Small Business Trends

I’m delighted to introduce our latest small biz expert here at Small Business Trends. His name is Doug Shuman and he is the Senior Vice President of Register.com. Doug will be writing about trends in domain names, websites and and other aspects on your business’s online presence.

I met Doug last fall when I moderated a panel discussion at the New York Business Expo. Doug was one of the panelists. I was impressed with his practical approach and his ability to communicate technology issues in business terms.

Take something as simple as choosing a domain name. It can get bafflingly detailed if you let it. And many of the advice articles you see are written for professional “domainers,” i.e., people who buy and sell domain names for a profit. But most of us don’t fit the definition of domainers — we’re not even close. We need practical advice around choosing one or maybe a couple of domain names that serve our businesses well. We’re not looking to snap up hundreds or even thousands of domain names.

The same goes for issues relating to websites and online visibility. Advice is only as good as it is practical. And it should reflect today’s trends — what’s changing, what’s different — and tell us something beyond the obvious.

I was also impressed by the fact that Register.com recently put up a Learning Center on their website with articles and advice for small businesses. The information is geared toward the mainstream small-business, and not necessarily the already-super-savvy online entrepreneurs that some other registrars cater to. Doug writes articles there, as does Wendy Kennedy, another executive from Register.com who I met at the New York Business Expo. I like it when executives are hands on in a company’s website reaching out to customers — it shows commitment.

Please welcome Doug to the community.

Doug’s first article is: Picking a Domain Name When Choices Are Scarce