email correspondence will be effective and well-received. It discusses why email etiquette is necessary, lists email etiquette rules, and explains how to enforce these rules by creating a company email policy.

August 22, 2003—At HR-Guide.com you'll find hundreds of pages of information related to Human Resources. Topics include staffing, training, compensation, safety, law and more. The site offers articles and tips, forms and tests, and it acts as a portal to human resources-realted sites throughout the web.

August 15, 2003—Sales in a slump? Visit the EGOPOWER Sales Articles Archive. The articles aim to help you improve your selling techniques and to deal with specific problems like how to handle angry customers, or what to do when prospects avoid you or when you think your competitor has a better product. Titles include: 7 Sales Skills to Improve On, Cold Calling Reluctance, How To Leverage Your Influence and more.

August 8, 2003—Business Know-How's guide to Management and Human Resources is a collection of articles geared toward every aspect of your business and life at work. Topics range from mentoring to typos, business planning to office party planning, and turnover to teamwork.

July 25, 2003—Free Small Business Guides, Tips and Techniques is a resource dedicated to helping businesses succeed and thrive. Among the offerings on this award-winning site are: 9 Super-Slick Secrets to Boost Your Business Performance, How to Lead Your Employees to Top Performance, Secrets of Successfully Managing Your Business, and -- for the days when you just need some inspiration -- The 30 Best Inspiring Anecdotes of All Times.

July 18, 2003—SpamCheck will help keep your email from becoming a victim of the spam filter. Filtering software scans email for words, phrases, formatting and writing styles to determine if the email is legitimate or if it's unsolicited spam. SpamCheck will test your email newsletter or promotion and return a "spam score" and recommendations on how to decrease the odds of being filtered. The service is free.

July 11, 2003—Business Know-How is a site for small businesses. General and industry-specific topics cover start-ups, advertising, sales, marketing, the Internet, tax, HR, law, finance and more. The Ask BKH section includes advice about issues ranging from disaster planning to online newsletters, and the Polls and Surveys section covers everything from working on holidays to how to handle spam.

June 27, 2003—Gone With the Spam
Do you receive lots of junk email? Marketers are increasingly using email to pitch their products and services. Some consumers find unsolicited commercial email--spam--annoying and time consuming; others have lost money to bogus offers. The FTC's Spam Email web site offers tips on how to reduce spam.

June 13, 2003—Marketing Vox News
This site aggregates news and analysis from dozens of sources.

June 6, 2003—The Wise Marketer features articles about customer and employee loyalty, customer specific marketing, commerce & the internet and cards & technology. The site also offers news briefs and complete stories, links, event information and book reviews about improving customer loyalty

May 23, 2003—CustomerRetention.com offers tips and tricks for making your company more customer-caring. This site, created by customer retention consultant JoAnna Brandi (known as the "Customer Care Lady"), features a library of articles and newsletters, and a quiz to help you determine your your "Customer Sensitivity Quotient."

May 16, 2003—The eCommerce Info Center offers everything from beginner tutorials to resources for the latest technologies and future e-business trends. The site is organized into 11 main sections including Information Sources, Products, Government, Non-Profit and General Help. Check out the Small Biz section for a variety of e-commerce case studies and success and failure stories.

May 9, 2003—If you use or plan to use email marketing, check out gravityMail's Learning Center for strategy tutorials and tips. Don't miss the email marketing checklist, email newsletter planning worksheet and email campaign planning worksheet, along with articles about how to prevent your email from being seen as junk or spam.

April 18, 2003—Online HomeBase is a free web-based personal information manager (PIM). Users can quickly and easily create, manage and share notes, reminders, to-do lists and more. Not only is your data accessible from anywhere at anytime, but it can be also be sent in email reminders to your cell phone or email address.

April 11, 2003—Need to do some research? eLibrary allows you to search hundreds of full-text periodicals and maps, nine international newswires, thousands of photographs, classic books and major works of literature, art and reference. A search engine will give you links to other sites, but just like your local library, eLibrary has all the information in one place. And unlike your local library, with eLibrary you can store three of your favorite topics and be notified by email when new articles about those topics are added.

April 4, 2003—Dotfactor.com provides tools, ideas and resources for online marketing and e-business. This site is a one-stop source for any of the following tools you might want to include in your marketing plan: Tell-a-friend promos, reciprocal links, add to favorites, discussion forums/message boards, surveys and polls, Hotmail for your site, mailing lists and more. Resources for e-commerce include: How to accept credit cards online, build an easy virtual store and affiliate marketing.

March 28, 2003—For small businesses without IT departments, creating web databases can be daunting and expensive. eCriteria.net makes it easy by allowing non-programmers to set up a web database within minutes. Users can import data from Excel, Access and Outlook into a data-entry and searchable online database. eCriteria does charge for this service, but a free trial is available.

March 21, 2003—If you watch TV, use the web or shop at a grocery store, you're surrounded by brands. Brandchannel.com sorts out the good, the bad and the brilliant. The weekly brand profile discusses what's behind the big names, from Disney to IKEA to NASA, while the Webwatch feature focuses on the best and worst in the online world. Site visitors can participate in an open debate -- Current topic: Will anti-Americanism affect U.S. brands?

