**What do you really want from the Enterprise Ireland website?**

eBusinessLive readers are invited to give us feedback on the Enterprise Ireland website. Please complete our short survey here. The poll was devised using Gerry McGovern's unique Customer Carewords technique. McGovern is widely regarded as a worldwide authority on managing web content as a business asset. His Customer Carewords method enables users to tell web owners in precise, statistical terms why they visit their website. Thank you for your participation in the survey. Your feedback will be used to improve our online presence.

Social networking can benefit businesses

A British think-tank has urged bosses not to stop staff using social networking sites at work. The study by Demos said that encouraging employees to use networking technologies to build relationships and links with colleagues and customers may actually help businesses. Report author Peter Bradwell said while firms used specific systems to share information, online social networking sites could also play a role, helping with productivity, innovation and democratic working. But he said there should be practical guidelines to limit non-work usage of such sites. "Bans on Facebook or YouTube are almost impossible to enforce; firms may as well try to put a time limit on the numbers of minutes allowed each day for gossiping," said Bradwell in the report. "The answer is not to close staff access to social network platforms, nor is it investing blindly in collaborative platforms. We argue we need to understand how, once we accept the implications of social networks, we can manage the new challenges and trade-offs." For more on this story see IrishExaminer.com.

Use IT to combat recession: expert

Companies are using innovation to fight the recession, according to the head of consultancy firm Forrester Research, George Colony. Writing in his blog, Colony advised firms to maintain their focus on using technology to interact with customers during the global downturn. "In a recession, the use of Facebook, Linked In, e-commerce and blogs will increase, not decrease, as people look for jobs, companies stay closer to their customers, and easier-to-ROI internet advertising accelerates," he said. "Companies will have to stay focused on their websites, social strategies, and e-commerce this time around -- or risk losing their next generation of customers," he added. Technology spending is unlikely to be drastically cut because it's already at a relatively low level. In addition, companies have long-term technology plans in place that are unlikely to be cut back, Colony said, citing examples such as virtualisation, social computing, mobile computing, green IT and service-oriented architecture. For more on this story see VNUnet.com.

More UK surfers shop online

Fifty percent of UK internet users aged 16 and over went online to buy goods or services last year, according to a survey by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising. And by 2008, the number of online shoppers had risen to 55 percent of adult internet users, said the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Eighty-one percent of this group had made purchases during the previous three months. Although the number of purchasers and the range of goods bought online both rose, there is little evidence that the average spend per buyer increased, according to the ONS. Survey respondents seemed to be spending the same amounts online in 2008 as in 2006 and 2007. Meanwhile, a BT and Ipsos MORI poll found that the percentage of respondents saying they regularly shop online had risen from 2 percent in 1998 to 41 percent in 2008. For more on this story see eMarketer.com.

Criminals gain easy access to fraud

Security experts have noted the rise of a worrying new trend dubbed 'fraud as a service'. Named after the increasingly popular pay-as-you-go model for accessing software applications, 'fraud as a service' enables criminals to purchase malware in internet chat rooms or discussion forums. The type of malware on offer ranges from information-stealing Trojans, to bulletproof hosting to ensure zero downtime, to fully integrated infection services. "Anyone can do fraud these days - you just need to go to the right place to get user credentials," said Uri Rivner, head of new technologies at security vendor RSA. Rivner explained that roughly half of phishing attacks are now carried out by individuals or small groups who meet, exchange information and trade each other's services in internet chat rooms. To mitigate the risk of being defrauded, Rivner advised firms to employ three key strategies: limit credit harvesting by detecting, blocking and shutting down attacks; roll out two-factor and adaptive authentication to customers; and monitor transactions. For more, visit VNUnet.com.

Here are some of the issues our forum members have been discussing in the last fortnight:

• Missing Office discs view thread
• Registering multiple business names view thread
• Low cost calls to UK mobiles view thread

Changing your web address

Video content (part two): getting technical

Case study: Holfeld Plastics

Access your email on the move

Clontarf Castle, Dublin 3, November 19
This free event is a collaboration between European Recycling Platform (ERP) Ireland and ERP UK. Electrical waste management strategies will be explored, along with advice on how to achieve WEEE compliance objectives. Members, stakeholders, local authorities and government officials are invited to attend.

This site was set up by broadband provider Centrecom to provide Irish companies and staff with information on eWorking, also known as home working or teleworking. According to research quoted on the site, 40 percent fewer Irish people work from home than the EU average, and 69 percent of Irish staff would be more likely to join a company that offered eWorking. Along with information on the benefits of teleworking for both employer and employee, the site provides an overview of the legalities involved in establishing such an arrangment, a guide to the technologies needed, and a range of reports and studies into aspects such as cost savings and HR issues.