Most people I’ve spoken to say it takes a solid 4-6 months to raise money. Sure, it can happen faster than that. In the hottest startup hubs it might seem like everyone and their brother is getting funded for something. Don’t let that fool you.

You might also think that everyone knows everything about startup funding, but that’s not the case. With that in mind, I’ve put together a brief, introductory guide to startup funding. What should you have in place to start your funding aquire ?

Hackfwd just posted a quite good Infographic:

Yes, the episodes are entertaining. But more than that, they provide a wealth of knowledge about what venture capitalists want to hear before they invest in your company–and what will turn them off. Here’s are 7 lessons from the Sharks about learning what it takes to make it as an entrepreneur.

1. Know your numbers. This is the number one lesson from Shark Tank. Whether you’re presenting to a team of investors or simply working to grow your business, it’s critical that you understand how much cash is coming in and out of the business. While you might think that most entrepreneurs on Shark Tank have a handle on their books, many believe that their passion will sell their wares. However, as we’ve learned from many of the Sharks, passion only gets you so far–numbers tell the real story.
2. Be a good marketer. Although the boys from The Brewer’s Cow didn’t get the deal they wanted, there is no doubt that the exposure from the show is extremely valuable. However, as a Shark Tank fan shares on his blog, the company’s website is pretty lackluster for a brand that hopes to go national. If you extend the online search to their Twitter feed, there is very little interaction since the show aired. The Brewer’s Cow currently has a deal with Whole Foods, but on the online front there is a lot more they could be doing just days after the television broadcast to capitalize from the on-air buzz.
3. Be humble. When a young entrepreneur appeared on the show to sell his custom clothing, he expressed the business drive that the Sharks love, but things started to fall apart when he talked about his lifestyle. Aside from asking for a starting six-figure salary (when the company has only grossed just over $315,000), he also lost some Sharks when he declared, “I’m now living the L.A. life.” As Shark Daymond John, founder of FUBU, expressed on his Twitter feed, a statement like this isn’t very appealing to a potential investor looking to form a responsible partnership.
4. Understand good timing. There are good and bad times in your business to ask for investment money. For many of the companies diving into the Shark Tank, they have great ideas but it’s too early on in their businesses to be on the hunt for a large amount of cash. Mom Raven Thomas was one of the most impressive entrepreneurs on the show in terms of leaking out little bits of information about her business to entice the Sharks, one by one. For example, when she shared that Sam’s Club recently put in an order for $2 million for her chocolate-covered pretzels, she had Cuban drooling to seal a deal.
5. Have a good story. When Travis Perry explained his company’s motivation to the Sharks, it tugged on their inner musician heart strings. Perry invented his product Chordbuddy to help new guitar players like his 10-year-old daughter avoid frustration when learning how to play the popular instrument. With a great story and a stellar product, Perry got investment help and now has his Chordbuddy product in more than 100 music stores.
6. Be prepared to walk. Some things are not meant to be, which was the case with entrepreneur Scott Jordan. As founder of the successful brands SCOTTEVEST and TEC, he appeared on the show to sell a percentage of the latter (a technology-enabled clothing patent). The Sharks, on the other hand, were interested in Jordan’s main business, SCOTTEVEST, which is on track to make more than $20 million this year. After a heated debate with some of the Sharks, Jordan was happy to walk away without a deal but with some new publicity for both his businesses.
7. Be personable. While all of the above will get you closer to your dream of running a successful business, it’s also helps to have a winning personality. No one wants to do business with someone who is unlikable, except maybe Mr. Wonderful. As Shark Barbara Corcoran said in a recent tweet, “All the entrepreneurs I’ve invested in have amazing personalities–no regrets.”Remember all those things you learned about being nice in kindergarten? Those same things apply in the boardroom, no exceptions.

Most europeans wont be able to watch it. Why dont you try on youtube or iTunes. Ist worth to get the season pass for new seasons.

