Making Money Web

This post originally appeared on Forbes.com, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about social media, business and technology.

Why do web startups raise money? And how? These are two questions that account for a huge corpus of tech and financial discussion. Despite the complexity involved in these questions, their answers can be condensed into an eight-word statement: Someone somewhere thought he’d make his money back.

If you consider a few notable fundraising efforts from popular web startups, you begin to see how this aforementioned hypothetical “someone” might think his investment would be prudent and even profitable. Here are five popular web startups we’ve seen raising large amounts of money since the 2008 downturn, and a quick look at how they were able to do so.

1. Groupon

Groupon offers daily discounts for local businesses; these coupons can be redeemed only when a significant number of people choose to use them. For example, Groupon recently partnered with Gap to offer shoppers $50 worth of clothing and accessories for $25.

While daily deals and critical-mass coupons are fine and dandy for retailers and consumers, Groupon also takes its cut. The company usually keeps half of the coupon price and is expected to report $400 million in revenue for 2010.

Groupon has brought in increasing interest from investors. Since its relatively modest $1 million angel round in 2007, this startup has gone on to garner a total of $173 million over the past three years, the vast majority of which was raised after the 2008 economic crash. After collecting $6.8 million during its Series A round of funding, Groupon managed to bring in $30 million during its Series B round in December 2009, which was led by Accel Partners. Its headline-making $135 million Series C was led by Digital Sky Technologies, the famous investors behind Zynga and class='blippr-nobr'>Facebookclass="blippr-nobr">Facebook.

Without question, having a revenue stream as a core part of the company’s main product is a popular feature (with VCs) of funded startups. Groupon has that covered. Aside from the value the product offers, at scale, it also is intended to generate massive amounts of revenue. Unlike some social networking apps that require partnerships and advertising dollars to support an unrelated product for end users, generating revenue is Groupon’s most basic function.

2. Zynga

Zynga, creator of popular casual games, including FarmVille and Mafia Wars, boasts a revenue model based on small end-user transactions in virtual currency, which users spend on virtual goods. Zynga has proved that microtransactions at the scale of Facebook’s platform are big business worth serious investment.

Despite violating a core tenet of web startup wisdom: Never build your business on someone else’s platform, Zynga has racked up huge rounds and equally huge valuations. All told, Zynga has taken $519 million in funding, the bulk of which was raised after December 2009. In that month, the company closed a $180 million Series C from such firms as Andreessen Horowitz, Digital Sky and others. And in June 2010, Zynga took a $300 million Series D from class='blippr-nobr'>Googleclass="blippr-nobr">Google and SoftBank. With more than 56 million Americans playing social games, it’s no wonder why investors are putting down serious money in this industry.

3. Twitterclass="blippr-nobr">Twitter

Since its launch in 2006, micro-blogging service Twitter has become a social media darling, raising a total of $160 million since its 2007 Series A. The company raised $135 million over two rounds in 2009 from such firms as Benchmark, Morgan Stanley, Union Square and others.

Notably, all this money was raised before Twitter had found any significant source of revenue. This fact bucks a major trend in investment (that VCs like to see clear revenue stream before investing), but Twitter pulled it off because of one major factor: People.

Not only was the service growing exponentially, but it also had the endorsement (and daily usage) of pop culture celebrities such as Ashton Kutcher and Justin Timberlake. But nothing topped Twitter’s Oprah appearance, a watershed moment that brought a deluge of mainstream attention and a glut of new users.

Between the escalating adoption and increasing media attention, Twitter has become an opportunity investors can’t turn down.

4. Asana

Facebook Co-Founder Dustin Moscovitz and Facebook engineering lead Justin Rosenstein teamed up after leaving Facebook to found Asana, a startup that is reportedly building project management software. It is still in early development and hasn’t launched a product yet. This is one case where the product is presumed to be a sure bet because of the past experience and intellectual caliber of its creators.

Sometimes, a startup can raise money with nothing but pure pedigree. When a handful of big tech company engineers leave the mothership to found a startup, as happens in Silicon Valley from time to time, they can often drum up a round of funding before pencil meets paper.

Over seven months in 2009, the team was able to raise $10.2 million in two rounds of funding. In this case, investors are banking on Moscovitz’s and Rosenstein’s past successes. In a way, it’s as if they are investing in Beethoven’s next symphony or Van Gogh’s next canvas (i.e. the next Facebook).

5. Ustreamclass="blippr-nobr">ustream

Finally, there’s Ustream, a live interactive broadcast platform, which raised an impressive $75 million round of funding earlier this year from SoftBank. Previously, the startup had brought in nearly $13 million between a small 2007 seed round and a 2008 Series A. That’s a huge jump.

Despite a range of competitors in the online video world, including class='blippr-nobr'>YouTubeclass="blippr-nobr">YouTube, Ustream has made its mark on the live video market. Ustream has demonstrated mass-scale success in this arena by brokering deals to show live online footage of red carpet events, celebrity press conferences and even the 2008 Presidential Inauguration.

While challenging an industry leader like YouTube isn’t usually a prudent path to funding, doing so successfully through innovative technologies and user acquisition strategies can pay off.

More Business Resources from Mashable:

- 10 Emerging Social Platforms and How Businesses Can Use Them/> - 10 Free WordPress Themes for Small Businesses/> - The Future of Ad Agencies and Social Media/> - HOW TO: Run Your Business Online with $10 and a Google Account/> - 5 New Ways Small Business Can Offer Location-Based Deals

Image courtesy of iStockphotoclass="blippr-nobr">iStockphoto, Sage78

For more Business coverage:

class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Businessclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Business channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

Fundraising is a key component for most social good campaigns and projects. Thanks to the the Internet and the social web, raising money for a non-profit, community project or charitable organization or relief effort is easier than ever before.

The web makes it possible to get your message across and collect money from people all over the world and to include your social graph in the process.

If you have an idea or a cause that you want to bring awareness to and raise funds around, there are lots of great online tools to help get you started. Whether you want to raise money for a local community center or help fundraise as part of a broader social good campaign, these tools make it easy to get the word out and collect the funds you need./> id="more-380180">

1. FirstGiving

The U.S. subsidiary of JustGiving.com, FirstGiving lets users raise money for any non-profit in the GuideStar database.

It’s free to create a basic account, but if you pay $300 you can fully customize your donations page and link them back to your own website. FirstGiving lets you create fundraising around upcoming events, marathons and walk-a-thons too, which is a nice touch. The processing fee for donation is 5% plus another 2% for credit card transactions.

2. Crowdrise

We mentioned Crowdrise in a recent post about alternatives to Facebook Causes and it is a great tool for both charities and general purpose fundraisers.

Once you start a project, you can share your project’s link via Facebookclass="blippr-nobr">Facebook, Twitterclass="blippr-nobr">Twitter and e-mail. You can also earn points from the community based on your project and your overall campaign. Crowdrise also has an ongoing series of promotions and sweepstakes that you can add to your project to sweeten the incentive to give.

3. Kickstarter

Kickstarter is most often used by aspiring creatives to fund projects but it can also be used for great effect for local social good community efforts.

Kickstarter is unique in that if your goal amount isn’t reached, none of the money is collected. This “all-or-nothing” approach often leads to Kickstarter campaigns being more active and more involved than a traditional “donate widget.”

A great part of Kickstarter for the social fund creator is the ability to reward donors at certain levels. Much like PBS and NPR offer trinkets if you give a certain amount, Kickstarter lets its project creators do the same thing. You can get really creative with your different donor levels to drive people to give more.

4. WhatGives

WhatGives offers a great widget you can use on Facebook or on your personal webpage to collect donations for your non-profit. WhatGives is nice because aside from integrating well with Facebook, all donations are handled through PayPal.

You need to be a registered non-profit with an approved PayPal account, and all donations are channeled directly into that account. You can customize the platform and embed it as a Facebook app or on your blog or website.

5. Change.org

Change.org lets users create programs to generate actions from others. This can be as simple as signing a petition or writing a letter, or as generous as donating money. For non-profits in the GuideStar database, you can create your own donation pages to collect funds and also draw attention to other action items.

Change.org is very focused on making it easy to virally spread a message, and the site itself also acts as a portal to different organizations and awareness campaigns.

6. Chipin

Chipin is one of the most popular donation widget tools on the web and it’s a great way to collect money for a good cause. We love the Chipin widget because you can see instant progress on donations, and it accepts many forms of payment.

Unlike many of the services on this list, Chipin isn’t just for non-profits or community organizations. You can use it for any project you want.

