Social networks help to meet people and maintain relationships, and conferencing tools collaborate with those contacts. The recently launched 5050Biz takes those related islands and mashes them back into a Pangea of communication. By reducing the mental and monetary overhead of running multiple services, 5050Biz could save you money and improve your productivity.

I think that getting people involved in a new social network could be 5050Biz's biggest hurdle. I hate trying keep a profile current in unrelated networks. But the non-traditional features could displace--or supplement--your current social networks.

Given the soft commercial real estate market, you might be considering a move. Upgrade to a bigger, better office for the same price as your current lease, or pick a smaller, cheaper space to weather economic conditions. Either way, you've got to get your hardware to the new office, and the cheapest mover might end up costing more in the long term. Here's how to find a good company.

Learn the basics. Visit the Protect Your Move website for an overview on what to do and avoid. Especially navigate to the state page; depending on where you live, you might find a link to a regional website with specific state rules.

Apple may have rejected the Google Voice app from the App Store, but BlackBerry owners can tap into this call-management center right now, getting better organized with free features.

Google Voice gives you a single phone number and tools to forward incoming calls to any line you want. So no matter where you are—in a taxi, at a satellite office away from your regular desk, staying in a hotel, or anywhere—that single number can ring those destinations at the same time. You just answer wherever you happen to be.

You might be able to skip a costly website design by choosing an off-the-shelf template. Small businesses can take the most advantage of this option, since they likely lack the entrenched website infrastructure of large companies. But those big business might still want to try themes for a tech-savvy HR person to run an internal newsletter website or other inward-pointing situations.

ThemeForest is one of the many sites to sell theme templates. This site's authors upload themes, and you pick from more than 1,000. Technically, the themes work in several situations, including plain HTML, Flash-based, or WordPress sites.

If you still haven't built a backup plan because of hardware costs, shirk those fees, and focus on an online service. You'll pay a monthly fee instead of hundreds or thousands of dollars up front, scaling up service across as many systems as you need.

One backup service, MozyPro, offers a few features aimed at small businesses. Like most services, Mozy automatically encrypts data and transfers it over a secure connection. After you make the initial upload, it'll monitor for changes, building incremental backups to save upload time. And it'll work on Windows and Mac operating systems, including Windows servers.

Your phone system could be costly and dumb. Can you dynamically route calls to different numbers, even ringing them all at the same time? Can you place VoIP calls from a computer, dedicated handset, or even iPhone software? Can people call your home number while you're traveling internationally, costing both of you nothing if answered through VoIP? A nimble, online-based phone system can tackle all of these situations.

Google Voice is a great tool, but it's mostly aimed at individuals. An alternative, Sipgate, provides service for many people at a company, scaling from a few to 100. You'll manage everything from a website, even able to share voice messages and call recordings.

If you treat Microsoft Word like a typewriter, you're not taking advantage of its time-saving features. Sure, it's easy to lose track of the seemingly endless Office abilities and just concentrate on the text. I know I do. But one simple example--AutoCorrect--can constantly save you a little time, making you a faster typist and helping you get more done.

Like T9 texting on mobile phones, AutoCorrect uses your shorthand to expand common words or phrases. Start by identifying things that you commonly enter in your industry, then add them to Word's preferences.

Almost all applications hold secrets, from simple tools that sleekly cram hidden abilities, to giant, bloatware suites that shovel in a new pile of features every year. How can you keep up with your software? Online, video-training resource, Lynda.com, hosts hundreds of lessons on hundreds of programs. The nominal amount you'll spend there could pay you back in improved productivity, as your workers become proficient at all of their applications.

While Lynda.com even includes operating system basics to help with Windows and OS X, I like the range and depth of lessons that are based on software programs. Nearly every application that I use is represented; check the list to see if yours are covered. Even Twitter and other trending software is included.

I'm looking forward to Microsoft's browser-based edition of Office. While the company isn't leading the trend to cloud-based apps, it's certainly in the middle of the movement. Microsoft's suite will be released next year, but you can save money by accessing online office-style apps right now. In-browser productivity suites are typically free. Plus, I like them for lightweight systems, such as netbooks, where Microsoft's desktop suite feels too bloated for even typing.

Google Docs offers free browser-based productivity apps, with basic features that match the Office apps. While I often use that service, I'm especially interested in the Zoho suite. Its apps include a cleaner interface and a few features beyond Google's options.

Instead of relying on an Exchange Server, traditional user licenses, and client-side software, InfoStreet's StreetSmart pushes email and essential business tools entirely online. Hosted, cloud-based options could save you money over running an Exchange Server. Plus, you'll be able to connect to email and other productivity apps through any web browser on any OS. Even a lightly powered netbook can tap in, so you can cut weight when traveling.

The software-as-a-service tools include customer and contact management, task management, calendering, email, file hosting, and more. You can customize the tools to your needs, but don't expect them to replace every client-based application you currently need. Instead, StreetSmart strikes at the core of Exchange Server functionality, going a little beyond those basics.

Capital can be tight for any business, but startups especially feel the pinch, squeezing as much as possible out of their seed money. Instead of ramping up on-site staff, consider outsourcing as a way to stretch your cash. You'll be able to scale contract costs up or down depending on business success.

8KMiles applies this outsourcing model to a virtual environment. The company helps find skilled workers, letting you make connections across the world, all without leaving your PC.

If you're tapped into cloud networks to offload--and scale--some of your computing needs, you probably think that you're paying for only what you use. But just like your cell phone plan and attorney's rate might charge you for a full increment of time when you roll over the billing period, you might save money by nibbling at cloud services on an hourly basis.

SoftLayer's CloudLayer is great for short bursts of cloud computing needs, scaling to about $.20 to $.80 per hour, depending on your storage and processor requirements. You can initially tap into a virtual server in about 5 minutes, and you can run typical cloud services, with support for SQL Server and access to storage from any platform.

IT management can be a single, big expense for medium- and small-businesses; it's an easy target to try to save money. Whether you have in-house IT help, you use offsite contractors, or even if you have a savvy employee who doubles as a help desk, just getting to an afflicted PC can be your biggest cost. Techinline Remote Desktop gives access through a browser and quick download so that even if you're manning a backyard barbeque on this holiday weekend with one hand, you can instantly help someone in the office with the other.

The initiating PC establishes a Techinline account, downloads and runs a small utility, and can then invite the remote PC to connect. The connection gets made without knowing or setting IP addresses or any other networking functions, and it encrypts everything through an SSL connection. Techinline works with all recent Windows operating systems--going back to Windows 98--and Internet Explorer or Firefox. (Look for other options if you need other operating systems.)