Ramon Ray

Because video production and hosting are easier than ever, more business owners are creating their own videos as marketing tools.

Hosting on YouTube, Blip.tv or other video hosting sites makes video sharing easy, and cameras like the Flip that easily transfer video to computers make the entire video production process easier.

Creating basic videos with captions, backgrounds or other professional enhancements is not necessarily a must, but if you want to be taken seriously by your customers (or prospects), it's important that your video looks as good as possible.

As far as tech gadgets are concerned, it seems like iPhones and BlackBerrys have all the popularity. But in the world of small-business owners (and consumers), netbook computers, with prices below $500, are increasingly popular.

They're small, affordable and functional--once you get used to the small screens and keyboards. As your company is looking into what technology to invest in, consider issuing a netbook with wireless broadband to every employee who travels.

Google finally launched its long-awaited voice service, aptly named Google Voice. It's an outgrowth of a service it acquired last year, Grand Central, which gives you one number for all your telephone needs. When people call this number, all the phones you program into the system are called simultaneously. So no matter where you are, you can be reached on the phone, and even better, you only have one number to give out.

As far as tech gadgets are concerned, it seems like iPhones and BlackBerry's have all the popularity. But in the world of small-business owners (and consumers), netbook computers, with prices below $500, are increasingly popular.

When it came to household duties, I was brought up on Pine-Sol.

If the floor needed to be mopped, it was water and Pine-Sol. If the room was a bit musty, a bit of Pine-Sol on a moist rag made it fresh again. If the carpet got stained, Pine-Sol would magically clear it up. For many businesses, Excel is like Pine-Sol.

For a long time now, software-as-a-service companies have been championing the benefits of no-software and minimal computing infrastructure on the desktop. These companies see a world where the desktop computer is less significant and computing power has moved to powerful internet-accessible servers.

In their ideal world, cell phones, smartphones, internet-enabled TVs and other devices replace computers. On the other hand, traditional software vendors continue to champion the importance of traditional software and operating systems on computers and other devices. Now these two sides have started to trade places.

I know that a business's website is one of the most powerful sales tools a small business can have, but I've never thought of a website as a salesperson until now. Do it yourself and you might start looking at websites differently.

If you think of your website as a salesperson, you'll begin to think of it as more than just a glorified brochure.  You'll even want it to be better designed, since you probably want your sales reps to look good.