March 14, 2003—What are your competitors up to? What's the hottest promotion format? Use MarketRelevance™ to find out who's mailing what. This service pinpoints marketplace activity by capturing more than 25,000 direct mail and email promotions each year. Data is categorized and searchable by individual company or by promotion. Guests can register for free.

March 7, 2003—Published by consultant Mac McIntosh, the site Sales Lead Experts aims to help you generate more high-quality sales leads, convert more leads into sales, and increase your ROI. The site includes a number of articles such as "Sales lead success checklist" and "How to use your marketing dollars more effectively in a down economy." Browse the B2B sales and marketing resources section, and subscribe to the free newsletter.

February 24, 2003—The Bivings Report is a site about online marketing, promotion and advertising. It offers industry news and in-depth articles including "Are We Witnessing the Death of E-mail Marketing?" and "Banners: The Living Dead." The Other Resources section contains and extensive list of links to sites and publications for marketers.

February 14, 2003—What's you marketing IQ? Do you make marketing decisions based on based on gut-instinct, or do you apply a more scientific approach? The Marketing IQ Test created by Copernicus Marketing Consultancy can help you find out. The test consists of 20 true or false questions about branding, e-advertising, focus groups and more. After you've received your score, browse the Discoveries of the Month section for marketing myths and the hall of fame and shame.

February 7, 2003—The Small Business Development Center National Information Clearinghouse (SBCDNET) is a resource for small and home office owners. The site includes business plans, industry information, links to associations, Spanish language business documents, articles and publications.

January 31, 2003—If your business needs a new name or tag line that's memorable, creative and accurately describes what you do, try using The Business Name & Tag Line Generator for some fresh ideas. The generator is series of nineteen steps including brainstorming, word-combining and testing. With the help of these steps and a good thesaurus, your company can have a quick image change without spending thousands on a consultant.

January 24, 2003—Finding it hard to be removed from mailing lists? Getting harassed by someone on your email? Tired of getting junk email from unknown sources? With MailWasher you can bounce back unwanted email so it looks like your address has been closed down, or you can have MailWasher delete messages from the server without downloading them to your inbox. This free service is one way to weed out SPAM for good.

January 17, 2003—TargetX's Knowledge Center allows you to access the latest information about email marketing and related marketing topics. Find 50 ways to grow your email database, who to use as your vendor, 37 tips every marketer should read before pressing send and more.

December 13, 2002—If you want to avoid web sites that share your personal information with other companies, use your health or medical information for marketing, or put you on mailing lists that you can't get off of, download the AT& T Privacy Bird. This software will automatically search for privacy policies at every web site you visit, and it'll let you know whether each site's policies match your privacy preferences. A green bird means yes, and a red one means no.

November 11, 2002—What's the word on the street? At PlanetFeedback customers can voice complaints, make compliments or suggestions, or ask questions to specific companies. Businesses can use this site to find out what consumers are saying about them and their industry competitors. If a company needs its own tools for collecting feedback, this site offers a variety of options.

October 25, 2002—Visit Community B2B for comprehensive, targeted information on evaluating, purchasing and implementing electronic business to business technology and solutions. The site offers news, a library, a peer exchange section and an "ask the expert" section.

October 4, 2002—Visit Business-Minds.com to find out what to know, what to read and where to go in the business world. This site claims to offer the latest thinking from some of the world's leading business minds. It has a media center, a resource center, an e-books section and a business resource section.

June 14, 2002—Here's your chance to play with technology and take part in improving the Google search engine. Google Labs showcases ideas that have not yet been implemented, but are ready to be tested and reviewed by the public. Current lab experiments allow you to abandon your mouse and search by keyboard or voice. Other features include searching by sets and a glossary.

June 7, 2002—SearchCRM.com provides news, research, discussions, links and much more for all your needs in customer relationship management. This portal links to more than 2,000 CRM-related sites and includes sections such as Ask The Experts and White Papers.

May 31, 2002—Advertising World boasts the most extensive collection of advertising-related links on the web. Sponsored by the department of advertising at The University of Texas at Austin, this award-winning site offers links to resources ranging from word-of-mouth advertising to event planning to film and video production.

May 17, 2002—Channel One is designed for people in charge of internet marketing. This site offers directories for ebusiness, technology and marketing. Search for everything from companies to magazine articles to tradeshows and seminars. Channel One has gathered the best of what's out there to make it easier for its customers to develop their marketing strategies. Registration is free.

May 10, 2002—You don't have to work in the marketing department to benefit from the Method Marketing site. Sellers and consumers alike can appreciate the anecdotes about marketing dos and donts, and anyone who uses email should read the Baker's Dozen Email Rules. For those who are serious marketers, the 20-point checklist and selection of books for sale are worth a look.

April 26, 2002—A Promotion Guide offers the help you need to promote your business online. This site, geared toward those new to web site promotion, explains how to increase search engine rankings, get listed in directories and use a variety of other techniques for generating web traffic. The information is well-organized and easy to follow, and the tips are on target.

