For the majority of small-business respondents in the 2009 Small Business Attitudes & Outlook Survey, the economic recovery is nigh. Seventy percent anticipate moderate to significant growth this year (only 1 percent think they will close their businesses), and 47 percent expect to hire additional employees.

The survey, conducted by online marketing firm Constant Contact, reveals two things, said CEO Gail Goodman: the optimism and perseverance of business owners, and their ability to adapt to even the toughest economic conditions. read more...

The big news at Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference, as expected, was the unveiling of a new iPhone. This one's called the 3G S and, among its more advanced features, it has the ability to record video.

The 3G S is also said to be twice as fast for data as the current 3G model, which Apple is putting on sale for as low as $99. The 3G S will start at $199 for a 16-gigabyte model. It comes with a three-megapixel camera. And new software will allow users to plug into MMS technology that allows the sending of pictures via text message. read more...

The buzz at Apple's Worldwide Developer's Conference in San Francisco continues to be apps, apps and more apps - for the iPhone of course. Those little programs that do everything from find friends to provide a virtual mug of beer are the hottest topic at the confab.

The New York Times is live-blogging the event while the Los Angeles Times is checking in with updates via Twitter. While there is much speculation about a possible new hardware version of the iPhone, so far the big news is about new apps that, for example, will allow iPhone users to get turn-by-turn map directions from TomTom. read more...

According to the Discover Small Business Watch monthly report, 38 percent of entrepreneurs surveyed said they used Facebook, Linked-In, My Space or Twitter, up from 22 percent in October of 2007.

A little less than half of those people, however, said they used their social-networking accounts to promote their businesses.
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As an entrepreneur, the internet is arguably your best friend--you thrive on its endless supply of free marketing, e-business and communications tools. But it can also be your worst enemy--a web of timewasters that can be tough to escape from. In fact, the very online tools you depend on to run your business can distract you from running it.

If you're a Mac user, there's hope--no, not from your tragic hipness, but at least from losing time online. It's called Freedom, and, despite what the Second-Amendment crowd might tell you, it is, in fact, free. read more...

Google has established a venture capital fund that will be formally unveiled tomorrow, The New York Times reports. The fund could be seeded with as much as $100 million.

Its focus will, as might be expected, include internet ventures, clean technologies and life sciences. The fund will be run by David Drummond, senior vice president of corporate developing and chief legal officer at the web-search giant, the paper reports. read more...

Until recently, it has been assumed that social networking was largely something for younger generations. Even here at Entrepreneur, we've debated the validity of sites like Twitter, with the lines being drawn along generational divides. The fact is, while the young may be the early adopters, the older generations are finding their way into social networking, blogging and other forms of digital media.

According to a recent Nielsen report, blogs and social networking have surpassed personal e-mail to become the fourth most popular online activity. Apparently, social networking accounts for 10 percent of all global internet activity and is expected to grow at three times the rate of internet activity overall read more...

For those of you who golf and who also have a little anger about the $50 billion swindle that will likely put investment fund manager Bernard Madoff in prison for the rest of his life, one entrepreneurial concern might have a little bit of comic relief.

Sleazeballs LLC is peddling a Bernard Madoff golf ball. It has his name, "Bernie Madoff," and likeness printed at the sweet spot. It promises "maximum hypocrisy," "optimum spin for maximum duplicity," and "two-faced pretension." read more...

New York-based Angelsoft recently announced a new online tool that will allow users to search for venture capital firms as well as angel investors, TechCrunch reports

The new tool allows startups to look at 1,000 venture capital firms, seek out 400 angel-investment groups and access more than 15,000 total investors worldwide.

With Angelsoft's online service, entrepreneurs can find out about investors usual funding levels, what industries they prefer, how many applicants they usually see and what kind of money they've seeded in the past. read more...

Conventional wisdom says employees with prior work experience are much better hires than those without. Experienced workers are obviously better all-around because they bring with them valuable knowledge and require less hand-holding. Well, not so fast. New evidence reveals there are unforeseen costs to experience, even if the positives ultimately outweigh the negatives.

According to research by business school professors Steffanie Wilk (Ohio State University's Fisher College of Business), Gina Dokko (New York University's Stern School of Business) and Nancy Rothbard (University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business), experienced workers may actually retain bad habits from former jobs that hurt performance in their new workplaces. read more...