PowerBlog Review: The Security Mentor

Editor's note: It's that time again -- time for the fifty-first in our regular weekly series of PowerBlog Reviews of business weblogs.



We like to think that all the blogs we review in our PowerBlog Review series are helpful resources. But The Security Mentor has to be one of the most practical of all the blogs we've looked at.



The Security Mentor provides "advice for normal people about computer and information security from Beryllium Sphere(R) LLC." (By the way, aren't blogs great, with their plain English topic descriptions? How different from traditional websites they are, where you can read the About section and still not have a clue what the business does.)



The blog is a client resource and marketing tool for Beryllium Sphere LLC, a computer security consulting company in Redmond, Washington, USA. Fred Wamsley is the owner and chief blogger. His company specializes in serving small businesses, especially the SOHO (small office/home office) market.



Fred has a crystal clear idea of who he is trying to reach with his blog, saying:

'My target reader is someone motivated enough to do online research but unwilling to become a full-fledged nerd. The "computer person by default" at a small business, who becomes the de facto IT department because "s/he knows about those computers", is a perfect example.'

He started blogging after a businessman friend suggested he start an online newsletter in blog form. The friend suggested it as a way to publicize what he brings to the table for small businesses.



The Security Mentor solves a growing problem on the Web today: too much information. With all the billions of Web pages at our fingertips, it can be surprisingly difficult to find the answer to your questions. Information is often too general to be useful, or alternatively, is too detailed and assumes the reader starts with technical knowledge he or she doesn't have.



Fred filters data and turns it into useful information that is understandable by non-technical people. As Fred tells me, he does a lot of professional reading. He is plugged into dozens of mailing lists and RSS feeds -- something the average small business owner doesn't have time to do, let alone know where to look for the information.



When Fred comes across something of interest, he applies common sense, asks himself whether the item really matters to small businesses, and then translates it into plain English in the blog. This makes The Security Mentor one of the most readable technical weblogs out there.



The blog does something else that blogs are quite good at: correcting misinformation. If a major news story is getting lots of attention but Fred doesn't feel people are getting it right, he will correct it.



One of the other features about this blog I really like is the "Security Mentor Medal of Cluefulness." This is a mock award that Fred gives out to businesses that implement innovative security techniques. The first Medal was given out in January to U.S. Bancorp, for giving customers little devices that plug into USB ports and take the place of remembering passwords to log onto their online banking.





The Power: The Power of The Security Mentor is in the way it filters data relating to a highly technical subject, pointing out just what small businesses need to know, and doing it in plain English.

Top Ten Credit Card Trends

This past Monday the Wall Street Journal ran a special section profiling the top 10 trends in 10 industries.



One of the articles is about the top 10 trends in credit cards (requires subscription). You'd think something as mundane and well-established as credit cards couldn't possibly have any new trends. But, in fact, a lot is changing and evolving. Here are the top 10 trends in credit cards:

1. Loyalty Awards More Attractive - Loyalty programs that let credit card users accumulate points for using their cards, are growing in popularity. Today's loyalty programs allow consumers to get rewards quickly, without waiting years. And forget about frequent flier miles -- many programs let you use your points to pay for all sorts of things, including telephone bills and oil changes -- even cash back.



2. Debit Cards Growing - Debit cards, where the money is electronically withdrawn from your back account, represent the fastest growing segment of electronic transactions. One of three in-store purchases today is with a debit card. Look for online transactions to be the next frontier for debit cards.



3. No Charge Too Small - Remember when retailers used to have a size minimum for a credit card purchase? Some still do, because of the transaction fees charged. But Americans are using credit cards for much smaller purchases today, including fast food meals and $.99 songs from iTunes.



4. A More Level Playing Field - Expect even more credit card pitches in your mailbox, because banks can now issue credit cards through Discover and American Express, in addition to Visa or MasterCard. (My shredder just burped!)



5. Foreign Currency Conversions Lead to Litigation - Credit cards have been the target of class action lawsuits in the past on a variety of issues. The latest hot litigation topic: suits against credit card issuers for failing to disclose fees on foreign currency transactions.



6. Credit Card Gift Cards - Many banks offer gift cards branded with the Visa or MasterCard logo, that can be used like a credit card up to a designated amount. But watch out, there have been lots of consumer complaints about excessive dormancy fees and expiration dates.



7. Hey, Big Spender - The credit card companies not only want the small sales, they want the big spenders too. American Express offers an invitation-only Centurion card for customers who charge more than US$150,000 per year! Coutts bank in the U.K., that counts Queen Elizabeth as a customer, offers a high end card in purple that is delivered in a mahogany box.