April 19, 2002—MeansBusiness.com claims to be the world's largest and fastest-growing online database of business ideas, containing more than 20,000 verbatim extracts from 1,000 business and management books. One thousand new extracts are added each month. Use this site to look for ideas and the latest in business thinking, and save the time you would spend searching through newspapers, business journals and office bookshelves.

April 9, 2002—Mplans.com
Palo Alto Software, the people who brought you Business Plan Pro software to help you write a business plan, now have a web site for marketing plans—Mplans.com. The site promotes the company's new Marketing Plan Pro software, but it also features lots of sample marketing plans, articles and links—for free.

March 29, 2002—Krislyn's Strictly Business Sites offers a vast collection of links to web sites about business. Sites are organized into categories including advertising, news, business plans, human resources, technology and more. Many of the listed links are to non-commercial sites, and Krislyn's fairly basic design makes it easy to browse through them.

March 22, 2002—“Ever wondered about the effectiveness of paid search engine and directory submissions? Curious about the performance of banner ads or opt-in email advertising? How about online classified ads, affiliate programs, or pop-up windows…" Marketing Experiments.com is the place to go for answers. The Marketing Experiments Journal reports findings from a variety of tests conducted on different marketing techniques and trends.

March 15, 2002—Binary Thing is a network of four sites that deal with different aspects of e-publishing. One of the sites, Planet PDF, is an excellent resource for anyone who works with the Adobe PDF file format. Another site, Planet Publish, focuses on web design and publishing. Each site offers a user forum and related news and product information.

March 1, 2002—The stated aim of Management First is to help you become a better manager of yourself and your organization. This well-designed site offers articles, interviews and much more on topics including management styles, training, personal development and strategy. Registration is free.

February 22, 2002—Business Daily Review offers its choice of each day's most interesting and informative business news, articles and columns. Categories include features and analysis, opinions and reviews, and strategy and tactics. An extensive set of valuable links focuses on tools, networking and business-related e-zines.

February 15, 2002—E-Commerce & the Internet is a site run by the Federal Trade Commission with information on a variety of web-related topics. Text and PDF documents are offered for consumers and businesses on a variety of topics including online shopping, identity theft, online advertising and marketing and combating fraud. For those interested in consumer protection and privacy, this site has a wealth of information.

February 8, 2002—If you prefer to receive documents via email rather than fax, check out efax.com Here's how it works: Sign up for a dedicated number, and when someone sends a fax to that number, it will be processed and emailed to you as an attached file. When you want to send a fax, you simply email the file or send it directly from hundreds of desktop applications, and it will be processed into a fax and sent. Efax.com offers a free trial download so you can try before you buy.

February 1, 2002—ecommerce one serves as a directory of leading online ecommerce resources. Use it to find sources for ecommerce news, software and hardware providers, digital cash, security, smart cards and more. If your company maintains an ecommerce site, add it to ecommerce one's directory.

January 25, 2002—BusinessLaw.gov is an online resource for small businesses in search of legal information. Whether you are starting, selling, or changing the structure of your business, this site has guides to help. It also offers tools, forums, forms, zoning codes, and federal, state and local government information.

January 4, 2002—The Small Business Know-How Resource is a site with practical information and inspiration for small business entrepreneurs. Learn the top ten deadly small business mistakes, how to cut expenses and how to boost employee performance. This site also has tips on the basics, including decision making, goal setting and delegation.

December 28, 2001—Visit the MIT Sloan eBusiness Awards site to see who's doing e-business right. Awards are for outstanding achievement in categories such as Innovator of the Year, Disruptive Technology, Global Reach, Rookie of the Year, Clicks and Mortar and Social Responsibility. Previous winners have included such names as Nokia, UPS and Dell. Visit the nominated sites to get ideas for your own e-commerce plan.

December 21, 2001—This online newsletter is all about increasing sales and customer conversion rates. GrokDotCom claims that it will decrease your customer acquisition cost, increase your repeat business, increase your customer lifetime value and allow you to enjoy a permanent increase in your marketing ROI. It's worth a look.

December 12, 2001—This revamped site offers hundreds of ideas for marketing and advertising. Idea Site for Business uses full articles and bite-sized chunks of information to spark your creativity and your business. This site also offers free and paid classified advertising.

November 30, 2001—This site—not much more than one page—is so simple, yet so useful. mail2web.com allows you to pick up your work or home email from any computer, anywhere in the world. Simply enter your email address and password to access your inbox. You can then read, reply and forward your messages. You can even delete large attachments without first downloading them. Best of all, this service is private and free.

November 16, 2001—Business Town.Com bills itself as the site for "streetsmart, ambitious business professionals." It is not flashy, but its hundreds of business articles make it worth a look. Twenty-five categories include finance, hiring and firing, sales, internet, and turnaround. This site has won numerous awards for its quality content.

November 9, 2001—Marketing Terms.Com is a resource for anyone involved in online marketing. It is set up like a dictionary to define all the terminology used by marketing professionals. The site features fourteen main categories including email marketing, online advertising and promotion bartering, and it includes many links to other helpful sites.

