Google is under attack, but stays calm in the midst of multiple allegations against their Web search services and influence over Android. The Federal Trade Commission along with several state attorneys general have been pushing forward with an investigation of Google’s control over Android’s operating system. Canalys, a company that provides research data, has stated that Android currently leads close to half of new smartphones shipped worldwide in the second quarter of this year.

After serving Google with several extensive subpoenas, the FTC continues to investigate whether the report that Google is preventing Android manufacturers from using other competitor services, is true. Google denies all allegations against them, assuring that none of their practices are unfair or illegal. Google believes that the recent increase in antitrust investigations has been a result of rival competitors who have been affected by Google’s aggressive push toward new business sectors.

In a private lawsuit against Google, the Boston-based company Skyhook Wireless Inc. has tried to prove Google otherwise. Skyhook claimed that Google was using its large market share to pressure smartphone manufacturers to drop Skyhook’s location-sensing technology in exchange for Google’s own competing service. Google replied stating that Skyhook’s allegations were unsupported.

Yelp is among other business-review sites that also agree to disagree with Google’s impartial statement, accusing Google of stealing content from their sites and posting it in the Google’s “Places” service. But so far the FTC has not proven Google guilty, and will not for a while since they are just starting an extensive investigation process that can last up to a year or longer. With several civil subpoenas being readied to send out to other parties in request of evidence against Google, the FTC is one step closer to solving the Google problem.

Simply deleting extra data fields on your website can potentially save you millions, as shown in the article “Expedia on How One Extra Data Field Can Cost $12 M“. Expedia utilizes SAS® predictive analytics, which helps them understand their customer base statistically, based on web traffic and user behavior. They realized from studying this data, they they needed to eliminate ambiguous data on their online form  that was misguiding their customers away from their product.

Expedia realized customers were inputting their bank name in the optional ‘Company’ field and proceeded to enter their bank address instead of their home address in the subsequent field. This was preventing the credit card verification process and consequently driving customers away. By simply removing one misguiding data field, an immediate improvement was noticed resulting in a $12 million profit per year.

We can all learn from this example.  It is essential that the direction on your website is efficient for the average online user. Remember that people do not want to spend extraneous time on a website if they don’t need to.   The information you provide on online forms  must be straightforward and free of misunderstandings. Analytics can only obtain so much information about online users. One way to completely understand your website users’ behavior  is to  physically observe them navigating the website and note their confusions.

According to SAS analytics (http://www.sas.com/success/expedia.html), Expedia applies their resources in three ways: inventory selection optimization, website design and fraud reduction. Each facet of SAS analytics observes data in order to learn and optimize on previous customer behavior. These data collections ultimately prevent issues like credit card fraud and help interpret data that will be useful to a specific customer.

Although the primary purpose of using analytics is not eliminating problems such as these, it has proven to be useful in removing glitches to optimize a website’s performance. Analytics only provides statistical information which is why it is crucial to understand your customer in order to make your website as efficient as possible. Who knows, maybe removing a couple of optional fields on your website’s  online form could result in similar benefits.

So you have a new online business and want to get it up and running. As we all know, money is scarce and both VC’s and Angels have tightened their belts. Angel investors are trying to stay a bit more liquid and really looking hard for the right investment. Often times they are looking for proprietary technology rather than service based businesses. The problem with that as an entrepreneur with a new company is that its take time and money to develop proprietary technology. So how does someone with a new start-up tackle the challenges and stresses of bootstrapping?

These economic times are going to forge smart, savvy, and tough minded business people because we will all be forced to make hard decisions and in the long wrong might be better off for it. Not getting those much needed investments can often turn out to be a blessing in disguise. You will be forced to work hard, keep your company lean and mean, and focus on your core initiatives.

Step 1: At first, focus on cash flow rather than profitability (this will quickly change of course and profitability will be your life line). The reason for this is that you will have expenses and your own bills to pay (need cash to pay them). Keep your overhead as low as possible and pay your bills on time.