1. What makes a good business idea great?

If the business idea clearly answers a need in the marketplace, a product or service that solves a problem that is not already being solved in the marketplace if the need is already being met by well-entrenched competitors, it can still be a good idea if it’s a new, cheaper or more clever way of doing it or better execution of an existing idea. Something that solves a problem, satisfies a need or improves quality of life. Does your product fit in ?

2. What do you think are the traits of a great entrepreneur?

Be driven; Always educate yourself, Doing something you love, Willing to take advice, be Resourceful. Have a vision of the future, have the drive for the day-to-day, to work unending hours; and the desire to never give up. Every great entrepreneur is passionate about being successful. They are not just passionate about their business idea, but have enough passion to weather all the obstacles and see things through to the finish line. Every great entrepreneur is extremely pushy. I’ve learned that all great entrepreneurs are pushy people and they always deliver. I want to see that passion.

3. How do I know if there’s a real need for my product or service?

Make a list of every product out there already answering the need and be super critical as to whether yours is a better mousetrap. Also ask your family, friends and enemies if they would buy it and what they would readily pay. It’s important to test before you invest to see if there is a need for your product or service. I use catalogues, shopping channels and internet websites to do this. Put it for sale on the internet and see if people who do not know you purchase it! Do you have any statistics and numbers in case I ask?

4. What are the most important first steps a new entrepreneur should take?

Put together a business plan. Once the plan is together, then test it out with people you trust (friends, relatives, mentors, bankers, etc.). With positive feedback, the next step for the entrepreneur is to raise money and put a good management/advisory team together. Be clear about what’s most important. Figure out what it will cost to produce your product or service, what you can sell it for and to whom. Educate yourself in the product and the industry you are attempt to enter. Find a customer. Any of that in place ?

5. How do you create a business plan that works?

For most people a lengthy business plan is virtually useless because you need to change it constantly in response to things outside your control. The simplest form of a business plan is just a list of what’s most important to attend to and what’s not. Allocate all the time and money that you can invest into the business. And write down your strengths and weaknesses, then cost out how much it will take to partner or hire somebody to cover the weaknesses. Get someone with financial experience in your business category to give you advice and help you vet the plan.

On the othet hand, People spend way too much on a business plan. When you start – it is important to have vision but a business plan is theory and when you are starting there is very little room for theory. At the beginning, any plan beyond the next quarter is a dream; after you get bigger the next quarter becomes the next 2 and so on. As you grow, size gives you some predictability.

6. Where can I get help creating a business plan?

Sit down and write out a clear picture of what your product or service is, what it will cost, what it will sell for and who will buy it. Then put down on paper the concrete steps you’ll need to take to bring it to fruition. After that you can ask your friends and enemies to honestly critique the plan and share with you what’s unclear, what makes no sense and what’s missing. If you not able to do it yourself, look for a consultant in the area of business that you would like to go in.

There are plenty of books and websites to help you craft a good business plan. Entrepreneur magazine is a good start, and there are plenty of others available at bookstores. Bankers and small agencies like the Small Business Administration can also help you craft your plan. You can also get help at universities through entrepreneur programs. I spend less time on my plans and found more time talking to people who will actually buy my product. I never had a business plan for my first businesses.

7. How do you compete against the big guys?

The big guys usually have the corner on money, but remember the little guy always has the corner on creativity. If you can position yourself as an expert in your marketplace early on, you’ll get the leg up on all of your competitors right away. The media is always hungry for statistics, so creating your own market reports and distributing them will soon have the press calling you instead of you running after them for PR. And if you can steal the limelight, you’ll steal the market share.

Your strength will be that you are small and can do the things they can’t do. The best way to compete against the “big guys” is to find a niche that they are not covering. Be sure to keep your overhead low so you can beat them on price. It is also great if you can offer a personalized service, like a concierge type service. Give them more and better service at a lower price. The smaller you are the more laser-like your focus needs to be. A single man cannot defeat an army unless he finds their weakness and attacks them at that point one on one. It’s nothing wrong in being small, just dont make yourself bigger than you are.

