The Venture Edge

It's my favorite time of year. No -- not Christmas, though that rates right up there. It's the time of year when trendwatching.com names its 12 Crucial Consumer Trends for the upcoming year, in this case 2012. If you've got a business and you want to meet your customers where THEY are, then this list is worth a look. Here are the top-five trends -- click here for the complete list of 12, along with detailed explanations. 

I recently read an article on dailyfinance.com about the 10 biggest brand disasters of 2010. As I read through the article, I realized that entrepreneurs and small-business owners and execs can learn some important lessons from the missteps of these global giants.  

As you may have noticed by now, the Apple iPad is by most estimates a smash success. Apple sold more than 1 million iPads in its first month on the market, and the sexy gadgets continue to fly out of Apple Stores across the country. And now that Apple has established a beachhead in the marketplace, it appears that consumers are increasingly coming to the realization that they need either an iPad, or something like it. According to a survey conducted by Boston Consulting Group, 50 to 75 percent of consumers worldwide will purchase such a device within the next three years, assuming prices migrate south to the vicinity of  $150 or so. Of course, with the sweet smell of Apple's success hanging over the industry, other companies are getting ready to launch touchscreen tablet computers of their own. Samsung, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and AsusTek all have units in development and close to market.