November 2, 2001—If your sales meetings are less than inspiring, Meeting Medic may be just what the doctor ordered. This site is devoted to making sales training more fun and profitable, and it offers everything from sales-related magic tricks to props to activity books. The site includes articles such as "Keeping Long Sales Alive" and "Exploiting Sales Inquiries." Whether you're implementing a whole new training program, or just in search of some quick ideas, this site is worth a look.

October 16, 2001—Websters Online is an online, worldwide business directory that allows users to search by product, company name, SIC or NAICS codes. Search results return company profiles that include contact names and numbers, company web addresses and web site thumbnails, and lists of each company's products and services.

October 5, 2001—Dr. Ecommerce answers ecommerce related questions from "How do I do it?" to "When did e-commerce begin anyway?". Topics include law, money, technologies, definitions and philosophy. If you can't find the answer you need on the site, send the doctor—actually a team of experts—an email.

September 24, 2001—EntreWorld.org bills itself as "The Entrepreneur's Search Engine," but unlike other search engines, you never have to leave this site to find what you're looking for. Among the many resources on EntreWorld.org are monthly featured articles, live webcasts, a business information center, sections on starting and growing a business, a glossary and a bookstore. A free EntreWorld newsletter is also offered.

September 14, 2001—QuickMBA is like having university business professors and textbooks on hand twenty-four hours a day. If you don't remember everything you learned as a post grad, or you aren't able or willing go to school full time to earn an MBA, you can use this site to increase your business knowledge and to find answers to specific questions as you need them.

September 7, 2001—Work Matters, Fast Company's online career center, offers help with building a business, leading your team, launching a career, going solo, or solving a specific problem. This site's resources include articles, discussion forums, an Ask The Experts section and a global readers' network. With so much information available, plan to spend a long time at this site.

August 24, 2001—If work has become dull and you and your coworkers could use a spark of creativity, New & Improved can help. This site was created to showcase the services of the New & Improved consulting firm, and it has fun while doing so. It offers free posters with motivational quotes, and a humorous look at its own "Old & Obsolete" web site.

August 17, 2001—Workz.com is a site dedicated to helping small businesses achieve success online. It offers a variety of discussion lists, newsletters and articles, created with the small business owner in mind. This award-winning site is loaded with information and worth a look.

August 3, 2001—Visit The Right Answer to improve your customer service. Read tips for training, browse the article archive and network online with other customer service reps.

July 27, 2001—Idea Site has "everything in site" for creative business people. While you're there, sign up for the Marketing-Idea-A-Day-by-email™ service, and check out articles such as "Five Ways To Lose Your Customer" and "The Best Sales Techniques in the World."

July 20, 2001—SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) is an association of volunteer business counselors who offer services to small business owners. Visit their Web site for confidential email counseling, volunteer opportunities, answers to the top ten business questions, and new features each month. If you'd prefer a face-to-face meeting with a SCORE counselor, this site will help you find your local chapter.

July 6, 2001—Wall Street Journal.com's Startup Journal is a resource for those starting a business or buying a franchise. Articles and guides for creating a business plan, and a database of thousands of businesses and franchises for sale make this site worth looking at.

June 29, 2001—The Direct Marketing Tips from the Pros section of the MAILERS Software Web site is just what it says it is. Find tips quickly and easily on topics including copywriting, press releases, telemarketing, your Web site and more.

June 22, 2001—If you're a small or medium sized business, AllBusiness is the place to look for a variety of online resources. Its Business Solutions section offers articles, links and downloadable forms about sales and marketing, insurance, human resources, office management and more. While you're there, check out their business directory of more than 700,000 companies, and their discussion groups and Real Stories section.

June 15, 2001—Inc.com’s Email Newsletter Guide offers short, easy steps to creating your own email newsletter. It encompasses the whole process, from reasons to start a newsletter to gathering email addresses to tips on selecting publishing software. If you're thinking of joining the e-news or e-marketing business, this guide is worth a look.

June 8, 2001—Global Business Web is a portal for those who want to take their businesses worldwide. Use it to make international contacts and to find articles, discussion forums and thousands of other regional and global resources.

June 1, 2001—Many business transactions are now conducted via email. It's fast and efficient, but is email safe and reliable enough for critical messages? CertifiedMail.com works with Microsoft and Intel to secure and encrypt email messages and ensure that information remains confidential.

May 25, 2001—For sales and marketing information, visit AccuData America's site, ACCUTIPS.com. The articles offered focus on various types of marketing including direct mail, Web and e-mail. There are case studies and reports on market trends, and those looking to generate sales or find new prospects can link to AccuData's products and services section.

May 18, 2001—At IOMA.com, a site run by the Institute of Management and Administration, professionals can find articles, survey results, e-zines and discussion groups about compensation and management. Check out the Salary Zone and Management Library while you're there.

May 7, 2001—Most computer users know that obtaining technical support can be time consuming and frustrating. Protonic.com makes it easier by offering free technical assistance to anyone needing computer help. Whether you're installing software, creating a Web site, or tinkering with hardware, your questions are welcome. The site is run by volunteers worldwide whose goal is to provide answers quickly.