7. Razoo

Razoo has options for individuals, non-profits, foundations and corporations to raise money for their causes. Individuals can choose to create a fundraising page for any registered non-profit that Razoo recognizes (they have a database of about a million) and non-profits can create custom pages for their organizations and connect with supporters and encourage them to create their own fundraising pages.

What we love about Razoo, in addition to its simple interface and great UI, is that it also offers donation matching for corporations or foundations looking for an easy way to raise money.

8. Convio

Convio offers software for online fundraising and membership, and while its target audience is probably bigger groups or organizations, it’s still worth a look.

For example, Convio’s TeamRaiser lets organizations make it easy for volunteers to create their own websites for tracking and attracting donations.

If you’re organizing a social good fund for a big charity walk or event where volunteers go door-to-door to get donations, check out Convio because it makes managing that process much easier.

9. Facebook Causes

Causes is an increasingly common way for individuals to raise money and start their own funds that are tied to a non-profit. Because Causes is so well-integrated into Facebook, it makes getting the word out and raising awareness and funds for your cause that much simpler.

10. StayClassy

A newer player in the arena of online giving, San Diego’s StayClassy is focused not just on helping non-profits collect donations online, but also manage events and campaigns, track their fundraising results and plug-in.

The world of online fundraising is vast and diverse. What tools have you used when starting your own social good funds? Let us know in the comments.

Brought to you by the class='blippr-nobr'>Mashableclass="blippr-nobr">Mashable & 92Y Social Good Summit

This post was brought to you by the groundbreaking Social Good Summit. On September 20, as global leaders head to New York for United Nations Week — including a historic summit on global issues known as the “Millennium Development Goals” (MDGs) and the annual General Assembly — Mashable, 92nd Street Y and the UN Foundation will bring together leaders from the digital industry, policy and media worlds to focus on how technology and social networks can play a leading role in addressing the world’s most intractable problems.

Date: Monday, September 20, 2010/> Time: 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. ET/> Location: 92nd Street Y, New York City/> Tickets: On sale through Eventbrite

/>

Image courtesy of iStockphotoclass="blippr-nobr">iStockphoto, PinkTag

For more Social Good coverage:

class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Social Goodclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Social Good channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

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Obama Calls Fox <b>News</b> a `Destructive&#39; Channel - NYTimes.com

The president tells Rolling Stone that Fox News promotes a point of view that is "destructive" to the growth of the United States.

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This post originally appeared on Forbes.com, where Mashable regularly contributes articles about social media, business and technology.

Why do web startups raise money? And how? These are two questions that account for a huge corpus of tech and financial discussion. Despite the complexity involved in these questions, their answers can be condensed into an eight-word statement: Someone somewhere thought he’d make his money back.

If you consider a few notable fundraising efforts from popular web startups, you begin to see how this aforementioned hypothetical “someone” might think his investment would be prudent and even profitable. Here are five popular web startups we’ve seen raising large amounts of money since the 2008 downturn, and a quick look at how they were able to do so.

1. Groupon

Groupon offers daily discounts for local businesses; these coupons can be redeemed only when a significant number of people choose to use them. For example, Groupon recently partnered with Gap to offer shoppers $50 worth of clothing and accessories for $25.

While daily deals and critical-mass coupons are fine and dandy for retailers and consumers, Groupon also takes its cut. The company usually keeps half of the coupon price and is expected to report $400 million in revenue for 2010.

Groupon has brought in increasing interest from investors. Since its relatively modest $1 million angel round in 2007, this startup has gone on to garner a total of $173 million over the past three years, the vast majority of which was raised after the 2008 economic crash. After collecting $6.8 million during its Series A round of funding, Groupon managed to bring in $30 million during its Series B round in December 2009, which was led by Accel Partners. Its headline-making $135 million Series C was led by Digital Sky Technologies, the famous investors behind Zynga and class='blippr-nobr'>Facebookclass="blippr-nobr">Facebook.

Without question, having a revenue stream as a core part of the company’s main product is a popular feature (with VCs) of funded startups. Groupon has that covered. Aside from the value the product offers, at scale, it also is intended to generate massive amounts of revenue. Unlike some social networking apps that require partnerships and advertising dollars to support an unrelated product for end users, generating revenue is Groupon’s most basic function.

2. Zynga

Zynga, creator of popular casual games, including FarmVille and Mafia Wars, boasts a revenue model based on small end-user transactions in virtual currency, which users spend on virtual goods. Zynga has proved that microtransactions at the scale of Facebook’s platform are big business worth serious investment.

Despite violating a core tenet of web startup wisdom: Never build your business on someone else’s platform, Zynga has racked up huge rounds and equally huge valuations. All told, Zynga has taken $519 million in funding, the bulk of which was raised after December 2009. In that month, the company closed a $180 million Series C from such firms as Andreessen Horowitz, Digital Sky and others. And in June 2010, Zynga took a $300 million Series D from class='blippr-nobr'>Googleclass="blippr-nobr">Google and SoftBank. With more than 56 million Americans playing social games, it’s no wonder why investors are putting down serious money in this industry.

3. Twitterclass="blippr-nobr">Twitter

Since its launch in 2006, micro-blogging service Twitter has become a social media darling, raising a total of $160 million since its 2007 Series A. The company raised $135 million over two rounds in 2009 from such firms as Benchmark, Morgan Stanley, Union Square and others.

Notably, all this money was raised before Twitter had found any significant source of revenue. This fact bucks a major trend in investment (that VCs like to see clear revenue stream before investing), but Twitter pulled it off because of one major factor: People.

Not only was the service growing exponentially, but it also had the endorsement (and daily usage) of pop culture celebrities such as Ashton Kutcher and Justin Timberlake. But nothing topped Twitter’s Oprah appearance, a watershed moment that brought a deluge of mainstream attention and a glut of new users.

Between the escalating adoption and increasing media attention, Twitter has become an opportunity investors can’t turn down.

4. Asana

Facebook Co-Founder Dustin Moscovitz and Facebook engineering lead Justin Rosenstein teamed up after leaving Facebook to found Asana, a startup that is reportedly building project management software. It is still in early development and hasn’t launched a product yet. This is one case where the product is presumed to be a sure bet because of the past experience and intellectual caliber of its creators.

Sometimes, a startup can raise money with nothing but pure pedigree. When a handful of big tech company engineers leave the mothership to found a startup, as happens in Silicon Valley from time to time, they can often drum up a round of funding before pencil meets paper.

Over seven months in 2009, the team was able to raise $10.2 million in two rounds of funding. In this case, investors are banking on Moscovitz’s and Rosenstein’s past successes. In a way, it’s as if they are investing in Beethoven’s next symphony or Van Gogh’s next canvas (i.e. the next Facebook).

5. Ustreamclass="blippr-nobr">ustream

Finally, there’s Ustream, a live interactive broadcast platform, which raised an impressive $75 million round of funding earlier this year from SoftBank. Previously, the startup had brought in nearly $13 million between a small 2007 seed round and a 2008 Series A. That’s a huge jump.

Despite a range of competitors in the online video world, including class='blippr-nobr'>YouTubeclass="blippr-nobr">YouTube, Ustream has made its mark on the live video market. Ustream has demonstrated mass-scale success in this arena by brokering deals to show live online footage of red carpet events, celebrity press conferences and even the 2008 Presidential Inauguration.

While challenging an industry leader like YouTube isn’t usually a prudent path to funding, doing so successfully through innovative technologies and user acquisition strategies can pay off.

More Business Resources from Mashable:

- 10 Emerging Social Platforms and How Businesses Can Use Them/> - 10 Free WordPress Themes for Small Businesses/> - The Future of Ad Agencies and Social Media/> - HOW TO: Run Your Business Online with $10 and a Google Account/> - 5 New Ways Small Business Can Offer Location-Based Deals

Image courtesy of iStockphotoclass="blippr-nobr">iStockphoto, Sage78

For more Business coverage:

class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Businessclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Business channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

Fundraising is a key component for most social good campaigns and projects. Thanks to the the Internet and the social web, raising money for a non-profit, community project or charitable organization or relief effort is easier than ever before.

The web makes it possible to get your message across and collect money from people all over the world and to include your social graph in the process.

If you have an idea or a cause that you want to bring awareness to and raise funds around, there are lots of great online tools to help get you started. Whether you want to raise money for a local community center or help fundraise as part of a broader social good campaign, these tools make it easy to get the word out and collect the funds you need./> id="more-380180">

1. FirstGiving

The U.S. subsidiary of JustGiving.com, FirstGiving lets users raise money for any non-profit in the GuideStar database.

