Meeting: Open Coffee Coleraine meeting.

I've finally got the first of my Open Coffee Coleraine meetings sorted out. It will be held at Starbucks, Coleraine on Wednesday 22nd July 2009.

The Open Coffee meetings are informal get togethers for businesses, startups and creatives to network, have a coffee and even perhaps generate some new ideas.

Starbucks have kindly offered us their cafe after hours, the event will run from 7pm - 9pm, plus free filter coffee and tea if you are prepared to give a donation to their chosen charity (if you want a quad shot skinny latte then you'll have to pay :) ).

Last bonus is that from 1st July if you are a Starbucks card holder then you get Wifi for free.

The blog is at http://www.opencoffeecoleraine.com and there's also a Twitter page as well.

Twitter: The book about what it can do for your company.

Could be an interesting read if you are really hellbent on getting your company, business or venture into the Tweetstream. From the slightly over enthusiastic back cover blurb:

Millions of Internet users have fallen in love with the Twitter "microblogging" service, which lets them swap brief text "tweets." Now companies are embracing the service to engage customers, promote products and monitor what is being said about their brands. Given the passion and high profiles of "Twitterverse" denizens, the service has evolved into a vital early-warning system for businesses seeking to stave off criticism, and as a way to build better relationships with customers. That is why companies need to know Twitter. Embracing it can help a business thrive; ignoring the service could well hurt it. For companies unfamiliar with Twitter, this book serves as a field guide. They will get a Twitterverse tour, and learn about the dozens of firms big and small that have harnessed Twitter as a powerful, flexible business tool. The bottom line: Twitter means business.

You can order a copy of Twitter Means Business: How Microblogging Can Help or Hurt Your Company here.

Panorama - Credit Where It's Due

As the Limavady Borough counts highly in the small business category, it might be of interest to some of you that tonight's Panorama on BBC1 is about the Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme.

In an attempt to turn the tide, the government has come up with proposals including the £1.3bn Enterprise Finance Guarantee Scheme to throw small businesses a lifeline.

However, while welcoming the scheme, organisations representing business - big and small - say positive impact from government initiatives has been slow to materialise, and times are tighter then ever.

In Panorama: Credit Where It's Due, business guru and Dragon's Den star Theo Paphitis, who has been running his own businesses for 26 years, examines whether the banks are doing enough to support small businesses.

The programme is aired tonight at 8:30pm.