May 2, 2001—If you need advice involving your small business, or if you're in a position to give advice and share ideas and experiences with others, log on to smallbusiness.com. This free site is designed for entrepreneurs in search of a small business community online. Its subjects include accounting and taxes, sales and marketing, hardware and software and e-business.

April 24, 2001—"It's all about sales" at Just Sell.com. This site offers articles and tools to help you sell more and sell better. Features include training, a free lead of the day, a sales shop and more.

April 16, 2001—Entrepreneurial Edge is a site designed to help companies grow. It includes tips and ideas on topics like time management, customers and money. Each Business Builder category progresses from a general overview to real-life examples to practical steps to take. The site also includes a searchable digital library.

April 6, 2001—If you have Spring Fever but can't leave the office, log on to eNature.com. This site brings the outdoors in with photos and descriptions of thousands of plants and animals, and an audio link with over 550 bird calls. The local guide highlights natural life by zip code, and the Ask An Expert section allows you to find out more about that snake or furry creature who frequents your backyard. Use the Outdoor Explorer and Park Finder to plan your next trip.

March 30, 2001—Anyone who's ever done an online search only to come up with hundreds of irrelevant documents will appreciate Pandia Search Central. This site helps users search faster and more efficiently with Metasearches, Powersearches and a variety of search tools and resources. There is also a tutorial for those who want to learn more about streamlining the search process.

March 23, 2001—The Next Big Thing provides insights on the new economy without all the hype. Focused on the big picture and not fleeting trends, The Next Big Thing aims to help businesses thrive in a digital economy. This site offers news, interviews, discussion forums and more.

March 16, 2001—FinanCenter.com was established to help consumers make good decisions about credit, investing, mortgages, insurance and more. This well designed, easy-to-use site offers rate comparisons and calculators, and each category has a learning section with tips and guides to help you increase your financial know-how.

March 9, 2001—Check out eCompany Now's 23 Incredibly Easy Steps to Make the Perfect e-Business for a guide to getting your e-Business up and running. This site has more than just the basics, and learning it all may not be as simple as its title implies. While you're there read about "e-Business the Martha Stewart Way" and "40 Stocks That Will Survive."

March 2, 2001—Entrepreneur.com's 100 Best Sites
for Small Businesses brings you the highest rated sites in sixteen categories including News You Can Use, Money Talks, Hire Power, and Virus Watch. These sites were chosen to "...make you money, save you time and let you run your business more effectively."

February 23, 2001—Internetstats.com directs its users to sites with business information and statistics on advertising, marketing, finance, trade, and trends. Check their news section for weekly facts and stats and their entertainment channel for sports and trivia.

February 16, 2001—The Investing Online Resource Center is a site dedicated to helping those who want to invest online. Take a quiz to determine if you're ready to invest online, review broker ratings, sort the truths from the myths and more. IORC is a non-commercial organization funded through the Investor Protection Trust. If you are already investing via the Web or are just thinking about it, this site is worth a visit.

February 12, 2001—If you want to make your computer more useful or fun, check out The Cool Tool Network. Every day Cool Tool presents a new tool with a free downloadable trial version. Some examples: AWS WeatherBug keeps the outside temperature visible on your taskbar, LiveSlideShow lets you create presentations more advanced than PowerPoint, and k10k [on] Display Desktop Exhibition creates a designer desktop for your PC. The writing on this site is amusing, as is the Term of the Day, and the cool tools may make using your computer easier and more enjoyable.

February 6, 2001—Business Models on the Web was created as an online university course, but you don't need to register to find a wealth of information here. Learn how the web changes traditional business models, and review working examples and detailed models in a variety of categories including distributor and manufacturer. Don't miss the Things to Read column for links to more Web-related business writings.

January 23, 2001—PeopleSpot.com is your online source for information about people. Search for official records on adoptions and genealogy, look through photo galleries and biographies of notable people, find communities or Listservs of those who share your interests, or just find an old friend's email address. Use of this site is free and there's no registration required.

January 15, 2001—Marketing professors and professionals have joined up to create a site that offers tools for strategic and tactical marketing. MarketingProfs.com has an Ask the Prof section, an area for resources and books, tutorials and a variety of articles.

January 8, 2001—For weekly articles on management, finance, marketing and customer service, visit MoreBusiness.com. This site has information on starting and running a small business and building a Web presence. Check out the profitability tips, tax talk, and business technology links.

January 2, 2001—Keep up with the world of wireless communication at Wireless Week. This site is devoted to all things wireless from the basics of Wireless 101 to advanced industry research. Investigate wireless trends, stocks, upcoming events and related links.

December 27, 2000—See what Alan J. Zell, The Ambassador of Selling, has to say about sales, service, management, trade shows and more. Articles are grouped by topic and include such titles as "12 Ways to Find More Business," "How Customers Get Their Impressions" and "Never Send A Small Boy Out To Do A Big Man's Job."

December 18, 2000—Use FormSite.com to make your Web site more interactive with custom HTML forms. Customer surveys, registration forms, product order forms and more are available. FormSite's mission is to "enable anyone with a web browser to create professional looking and functioning, secure, database-backed HTML Forms."

