Business Report

Enterprising filmmakers used YouTube to introduce America to Lonelygirl15. CNN and YouTube teamed up for a presidential candidate debate. And more than one aspiring musician has been discovered after posting their talents on YouTube, MySpace, Facebook or some other social networking site.

But can plugging into such a site really help your business? Gulfshore Business asked three local businesspeople to set up professionally oriented pages with MySpace and LinkedIn to find out. A photographer in her 30s, a freelance writer in her 40s and a real estate agent in his 50s—whose businesses benefit strongly from acquiring new clients—agreed to follow through for four weeks.

In the June issue, we report what they found. Here’s a hint: Most of the sites were great for making contacts—including a lot that might not do your business much good.

Boost from Young Professionals

Within a year of moving to Charlotte County from Fredericksburg, Va., Jenifer Bettencourt was ready to leave. She and her husband, a 30ish couple, had landed in a Southwest Florida county where the median age was nearly twice their own.

They had a hard time finding friends and colleagues their own age until they found the Charlotte County Young Professionals, one of several young professionals organizations in the region.

Gulfshore Business takes a look at a few of these clubs and discovers that they are making a difference not only for their members, socially and professionally, but also for the region’s employers and economic development efforts.

Medical Technology Surge

What do prosthetic fingers and robotic harp seal pups have to do with the Gulfshore’s future? They could be some of the earlier installments of a budding medical technology sector—an industry that economic developers have been trying for years to cultivate.

Now, with the advent of a bioscience and technology park as well as a regional branch of BioFlorida, the pace to diversify the economy to include technology could be accelerating. Medical devices are among the pioneer businesses in this progression.

In the June issue, learn about four companies that are building that medical technology base.

For more Gulfshore Business news, call (800) 220-4853 to subscribe or visit www.gulfshorebusiness.com.