8. How do you build a great team?

Always choose attitude over experience! When I hire people I make a habit of never looking at their resume because most people spend most of their life in the wrong job. I never hire complainers or excuse makers because they’ll find a way within my company to do more of the same. People with a can-do attitude are a pleasure to work with. Positive people are willing to learn, eager to try and somehow find the solution to anything they don’t already know. They’re always great team players, and teams build big businesses, not individuals. Make sure they are focused and in the business for the right reasons. You can build a great team by bringing in people you usually could not afford by offering small piece of the action or an upside.

There are lots of ways – but the first thing is be a great leader. People naturally want to be lead and not managed. Look in the mirror – are you the one who can lead? The guy with the great idea don’t have tob e a great leader, he just need to accept and understand that someone other needs to lead for success.

9. What makes an investor put their money into a deal?

First of all, an investor likes high return and accelerated payback. Generally, there is going to be more risk in what you are offering to an investor, so you must offer the him or her a higher rate of return either through the existing deal or continuing involvement, for example, the first right of refusal on new projects and new opportunities. My most important criteria when making the decision to invest are, Do I trust the individual? and Do they have the fire in their belly to bring the business to the finish line? Trust and believing in the CEO, knowing that the business can grow and distribute large profits, and knowing you have a patent that can be defended as well as licensed out to a larger company.

10. most important in the presentation’s ?

What will you do with my money? and how will I get my investment back? It’s important that I see as little risk as possible, and convinced that I will not only get my money back, but also a high return on investment. First step make sure you need investment – or do you simply need a loan. Most people that want an investment simply need a loan.

This is the greatest time in history of concentration of investment capital in cash for startups. Be part of it and well prepared.

Experience Vision:

1. It addresses a real need – If you don’t know what is the need you are solving for, I suggest that you take time and think through it. Now. It will also give you a good starting point for defining the UXV and help you focus on what is meaningful for the user.

2. It is simple — keeping the UXV simple is critical so you can communicate it effectively to your customers, team, partners or any other stakeholder. If it is not simple, you probably didn’t figure out the right UXV yet.

3. It serves as a guiding light — a successful UXV provides guidance to your team as for what to build next. It can help you think through your roadmap and identify whether the next feature you are building will be useful or not.

4. It is unique — it does not apply to every other startup on earth. Don’t have as your UXV something like “Great User Experience”. The more unique it is, the more meaningful it will be.

It is not easy to come up with a UXV. It takes time. You have to intimately understand the needs of your users. It might take weeks to come up with a good one and either way you will keep developing and refining it. The time to start is now.

Virtual goods are purchased with virtual currency, a digital medium of exchange similar to dollars and cents. Virtual currency is in a very nascent stage. Most people think of Scamville, but really that was a misguided start to what will ultimately become one of the more powerful platforms we’ve seen. Similar to the offline world, virtual currency will be the underlying glue, allowing for a tremendous amount of value creation. Facebook knows this and is doubling down on its FB Credits system. Imagine a day when there are billions of casual gamers looking to buy a virtual good or to unlock a feature. They will need virtual currency and thus have an incentive to interact with a myriad of options placed in front of them to earn that currency. This will become even more prevalent in countries where there are fewer payment methods. Virtual currency will be a very unique platform—one with a built-in incentive mechanism and a large captive user base.

The advertising industry has already seized the opportunity. Currently, if you’re playing poker on your iPhone you can earn virtual currency to use in the game by installing an advertiser’s mobile app. Advertisers have also begun rewarding consumers with virtual currency if they’re willing to watch a video advertisement. In the future advertisers will be able to create any action however simple or sophisticated and tie it to a virtual currency reward. The action could be as passive as watching a BMW commercial or as active as filling out a fashion survey sponsored by Banana Republic. Incentivized advertising will become the dominant form of mobile advertising (excluding search). It drives higher engagement rates than display advertising and is a much better user experience because it’s opt-in.