December 11, 2000—InfoWorth is the place for small and home business owners to go to ask questions of experts on accounting, marketing, economics, management and more. This site has teamed up with Amazon.com to promote books about business, so serious readers will find this a great place to shop.

December 4, 2000—According to the editors at Clueless No More, "The world is divided into two types of people - those who have all the answers and those who need CluelessNoMore.com." Through featured columns and interactive message boards, this online advice magazine offers tips on everything from career planning to which movies to see on the weekend. Log on and get a clue.

November 27, 2000—Useful for planning special events, vacations and business trips, Weather Planner forecasts the weather one year in advance for all parts of the United States, Canada and the Caribbean Islands.

November 20, 2000—Bankrate.com will help you find low rates on loans, mortgages, credit cards, and more. This useful site includes sections for small business, investing, taxes and advice. Use the Calculators feature to compare foreign currency values, create a budget or determine how long it will take to pay off your credit card debt.

November 15, 2000—If you want to know what was happening in the world on your birthday or any other date, visit the Time Capsule. Type in a date to find news and sports headlines, prices for housing and gas, hit songs and movies, average yearly income, who was president and more.

November 6, 2000—Make Your PC Work Better has hints, tips and tricks from PC Magazine Online to keep your computer efficient and problem-free. Learn shortcuts, streamline your system and troubleshoot problems. This is a site to bookmark.

October 29, 2000—The E-Commerce Times is an online publication for companies that do business on the Internet or for anyone interested in the constantly changing world of e-commerce. It features daily news, editorials, letters to the editor, small business advice, customer relationship management news and more.

October 23, 2000—For articles on a wide variety of small business topics, visit The Small and Home Based Business Library. Articles on this simple site are arranged in alphabetical order by subject. Browse the card catalog to find what you need.

October 16, 2000—Stay on top of e-business with Internet.com's ecommerce-guide. This site has articles, news, reviews, discussion forums, tips, trends, and more. There's even a Webopedia to explain e-commerce jargon.

October 9, 2000—Get cultured with Culturefinder.com. Use this site to find out what's going on in your area or anywhere in the country. Culturefinder lists event schedules, recommendations and special ticket offers for theater, dance, concerts, museums and more.

October 2, 2000—Hoover's Online provides detailed information about companies worldwide in a variety of industries. It aims to be the web's business network by offering resources on money, IPO's, career development and business travel. This site also has areas for news and small businesses.

September 25, 2000—Use the Internet to update your presentations. With Mindblazer.com you'll reach clients and prospects anywhere via live interactive webcasts. Using your content, the Mindblazer team creates an easy to understand e-pitch for product launches, demonstrations, sales, marketing or employee training. The webcast is then archived for viewing anytime.

September 18, 2000—Soyouwanna.com is the site that claims to teach you everything you didn't learn in school. Log on to learn just about anything from how to play poker to how to convert to a new religion. The "SYW" explanations are fun to read and full of information. Search them alphabetically or by categtory. So if you want to speak with an Irish accent or avoid a traffic ticket, this is the place to start.

September 11, 2000—Use USLaw.com to find a lawyer or talk to a lawyer online, build legal documents or browse the dictionary of legal terms. Find information and resources on almost all types of law including family, employment, real estate, commercial, health and injury and more. USLaw.com's library has over 2,000 articles on a variety of legal topics, and its store has teamed up with Amazon.com and Beyond.com to offer the best books and software about law.

September 4, 2000—The World Time Server provides the current time of day in any country, worldwide. This easy to use site calculates times of future events in other time zones and shows locations of major cities and countries on a map and globe. It is a reference worth bookmarking.

August 28, 2000—SOHOradio.com is online radio for business people. Listen to experts discuss leadership, cross-promotions, finances, memorable meetings and more. Internet broadcasting lets you choose what to listen to and when to listen.

August 21, 2000—Find tutorials.com is the place to go for online tutorials and courses in almost any subject. This tutorial search engine lets you search by subject or keyword and leads you directly to the best in online instruction.

August 14, 2000—For expert advice and real stories about finance, human resources, e-commerce and more, tune into the Small Business Television Network at SBTV.com. The eight channels on this site offer audio and video presentations geared to the small business executive.

August 7, 2000—The Internet News Bureau helps both small and large businesses write, distribute, target and customize their press releases. Use this site to stay informed by reading recent releases or browsing the archives, and don't miss the impressive list of recent clients and testimonials.

July 31, 2000—EBusiness.com is the place to go for online business resources, Ebuzz, and answers to your e-business questions.

July 24, 2000—For household tips from kitchen to kennel log on to Hints and Things. Each room offers home remedies, shortcuts, pointers or links to other helpful sites. Head to the office for personal finance advice, the garage for car tips and simple repairs, and the utility room for stain removal. It's a house full of information.

July 17, 2000—For those thinking of buying, selling, or starting a business BizBuySell is the site to visit. If you're selling, use BizBuySell to place ads and find buyers and brokers. If you're buying, search regional listings of more than 10,000 businesses for sale. Check out the resource sections for articles, checklists and workbooks.