Step 2: Forecast from the bottom up not the top down. In so many business plans you see people making projections based on the percentage of the market they plan to capture…usually it is the standard 1% to 5% depending on the industry. Rather than make these estimates, keep it more simple. By focusing from the bottom up you can project the productivity of your team, the ability to sell a certain amount of your product or service each month, and the growth plan for each component.

Step 3: Hire people you can actually afford. It may not be the time to go out and build your dream team. This can lead to a massive payroll expense and overstaffing issues. You will end up having a bunch of high paid people sitting around doing nothing. Make your team building strategy gradual and understaff if you can. This will lead to each team member having to work a little harder but so what…thats part of the start-up experience right? Once you hit a threshold where you think quality might start to suffer, go hire another person.

Step 4: Make good hiring decisions. You can’t afford to waste money on people that will not produce for you. Have a formal hiring process even for your lowest level positions and call references given. At the end of the day though you have to go with your gut feeling. I have hired people who I knew would be great even though one of the references was not that great. It turned out to be one of the best decisions we have made.

Step 5: As mentioned above, even if you plan to develop proprietary technology, you may not have the resources to start with this at the beginning. This will take time and significant resources. Have a service you can sell that will build a client base and get your name out there. This can include providing consulting services related your industry and future proprietary offerings.

Step 6: Don’t spread yourself thin. Focus on your core competencies and internal processes. The more formal your internal process is, the more scalability your model will have.

Step 7: Keep your eye on the competition and have a value proposition that differentiates you from the existing competition. Be ready to answer the question, “Well ABC Company has been around ten years and has a similar pricing model…why should we use you”. The answer can of course include more customer attention, better quality, a unique approach, a niche focus, etc.

Step 8: Accurately project your cash flow. Now how much cash you have; and if you are running negative, by how much? What is your burn rate and how can you decrease/slow the bleed?

Step 9: Have a cost effective Internet marketing strategy in place that will help bring you new business. If you can invest in SEO then my suggestion is to never wait. Creative social media marketing can also be a great way to drive some awareness to your new online business.

Follow some of these basic steps and you will be able to focus on growing your business rather than constantly worrying about investors that aren’t calling you back. In the long run, you will make better decisions and still have controlling ownership of your company!

The next evolution of has occurred this month as University of Wisconsin-Madison biomedical engineering doctoral student, Adam Wilson, posted a Twitter status update just by thinking about it.

This application would be useful by those suffering ALS, spinal cord injuries, or brain-stem strokes who are unable to communicate verbally or by typing.

The interface as it stands now registers brain activity when viewing a keyboard displayed on the screen.

The process is similar to early phone texting as the system redundantly confirms via your brain signals which letter you absolutely want inputted on the screen, thus taking quite a while for a message to complete.

Adam told the Wisconsin Technology Network that he has seen people accomplish up to 8 characters a minute, thus a 140 character Twitter tweet by twinking would take over 15 minutes to complete.

Research scientist Gerwin Schalk states, “This is one of the first – and perhaps most useful – integrations of brain-computer interface techniques with Internet technologies to date.”

So now people can really know what you are tWinking.

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For all of you out there running or managing an Internet marketing company, I wanted to discuss some great leadership strategies to keep your company dynamic, skillful, and growing.  With the economy the way it is, most companies have made serious strategic shifts in the way they market, plan, budget, hire, and forecast.  Putting the financial aspects aside I wanted to talk about internal leadership responsibilities that will ensure clear communication, effective chain of command dynamics, and thorough processes.

Hiring:  It is actually a great time to hire right now as the job market is full of talented prospects seeking employment.  Consider hiring people part time (hourly) or as freelancers to fill positions where you can’t afford salaries.  You definitely need to watch payroll expenses but without a talented team of experts, your Internet marketing company may not produce the results that clients are expecting.  Take advantage of the economy.  Local competitors might be downsizing and you can pick up talented designers, SEO engineers and project managers seeking a new home. 