It’s free to create a basic account, but if you pay $300 you can fully customize your donations page and link them back to your own website. FirstGiving lets you create fundraising around upcoming events, marathons and walk-a-thons too, which is a nice touch. The processing fee for donation is 5% plus another 2% for credit card transactions.

2. Crowdrise

We mentioned Crowdrise in a recent post about alternatives to Facebook Causes and it is a great tool for both charities and general purpose fundraisers.

Once you start a project, you can share your project’s link via Facebookclass="blippr-nobr">Facebook, Twitterclass="blippr-nobr">Twitter and e-mail. You can also earn points from the community based on your project and your overall campaign. Crowdrise also has an ongoing series of promotions and sweepstakes that you can add to your project to sweeten the incentive to give.

3. Kickstarter

Kickstarter is most often used by aspiring creatives to fund projects but it can also be used for great effect for local social good community efforts.

Kickstarter is unique in that if your goal amount isn’t reached, none of the money is collected. This “all-or-nothing” approach often leads to Kickstarter campaigns being more active and more involved than a traditional “donate widget.”

A great part of Kickstarter for the social fund creator is the ability to reward donors at certain levels. Much like PBS and NPR offer trinkets if you give a certain amount, Kickstarter lets its project creators do the same thing. You can get really creative with your different donor levels to drive people to give more.

4. WhatGives

WhatGives offers a great widget you can use on Facebook or on your personal webpage to collect donations for your non-profit. WhatGives is nice because aside from integrating well with Facebook, all donations are handled through PayPal.

You need to be a registered non-profit with an approved PayPal account, and all donations are channeled directly into that account. You can customize the platform and embed it as a Facebook app or on your blog or website.

5. Change.org

Change.org lets users create programs to generate actions from others. This can be as simple as signing a petition or writing a letter, or as generous as donating money. For non-profits in the GuideStar database, you can create your own donation pages to collect funds and also draw attention to other action items.

Change.org is very focused on making it easy to virally spread a message, and the site itself also acts as a portal to different organizations and awareness campaigns.

6. Chipin

Chipin is one of the most popular donation widget tools on the web and it’s a great way to collect money for a good cause. We love the Chipin widget because you can see instant progress on donations, and it accepts many forms of payment.

Unlike many of the services on this list, Chipin isn’t just for non-profits or community organizations. You can use it for any project you want.

7. Razoo

Razoo has options for individuals, non-profits, foundations and corporations to raise money for their causes. Individuals can choose to create a fundraising page for any registered non-profit that Razoo recognizes (they have a database of about a million) and non-profits can create custom pages for their organizations and connect with supporters and encourage them to create their own fundraising pages.

What we love about Razoo, in addition to its simple interface and great UI, is that it also offers donation matching for corporations or foundations looking for an easy way to raise money.

8. Convio

Convio offers software for online fundraising and membership, and while its target audience is probably bigger groups or organizations, it’s still worth a look.

For example, Convio’s TeamRaiser lets organizations make it easy for volunteers to create their own websites for tracking and attracting donations.

If you’re organizing a social good fund for a big charity walk or event where volunteers go door-to-door to get donations, check out Convio because it makes managing that process much easier.

9. Facebook Causes

Causes is an increasingly common way for individuals to raise money and start their own funds that are tied to a non-profit. Because Causes is so well-integrated into Facebook, it makes getting the word out and raising awareness and funds for your cause that much simpler.

10. StayClassy

A newer player in the arena of online giving, San Diego’s StayClassy is focused not just on helping non-profits collect donations online, but also manage events and campaigns, track their fundraising results and plug-in.

The world of online fundraising is vast and diverse. What tools have you used when starting your own social good funds? Let us know in the comments.

Brought to you by the class='blippr-nobr'>Mashableclass="blippr-nobr">Mashable & 92Y Social Good Summit

This post was brought to you by the groundbreaking Social Good Summit. On September 20, as global leaders head to New York for United Nations Week — including a historic summit on global issues known as the “Millennium Development Goals” (MDGs) and the annual General Assembly — Mashable, 92nd Street Y and the UN Foundation will bring together leaders from the digital industry, policy and media worlds to focus on how technology and social networks can play a leading role in addressing the world’s most intractable problems.

Date: Monday, September 20, 2010/> Time: 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. ET/> Location: 92nd Street Y, New York City/> Tickets: On sale through Eventbrite

/>

Image courtesy of iStockphotoclass="blippr-nobr">iStockphoto, PinkTag

For more Social Good coverage:

class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Social Goodclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Social Good channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

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Obama Calls Fox <b>News</b> a `Destructive&#39; Channel - NYTimes.com

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http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_18/b4032066.htm

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_18/b4032066.htm

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_18/b4032066.htm

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1999/10/25/267811/index.htm

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1999/10/25/267811/index.htm

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/1999/10/25/267811/index.htm

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/07_18/b4032066.htm

personal financeonline personal finance

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Can &#39;Fox <b>News</b> North&#39; win its next battle? - Canada - Macleans.ca

Sun TV's Canadian-content promise might be its best selling feature.

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After Months of Speculation, Anisette Brasserie Bids Au Revoir <b>...</b>

Unfortunately, we called it. In an additional bout of shutter news, months and months after rumors swirled that Alain Giraud's Anisette Brasserie was about to call it quits, his...

Ngmoco releases We City | iLounge <b>News</b>

iLounge news discussing the Ngmoco releases We City. Find more Apps + Games news from leading independent iPod, iPhone, and iPad site.

Can &#39;Fox <b>News</b> North&#39; win its next battle? - Canada - Macleans.ca

Sun TV's Canadian-content promise might be its best selling feature.

personal finance manager

Washington (CNN) - Fresh on the heels of Joe Miller's surprising win over Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the Alaska Republican Senate primary, the Tea Party movement is setting its sights on Delaware.

Now the Delaware Republican Party is taking heed – and taking on – the Tea Party-backed candidate in the state's Republican Senate primary, sparking a war of words between the state's establishment GOP and the Tea Party movement.

It's a race that pits conservative Tea Party favorite Christine O'Donnell against moderate Rep. Mike Castle, Delaware's former two-term governor and lone Congressman since 1993.

Both candidates' campaigns have become increasingly caustic, especially as Tea Party-backed candidates across the country have picked up win after win against GOP establishment candidates.

The Tea Party Express endorsed the conservative O'Donnell in July, and recently committed to spending at least six-figures in the state.

"We are launching an aggressive multimedia and multi-platform campaign to help propel Christine O'Donnell to victory, and we've only just begun," Amy Kremer, Chairman of the Tea Party Express, said in a statement.

The group originally planned to spend about $250,000 on the race, but is now considering expanding their presence with TV and radio ad buys in Philadelphia, said Tea Party Express political director Joe Wierzbicki.

A similar last minute media blitz by the Tea Party Express is credited with propelling Miller – a formerly little known candidate – to victory over Murkowski, the Republican Party-backed incumbent.

The group launched a series of TV and radio ads Thursday that support O'Donnell, and rail against Castle as a liberal candidate who "just keeps supporting the failed policies of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid."

It's a move that has the Castle campaign fighting back.

"Out-of-state interest groups have threatened to spend half a million dollars to fund the disgusting tactics being used by the O'Donnell campaign to make accusations," said Castle campaign manager Mike Quaranta.

Meanwhile, the Castle campaign has launched therealchristine.com, a site devoted to aggregating negative news about O'Donnell.

Tom Ross, state committee chairman of the Delaware Republican Party, defended the negative nature of the site. "The stories might not be flattering, but they are factual. ...Sometimes it is necessary to make sure that the facts get out there," Ross said.

O'Donnell has faced criticism over her personal finance issues and leftover debt from previous, unsuccessful bids for a Delaware Senate seat. She has also been accused of misstating the results of her run against Joe Biden.

When asked to clarify her remarks in an interview Thursday with radio host Dan Gaffney of WGMD, O'Donnell seemed to grow increasingly frustrated, and ultimately blamed her statements on a grueling campaign schedule.

Ross, who is backing Castle, said that O'Donnell's history is troubling.

"This is a group and candidate that clearly seem to have a problem with facts. It is shocking that they would come in and support a candidate of Christine O'Donnell's ilk," he said.

"It is sad that the group didn't investigate the candidate that they're supporting… and surprising they would take their supporters' money that they donated and squander it in such a fashion," Ross said.

Ross also questioned whether O'Donnell is capable of pulling off an upset similar to Miller's win in Alaska.

"In Alaska, it was that Joe Miller is an Ivy League grad, a war hero, excellent standing in the community," Ross said. "Look at Christine O'Donnell. She has none of those attributes. She is career politician. She's run unsuccessfully for Senate three times."

