There is little doubt that Facebook is one of the most powerful tools that can be used by businesses to market their products and services. While many make this assumption based solely on the sheer amount of active Facebook users, there is much more to the story.

Periodically, The internet is all abuzz with rumors that Facebook is about to make changes to its privacy policy. When those rumors start flying, The idea that Facebook is about to change everyone’s privacy settings to “public,” meaning that any and everyone will be able to see whatever it is you post on your Facebook page, from those pictures of cute kittens, to the pictures you probably don’t want your boss to see of what you were really doing at last year’s Christmas party.

The Target breach had absolutely horrendous consequences, and many businesses are struggling to up their security. New employees, technologies, and features are being put into place in attempts to stop that kind of thing from happening again. However, it appears that some companies—the largest of the large—just aren’t getting the message.

You’re running late for that meeting. Donut in one hand and phone in the other, you run through the pouring rain to get to your car when your battery light starts flashing. “Plug in your charger,” your phone proclaims as you realize you forgot to charge it last night.

As with many technology issues, the question that often goes unanswered is where to begin. Often, companies feel the need to jump into the middle of the latest competitively essential technologies without having a clear starting point or plan in mind.

As a small business owner, the collective voice of your customers is something you should be paying attention to. Of course, you want to pay attention to individual voices as well, but the big picture is even more important. Gone are the days when you don’t have time or resources to listen; there are so many ways to actually pay attention that there is no good excuse not to do so.

Over three years ago, Samsung indicated that in the near future, the company was interested in developing “transparent” displays that weren’t meant just for offices and those who were wealthy enough to afford them. In fact, they planned on targeting the mainstream consumer market.

You know you want it: more traffic. You want people to go to your website and browse it, whether they buy something or not. You assume that once it’s built, people will come, and you want more people to come. You might even obsess over the numbers, and that’s okay.

Regardless of whether you are considering starting your own website or have had one for a number of years, the mistakes that are about to be discussed will apply to you if you have not accomplished your actual purpose for having that business web site.

More and more companies are beginning to come around to the idea of transparency. Transparency, in fact, is becoming an industry standard for lots of reasons, namely because it results in happy customers and happy shareholders. Transparency is all about being accountable, honest and open with everyone about the good (and the bad) things that happen in your business.