Training:  A good leader will ensure that the staff has sufficient training on a regular basis to keep things fresh and ensure that the team is constantly learning.  The Internet marketing industry is where this is probably most important.  As algorithms change, strategies change.  New SEO and social media opportunities are always developing and your team must be on top of the latest and greatest in the industry.  Hold weekly training sessions with the team, choose a topic and prepare for the session.  Everyone should attend including CEO’s and top executives (and not be typing away on Blackberry’s and iPhones).  Start the training on time and end it on time.

Chain of Command:  This is very important and everyone must understand not only their responsibilities but those of the people above and below them.  The cleared this is and the more it is followed, the more efficient your team will be. 

Management Team:  Communication within the top executives should be consistent and frequent.  Monday meetings to prepare for the week and tie up loose ends from the previous week are a great way to get started.  Friday meetings are also encouraged but for a different reason.  It is good for the top managers to have their own strategy, planning, and innovation sessions so they can always be discussing how to improve.  Keep these short (15 minutes to 30 minutes)

CEOs, Presidents, Managers – Here are some qualities that are imperative for strong leadership:

• Lead by example – don’t ask your team members to do things you are not willing to do yourself
• Get to the office first and stay late when the opportunity arises
• Have integrity, humility, and own the ability to lead and inspire as well as listen and follow
• Reward greatness publicly – show your superstars that you personnaly recognize their efforts
• Be a decision maker and always execute
• Be organized
• Always execute

Sales solves everything:  If you can’t sell your service or product it is not a service or product.  You must always be selling.  This includes CEO’s and top executives.  In my opinion CEO’s and top level execs should bring in the most business of anyone.  Have a consistent sales process, have good collateral material to send out, and educate clients.  Don’t be afraid of giving away the secret sauce.  People appreciate transparency.  The more you earn their trust, the more likely they will be to use you.

An Internet marketing company is just like any other company and all the same rules apply.  Good leadership will infect your people and inspire them to be great and do what needs to be done because they WANT to do it.

In the words of the great general Sun Tzu:

“Weak leadership will destroy the finest strategy, while forceful execution of even a poor strategy can often bring victory.”

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Who knows where that quote is from?  That’s right…Andy Dufresne from “Shawshank Redemption” said those wise words before deciding once and for all to take his future into his own hands and refuse to lay down and die.  I know we have all heard plenty about the economy, but it is important for everyone to now focus on the future.  2009 will be the year that separates the real entrepreneurs from the fake ones.  Many of the most successful people in the world have been through more than one recession, failure, etc.  Failure is the precursor to success!

Bascially, what I am saying is that it is gut check time for many companies.  Most newer companies have never lived through a recession so there will be new and scary realities to face.  The businesses that are just “playing” the fast-growing start up game will not make it.  The ones that are ready to buckle down and make tough decisions have a great chance at earning some serious battle scars and coming out of this on the other end tougher, wiser, and with the foundation for future greatness. 

Some of these realities are:

Its time to get lean and mean:  Keep in mind this does not mean laying people off.  Your best investment right now is in your team…without them you can’t perform and you can’t service your clients.  Try getting creative with cutting your expenses.  You will be amazed at how many expenses you have that are not necessary.  Once you cut them and nothing bad happens, you will be better off!

Look at the numbers:  Understand your books and know how much money you are burning and how long you have to “live”.  Understanding this will help you discover how to lengthen your lifespan and in the meantime creatively improve revenue and profit.

Shift budgets so they focus on revenue generating assets:  Review every expense you have and cut things that are not measurable and that are not directly helping you sustain.  I am trying to be non-biased but this can mean shifting marketing dollars to cost effective channels like Internet marketing.  Not all aspects of Internet marketing are necessarily appropriate for each business but there are usually two or three channels that can be combined to drive revenue.

The bottom line is that it is time to make changes and thing strategically about what this year will mean for your business.  You might find that it is a great time to gain incredible market share.  Online marketing can be a great way to cost effectively build your brand and stay within your tight budgets.  The revenue you generate can be rolled into more growth.  If you act now and think about the next 10 to 12 months, you might be pleasantly surprised when 2010 roles around and you have actually grown…or at least sustained.  Flat is the new up!  So embrace it if you must.