The Lounge

Hi guys.

I just wanted to let regular readers know that the Business Lounge has moved to a new domain and can be found here.

Please bookmark the new site and I look forward to seeing you over there and continuing to discuss the latest business news and opinions.

Thanks,

Danny.

Leading search engine Google has pulled out of negotiations to buy Digg, one of the best-known names in the burgeoning social media market. Although both companies were close to finalizing a deal as recently as last week, it's believed that Google got cold feet during the final stages.

Conflicting reports say that the deal's collapse is down to some technical issues on Digg's side, while other reports claim that it's more a conflict of character between Google and Digg's senior figures.

Either way, it leaves Digg still searching for a new buyer or investor.

For many small businesses, a professional website can offer the ideal method for attracting new customers. It's less expensive than traditional advertising methods and it offers a one-stop shop for all your products and services, not to mention allows visitors to get to know more about you. Unfortunately, many small businesses simply don't have the time or expertise to create a professional website; nor do they have the often lucrative costs involved to hire a web design company.

However, thanks to software specialist iThemes and their excellent range of premium Wordpress themes, you can now have your own professional-looking website up and running within a matter of hours, for as little as the cost of the theme, a domain name and a hosting package with the likes of Hostgator or Bluehost.

The beauty of using the Wordpress set-up along with the iThemes designs is that they truly do complement each other perfectly. Wordpess has long been recognized as one of the easiest content management systems around - you want to change something, you simply make the required edits just as you would on a Word document. Add to that the fact that Wordpress has some of the best web tools in the business - All-in-One-SEO and Askimet Spam Filter are just two of the best examples - and it really is a powerful tool for both ease-of-use and SEO benefits.

One of the reasons many businesses haven't used Wordpress previously is that it has had the tag of being "just a blogger's platform" for so long that it's hard for these businesses to look past that tag and at how Wordpress shapes up now - a lot of this is thanks to the innovators at iThemes.

Not content with simply designing a good-looking Wordpress theme that could be used professionally, the developers at iThemes have come up with some of the most striking and professional looking Wordpress themes found anywhere today. Indeed, so advanced are they that they put many "professional non-Wordpress" theme templates and designs to shame. For example, I use one for my PR agency, the "Deep Order" theme - I think you'd agree that it doesn't look like your standard Wordpress theme.

There are a host of themes to choose from at the iThemes website - from corporate to Web 2.0 designs, photography-heavy themes and more; there's certain to be one that suits your business. Thanks to their excellent video tutorials for each theme, iThemes even make it easy for a website newbie to design a great looking site.

And with prices starting at only $29.95 for templates, when you combine this with a $6.95 per month web host cost and an average $9.95 domain name fee, you can see how even the smallest and newest of businesses can get off the ground with their own professional website for very little cost. 

In what may come as no real surprise to regular followers of workplace benefits, search engine giant Google has topped the recently announced list of the Top 100 Companies To Work For. As well as excellent pay and work environments, Google also encourages employees to have fun; colourfully decorated workstations are actively encouraged, and there are on-site laundry facilities, state-of-the-art gyms, employee play areas and more.

 

Couple that with Google's willingness to listen to its employees and encourage change, and it's easy to see why they have topped the list for the second year running. The actual Top 10 list consists of the following companies:

1. Google

2. Quicken Loans

3. Wegmans Food Markets

4. Edward Jones

5. Genentech

6. Cisco Systems

7. Starbucks

8. Qualcomm

9. Goldman Sachs

10. Methodist Hospital System

The full Top 100 Companies To Work for list can be found here .

In a joint experiment with project partner Kansai Electric Power Co., Toyota is using the very same carbon dioxide blamed for global warming to grow plants in a specially designed greenhouse, helping to offset the amount of carbon emissions released into the atmosphere. Combined with natural gas for the power source, electricity for the lighting and waste heat for warming the water used to feed the plants, the greenhouse is the first commercial building to use three energy sources at once.

Where the carbon dioxide comes in is via the electricity source – CO2 is created when you generate electricity and remove the nitrogen oxide side result. This in turn falls back onto the plants in the greenhouse, making it a unique way to reduce carbon emissions and put back into the planet at the same time.

With a projection of reducing CO2 emissions by more than 400 tonnes per year, as well as an investment of over $1 million in the system, let’s hope that it’s a successful venture. The planet needs all the help it can get, yet so far many companies are ignoring their part to play. If big corporations like Toyota are continuing to be heavily involved – they’re one of the most forward-thinking companies worldwide regarding the environment - there’s hope for us all yet.