Engaging with advertisers won’t be the only way to earn virtual currency. Similar to the real world, gamers will perform jobs to earn currency. Think Mechanical Turk. Someone may want text translated or images of cars identified and they’re willing to pay for the task to be completed. Not a novel concept but if built using virtual currency the marketplace becomes a lot more fluid. Tasks can easily be distributed to millions of users via an interface for earning currency. Also, it is a lot more meaningful to a gamer to reward them with 20 denominations of virtual currency versus twenty cents. This is because virtual currency is primarily used for micro-transactions where the gamer wants to buy a machine gun or unlock a level.

As millions of users begin to build liquidity in a system such as FB Credits or other virtual currency providers it becomes possible to disrupt the trillion dollar mobile payments space. Everyone from Apple to Google is running around trying to get more credit cards on file so they can be your “universal wallet.” Tomorrow’s universal wallet will have credit cards and virtual currency as payment options. Virtual currency offers additional benefits to the wallet provider and the end merchant because there are no inherent fees like credit cards. Consumers will pull out their iPhone or Android one day and buy coffee from Starbucks using virtual currency.

Virtual currency as a mass consumer product may sound far off. But the surge in smartphone use is broadening the player base and everyone from your little sister to your grandfather has a powerful gaming device within reach of them at all times.

As more casual gamers join, gaming becomes less taboo and when this happens the industry will turn into a tsunami. Virtual currency will affect everything from commerce to advertising.

FIRST-TO-MIND WINS
A company that forms strong user habits enjoys several benefits to its bottom line. For one, this type of company creates “internal triggers” in users. That is to say, users come to the site without any external prompting. Instead of relying on expensive marketing or worrying about differentiation, habit-forming companies get users to “self trigger” by attaching their services to the users’ daily routines and emotions. A cemented habit is when users subconsciously think, “I’m bored,” and instantly Facebook comes to mind. They think, “I wonder what’s going on in the world?” and before rationale thought occurs, Twitter is the answer. The first-to-mind solution wins.

MANUFACTURING DESIRE
But how do companies create the internal triggers needed to form habits? The answer: they manufacture desire. While fans of Mad Men are familiar with how the ad industry once created consumer desire during Madison Avenue’s golden era, those days are long gone. A multi-screen world, with ad-wary consumers and a lack of ROI metrics, has rendered Don Draper’s big budget brainwashing useless to all but the biggest brands. Instead, startups manufacture desire by guiding users through a series of experiences designed to create habits. I call these experiences “desire engines,” and the more often users run through them, the more likely they are to self-trigger.

I created the desire engine in order to help others understand what is at the heart of habit-forming technology. It highlights common patterns I observed in my career in the video gaming and online advertising industries. While the desire engine is generic enough for a broad explanation of habit formation, I’ll focus on applications in consumer Internet for this post.

TRIGGER
The trigger is the actuator of a behavior—the spark plug in the engine. Triggers come in two types: external and internal. Habit-forming technologies start by alerting users with external triggers like an email, a link on a web site, or the app icon on a phone. By cycling continuously through successive desire engines, users begin to form internal triggers, which become attached to existing behaviors and emotions. Soon users are internally triggered every time they feel a certain way. The internal trigger becomes part of their routine behavior and the habit is formed.
For example, suppose Barbra, a young lady in Pennsylvania, happens to see a photo in her Facebook newsfeed taken by a family member from a rural part of the State. It’s a lovely photo and since she’s planning a trip there with her brother Johnny, the trigger intrigues her.

ACTION
After the trigger comes the intended action. Here, companies leverage two pulleys of human behavior – motivation and ability. To increase the odds of a user taking the intended action, the behavior designer makes the action as easy as possible, while simultaneously boosting the user’s motivation. This phase of the desire engine draws upon the art and science of usability design to ensure that the user acts the way the designer intends.
Using the example of Barbra, with a click on the interesting picture in her newsfeed she’s taken to a website she’s never been to before called Pinterest. Once she’s done the intended action (in this case, clicking on the photo), she’s dazzled by what she sees next.