July 10, 2000—Design, maintain and market a small business web site that attracts customers and makes money. Workz.com offers ideas, information and practical tools to make your site profitable.

July 5, 2000—The focus of BPubs.com is on business content. Made for the business user, this search engine finds articles and publications on topics including business plans, finance, management science, intellectual property and more. Bookmark this site for easy access to online business information.

June 26, 2000—Find out how anything works at How Stuff Works. This useful site gives detailed information on what's behind everything from engines to weather to birdhouses. Type in a specific question or simply browse past articles to learn what makes things tick.

June 19, 2000—Boost your company's sales by creating an online sales contest at salesdriver.com. Ten contest themes include Marketing Warfare, Extreme Sports, Medieval Knight and Pedal to the Metal. Each participant receives a nickname and character when the contest begins and an email each time their score is updated. Rewards are in the form of $DriverDollars that buy a variety of prizes. Check out this easy, fun and free way to drive performance.

June 12, 2000—Tudogs.com offers the best in free software and downloads. Categories include business and finance, web design, Internet, and lifestyles. This award winning site has a simple design and is easy to use. Just click on a topic for a list of links to sites and services. Descriptions are provided for each link, and sites with a five dog rating are not to be missed!

June 5, 2000—Backflip.com is for anyone who wants to keep track of favorite web sites. This online bookmark manager creates, personalizes, and organizes your own web site directory. Your private online archive is accessible from any computer at any time, and you never need to worry about losing bookmarks if your system crashes or if you change computers.

May 22, 2000— If you were a dog, what breed would you be? What does your handwriting reveal about you? Which celebrity is your perfect match? Find out the answers to these questions and more at emode.com. At emode you can test everything from your IQ to your luck in love. The more than 70 tests on this site are a fun way to learn about yourself.

May 15, 2000— Knowledge@Wharton is a resource created by the business minds at The University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. Read the latest research, interviews, and trends involving business ethics, operations management, human resources, finance and more. From brief summaries to academic papers, four levels of information let you explore topics in as little or as much depth as you wish. The Quick Search feature makes it easy to find what you're looking for.

May 8, 2000— eBoz.com offers articles, resources and tips on e-commerce, Internet marketing, web site design, and building a small to medium sized business online. Ask questions in their interactive forum, read Success Articles for inspiration, and follow links to other helpful sites.

May 1, 2000— Need to ship something? Over 500 customers use Electronic Freight Exchange at efxit.com. Visitors to this site can choose from a variety of carriers for both ground and air shipments. Vendor ratings and rate shopping are also offered to help shippers find cost effective and efficient carrier service.

Apr. 24, 2000— Those in search of the perfect domain name should visit the Domainator section of e-gineer.com. Just type in a word and the Domainator will check for availability, definition, trademarks, other languages, word combinations, and words that rhyme. After choosing a name, just add it to your shopping basket and register.

Apr. 12, 2000— If you want to shop online but aren't sure where to start, Gómez.com can help. Gómez.com rates e-commerce sites on customer service, security, value, ease of use and other factors. It even helps you find the Internet store that's best for you. Categories include home, health, travel, finance, and shopping. Browse before you buy.

Apr. 3, 2000— Ever had a sales disaster? You're not alone. Visit salesautopsy.com for a humorous look at sales gone bad. The Horror Story of the Week and obituaries of those who have crashed and burned will keep you laughing and remind you of what not to do when you need to make the sale.

Mar. 27, 2000— Need information? You'll find it at refdesk.com. Search encyclopedias, daily newspapers, almanacs, atlases, dictionaries, and much more. This well-ordered site should help you find your facts fast. Features like the Thought-of-the Day, and the Just For Fun and Help and Advice sections make this more than just an online library.

Mar. 20, 2000— The Motley Fool was founded on the principle that anyone—even a fool—can practice successful money management. A court jester theme and loads of information on stocks, portfolios, investments, and retirement, make this site worth a look.

Feb. 18, 2000— Northern Light, one of the best search engines on the Web, has a comprehensive e-commerce links page of news, information,and resources for all things e-commerce related, including government information and services, e-commerce organizations, technology sites and online publications.

Jan. 13, 2000—Yo! Couthen Up! Here's Etiquette by Emily Post, chapter by chapter, to add some civility to your life.

Jan. 6, 2000—This "gateway to human resource solutions" is like a Yahoo directory for your personnel department. Its tree structure of links and short descriptions is comprehensive.

Dec. 17, 1999—The Free Management Library isn't pretty to look at, but there are LOTS of links to articles on LOTS of management topics. The home page is a list of links to 68 topic categories. The Topic Index breaks down each category in more detail.

Dec. 3, 1999—The Ernst and Young Center for Business Innovation is full of research and reports on business practices. Surf around and you'll find something interesting.

Nov. 22, 1999—Compute the cost of a bad hire, compliments of Advantage Hiring Inc. of Pittsburgh, Pa.

Nov. 15, 1999—Business Resource Center is a collection of articles that provide advice and solutions.