Yet, Wierzbicki criticized Ross for dismissing O'Donnell, calling her a true conservative.

" is everything that is wrong with the establishment of the Republican Party. He should be fired for serving to undermine a Republican candidate who stands on conservative principles. It's his job to advance all Republicans in the state of Delaware. Instead he has become a tool for those who wish to thwart the Republican Party platform and turn the GOP into a Democrat-lite outfit. We find him reprehensible and shameless," Wierzbicki said.

Republican Gov. Chris Christie of neighboring New Jersey endorsed Castle Thursday.

The winner will face Democrat Chris Coons in the race for Vice President Joe Biden's former seat.

If you walked into the average bookstore, you'd think that women rule the roost when it comes to personal finance. From Suze Orman's now-classic Women and Money to the more recent (and more colorfully titled) Bitches on a Budget, there's no shortage of do-it-yourself financial advice tailored to women.



Apparently, though, when women make the momentous move from self-help to seeking professional advice about investing and retirement, things go rapidly downhill. A recent study by the Boston Consulting Group revealed that women perceived themselves as receiving wealth management services at a level of quality that is inferior to that received by their male counterparts.



According to the study, women are the key decision-makers when it comes to 27% of the wealth worldwide: that's $20 trillion! But despite the massive chunk of power they wield, 55% of the women surveyed in the study said they felt their wealth manager could do a better job of advising them. Almost a quarter of the respondents said private banks needed "significant improvement" in the services they offer to women.



"The dissatisfaction stems from the unshakable perception that men get more attention, better advice, and sometimes even better terms and deals," according to study co-author Peter Damisch. "We heard this sense of subordination time and time again in our interviews."



This perceived disparity in service arose from several key disconnects in the relationships and communications between women and their financial advisers. Manisha Thakor, Chartered Financial Analyst and women's financial literacy advocate, offers some steps savvy female investors can take to avoid being under-served by their wealth managers and investment advisers:



1. Find your adviser and get your financial education from women-run resources.



The financial services industry is dominated by males and therefore the "DNA is structured around the male experience," Thakor explains, adding that she sees many firms making an effort to change this. Most financial advisers are men, who may not inherently understand the whole-life nature of the average woman's financial plans and needs. They also may have very different communication styles than their women clients.



Thakor recommends women use women-created resources like LearnVest and DailyWorth to educate themselves in order to avoid the intimidation factor when talking about investment products with their advisers. She also encourages women to consult Garrett Planning Network, founded by Certified Financial Planner Sheryl Garrett, to locate a local certified financial planner who works on an hourly-fee-only basis. Taking these steps, Thakor explains, may alleviate the concern expressed by many women in the BCG study that they were not being taken seriously or talked to on the same level as male clients by their financial advisers.



2. Expressly state your ideal career trajectory, then ask how you should alter your investment plans accordingly.



In the BCG study, women stated that their investment advisers fundamentally misunderstood what was actually important to them, and recommended a too-narrow range of inappropriate investment vehicles as a result. Many said their advisers assumed they had a lower risk tolerance than they actually did, or that their advisers focused on short-term results and disregarded their long-term goals, which often included time out to care for a child or parent.



Thakor offers women a script of sorts to remedy this communication disconnect. "Go in and say: "I want to be a mom and I may take X amount of time out of the work force," she advises. Then ask, "How do we adjust how much I need to save and how I should invest to compensate for this?"



3. Start saving early.



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Small Business <b>News</b>: An Owner&#39;s Manual

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Understanding the Forbes redesign « Talking Biz <b>News</b>

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Understanding the Forbes redesign « Talking Biz <b>News</b>

Dvorkin had founded True/Slant, an online news network. Previously, he had been executive editor at Forbes magazine, where he spearheaded an earlier redesign, managed the annual Forbes 400 Richest Americans list and created the ...

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Understanding the Forbes redesign « Talking Biz <b>News</b>

Dvorkin had founded True/Slant, an online news network. Previously, he had been executive editor at Forbes magazine, where he spearheaded an earlier redesign, managed the annual Forbes 400 Richest Americans list and created the ...

Actual Real Life Good Internet <b>News</b>: Super Wi-Fi Coming Soon <b>...</b>

Most of the time, news about the internet is both hard to understand and seemingly bad. There are always stories coming out about net neutrality where you.

personal finances help

I am a 25 year old college student (school, job + savings, back to school… long story) and boy do I wish I knew about all the resources available to me back then. Good for you for starting early!

Lucky for me I have 1 parent (divorced) who is so bad with money that I have been scared into financial responsibility from a young age. Was I perfect? Hahaha.. but I am doing better than 95% of my friends are right now so I guess I am doing something right?

Here is my advice:

1. GET A JOB! - 2 shifts a week is all it takes. I have friends who just graduated from college without ever having a job. Result? No work experience so nowhere will hire them. Some had problems even getting an internship! Try for customer service jobs. Employers value people skills more than flipping burgers.

2. BUDGET! - Cant teach an old dog new tricks so it is best to start young. Add up your monthly expenses such as rent/insurance/cell/gas/etc and divide by 2 or 4 (depending on weekly/bi-weekly payday). Put this money in savings and no touchy! Once you can live on that budget a certain % for an emergency fund and then % for savings. The rest is your “fun” money. As others have said: pizza, ipods, and clothes are “fun money” and NOT emergencies!

3. DEBIT, CREDIT, or CASH?

DEBIT- I am a die hard debit card user. My credit union has detailed (free) online banking. I check my online bank statement in the morning and at night and go over my spending. Think of it as an instant virtual slap in the face about your spending habits. It hurts for the best.

CASH - Some people just cant be responsible enough to respect the plastic and do better with cash. Try and keep bigger bills on you. Breaking a $5 is less mentally painful than breaking a $20. $1s are dangerous. That can of coke is “only $1″. $7 a week, $30 a month. It adds up.

CREDIT - Many say don’t get a credit card, but I disagree. If you are responsible college is a great time to build credit (unless you have some serious control issues… if that is the case, these are not the droids you are looking for…). Not building credit early is the BIGGEST regret I have. Good credit means better rates when buying a house or a car. Do your research first. Consider a student, or if you have to a secured card.

More about credit-

*Do NOT apply for a credit card on campus. It is like selling your soul for a candy bar. Every time you apply for a credit card they run a credit check, which “pings” you. Too many pings hurts your credit score. Not good. Friend did that at every kiosk that offered something free to sign up when she was 20. This was 7 years ago and her credit is still recovering! The same is true for store credit cards. Do.Not.WANT!

*Pick a required expense, such as gas or cell phone bill and put it on the credit card. Pay off the card at the end of each month. Repeat.

*Do NOT use your credit card to buy “fun money” purchases. No clothes, no ipods, no pizza. This is why you have your debit card of cash. Don’t even think about it mr.!

4. EATING/DRINKING - This is going to be the weird random one from one young person to another.(Part of this only applies to you on/after your 21st birthday!) The young person’s life revolves around being social. For a 20 something this normally involves dinner and/or drinks with friends. It is expensive! So much money can be saved if you plan ahead!

*Eating - Going out to eat is a much needed social experience but NEVER go out to eat starving! Just like you don’t go shopping when you are hungry you never want to experience the whole “eyes bigger than stomach” thing while dining out. Have a snack an hour or so before you meet friends for dinner. This will help you avoid ordering that $8 appetizer! Also, try and order things that reheat or are good cold. LEFTOVERS! Also, water is free. It is good for you! Coke is $3. Go buy yourself a 12 pack and have one when you get home.

*Drinking - Most 20 somethings drink. It is a very expensive part of our lives. It is a social event to help us forget about school and work. We like bars. Unfortunately $5 for a beer is highway robbery! NEVER go to a bar completely sober (when you are 21+ & no drinky + drivey!). Have a drink or 2 at home and then have a beer at the bar. You will save TONS. Also, bring cash to a bar. Only bring as much cash as your sober self would like to spend. Alcohol impairs judgment. Sober you will thank drunk you for not spending. Drunk you will thank sober you for being smart enough to make sure you can afford the advil to take care of that hangover the next day. It is a win win.

Put all that saved food and drink money towards something that will last.

5. BOOKS - Buy used whenever possible. Check online first because campus stores are normally a ripoff. Try and sell the books back online, even if they have released a new edition. Most student book stores on campus will only give you 1/2 of what someone online will be willing to give you!

6. CARS - Buy used and reliable, but not “cheap”. New cars lose tons of value when you drive them off the lot. Don’t buy a “cheap” used car on it’s last leg. Think Goldilocks - not too new, not too old, juuusssttt right! Save up as much money as possible. Pay for it in cash if you can. If not, save up at least 2/3 before purchasing and do your homework!