VARIABLE REWARD
What separates the desire engine from a plain vanilla feedback loop is the engine’s ability to create wanting in the user. Feedback loops are all around us, but predictable ones don’t create desire. The predictable response of your fridge light turning on when you open the door doesn’t drive you to keep opening it again and again. However, add some variability to the mix—say a different treat magically appears in your fridge every time you open it—and voila, desire is created. You’ll be opening that door like a lab rat in a Skinner box.
Variable schedules of reward are one of the most powerful tools that companies use to hook users. Research shows that levels of dopamine surge when the brain is expecting a reward. Introducing variability multiplies the effect, creating a frenzied hunting state, which suppresses the areas of the brain associated with judgment and reason while activating the parts associated with wanting and desire. Although classic examples include slot machines and lotteries, variable rewards are prevalent in habit-forming technologies as well.
When Barbra lands on Pinterest, not only does she see the image she intended to find, but she’s also served a multitude of other glittering objects. The images are associated with what she’s generally interested in – namely things to see during a trip to rural Pennsylvania – but there are some others that catch her eye also. The exciting juxtaposition of relevant and irrelevant, tantalizing and plain, beautiful and common sets her brain’s dopamine system aflutter with the promise of reward. Now she’s spending more time on the site, hunting for the next wonderful thing to find. Before she knows it, she’s spent 45 minutes scrolling in search of her next hit.

COMMITMENT
The last phase of the desire engine is where the user is asked to do bit of work. This phase has two goals, as far as the behavior engineer is concerned. The first is to increase the odds that the user will make another pass through the desire engine when presented with the next trigger. Second, now that the user’s brain is swimming in dopamine from the anticipation of reward in the previous phase, it’s time to pay some bills. The commitment generally comes in the form of asking the user to give some combination of time, data, effort, social capital or money.
But unlike a sales funnel, which has a set endpoint, the commitment phase isn’t about consumers opening up their wallets and moving on with their day. The commitment implies an action that improves the service for the next go-around. Inviting friends, stating preferences, building virtual assets, and learning to use new features are all commitments that improve the service for the user. These commitments can be leveraged to make the trigger more engaging, the action easier, and the reward more exciting with every pass through the desire engine.
As Barbra enjoys endlessly scrolling the Pinterest cornucopia, she builds a desire to keep the things that delight her. By collecting items, she’ll be giving the site data about her preferences. Soon she will follow, pin, re-pin, and make other commitments, which serve to increase her ties to the site and prime her for future loops through the desire engine.

TURNING HABITS INTO CASH
Ever since the creation of the first online media companies at the dawn of Web 1.0, businesses have made money from their users’ behaviors. Early online media enterprises like AOL and Yahoo! sold their users’ attention to advertisers in the form of ad impressions. However, Web 1.0 companies measured themselves on pages viewed and CPM rates, rather than the strength of their user habits. As millions of dial-up customers came online for the first time, these companies were lulled into complacency as their user numbers grew.

Such self-assurance left them vulnerable to attack from social media companies, which plundered their user base as the web evolved. Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, armed with an arsenal of behavioral engineering weaponry including hot triggers, variable rewards, and social proof eventually dominated the Social Web. Upon reaching critical mass, these companies began selling user behavior as well. But unlike Web 1.0 companies, social media proved so valuable and habit-forming, users begrudgingly allowed these businesses to layer personal and demographic information onto their ad units, resulting in increased revenue and profitability.

VIRAL IS NICE, BUT HABITS ARE REQUIRED
Today, at the dawn of the Curated Web, companies must build habit creation into their products and business models. Not only are users inundated by distractions, but acquiring users is also harder than ever before.

Finding new users through paid advertising rarely provides a positive return on investment. And while viral mechanics are still employed, users are becoming increasingly intolerant of applications spamming their contact lists for the purpose of inviting new users to join a service. Viral growth is also under attack as platforms like Facebook, Apple, and Android respond to customer complaints and quickly shut down such tactics.

