Crowd funding in 2014, the New Ecommerce strategy to gather capital for your project!

The twenty-first century, with break-throughs in technology has created innovative strategies for small and medium-sized businesses to raise capital to fund their projects. Conventional banks and lending institutions are crippled by extensive regulations including Dodd-Frank, which limits the amount of financial risk banks can take for small companies who want to market their product or service. As a result of this vacuum the need is being filled by the emergence of crowd funding. Crowd funding is becoming a lucrative source of capital for small businesses. This article will briefly look at 10 websites who are active players in this new industry. The Internet is filled with discussions about crowd funding. Fox news recently featured a 3D printing company who used crowd funding to bring their new $199 3D printer to market. New ideas create excitement and this draws millions of potential businesses and investors to this market place. Unfortunately we have found over 700 websites who claim to provide crowd funding. Our research has limited this number down to ten sites who are crowd funding sites with a strong track record of providing accurate and complete information to investors.
Let us ask the question… what crowd funding site is best for you?
As a crowdfunding industry reporter, I wanted to provide you an easy guide for which site to visit for your crowdfunding needs.

I’ll begin with a small overview of this industry, a short primer on the different kinds of crowdfunding models so you can find what you’re looking for, and then I’ll get to specific site recommendations.

The base of the Crowdfunding Industry
Collaboration on the web is an area of tremendous growth. Crowdfunding, or collaborative funding via the web, is one of the standouts for growth in this evolving collaborative economy.

The Crowdfunding Industry Report by Massolution provided data showing the general crowdfunding industry has raised $5.7 billion in 2013, across more than 2 million individual campaigns globally. In 2014 the industry is projected to grow to $7.1 billion.

Some of the most interesting developments in crowdfunding, which are expected to grow in the months and years ahead, include: investment crowdfunding, which is simply (becoming a shareholder in a company), localization (funding focused on participants in specific cities and neighborhoods), mobile solutions, and group-based approaches.

The JOBS Act that was passed in April of 2012 paved the way to investment crowdfunding; however, the JOBS Act Rulings by the SEC have yet to be fully implemented to formally start the market. Expect big movement and activity in this area in 2014 and 2015.

Crowdfunding Models
There are 2 main models or types of crowdfunding. The first is what is known as donation-based funding. The birth of crowdfunding has evolved through this model, where funders donate via a collaborative goal based process in return for products, perks or rewards.

The second and more recent model is investment crowdfunding, where businesses seeking capital sell ownership stakes online in the form of equity or debt. In this model, individuals who fund become owners or shareholders and have a potential for financial return, unlike the donation model.


Crowdfunding Sites You Can Choose From
Business owners are using different crowdfunding sites than musicians. Musicians are using different sites from causes and charities. Below is a list of crowdfunding sites that have different models and focuses. This list can help you find the right place for your crowdfunding goals and needs.

1. Kickstarter
Kickstarter is a site where creative projects raise donation-based funding. These projects will range from new creative products, like an art installation, to a cool watch, to pre-selling a music album. It’s not for businesses, causes, charities, or personal financing needs. Kickstarter is one of the earlier platforms, and has experienced strong growth and many break-out large campaigns in the last few years.

2. Indiegogo
While Kickstarter maintains a tighter focus and curates the creative projects approved on its site, Indiegogo approves donation-based fundraising campaigns for most anything — music, hobbyists, personal finance needs, charities and whatever else you could think of (except investment). They have had international growth because of their flexibility, broad approach and their early start in the industry.

3. Crowdfunder
Crowdfunder is the crowdfunding platform for businesses, with a growing social network of investors, tech startups, small businesses, and social enterprises (financially sustainable/profitable businesses with social impact goals).

Crowdfunder offers a blend of donation-based and investment crowdfunding from individuals and angel investors, and was a leading participant in the JOBS Act legislation. The company has localized crowdfunding and investment to help develop entrepreneurial ecosystems and access to capital outside Silicon Valley. Its unique CROWDFUNDING initiative in cities across the US and Mexico connects local investors with local entrepreneurs both online and offline, and does the work to validate top local companies in each city across the US and Mexico.

4. RocketHub
RocketHub powers donation-based funding for a wide variety of creative projects.

What’s unique about RocketHub is their FuelPad and LaunchPad programs that help campaign owners and potential promotion and marketing partners connect and collaborate for the success of a campaign.

5. Crowdrise
Crowdrise is a place for donation-based funding for Causes and Charities. They’ve attracted a community of do-gooders and fund all types of inspiring causes and needs.

A unique Points System on Crowdrise helps track and reveal how much charitable impact members and organizations are making.

6. Somolend
Somolend is a site for lending for small businesses in the US, providing debt-based investment funding to qualified businesses with existing operations and revenue. Somolend has partnered with banks to provide loans, as well as helping small business owners bring their friends and family into the effort.