And whatever you do: AVOID parking tickets, speeding tickets, registration fines.. may as well light the money on fire! Or if you do not want it I will give it a nice home and save you the trouble.

style="float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px;">

Editor’s Note: On the right, please watch our exclusive interview with Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, and then below, please read an original guest blog to The Foundry from the Governor himself.

We’ve been through a global recession. Now we’re fighting through a stalled recovery. Revenues are the lowest they’ve been in half a century. Their finances a wreck, many states have effectively sunk into bankruptcy.

Indiana is still afloat. In fact, we’ve fared better than most. We continue to meet our obligations without raising taxes, and the reserves we carefully built and protected will get us through the downturn.

But as if we did not already have enough on our plates, the passage and implementation of Obamacare presents us with a whole new set of challenges and a costly to-do list.

id="more-41858">I note with special sadness that first and foremost amongst the bill’s consequences will be the probable demise of the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP). This program is currently providing health insurance to 50,000 low-income Hoosiers. With its Health Savings Account-style personal accounts and numerous incentives for healthy lifestyle choices, it has been enormously popular and successful.

Obamacare’s expansion of Medicaid, soon to cover one in every four citizens, will not only scoop up most of HIP’s participants, but will also cost the state between $3.1 and $3.9 billion over the next decade. It is hard to see how my successors as governor will be able to avoid a steep state tax increase to pay for it. Meanwhile, our medical device companies and small businesses will shed jobs as they wrestle with the taxes and penalties levied to help finance Washington’s “reforms.”

Of course, it’s a misnomer to even refer to this as “reform.” It doesn’t reform anything. Instead, it perpetuates and magnifies all the worst aspects of our current system: fee for service reimbursement, “free” to the purchaser consumption, and an irrationally expensive medical liability tort system. It’s a sure recipe for yet more overconsumption and overspending.

There were better options.

Since my election, my state coworkers have had the choice of Health Savings Accounts in lieu of traditional health care plans. The first year this option was made available, some 4 percent of us signed up for it. Six years later, more than 70 percent of our 30,000 state workers have opted for the personal account.

This trend has had a startlingly positive effect on costs for both employees and the state. State employees enrolled in the consumer-driven plan saved more than $8 million in 2010 compared to their coworkers in the old-fashioned preferred provider organization (PPO) alternative. Indiana will save at least $20 million in 2010 because of our high HSA enrollment.

It has also been the source of significant changes in behavior, as state workers with the HSA visit emergency rooms less frequently and are more likely to use generic drugs than co-workers with traditional health care. Hoosiers enrolled in HIP have experienced similar changes in behavior with generic drugs now accounting for 84 percent of all prescriptions used by enrollees.

This is a sharp contrast to the prevalent model of health plans in this country that encourage individuals to buy health care on someone else’s credit card. What seems free will always be overconsumed, compared to the choices a normal consumer would make. Hence our plan’s immense savings.

The condescension of the “reformers” is misplaced. It turns out that typical Americans are neither too dense nor too intimidated to make sound decisions about their own health. This is, of course, a fact that national policy makers sadly ignored during their overhaul of our health are system. Now the rest of us are left to pick up the pieces.

United Nations general assembly – live | <b>News</b> | guardian.co.uk

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robert shumake

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Barack Obama, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Nick Clegg are among the world leaders in New York for the United Nations general assembly. Follow live updates here.

<b>News</b> - Katy Perry&#39;s Sesame Street Segment Cut Over Her Cleavage <b>...</b>

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Olbermann On Sharron Angle Video | Fox <b>News</b> | Media Matters | Mediaite

You'll never believe this one, but it appears Keith Olbermann isn't the biggest fan of Fox News. But in case there was any doubt, on last night's Countdown he made it clear again, going after what he sees as the network blatantly ...

I am a 25 year old college student (school, job + savings, back to school… long story) and boy do I wish I knew about all the resources available to me back then. Good for you for starting early!

Lucky for me I have 1 parent (divorced) who is so bad with money that I have been scared into financial responsibility from a young age. Was I perfect? Hahaha.. but I am doing better than 95% of my friends are right now so I guess I am doing something right?

Here is my advice:

1. GET A JOB! - 2 shifts a week is all it takes. I have friends who just graduated from college without ever having a job. Result? No work experience so nowhere will hire them. Some had problems even getting an internship! Try for customer service jobs. Employers value people skills more than flipping burgers.

2. BUDGET! - Cant teach an old dog new tricks so it is best to start young. Add up your monthly expenses such as rent/insurance/cell/gas/etc and divide by 2 or 4 (depending on weekly/bi-weekly payday). Put this money in savings and no touchy! Once you can live on that budget a certain % for an emergency fund and then % for savings. The rest is your “fun” money. As others have said: pizza, ipods, and clothes are “fun money” and NOT emergencies!

3. DEBIT, CREDIT, or CASH?

DEBIT- I am a die hard debit card user. My credit union has detailed (free) online banking. I check my online bank statement in the morning and at night and go over my spending. Think of it as an instant virtual slap in the face about your spending habits. It hurts for the best.

CASH - Some people just cant be responsible enough to respect the plastic and do better with cash. Try and keep bigger bills on you. Breaking a $5 is less mentally painful than breaking a $20. $1s are dangerous. That can of coke is “only $1″. $7 a week, $30 a month. It adds up.

CREDIT - Many say don’t get a credit card, but I disagree. If you are responsible college is a great time to build credit (unless you have some serious control issues… if that is the case, these are not the droids you are looking for…). Not building credit early is the BIGGEST regret I have. Good credit means better rates when buying a house or a car. Do your research first. Consider a student, or if you have to a secured card.

More about credit-

*Do NOT apply for a credit card on campus. It is like selling your soul for a candy bar. Every time you apply for a credit card they run a credit check, which “pings” you. Too many pings hurts your credit score. Not good. Friend did that at every kiosk that offered something free to sign up when she was 20. This was 7 years ago and her credit is still recovering! The same is true for store credit cards. Do.Not.WANT!

*Pick a required expense, such as gas or cell phone bill and put it on the credit card. Pay off the card at the end of each month. Repeat.

*Do NOT use your credit card to buy “fun money” purchases. No clothes, no ipods, no pizza. This is why you have your debit card of cash. Don’t even think about it mr.!

4. EATING/DRINKING - This is going to be the weird random one from one young person to another.(Part of this only applies to you on/after your 21st birthday!) The young person’s life revolves around being social. For a 20 something this normally involves dinner and/or drinks with friends. It is expensive! So much money can be saved if you plan ahead!

*Eating - Going out to eat is a much needed social experience but NEVER go out to eat starving! Just like you don’t go shopping when you are hungry you never want to experience the whole “eyes bigger than stomach” thing while dining out. Have a snack an hour or so before you meet friends for dinner. This will help you avoid ordering that $8 appetizer! Also, try and order things that reheat or are good cold. LEFTOVERS! Also, water is free. It is good for you! Coke is $3. Go buy yourself a 12 pack and have one when you get home.

*Drinking - Most 20 somethings drink. It is a very expensive part of our lives. It is a social event to help us forget about school and work. We like bars. Unfortunately $5 for a beer is highway robbery! NEVER go to a bar completely sober (when you are 21+ & no drinky + drivey!). Have a drink or 2 at home and then have a beer at the bar. You will save TONS. Also, bring cash to a bar. Only bring as much cash as your sober self would like to spend. Alcohol impairs judgment. Sober you will thank drunk you for not spending. Drunk you will thank sober you for being smart enough to make sure you can afford the advil to take care of that hangover the next day. It is a win win.

Put all that saved food and drink money towards something that will last.

5. BOOKS - Buy used whenever possible. Check online first because campus stores are normally a ripoff. Try and sell the books back online, even if they have released a new edition. Most student book stores on campus will only give you 1/2 of what someone online will be willing to give you!

6. CARS - Buy used and reliable, but not “cheap”. New cars lose tons of value when you drive them off the lot. Don’t buy a “cheap” used car on it’s last leg. Think Goldilocks - not too new, not too old, juuusssttt right! Save up as much money as possible. Pay for it in cash if you can. If not, save up at least 2/3 before purchasing and do your homework!

And whatever you do: AVOID parking tickets, speeding tickets, registration fines.. may as well light the money on fire! Or if you do not want it I will give it a nice home and save you the trouble.

style="float: right; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px;">

Editor’s Note: On the right, please watch our exclusive interview with Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, and then below, please read an original guest blog to The Foundry from the Governor himself.