Relying too heavily on viral growth is also bad for business. Silicon Valley is strewn with the stories of “leaky bucket” companies – businesses that grew quickly, annoyed lots of people, and died. While some of these companies were pure spam, others offered value to users but failed to form habits.

Of course, attaching user habits to a viral growth engine is ideal, the embodiment of the rare “rocket ship” business. However, it is important to note that companies, which successfully create user habits, even without viral growth, can build huge enterprises. I call these companies “commitment businesses” because users become increasingly tied to the service the more they use it. Evernote’s famous smile graph provides the clearest visualization of how a commitment business establishes a user habit. Though originally rebuffed by investors who could not see past the company’s slow growth, Evernote succeeded by betting on habit formation and patiently waited for its users to prove the company right. Other successful slow-growth commitment businesses have similar stories, including Pandora and Amazon.

THE CURATED WEB WILL RUN ON HABITS
Increasingly, companies will become experts at designing user habits. Curated Web companies already rely on these methods. This new breed of company, defined by the ability to help users find only the content they care about, includes such white-hot companies as Pinterest and Tumblr. These companies have habit formation embedded in their DNA. This is because data collection is at the heart of any Curated Web business and to succeed, they must predict what users will think is most personally relevant.

Curated Web companies can only improve if users tell their systems what they want to see more of. If users use the service sparingly, it is less valuable than if they use it habitually. The more the user engages with a Curated Web company, the more data the company has to tailor and improve the user’s experience. This self-improving feedback loop has the potential to be more useful – and more addictive — than anything we’ve seen before.

SUPER POWER
A reader recently wrote to me, “If it can’t be used for evil, it’s not a super power.” He’s right. And under this definition, habit design is indeed a super power. If used for good, habit design can enhance people’s lives with entertaining and even healthful routines. If used for evil, habits can quickly turn into wasteful addictions.
But, like it or not, habit-forming technology is already here. The fact that we have greater access to the web through our various devices also gives companies greater access to us. As companies combine this greater access with the ability to collect and process our data at higher speeds than ever before, we’re faced with a future where everything becomes more addictive. This trinity of access, data, and speed creates new opportunities for habit-forming technologies to hook users. Companies need to know how to harness the power of the desire engine to improve peoples’ lives, while consumers need to understand the mechanics of behavior engineering to protect themselves from manipulation.
What do you think? Desire engines are all around us. Where do you see them manufacturing desire in your life?

Most of my friends couldn’t understand Pinterest’s astounding success. For one, the idea of capturing photos on a virtual wall is nothing new. The Facebook newsfeed is 5 years old and searching for pretty pictures on Google Images is ancient.

And yet, the Pinterest juggernaut is growing faster than Facebook when it was this size. Investors recently plowed in $27 million only five months after the company raised its previous round of financing. But even those who believe Pinterest is onto something big may not really understand why.

Pinterest has what I call an “obvious secret,” the kind of insight that creates breakaway non-consensus companies. An obvious secret is when a startup has discovered a deep insight about its users, which is not obvious to the outside world, but is the key to the business’s success. However, to those who do not know this insight, the company appears to be little more than a novelty.

You haven’t tried it out yet, Pinterest is an exceedingly simple site. You just use the site’s browser bookmarklet, website buttons or iPhone app to “Pin” sites and content that interest you to your topic-organized boards. Pins appear on those boards as images culled from the content you Pin.

Simplicity, the obvious secret

Pinterest wants its users to do three things:  consume, create and share content. The more users consume, create and share, the faster Pinterest reaches its business objectives and dominates its market. To accomplish this, Pinterest has mastered the art of minimizing cognitive load – in other words, reducing the mental effort required to do what the site wants users to do. Reducing cognitive load is what good design is all about. Making something simple makes it easy to understand, easy to use, and ultimately increases the desired behaviors.  Here’s how Pinterest accomplishes its business goals through simplicity:

A pin is worth a thousand posts

By nature, images are much easier for our brains to process than text. Thus, a site which characterizes and organizes content through pictures is inherently easier to understand and use than text-based service. Even Twitter’s 140 characters require more brain cycles than the quick-browsing of visual information on Pinterest.  Consuming information through images is easier, which means users consume more of it than ever before.

