Increasing Share of the Small Business Market

Intel has started blogging. Yet another blue-chip to join the ever increasing blogging diaspora. As Paul Walker, an expert on digital media remarks in his blog Zone Read, Intel's blog is an effort to talk about the latest magic recipes from its labs.

With consumer generated media jostling for importance and revenue dollars, its not just advertisers who have started worrying about losing their ginormous share of the profit pie. It's also big businesses who are awakening to the possibility of small and medium size companies taking away the little dollar gnomes from their banks. The Internet and CGM has made it just as easy for Jen Shmo to reach out to her main stream and online customer influencers and opinion leaders, as for business giants. Why else would Intel a predominantly B2B company want to reach out and hold its customers' hands and lead them online through the amazing possibilities in its labs and campuses around the world?

A recent article in BusinessWeek talked about the new B2B marketing courses around the country, and is proof of big businesses waking up to the realization that the changing communication landscape will mean throwing some of the old-school marketing ideas out of the window, and quickly adapting to the rising importance of the digital media. As big businesses struggle to adapt to such revolutionary changes within their expansive spread globally, the playing field has leveled for small businesses.

The Bay area is home to the largest number of small businesses, approximately just under 200,000 as quoted by the San Jose Mercury News and the Wells Fargo small business survey in November 2005. The Bay area is ideal for increasing investment in small businesses with its reservoir of some of the best intellectual capital in the country, government regulations making it easier to set-up shop, and the best employment numbers in the country.

Such ideal conditions have spurred non-profit organizations like The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) to help the advancement of young and willing next-generation entrepreneurs. TiE helps the South Asian community in the Silicon Valley, and across the country, develop business plans and channel resources to establish individual business houses.

With garage-run, multi-billion dollar deals, such as the latest Google and YouTube marriage as inspiration, pipe dreams can now become a reality for every individual empowered by the Web.

Go get 'em Tigers!