We’ve been through a global recession. Now we’re fighting through a stalled recovery. Revenues are the lowest they’ve been in half a century. Their finances a wreck, many states have effectively sunk into bankruptcy.

Indiana is still afloat. In fact, we’ve fared better than most. We continue to meet our obligations without raising taxes, and the reserves we carefully built and protected will get us through the downturn.

But as if we did not already have enough on our plates, the passage and implementation of Obamacare presents us with a whole new set of challenges and a costly to-do list.

id="more-41858">I note with special sadness that first and foremost amongst the bill’s consequences will be the probable demise of the Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP). This program is currently providing health insurance to 50,000 low-income Hoosiers. With its Health Savings Account-style personal accounts and numerous incentives for healthy lifestyle choices, it has been enormously popular and successful.

Obamacare’s expansion of Medicaid, soon to cover one in every four citizens, will not only scoop up most of HIP’s participants, but will also cost the state between $3.1 and $3.9 billion over the next decade. It is hard to see how my successors as governor will be able to avoid a steep state tax increase to pay for it. Meanwhile, our medical device companies and small businesses will shed jobs as they wrestle with the taxes and penalties levied to help finance Washington’s “reforms.”

Of course, it’s a misnomer to even refer to this as “reform.” It doesn’t reform anything. Instead, it perpetuates and magnifies all the worst aspects of our current system: fee for service reimbursement, “free” to the purchaser consumption, and an irrationally expensive medical liability tort system. It’s a sure recipe for yet more overconsumption and overspending.

There were better options.

Since my election, my state coworkers have had the choice of Health Savings Accounts in lieu of traditional health care plans. The first year this option was made available, some 4 percent of us signed up for it. Six years later, more than 70 percent of our 30,000 state workers have opted for the personal account.

This trend has had a startlingly positive effect on costs for both employees and the state. State employees enrolled in the consumer-driven plan saved more than $8 million in 2010 compared to their coworkers in the old-fashioned preferred provider organization (PPO) alternative. Indiana will save at least $20 million in 2010 because of our high HSA enrollment.

It has also been the source of significant changes in behavior, as state workers with the HSA visit emergency rooms less frequently and are more likely to use generic drugs than co-workers with traditional health care. Hoosiers enrolled in HIP have experienced similar changes in behavior with generic drugs now accounting for 84 percent of all prescriptions used by enrollees.

This is a sharp contrast to the prevalent model of health plans in this country that encourage individuals to buy health care on someone else’s credit card. What seems free will always be overconsumed, compared to the choices a normal consumer would make. Hence our plan’s immense savings.

The condescension of the “reformers” is misplaced. It turns out that typical Americans are neither too dense nor too intimidated to make sound decisions about their own health. This is, of course, a fact that national policy makers sadly ignored during their overhaul of our health are system. Now the rest of us are left to pick up the pieces.

robert shumake

United Nations general assembly – live | <b>News</b> | guardian.co.uk

Barack Obama, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Nick Clegg are among the world leaders in New York for the United Nations general assembly. Follow live updates here.

<b>News</b> - Katy Perry&#39;s Sesame Street Segment Cut Over Her Cleavage <b>...</b>

"Katy Perry fans will still be able to view the video on You Tube," says a show rep.

Olbermann On Sharron Angle Video | Fox <b>News</b> | Media Matters | Mediaite

You'll never believe this one, but it appears Keith Olbermann isn't the biggest fan of Fox News. But in case there was any doubt, on last night's Countdown he made it clear again, going after what he sees as the network blatantly ...

robert shumake

United Nations general assembly – live | <b>News</b> | guardian.co.uk

Barack Obama, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Nick Clegg are among the world leaders in New York for the United Nations general assembly. Follow live updates here.

<b>News</b> - Katy Perry&#39;s Sesame Street Segment Cut Over Her Cleavage <b>...</b>

"Katy Perry fans will still be able to view the video on You Tube," says a show rep.

Olbermann On Sharron Angle Video | Fox <b>News</b> | Media Matters | Mediaite

You'll never believe this one, but it appears Keith Olbermann isn't the biggest fan of Fox News. But in case there was any doubt, on last night's Countdown he made it clear again, going after what he sees as the network blatantly ...

Making Internet Money

Symantec this morning released two new security software products, Norton AntiVirus 2011 and Norton Internet Security 2011.

Coinciding with the release, the company has also published its latest cybercrime report, dubbed The Norton Cybercrime Report: The Human Impact. The company claims two-thirds (65 percent) of global Internet users have already fallen victim to cybercrimes, which includes computer viruses, online credit card fraud and identity theft.

I’ll say it right off the bat: Symantec just so happens to sell security software, and they have new products to promote, so it’s in their best interest to scare people into awareness and try and push them into purchasing mode. Take any research findings from commercial companies with a big grain of salt, always.

That said, cybercrime is prevalent, there’s no question about that. I can imagine the 65 percent of global Internet users is likely close to the truth, and suspect that percentage to increase for the foreseeable future.

Zooming in on nations, Symantec claims almost three-quarters (73 percent) of U.S. Web surfers have fallen victim to cybercrimes, ranking it third according to Symantec (fourth according to myself), behind China (83 percent) and Brazil and India (both 76 percent).

The company also surveyed 7,000 Web users in order to assess the emotional impact of cybercrime. The study shows that victims’ strongest reactions are feeling angry (58 percent), annoyed (51 percent) and cheated (40 percent), and in many cases, they blame themselves for being attacked.

Only 3 percent don’t think it will happen to them, and nearly 80 percent do not expect cybercriminals to be brought to justice, which Symantec says ironically results in a reluctance to take action and a sense of helplessness.

Only half (51 percent) of adults saying they would change their behavior if they became a victim. Fewer than half (44 percent) reported the crime to the police.

Also, nearly half of respondents assume it’s legal to download a content such as music and movies without paying, which Symantec posits opens people up to a range of security threats.

Again, Symantec wants you to buy Norton products, but it’d be foolish to dismiss that cybercrime is a genuine security threat, and a growing one at that. Buy (or use any free) security software you wish if you haven’t already done so, and make sure to update it regularly – it’s worth the money and hassle. And if you do get hit with a virus or malware, or fall victim to identity theft, sexual predation or credit card fraud, report it to the authorities.

There’s no way cybercrimes are going to be stopped any time soon, but we should at least try and stop making it easier for scammers by not taking action.

This series is supported by RingCentral, the leading business phone system designed for today’s small businesses, entrepreneurs, and mobile professionals. Visit RingCentral.com to learn more.

Finding the right workspace is like dating — the class='blippr-nobr'>Internetclass="blippr-nobr">Internet has made it a lot more complex. In essence, this means more options.

Whereas the traditional office once served as the default choice for effective communication and collaboration between coworkers, today’s businesses can be just as productive by collaborating on the web, with as little as $10 and a Google account. Entrepreneurs operate from coffee shops, kitchen tables, and coworking spaces in addition to the traditional office.

We asked three entrepreneurs with drastically different office strategies for their advice on choosing a workspace. Read on for their tips and add your own in the comments below.

What Kind of Office is Best to Start In?

“When you’re starting out, you should absolutely not be spending money on rent,” says Jason Fried, the founder of web-based software company 37signals. “It’s a huge waste of money.”

After Fried started 37signals, he and the other two employees working for the company at the time shared a room with another business. “Basically we had a corner of a desk,” he jokes. Assuming you can find another company that is willing to share, teaming up on a space saves cash while still providing a place to work away from the distractions of home.

Others see value in setting up their own offices from the get-go. After a brief stint at the virtual office, Anthony Franco chose a house in Denver to set up his company, EffectiveUI. It wasn’t an ideal workspace, but he got a deal on the rent. New employees were often greeted on their first day with an Allen wrench, to be used for assembling their own desks.

“We started at home, but if we were going to handle demand, we needed to have a place where we could come and work,” Franco said. He added that the extra value of being able to work as a team (in person) more than made up for the cost of an office.

While the lease route worked out well for EffectiveUI, there’s a certain amount of risk involved with jumping into your own space too soon.

“Most commercial leases are for three to four years, and so if you’re small and you’re starting out and you’ve got a couple people, you’re making way too much of a commitment,” Fried argues. “You don’t know where you’re going to be in three years.”

Is Coworking Right for Your Business?

One modern compromise between working completely virtually and committing to a lease is working at a coworking space. These office spaces provide a work environment and an alternative to coffee shops for independent workers.

Campbell McKellar discovered the value of coworking spaces when the company she worked for left their expensive traditional office and started working virtually. The move allowed her to work from anywhere, and she chose Maine. “I was trying to do work in a cottage with family members and dogs running around,” she said. “I loved being fully mobile and independent, but I also wanted to have a platform to do my work.”

