By now, most small business owners understand the important role the Internet can play in helping to raise and drive interest and demand for their products and services. With all the innovative online technologies out there, it's easy to feel tempted to rush into things. Please, for the love of your business, slow down.

Before you worry about launching a Twitter channel or pitching a post idea to a local blogger, you need to take a step back and consider how online conversations might impact the reputation of your small business. PR blow-ups aren't just a problem for big companies - there are risks for small businesses, too. Online engagement requires the same level of planning and thought you give to other parts of your business. Here are four tips for protecting your small business - and livelihood - online. Read more. 

Despite online video and commercial-skipping DVRs, companies still spend 38 percent of their advertising budgets on television ads and just 1 percent on online video. YouTube is trying to change that.

In a bid to lure TV ad dollars, YouTube is making the case to brands that online video is the best way to reach customers. It is part of the YouTube's evolution from a free-for-all Web site for goofball videos to, it hopes, a destination for professionally produced videos and the advertisers that want to appear near them. Read more.