Alliance means easier access for members
StartupNetwork.com, the first human capital network for high tech startups, announced last week that OneCore has joined its Community Sponsorship Program. Under the terms of the co-marketing agreement, StartupNetwork.com’s members will gain easier access to OneCore’s suite of easy-to-use, Web-based financial services, and OneCore will also sponsor a special promotion to new and existing StartupNetwork.com members that gives a $100 rebate on a member-selected financial service. Plans are also under way to offer the services in a more integrated manner, to allow OneCore’s members to reap the benefits of StartupNetwork.com’s network.
StartupNetwork.com is the first human capital network for business and technology professionals who want to be the lead entrepreneur, senior management team member of, or advisor to high tech startups. The network also provides job seekers to secure mid-level management and technical positions with high tech, pre-IPO companies.
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Small firms slow to hop e-commerce bandwagon
E-commerce has been called the wave of the future – but for now, most small business owners aren’t taking the plunge.
A new study from the NFIB Education Foundation found that while four out of five (83 percent) small firms are computerized, less than two-thirds (62 percent) use the Internet for either personal or business purposes. Even fewer, only one in six (16 percent) have a formal presence on the Internet through a Web site.
The study also found that less than half (45 percent) of small firms with a Web site use it to sell goods or services over the Internet and that only about 7 percent of America’s small businesses are actively trying to market over the Internet.
The report also suggests most small business owners harbor reservations, if not outright distrust, of e-commerce in general. Major concerns include the possibility of credit card fraud, legitimacy of other firms seeking sales over the Internet and the inability to check out a product or service before buying it.
The NFIB Foundation is the research and education arm of the National Federation of Independent Business, the nation’s largest small business advocacy group.
To receive the full study of “NFIB Internet Study: E-Commerce” via e-mail, write jim.weidman@nfib.org. Hard copies are available from lara.chamberlain@nfib.org or (202) 554-9000.
Context Media signs on to Broadband
Context Media, Inc., providers of applications and services for the creation, management and distribution of multimedia content, announced last week it is among the first companies to join the Broadband Content Delivery Forum, an organization designed to bring together experts in the field working to advance the adoption of broadband services and technologies.
Since a critical piece of the company’s strategy is to align itself with key standards bodies that will influence its target market, the company views the BCDF as an important organization to accelerate the use of broadband in the market.
By joining the BCDF Context Media is joining the ranks of companies such as Nortel Networks, Sun Microsystems and Akamai. The BCDF met last week in Boston.
The BCDF is open to and solicits memberships from the entire broadband value chain to address the critical business issues of the entire industry. Members include wholesale access providers, service providers and content providers. For more information, visit www.bcdforum.org
Verizon launches ‘Cyber-Foundation’
The newly created Verizon Foundation hopes to use technology and innovative e-solutions to help transform the nonprofit community. The foundation is the philanthropic arm of Verizon Communications, the telecommunications company that formed June 30 through the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE.
This year, Verizon Foundation and its predecessor, Bell Atlantic and GTE Foundations, will provide grants totaling $70 million, placing the foundation among the nation’s top 10 corporate foundations in monies distributed annually.
”We intend to focus on information technology since we believe it is an important tool in enhancing programs, services, operations and communications for the nonprofit community,” said Suzanne, DuBose, president of the Verizon Foundation.
While grants are highly competitive, DuBose said that eligible nonprofits also will be able to apply online for in-kind donations, volunteers, Internet training and Web hosting services. “The use and integration of technology in support of educational initiatives, particularly in the areas of literacy, mathematics and science, is a top priority for our new foundation,” DuBose said.
The foundation’s Web site, www.verizon.com/foundation, is bilingual (English and Spanish) and provides information on e-training and e-partners, a series of “best-in-class” technology success stories and a comprehensive technology resource guide with links to more than 350 online resources supporting technology applications. Links to other Web portals will address issues such as the digital divide and illiteracy.
The Web site also includes grant guidelines, an online grant eligibility quiz and a technology needs assessment section to help nonprofits in applying for grants online, which is the only way applications may be submitted.