With their Midwest roots, a strong founder who was a leading participant in the JOBS Act legislation, and their focus and lead in the local small business market, Somolend has begun expanding into multiple cities and markets in the US.

7. appbackr
If you want to create the next new mobile app and are seeking donation-based funding to get things off the ground or growing, then check out appbackr and their niche community for mobile app development.

8. AngelList
If you’re a tech startup with a shiny lead investor already signed on, or looking for Silicon Valley momentum, then there are angels and institutions finding investments through AngelList. For some time AngelList didn’t say that they did crowdfunding, which makes sense as they have catered to the investment establishment in tech startups, but now they’re getting into the game. The accredited investors and institutions on AngelList have been funding a growing number of select tech startup deals.

9. Invested.in
You might want to create your own crowdfunding community to support donation-based fundraising for a specific group or niche in the market. Invested.in is a Venice, CA based company that is a top name “white label” software provider, giving you the tools to get started and grow your own.

10. Quirky
If you’re an inventor, maker, or tinkerer of some kind then Quirky is a place to collaborate and crowdfund for donation-based funding with a community of other like-minded inventors. Their site digs deeper into helping the process of bringing an invention or product to life, allowing community participation in the process.

These 10 crowdfunding sites cover most campaign types or funding goals you may have. Whether you’re looking to fundraise or not, go visit the sites listed in this article that grab your attention and become involved in this collaborative community.
ABCO Technology offers classes for Ecommerce and crowd funding strategies. Please call us at (310) 216-3067 between 9 AM and 6 PM Monday through Friday. You can Email us at: info@abcotechnology.edu for a schedule of classes.
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Content Length Long Verses Short

For many years the deep secret of blogging was the 500-word blog post. It was the winning formula. These posts worked every time. Until it didn't.

Then in August 2013, Google updated their algorithm for showing search results for in-depth articles. Google explained this by saying that "up to 10% of users' daily information needs revolve around learning about a broad topic." And so we saw an influx of brands publishing upward of 2,000 words per post!
So, going forward, which form of content should you focus your content creation energy on: short or long, or perhaps a mix? If you go for a mix, then at what ratio? Let's look at some factors you need to consider that will help you make this decision.

A caveat before we proceed: I think we can all agree that content length for the sake of length is not just a dumb strategy, but it will backfire all of the advantages discussed below. So we'll continue this analysis with the hypothesis that all content being created, whether long or short, meets quality criteria (i.e., it is valuable, helpful, entertaining, etc.)
Marco Arment quote
Long-Form Content
Long-form content is described as content that is typically 2,000 words in length or thereabouts and makes for a compelling, insightful read. Examples of long-form content include whitepapers, e-books, guides, resources, videos, and webinars.


Pros:
•Google has a dedicated ranking mechanism for long articles.
•Keeps audience on site longer, increases engagement.
•Supports evergreen, foundational content.
•Presents a broader, deeper view on the topic.
•Caters to a deeply invested audience.
•Provides quality backlinks.
•Establishes credibility and thought-leadership.


Cons:
•People don't always have time to read.
•Short attention spans.
•Typically less shareable.
•Probably won't go viral.
•Length itself doesn't guarantee higher ranking.
Here's what experts in the long-form content camp have to say about its value:

Neil Patel quote
Marcus Sheridan quote
Short-Form Content

According to Matt Mullenweg, founder of WordPress, "The average post on WordPress is 280 words long, and that's remained 'relatively constant' over the past few years." Examples of short-form content include blog posts that are less than 1,000 words, list posts, Vine videos, and infographics.

Pros:
•People scan online, rather than read.
•Lends itself to being shared.
•Mobile-friendly.
•Attract more eyeballs.
•Potential to go viral.
•Fun!

Cons:
•Spouts me-too content.
•People have become blind to formulaic posts.
•Can't go in-depth into topic.
•Too shallow.
•May not provide enough info about topic.
People in the short-form content camp include Mark Schaefer and Jakob Nielsen.
Jakob Nielsen Quote
Mark Schaefer quote

Long vs. Short Content: Which Should You Create More of?

So, which form of content should you be focused on creating? Common sense would dictate that you produce both types of content because both serve a different need. But how you decide what ratio they should be in? How much long-form and how much short content should you be producing?
It really depends on six questions:

1. What Stage of Business Are You At?
Early-stage start-ups may not have the resources or time required to produce long-form content. They would be looking to gain traction sooner rather than later and so might prefer shorter stories that would be more likely to be shared.

Conversely, a business that's an industry heavyweight would have both the expertise and the resources to produce foundation-building evergreen long-form content.

2. What's Your Personality & Style?
Seth Godin produces blog posts in small spurts. That's his style. Is that your style? Does that suit your business's tone and voice?