8. Fingerprints and Irises - Credit cards are going high tech, to make transactions faster and to prevent fraud. Some issuers are using fingerprint scans, requiring the customer to place a finger on a fingerprint reader. Others are using RFID tags -- the card or even a key fob is simply waved in front of a reader, completing the transaction in seconds.



9. Merchants Fight Back - Merchants have a love-hate relationship with credit cards. They feel they have no choice but to accept high fees from Visa, MasterCard, etc. They've begun to fight back with lawsuits and boycotting certain cards.



10. No Bank? No Problem - About 10 million U.S. households have no bank account. That's why prepaid credit cards are on the rise. About 25% of those 10 million households will buy prepaid credit cards.

Hat tip to Steve Rucinski of Small Business CEO, who saved the Trends section of the Journal for me -- I had missed Monday's paper due to travel. With the Journal I like to read the hard copy version and then if I spot a trend worth noting here, I go online and link to the electronic version.

Business Blogging Awards - Vote!

I'm honored to say that Small Business Trends has been nominated for the Business Blogging Awards. We've been nominated as "Best Blog about Small Business."



It's great to see awards devoted solely to business blogging. Thank you, Jeremy and Darren, the organizers of these awards.



So head on over and cast your vote in the Business Blogging Awards. And please vote for Small Business Trends!

Banks Want Mexican Immigrants

A while back I wrote about the huge volume of money flowing from Latin American immigrants back to their home countries. In 2004 immigrants to the United States sent home US $30 Billion (yes, that's billion with a "b").



In some cases the money is used to fund small business startups back in the home country.



Now, Juan Tornoe at the excellent Hispanic Trending blog, notes that major U.S. banks want a cut of this funding stream, as part of their strategy to attract the Latino market. The banks are offering to send money with no fees whatsoever, in the hopes of attracting credit card and mortgage business from the immigrants.



Who may be losing out? The wire transfer companies and small corner stores in ethnic neighborhoods currently wiring money back home, that's who. Quoting a Chicago Tribune article:

"Major banks still make up only 3 percent of a market dominated by wire-transfer companies and mom-and-pop stores. But the rush is on, according to banking experts."

Juan's own observations about being an immigrant to the United States from Guatemala were recently published in Marketing y Medios -- check out what Juan has to say.

BusinessTV Channel.com - Worth the Time

Here's an excellent resource for small business owners and entrepreneurs: BusinessTVchannel.com.



BusinessTVchannel.com is an Internet site where you can go to watch and listen to video on business topics of interest to small business owners. It's like a cross between broadcast TV and the Internet.



They offer a morning newscast. They also offer shows on topics such as managing cash flow, how to hire good people, and increasing your sales.



Ruth King, the CEO, is just like most small business owners in the real world: a down-to-earth business person. Ruth has been a pioneer in video and educational resources to serve small business owners. The site was started as EntrepreneursTV.com, and just recently changed its name.



When Ruth first contacted me, I have to admit that I wondered "why would anyone need a newscast for small business?" But then I watched the newscast, and realized it really saves you time. It is a crisp 20 minutes, tailored specifically for time-starved business owners. A lot of the extraneous business news applicable to stock market trading, earnings reports, etc. is summarized and filtered, so that you get just what you need to know. It doesn't take the place of your local newscasts for local news, but it certainly cuts down on the time you need to spend getting the business news.



You really have to try it to see what I mean.



All the shows are recorded, so you can watch them anytime of the day or night using Windows Media player, no matter what time zone you are in, right from your computer. Or you can do what I do, and listen to the shows while working on something else at your computer.



Here's the best part: through February 15, 2005, readers of Small Business Trends can take advantage of an outstanding special. If you sign up for BusinessTVchannel.com using the promotional code "smallbiztrends" you can get the first two months for only $2 (US dollars). Yes, that's right, just $2.



After that the cost is currently $19.95 per month plus tax. You can cancel at any time, but I think once you start watching BusinessTVchannel.com, you will want to stick with it.



Here at Small Business Trends we earn a few shiny nickels for each BusinessTVchannel.com subscription. But as regular readers know, I provide a limited selection of offers and I choose them very carefully. When I offer something on this site -- such as free trade magazines or inexpensive marketing lists -- readers seem to feel they are getting something worthwhile, based on the popularity of them. But I'll let you be the judge of that.