Curation is creation

For a company of its size, Pinterest’s users are creating content at an unprecedented pace. Unlike on Facebook and Twitter, where users have to actually think of new content to post, Pinterest is not about what is happening right now. Users are not prompted to think about “what are you doing?” In fact, they are not prompted to think at all -they are prompted to feel.

The value of Pinterest is in capturing and collecting inspiring scraps of the Web. The site taps into our primal hardwiring to hunt and gather. We want to keep things that make us feel good and we like knowing they are kept somewhere safe; like a treasured shoebox full of life’s memorabilia. Through its browser bookmarklet, “re-pin” button and ability to invite contributors, users collect items onto “boards” they’ve labeled based on their interests. Common boards include, “things I love,” “places to go,” and “stuff for kids.”

But in the process of collecting and categorizing, Pinterest users are in fact creating content. Though they have done little more than clicked on an image to identify it as interesting, their collective pinning creates tremendous value for the community. In an age when Web content is infinite, curation from people whose taste you admire and interests you share is extremely valuable.

Share and share a “like”

Because each user is motivated to find things that interest them, content curation is an invariable by-product. But in the process, the sharing and collection of information occurs in a powerful new way with broad implications and new opportunities.

In the process of collecting items of interest, users share their tastes and preferences in a much richer way than competitors such as the Facebook “Like” button can hold a thumb to. This is because users never have to think to “Like” anything, once again reducing their cognitive load through simplification. The behavior of pinning, intentionally simplified and de-cluttered by its designers, only enables users to do one thing, save their content.

As a result, the Pinterest graph will be much richer than what Facebook or Twitter can hope to rival. The volume and richness of user data collected through pinning is unparalleled. While I might “Like” Babies’r’Us on Facebook or follow their Twitter stream, hoping to get a coupon, only Pinterest knows I’ve been keeping an eye out for a mid-priced stroller appropriate for an 18-month-old boy.

Pinterest’s obvious secret is its ability to serve our innate desire to capture and collect, while making consuming, creating and sharing easier than ever before.  In the process, Pinterest is on the precipice of having the richest consumer data set ever assembled  – and may someday be able to predict what consumers want well before they know themselves.

For news and updates follow Mashables Pinterest interest.

This is a rather remarkable turn of events. Pinterest is effortlessly bleeding right into the social Zeitgeist. News of its existence is traveling on an invisible network of feminine social interest. Meanwhile Google+ is growing, but only because it is part of a vast network of online services (Gmail, YouTube, Google Search). Join any of them and I think, though I don’t know for sure, Google puts you on the Google+ list — even if you’re not actively using the network. Google+ is a pretty active network, but it’s super geeky and fairly niche. Meanwhile, Pinterest is a broad-based phenomenon that reminds consumers of their refrigerator doors and poster boards. This social network is winning, effortlessly.

1. Get To Know Your Devices To Know the Trends

2. Go Deep Into Content

3. Recognize that Social Networks Transcend Facebook and Twitter

Those who hold these positions possess a literacy in social media platforms and strategies. Rather than getting caught up in the arms race of the latest attention-grabbing technique on Facebook, you need to instead develop a deeper understanding of how these social networks are formed, and how they work. Technology is just the enabler. Fundamentally, social media is all about human interaction. So in 2012, even as you keep experimenting with those online platforms, you’ll develop skills in network analysis (how do you determine the true influencers in a group?), and maybe even revisit Psychology 101 (what motivates human beings?). Ultimately, successful engagement is less about the “what” people are doing on social networks, and more about why they’re there, and how they’re interacting with each other.