LooseCubes, the company McKellar founded in May, runs a website that matches independent workers with coworking spaces and spare desks in other companies. Quite appropriately, it’s currently being run out of a coworking space. McKellar says that working from the space has helped her launch.

“Especially if you’re in a creative business, the best way to get ideas is to meet new people,” she says. “You can get stale by talking to the same five people every day.”

Coworking allows McKellar to “unintentionally network” with the other people in the space, to seek advice from other entrepreneurs, and to host meetings and work with her team at a place that isn’t her living room.

On the other hand, coworking has its challenges and might not be a great fit for every company. Coworking spaces can be distracting, and most of them are set up in a way that requires people making phone calls to seek silence in the hallway.

“For us, quiet and privacy is very important,” Fried says. “So, coworking spaces and coffee shops don’t work for us.”

McKellar admits that on days when she’s “under the gun,” she chooses to work at home. And there is a point at which a company outgrows a coworking space. LooseCubes, for instance, plans to move to its own office space sometime in the next three months.

When Should a Company Transition to a Traditional Office?

“We need to be in a room with a whiteboard that isn’t erased every day, where we can have a conference call in an open environment,” McKellar says of her hopes for transitioning to an office space. Before she commits, however, she wants to wait to see how her site’s public launch goes. In the meantime, she’s renting a room at a Manhattan coworking space called New Work City.

All companies should do something along these lines before committing to a lease, Fried says. “You don’t know if you’re going to be successful,” he says. “And if you are, you might need more space than you have right now…You don’t want to lock yourself into anything when you’re getting started. You want to be as flexible as you possibly can.”

For some people, this means staying virtual for as long as possible. For others like McKellar, it means launching from a coworking space. For Fried’s 37signals, which is based in Chicago but has employees in 11 cities, it meant working from a variety of shared office spaces for about ten years before finally opting for an office of its own in August.

But how do you know when it’s time to make the switch?

One obvious factor is space: “We were only able to rent five or six desks in our last office,” Fried says. “We had nine people in Chicago. We were out of desks at six. So everyone couldn’t come in at the same time, and that was problem.”

Another factor is work environment. If the space you are working in is interfering with your work, it might also be time to opt for an environment you can control. “We work very quietly,” explains Fried. “So our whole thing is be as quiet as possible, don’t talk throughout the day, just have a very quiet setting like a library…You can’t impose those kinds of rules on another company, especially if it’s the other company’s space.”

What are the Benefits of a Traditional Office?

For EffectiveUI, the traditional office was always a great fit. Having grown from a couple of founders to 100 employees since 2005, the company long ago left its house-office behind. They now work from a 12,000-square-foot office space.

But both spaces fulfilled the same requirements: “Whiteboarding, talking with each other and eating lunch together: It’s part of the team culture,” Franco says.

The more traditional office, however, has given him some additional perks. “We have clients come to visit us. We’re able to brand the building and the space, and when people come they can see we’re a real business,” he says.

A lot of people associate traditional offices with being trapped in a cubicle, but Franco maintains that it doesn’t have to be that way. “Just get creative and make it fun, but also give everyone a place to go,” he says.

Can I Have an Untraditional Traditional Office?

Fried thinks of his new office as more of a home base than a traditional office. Employees are free to work at home whenever they want, and half of the company still works in other cities.

“We feel that a combination of both is the best route,” Fried says. “Because we all do want to get together occasionally, and sometimes small teams of five or six people want to get together for a while.”

The home base strategy combines the benefits of virtual and traditional workspaces. When people want to work from another city or find they work better in their pajamas, they can stay home. When they need to collaborate or want to get out of the house, they have a great place to work.

“Our office is highly customized for the way we work,” says Fried. For instance, it has soundproof walls, phone booths for people to make uninterrupted calls, and rooms for small teams.

Most employees who work from Chicago come into the new office about three or four days a week. “We want people to work wherever they work best,” Fried says.

What are your tips for choosing a workspace? Add them in the comments below.

Series supported by RingCentral

This series is supported by RingCentralclass="blippr-nobr">RingCentral. Power your business with a phone system designed to meet the needs of today’s small businesses, entrepreneurs, and mobile professionals. With RingCentral, you can take control of your phone system anywhere — using your existing phones, smartphones, or PCs. Sign up today for a special 60-day free trial.

More Startup Resources from Mashable:

- 8 Funding Contests to Kick Start Your Big Idea/> - HOW TO: Run Your Business Online with $10 and a Google Account/> - 5 Startup Tips From the Father of Gmail and FriendFeed/> - 6 Ways to Recruit Talent for Startups/> - 10 Essential Tips for Building Your Small Biz Team

Image courtesy of iStockphotoclass="blippr-nobr">iStockphoto, francisblack

For more Business coverage:

class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Businessclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Business channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

Scripting <b>News</b>: What kind of <b>news</b> system...?

And it's not okay that they're making a bid for exclusivity on the role of News System of the Future, and they can't even keep their servers running properly. Either you deliver the benefit of being the sole provider, or sorry (to ...

Wednesday <b>News</b> « The Confluence

In news related to Michelle raising more money, the GOP seems to be short of it. Gosh, other than 8 years of a failed presidency, and then attacking the popular candidates and their supporters just as the Dems are doing, I can't imagine ...

Google <b>News</b> Now Eight Years Old

google-news-screenshot-old Google today announced on the official Google blog the eighth birthday of Google News. It's a huge milestone for the California-based search company, which launched the Google News service on the 22nd of ...

robert shumake

Scripting <b>News</b>: What kind of <b>news</b> system...?

And it's not okay that they're making a bid for exclusivity on the role of News System of the Future, and they can't even keep their servers running properly. Either you deliver the benefit of being the sole provider, or sorry (to ...

Wednesday <b>News</b> « The Confluence

In news related to Michelle raising more money, the GOP seems to be short of it. Gosh, other than 8 years of a failed presidency, and then attacking the popular candidates and their supporters just as the Dems are doing, I can't imagine ...

Google <b>News</b> Now Eight Years Old

google-news-screenshot-old Google today announced on the official Google blog the eighth birthday of Google News. It's a huge milestone for the California-based search company, which launched the Google News service on the 22nd of ...

Symantec this morning released two new security software products, Norton AntiVirus 2011 and Norton Internet Security 2011.

Coinciding with the release, the company has also published its latest cybercrime report, dubbed The Norton Cybercrime Report: The Human Impact. The company claims two-thirds (65 percent) of global Internet users have already fallen victim to cybercrimes, which includes computer viruses, online credit card fraud and identity theft.

I’ll say it right off the bat: Symantec just so happens to sell security software, and they have new products to promote, so it’s in their best interest to scare people into awareness and try and push them into purchasing mode. Take any research findings from commercial companies with a big grain of salt, always.

That said, cybercrime is prevalent, there’s no question about that. I can imagine the 65 percent of global Internet users is likely close to the truth, and suspect that percentage to increase for the foreseeable future.

Zooming in on nations, Symantec claims almost three-quarters (73 percent) of U.S. Web surfers have fallen victim to cybercrimes, ranking it third according to Symantec (fourth according to myself), behind China (83 percent) and Brazil and India (both 76 percent).

The company also surveyed 7,000 Web users in order to assess the emotional impact of cybercrime. The study shows that victims’ strongest reactions are feeling angry (58 percent), annoyed (51 percent) and cheated (40 percent), and in many cases, they blame themselves for being attacked.

Only 3 percent don’t think it will happen to them, and nearly 80 percent do not expect cybercriminals to be brought to justice, which Symantec says ironically results in a reluctance to take action and a sense of helplessness.

Only half (51 percent) of adults saying they would change their behavior if they became a victim. Fewer than half (44 percent) reported the crime to the police.

Also, nearly half of respondents assume it’s legal to download a content such as music and movies without paying, which Symantec posits opens people up to a range of security threats.

Again, Symantec wants you to buy Norton products, but it’d be foolish to dismiss that cybercrime is a genuine security threat, and a growing one at that. Buy (or use any free) security software you wish if you haven’t already done so, and make sure to update it regularly – it’s worth the money and hassle. And if you do get hit with a virus or malware, or fall victim to identity theft, sexual predation or credit card fraud, report it to the authorities.

There’s no way cybercrimes are going to be stopped any time soon, but we should at least try and stop making it easier for scammers by not taking action.

This series is supported by RingCentral, the leading business phone system designed for today’s small businesses, entrepreneurs, and mobile professionals. Visit RingCentral.com to learn more.