October 28, 1999—Ready to build your web site? Got that domain name picked out? At Register.com you can see if your desired domain name is taken, and if so, who took it. If your desired name is not taken, you can register it on the spot. All you need is a credit card.

October 20, 1999—Teleworth provides a free comparison shopping service for long-distance telephone rates. The site also has other money-saving tips for phone service and information on avoiding telecom scams.

October 8, 1999—Onvia targets the small-businesses market - offering everything from long-distance phone plans, e-commerce services, office supplies, computers and more. It also has advice columns about marketing, finance and technology.

September 23, 1999—"There is one slot machine in Las Vegas for every eight inhabitants ... In 1950 at the Las Vegas Desert Inn, an anonymous sailor made 27 straight passes (wins) with the dice at craps. The odds against such a feat are 12,467,890 to 1. The dice today are enshrined in the hotel on a velvet pillow under glass." These tidbits of useless information—and thousands more that keep you from clicking away—can be found at Absolute Trivia.

September 17, 1999—QuoteSmith.com is a comparative insurance quote service that works with more than 300 insurance companies. Medical- and dental-policy quotes for small businesses are among the available offerings.

September 3, 1999—Small Business Taxes and Management provides tax news for small business.

August 27, 1999—Webmonkey—An E-commerce tutorial from the people at Hotwired.

August 5, 1999—CCH Business Owner’s Toolkit includes search tools for trademarks, patents, copyrights, company profiles, business-related government policies and international trade regulations. It also sells finance, marketing, personnel and information technology services.

July 30, 1999—If you're a roadwarrior, this site's for you: Free personal 800 number, email, voicemail and fax service, plus calendar, address book, file storage and the ability to link members of your group. It's all free. Visit uReach.com.

July 23, 1999—Go to Neat Net Tricks and move your cursor over the welcome sign. If you say to yourself "pretty neat," you'll find lots more to explore.

July 16, 1999—The average annual pay of all workers covered by state and federal unemployment insurance (UI) programs was $30,336 in 1997, a 4.8 percent gain over the 1996 national average, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. You can learn this and more, including state by state breakdowns.

July 9, 1999—BusinessFinance.com has online tools for finding capital, leases and other forms of financing and credit. It also has resources for matching venture capital firms with companies that need funding.

July 1, 1999—Nolo.com provides legal advice for small businesses. Topics covered include descriptions of different types of corporate and nonprofit entities, start-up considerations, tax matters and human-resource issues.

June 24, 1999—Want to know your SIC code? Go to this site, part of OSHA, which is part of the U.S. Department of Labor, and find out.

June 17, 1999—At LawGuru.com you can access legal search engines and a database of legal questions and answers, FAQs on various legal issues, the Internet Law Library and more.

June 10, 1999—About.com's Urban Legends and Folklore subsection — Net Hoaxes, Urban Legends, and other digital lies will save you time and angst. Is Procter & Gamble run by Satanists? Will the U.S. Postal Service tax email? These questions and many more are categorized for your edification as hoaxes, urban legends, rumors or just plain "junk."

June 2, 1999—The Census Bureau's American FactFinder provides census data on communities, businesses, congressional districts and more, complete with tables, maps and other tools.

May 19, 1999—Have a professional web mechanic tune up your web site at Web Site Garage. Run diagnostics, tune up the speed of your graphic downloads and more.

May 11, 1999—Free... Legal... Information on the companies you select. You do have to register for the free service. Visit Company Sleuth.

May 3, 1999—Receive faxes—via email—for free. Here's a page that will answer your questions about efax.com.

April 22, 1999—The Law. Whether it's Y2K, the Internet or selling your business, law.com is a portal site for all things legal. There are consumer and business law guides that are customizable for your region or city, listings of courts, law enforcement agencies and lots more.

April 15, 1999—Business Week's new "e-biz" site focuses on—what else?—business on the Internet. The daily features are solid, plus there are links to e-commerce stories from c|net and lots of other related content from regular BW issues.

April 8, 1999—"So you want to sell your product online and get a piece of that multibillion dollar marketplace you've read about? Well, before your customers can point, click, and buy, you need to do a little research." That's how the five-lesson e-commerce tutorial begins at Hotwired's site. To take the tutorial, click here.

March 24, 1999—Here's a web-based sales management/contact management program—and it's free for the asking (on CD) or by download. Visit Siebel Sales.

March 9, 1999—Your Daytimer on the web—personal, private and customizable in a variety of ways.

March 2, 1999—At Sell It On the Web, you'll find the basics about (surprise!) selling on the web, including links to credit card companies, articles about merchant accounts and more.

February 18, 1999—Get important tax information at the IRS web site. April 15 is not far off.

February 11, 1999—Staples is considered the premier office products e-commerce site.

January 28, 1999—Search and view patent documents from the U.S. and Europe on The Intellectual Property Network.

January 15, 1999—Find answers to your questions fast and easy with Ask Jeeves, a search engine you can use by typing plain English questions.

January 5, 1999—Get the latest Tech Review, check out the Biz Guide, read the latest Cyberschmooze, and more at Idea Cafe for small business owners!

November 20, 1998—Entrepreneurs: Check