4. Go Deep into Data and Learn How to Ask the Right Questions

In that case, you’ll have to get comfortable with numbers and critical analysis. The smart use of massive date is massively important. Sure, there are tons of plug-and-play analytics tools out there, but you’ve got to get comfortable with research yourself. Learn to ask the right questions and draw informed conclusions from the data at hand. In the comical science fiction book, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the supercomputer Deep Thought spent 7.5 million years pondering “The Ultimate Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe and Everything?” It responded with a nonsensical “42.” In short, you won’t get the right answer if you don’t know how to ask the right question.

5. Behave Like a Media Entrepreneur, Innovator, Connector and Creator

1. Go small. You want customers to support the concept of small business, right? This means you should adopt a small business mindset at your own business too. Analyze your current vendors and service providers for opportunities to “downsize.” If you find any opportunities to support a small business instead, whether virtual or brick and mortar, aim to switch at least one vendor or supplier.
2. Go mobile. By 2015, more wprldwide Internet users will access the web through mobile devices than through PCs. On average, 15% of all searches on Google today are from a mobile device. How well are you catering to this mobile population? Make 2012 the year you optimize your search marketing, email marketing and website to focus on this growing mobile community.
3. Go local. These mobile users are constantly interacting with things and places that physically surround them. Microsoft reported that 53% of mobile searches on Bing have a local intent. The online world has become an essential place for businesses to connect with their local community. Make sure your business has a local listing on key search engines: Google Places, Bing maps, and Yahoo maps.
4. Learn how to delegate and do more of it. When you’re just starting out and times are tough, it’s natural to tighten the purse strings. However, consider what you could gain by handing over certain tasks to contractors, virtual assistants or full-time employees. By relinquishing control of administrative tasks or company blog updates, you’ll free up time for what’s ultimately going to keep you in business: bringing in revenue.
5. Invest in one new customer touch point. Whether it’s blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, mobile coupons or QR codes, new ways to connect with customers seem to pop up daily. As a small business owner, you don’t have to excel in every new technology or network that comes along, but you should try to be wherever your customers are. Ask your current customers where/how they’d like to connect with you, then spend some time in 2012 to make it happen.
6. Refresh your website. In the race to master new social media tools, don’t overlook your own website. After all, social media efforts like Twitter campaigns end up driving traffic somewhere, right? It doesn’t make any sense to build a beautiful and savvy Facebook presence that funnels people to a boring, inaccurate, and out-of-date website. Keep it current and engaging!
7. Protect your assets with any kind of company whether LLC, cooperation or others. While legal fine print may not be the most glamorous part of your business, forming an LLC or corporation can be critical to your business and personal financial health. These business structures protect your personal assets from any company liabilities. That is, if your business is sued or has bad debt, your personal property may be shielded from legal repercussions. Keep in mind that creditor judgments can last a total of 22 years, so you’re protecting not just what you own today, but whatever assets you’ll gain in the future.
8. Get your books ready for tax time early. Are you notorious for waiting until the last minute to organize and file your taxes? Do you find yourself wading through emails, or scrounging through your car to find stray business receipts? Don’t wait until April to start on your 2011 tax forms. Start fresh in 2012 by organizing your books from day one (even if that means outsourcing your accounting).
9. Social network in the real world. Whether the plumber recommends a carpenter or the web designer recommends a copywriter, business is driven by referrals and connections. In 2012, put some effort into networking by signing up for an industry conference or seeking out a local meetup group. These are invaluable ways to develop relationships and share advice with fellow entrepreneurs and small business owners.
10. Put time for you on the calendar. As an entrepreneur, remember that you’re solely responsible for your own motivation, productivity and well-being. There’s no boss to pat you on the back or give you a raise. It’s up to you to keep yourself motivated and inspired. In 2012 be sure to reward yourself for specific milestones like a big client win, meeting a tough deadline, or working “overtime” for multiple nights on end.

Sticking to some of those resolutions is a lofty goal for anyone. Follow the tips that ring true for your situation, and adjust as needed. Thats it for today and i wish you a merry merry christmas.