Finding the right workspace is like dating — the class='blippr-nobr'>Internetclass="blippr-nobr">Internet has made it a lot more complex. In essence, this means more options.

Whereas the traditional office once served as the default choice for effective communication and collaboration between coworkers, today’s businesses can be just as productive by collaborating on the web, with as little as $10 and a Google account. Entrepreneurs operate from coffee shops, kitchen tables, and coworking spaces in addition to the traditional office.

We asked three entrepreneurs with drastically different office strategies for their advice on choosing a workspace. Read on for their tips and add your own in the comments below.

What Kind of Office is Best to Start In?

“When you’re starting out, you should absolutely not be spending money on rent,” says Jason Fried, the founder of web-based software company 37signals. “It’s a huge waste of money.”

After Fried started 37signals, he and the other two employees working for the company at the time shared a room with another business. “Basically we had a corner of a desk,” he jokes. Assuming you can find another company that is willing to share, teaming up on a space saves cash while still providing a place to work away from the distractions of home.

Others see value in setting up their own offices from the get-go. After a brief stint at the virtual office, Anthony Franco chose a house in Denver to set up his company, EffectiveUI. It wasn’t an ideal workspace, but he got a deal on the rent. New employees were often greeted on their first day with an Allen wrench, to be used for assembling their own desks.

“We started at home, but if we were going to handle demand, we needed to have a place where we could come and work,” Franco said. He added that the extra value of being able to work as a team (in person) more than made up for the cost of an office.

While the lease route worked out well for EffectiveUI, there’s a certain amount of risk involved with jumping into your own space too soon.

“Most commercial leases are for three to four years, and so if you’re small and you’re starting out and you’ve got a couple people, you’re making way too much of a commitment,” Fried argues. “You don’t know where you’re going to be in three years.”

Is Coworking Right for Your Business?

One modern compromise between working completely virtually and committing to a lease is working at a coworking space. These office spaces provide a work environment and an alternative to coffee shops for independent workers.

Campbell McKellar discovered the value of coworking spaces when the company she worked for left their expensive traditional office and started working virtually. The move allowed her to work from anywhere, and she chose Maine. “I was trying to do work in a cottage with family members and dogs running around,” she said. “I loved being fully mobile and independent, but I also wanted to have a platform to do my work.”

LooseCubes, the company McKellar founded in May, runs a website that matches independent workers with coworking spaces and spare desks in other companies. Quite appropriately, it’s currently being run out of a coworking space. McKellar says that working from the space has helped her launch.

“Especially if you’re in a creative business, the best way to get ideas is to meet new people,” she says. “You can get stale by talking to the same five people every day.”

Coworking allows McKellar to “unintentionally network” with the other people in the space, to seek advice from other entrepreneurs, and to host meetings and work with her team at a place that isn’t her living room.

On the other hand, coworking has its challenges and might not be a great fit for every company. Coworking spaces can be distracting, and most of them are set up in a way that requires people making phone calls to seek silence in the hallway.

“For us, quiet and privacy is very important,” Fried says. “So, coworking spaces and coffee shops don’t work for us.”

McKellar admits that on days when she’s “under the gun,” she chooses to work at home. And there is a point at which a company outgrows a coworking space. LooseCubes, for instance, plans to move to its own office space sometime in the next three months.

When Should a Company Transition to a Traditional Office?

“We need to be in a room with a whiteboard that isn’t erased every day, where we can have a conference call in an open environment,” McKellar says of her hopes for transitioning to an office space. Before she commits, however, she wants to wait to see how her site’s public launch goes. In the meantime, she’s renting a room at a Manhattan coworking space called New Work City.

All companies should do something along these lines before committing to a lease, Fried says. “You don’t know if you’re going to be successful,” he says. “And if you are, you might need more space than you have right now…You don’t want to lock yourself into anything when you’re getting started. You want to be as flexible as you possibly can.”

For some people, this means staying virtual for as long as possible. For others like McKellar, it means launching from a coworking space. For Fried’s 37signals, which is based in Chicago but has employees in 11 cities, it meant working from a variety of shared office spaces for about ten years before finally opting for an office of its own in August.

But how do you know when it’s time to make the switch?

One obvious factor is space: “We were only able to rent five or six desks in our last office,” Fried says. “We had nine people in Chicago. We were out of desks at six. So everyone couldn’t come in at the same time, and that was problem.”

Another factor is work environment. If the space you are working in is interfering with your work, it might also be time to opt for an environment you can control. “We work very quietly,” explains Fried. “So our whole thing is be as quiet as possible, don’t talk throughout the day, just have a very quiet setting like a library…You can’t impose those kinds of rules on another company, especially if it’s the other company’s space.”

What are the Benefits of a Traditional Office?

For EffectiveUI, the traditional office was always a great fit. Having grown from a couple of founders to 100 employees since 2005, the company long ago left its house-office behind. They now work from a 12,000-square-foot office space.

But both spaces fulfilled the same requirements: “Whiteboarding, talking with each other and eating lunch together: It’s part of the team culture,” Franco says.

The more traditional office, however, has given him some additional perks. “We have clients come to visit us. We’re able to brand the building and the space, and when people come they can see we’re a real business,” he says.

A lot of people associate traditional offices with being trapped in a cubicle, but Franco maintains that it doesn’t have to be that way. “Just get creative and make it fun, but also give everyone a place to go,” he says.

Can I Have an Untraditional Traditional Office?

Fried thinks of his new office as more of a home base than a traditional office. Employees are free to work at home whenever they want, and half of the company still works in other cities.

“We feel that a combination of both is the best route,” Fried says. “Because we all do want to get together occasionally, and sometimes small teams of five or six people want to get together for a while.”

The home base strategy combines the benefits of virtual and traditional workspaces. When people want to work from another city or find they work better in their pajamas, they can stay home. When they need to collaborate or want to get out of the house, they have a great place to work.

“Our office is highly customized for the way we work,” says Fried. For instance, it has soundproof walls, phone booths for people to make uninterrupted calls, and rooms for small teams.

Most employees who work from Chicago come into the new office about three or four days a week. “We want people to work wherever they work best,” Fried says.

What are your tips for choosing a workspace? Add them in the comments below.

Series supported by RingCentral

This series is supported by RingCentralclass="blippr-nobr">RingCentral. Power your business with a phone system designed to meet the needs of today’s small businesses, entrepreneurs, and mobile professionals. With RingCentral, you can take control of your phone system anywhere — using your existing phones, smartphones, or PCs. Sign up today for a special 60-day free trial.

More Startup Resources from Mashable:

- 8 Funding Contests to Kick Start Your Big Idea/> - HOW TO: Run Your Business Online with $10 and a Google Account/> - 5 Startup Tips From the Father of Gmail and FriendFeed/> - 6 Ways to Recruit Talent for Startups/> - 10 Essential Tips for Building Your Small Biz Team

Image courtesy of iStockphotoclass="blippr-nobr">iStockphoto, francisblack

For more Business coverage:

class="f-el">class="cov-twit">Follow Mashable Businessclass="s-el">class="cov-rss">Subscribe to the Business channelclass="f-el">class="cov-fb">Become a Fan on Facebookclass="s-el">class="cov-apple">Download our free apps for iPhone and iPad

robert shumake

Scripting <b>News</b>: What kind of <b>news</b> system...?

And it's not okay that they're making a bid for exclusivity on the role of News System of the Future, and they can't even keep their servers running properly. Either you deliver the benefit of being the sole provider, or sorry (to ...

Wednesday <b>News</b> « The Confluence

In news related to Michelle raising more money, the GOP seems to be short of it. Gosh, other than 8 years of a failed presidency, and then attacking the popular candidates and their supporters just as the Dems are doing, I can't imagine ...

Google <b>News</b> Now Eight Years Old

google-news-screenshot-old Google today announced on the official Google blog the eighth birthday of Google News. It's a huge milestone for the California-based search company, which launched the Google News service on the 22nd of ...

robert shumake

Scripting <b>News</b>: What kind of <b>news</b> system...?

And it's not okay that they're making a bid for exclusivity on the role of News System of the Future, and they can't even keep their servers running properly. Either you deliver the benefit of being the sole provider, or sorry (to ...

Wednesday <b>News</b> « The Confluence

In news related to Michelle raising more money, the GOP seems to be short of it. Gosh, other than 8 years of a failed presidency, and then attacking the popular candidates and their supporters just as the Dems are doing, I can't imagine ...

Google <b>News</b> Now Eight Years Old

google-news-screenshot-old Google today announced on the official Google blog the eighth birthday of Google News. It's a huge milestone for the California-based search company, which launched the Google News service on the 22nd of ...