Your decision to go long or short will also depend on what matches the style that is most authentic to your personality. You will attract an audience who loves you for your style and personality, rather than the other way around of building a style to support an audience you feel you should be catering to. I'm a big believer in being authentic because anything else is not a sustainable strategy.

3. What's the Goal of Your Content?
Your answer may be different if your goal is to be a NY Times best-selling author versus becoming your industry's go-to news guy. What are the goals you wish to achieve with your content: engagement, discussion, industry status, shareability, traffic, search rankings, or more?

It's OK for goals to evolve and change with time as your business grows. Develop content according to the goals it can achieve today.

4. What Platform Will It Be Consumed On?
It's a no-brainer to remember that people prefer consuming short-form content on their mobiles while they are on-the-go.

Tablets are traditionally used to read e-books and watch movies since we're comfortable with holding the lightweight devices in our hands for a longer time.

Desktops and laptops can potentially be used to consume both short-form (Twitter Web) and long-form (downloadable guides) content.

5. Who's the End Consumer?
Who's your audience: people bored on the Internet looking for something funny or industry professionals? The length of your content and therefore, its appeal, would depend on what kind of material your customer most prefers.

6. What Are the Topic's Requirements?
What does the topic itself require? For example, if you're tackling an ultimate guide that would naturally demand long-form content versus if you're writing about celebrity gossip.

Although for some businesses it makes sense to produce only long-form or only short-form content, for most of us, it makes sense to choose both.

So what should the ratio be? Some businesses might be more suited to producing more of long-form than short, while others may benefit from shorter bite-sized nuggets.

Summary
Analyze your business and decide for yourself how these six fields may influence your content length decision:

Long-Form vs Short-Form Content
These are rough guidelines, but you can use them as a starting point when deciding which type of content to produce. Ultimately, though, whichever form of content you create, it must meet your current goals.

Improve your website content today. Contact ABCO Technology Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 6 PM at: 310-216-3067 or email us at:

info@abcotechnology.com. Improve your content writing today.

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Los Angeles Cyber Security CISSP Certification

CISSP Essentials for Cyber Security as taught by ABCO Technology in Los Angeles.  Customized hands-on training for CISSP at  its’ best. ABCO students receive a thorough overview of all topics covered in the CISSP exam.  Our training also doubles as a comprehensive security resource that enables proactive information security professionals on every level to keep their skills sharp and gain a greater understanding of how the network pieces in the information security puzzle fit together.

The 10 CISSP modules     are described and broken down into three domain groups. The first three domains focus on securing data and reveal the essential elements to build an organizational security program, including the theories, technologies and methodologies to protect the company's primary information asset: its data.

Domains 4-6 focus on securing the network’s infrastructure as they reveal the nuts and bolts of how to best apply security to everyday computer and business operations. Fundamental concepts explored in the sessions include how to effectively design security architectures, implement secure networks, and build security into workable applications and systems.

Finally domains 7-10 cover the business of security, an area that is poorly covered by most programs.      Security is often thought of exclusively in terms of technology, but corporate security is much more. It involves everything from governance, business management and regulatory compliance, to an understanding of physical security, disaster recovery and the law.

Module 1 - SECURITY MANAGEMENT PRACTICES  

While viruses, worms and hacking grab the major headlines, sound security management practices are the foundation of any organization's security success. CISSP module 1 explores:

• Security management responsibilities
• The core components of security management: risk management, security policies and security education.
• Administrative, technical and physical controls
• Risk management and risk analysis
• Data classification
• Security roles and personnel security issues

Module 2 - ACCESS CONTROL  

A cornerstone of information security is controlling how resources are accessed so they can be protected from unauthorized modification or disclosure. The controls that enforce access control can be hardware or software tools, which are technical, physical or administrative in nature. CISSP Essentials Module 2 tackles:

• Identification methods and technologies
• Biometrics
• Authentication models and tools
• Access control types: discretionary, mandatory and nondiscretionary
• Accountability, monitoring and auditing practices
• Emanation security and technologies
• Possible threats to access control practices and technologies

Module 3 - CRYPTOGRAPHY  

Cryptography is one of the essential elements in the protection of electronic data. Most e-commerce applications rely on some form of encryption to protect the confidentiality and integrity of sensitive information as it transits across the Internet. Encryption is also an essential component in protecting stored data from unauthorized access. CISSP Essentials Module 3 covers:

• Cryptographic components and their relationships
• Government involvement in cryptography
• Symmetric and asymmetric key cryptosystems
• PKI concepts and mechanisms
• Hashing algorithms
• Types of attacks on cryptosystems

Module 4 - SECURITY MODELS AND ARCHITECTURE  

Two fundamental concepts in computer and information security are the security model, which outlines how security is to be implemented; and the architecture of a security system, which is the framework and structure of a system. CISSP Essentials Module 4 offers an in-depth review of:

• Computer architectures, from the core operating system kernel to the applications to the network
• Trusted computing base and security mechanisms
• Components within the operating system
• Different security models used in software development
• Security criterion and ratings
• Certification and accreditation processes

Module 5 - TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND NETWORKING 

This session prepares students for the CISSP exam by focusing on the "glue" of network security: how networks work, how data is transmitted from one device to another, how protocols transmit information, and how applications understand, interpret and translate data. Topics to be featured in this Module include:

• OSI model
• TCP/IP and protocols
• LAN, WAN and WAN technologies
• Cabling and data transmission types
• Network devices and services
• Intranets and extranets
• Telecommunication protocols and devices
• Remote access methodologies and technologies
• Resource availability
• Wireless technologies

Module 6 - APPLICATIONS AND SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT

Applications and computer systems are usually developed for functionality first, not security. But it's always more effective to build security into every system from the outset rather than attach it afterward. The exact reasons why are revealed in this CISSP Module through topics focused on:

• Different types of software controls and implementation
• Database concepts and security issues
• Data warehousing and data mining
• Software life cycle development processes
• Change control concepts
• Object-oriented programming components
• Expert systems and artificial intelligence

Module 7 - BUSINESS CONTINUITY

One of the fundamental objectives of security is "availability" — the ability to access computer data and resources whenever necessary. This session focuses on one of the often overlooked but critical aspects of availability: business continuity planning and disaster recovery. Topics in this CISSP certification prep section focus on:

• Business impact analysis
• Operational and financial impact analysis
• Contingency planning requirements
• Selecting, developing and implementing disaster and contingency plans
• Backup and offsite facilities

Module 8 - LAWS, INVESTIGATIONS AND ETHICS

Fraud, theft and embezzlement have always been an unfortunate fact of life, but the computer age has brought on new opportunities for a different and more malicious set of thieves and criminals. While many security professionals focus on "preventing" cyber-attacks, the CISSP teaches that it's equally important to understand how to investigate a computer crime and gather evidence – that's exactly what this Module addresses. Additional topics highlighted are information security regulations, laws and ethics that guide the practice:

• Ethics and best practices for security professionals
• Computer crimes and computer law
• Computer crime investigation processes and evidence collection
• Incident-handling procedures
• Different types of evidence

Module 9 - PHYSICAL SECURITY

Physical security has taken on added importance in the continuing wake of September 11, 2001. While most IT professionals are focused on logical systems—computers, networks, systems, devices—a comprehensive security program must address critical physical risks, too. The convergence of physical and logical systems makes this practice even more important. CISSP Essentials Module 9 covers:

• Administrative, technical and physical controls pertaining to physical security
• Facility location, construction and management
• Physical security risks, threats and countermeasures
• Fire prevention, detection and suppression
• Authenticating individuals and intrusion detection

Module 10 - OPERATIONS SECURITY

Operations security pertains to everything needed to keep a network, computer system and environment up and running in a secure and protected manner. Since networks are "evolutionary" and always changing, it's essential that security pros understand the fundamental procedures for managing security continuity and consistency in an operational environment. CISSP Essentials Module 10 reveals mission critical answers centered on key operations security topics:

• Administrative and management responsibilities
• Product evaluation and operational assurance
• Change configuration management
• Trusted recovery states
• E-mail security

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Security + Certification Exam, Los Angeles

CompTia Security+ is a high demand information technology certification that focuses on the field of computer security.  Topics studied for this exam include: cryptography and access control along with business-related topics that encompass disaster recovery and risk management. The Security+ was developed in 2002 to address the rise of security related issues involving computer hacking, identity theft and copyright infringement. A substantial rise in computer related criminal activity has stimulated demand for this certificate.  A new and updated version of this exam, SY0-301, was released in 2011.

According to CompTia, there are currently more than 45,000 information technology professionals on the planet who have earned this valuable certification. CompTia expects the demand for the Security+ certification to remain strong through 2020. Cyber security is an essential requirement for networking professionals who want to achieve upward mobility in their career.

  It is recommended that candidates have at least one year of either information technology or security-related work experience before attempting to study this material.   Candidates must pass the 100 question multiple choice exam in order to receive this certificate.

Exam topics include; network security, Compliance and operational security, threats and vulnerabilities, application, data and host security, access control and identity management along with cryptography. 

The Security+ exam can be applied as an elective to the MCSA: Security and the MCSE: Security specializations offered by Microsoft. 

 For IT professionals looking for a career with the United States Department of Defense, employees obtain the Dodd 8570.  IAT Level II certification guidelines established by the Department of Defense lists Security+ as one of four choices (the others being GIAC Security Essentials Certification GSEC, Security Certified Network Professional SCNP, and Systems Security Certified Practitioner SSCP. 

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