Is Web 2.0 spying on you or your company?

Zabasearch, ever heard of it? Chances are, it has heard of you. Zabasearch is one of a new generation of search sites that uncover many of the deeper search results that may not immediately come to view on Google. Zabasearch will provide your actual age or your mate or date for that matter.

The WSJ and NYT have both recently featured this site and the concern of privacy. In a strange twist, the site will actually allow you to register to receive email alerts if someone searches your name or even charge you if you want to blog your results from being displayed. There other sites like spock.com with tags about you, zillow.com which will tell everyone what your home is worth, spokeo.com which promises to find all of your friends of friends but requires your email password (Editor’s note, I wouldn’t do it) and Jigsaw.com which allows other people to sell your contact information so anyone can get that cell phone number you have been protecting. Read the WSJ article.

Jack London

Jack London Names Names (and pictures too)

Don’t miss Jack London, Chairman of CACI at the Tower Club next Thursday, May 22nd (register here) for his book signing and comments about his recently released book "Our Good Name". It is an excellent lesson in crisis management for the CEO who unexpectedly finds their company’s name mentioned unfavorably in the press according to the author.

Jack London is one of the more recognizable leaders of the Government Contracting industry and was recently awarded a lifetime achievement recognition at the annual Association for Corporate Growth (ACG) last month.

Dan Hesse (Sprint) Speaking on June 5th

Dan Hesse

Dan Hesse, CEO of Sprint has been all over the national news for the many stories around the future of this local telecom giant. Dan Hesse replaced Gary Forsee and has been on a national campaign to position the company’s future. Come to the Potomac Officers Club become a member where members have the privilege of hearing “Headline speakers on Headline Topics.” Register Here.

The Price of Oil

Last week’s ExecutiveBiz survey says that you expect to keep paying more for oil. When will it end? That’s tough to say. Some people believe it is a bubble driven by speculation and likely to fall soon and others believe it is an irreversible trend. Oil expert Daniel Yergin is quoted as saying "It's not that the genie is out of the bottle — it's that 100 genies are out of the bottle," and his firm is claimed to have said oil may go to $150/ Barrel this year.

Looking to hire?

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Larry Besterman, CEO and president of TWD, on the rewards of being a mid-tier company

Larry Besterman

Many mid-tier companies face their share of challenges: They’ve graduated from the ranks of small business, but now face the task of competing against much bigger companies. No easy feat. But since 1986, TWD & Associates, a company of 250 employees that develops and maintains voice, video, and data systems, has been gaining ground. Last year alone, TWD did $68 million in revenue. And the future’s only looking brighter. In the following Q&A, TWD’s CEO and president, Larry Besterman talks about where his company’s been, where it’s going, and what trends the TWD team is charting in the ever-changing world of telecommunications.

Click here to read the full interview ...

Best of the ExecutiveBiz Blog

• Michael Gerber, bestselling author of The E-Myth Revisited, on awakening the entrepreneur within
  May 13, 2008 by Lisa Singh
  You know him as the author of the E-Myth book series. For over 30 years, Michael Gerber has helped shatter preconceptions on what it takes to successfully run a business. As both the founder and chairman of E-Myth Worldwide, as well as the bestselling author of books such as E-Myth Mastery and Awakening the Entrepreneur Within, Gerber has tackled a slew of challenging questions that befuddle small business owners. In the following Q&A, Gerber talks about his latest book, and what entrepreneurs can do to make their business dreams a reality.
  
  
• Ken Bajaj’s Poolside Fundraiser for CPE a Splash
  May 13, 2008 by JD Kathuria
  On Saturday, May 10, after the gray clouds had cleared and rain disappeared, Capitol Partner for Education, local business leaders and students from the mentoring program gathered for an intimate, private fundraising dinner featuring the culinary cuisine of an award-winning chef, Michel Richard of Citronelle.
  
  Capitol Partners for Education is a local non-profit foundation which provides educational opportunities for local students living in a high needs communities. The foundation, unlike any other in the area, focuses not only on the education component, but also funds projects that provide mentorship, peer activities, and empowerment opportunities. This uniquely crafted event took place poolside at the home of local business leaders and CPE supporters Ken and Kavelle Bajaj.
  
  More than 200 guests and 25 students were in for a treat. The event included the charming and comical Washington Wizards announcer Steve Buckhantz — the dinner’s master of ceremonies —as well as live musical entertainment, cocktails, and a three-course meal prepared by Richard. There was also a silent auction. Auctioned items included an original signed version of Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird, an exquiste hancrafted 18 karat white gold with diamond and black pendant worth $4,500, and tickets for a Washington National home game.
• HP Acquisition Of EDS May Point To “Cloudy” Future
  May 13, 2008 by Brian Lustig
  Over the past 12-18 months, Cloud computing has been increasingly shifted from the ether to ground level and become a powerful - yet practical - computing alternative for organizations across all sectors. And while much of the cloud computing buzz to date has revolved around Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), Hewlett-Packard’s announced $13.9 billion acquisition of EDS (headquartered in Plano, TX but with a significant presence in Northern Virginia) may in fact be a nod to HP’s hardware as a service aspirations.
• What’s next for G&B Solutions, following its sale to VSE? Ask Linda Berdine.
  May 9, 2008 by Lisa Singh
  A pioneer in the IT field, Linda Berdine has spent the past three decades connecting the government to innovative information solutions. Her company, G&B Solutions Inc., a leading Virginia-based information technology and management-consulting firm, has consistently ranked as one the fastest growing companies in the Washington, D.C. region. Now, with the recent sale of G&B to VSE, Berdine reflects on what’s on the horizon for the company she started in 2001.
• Been There Done That: For CGI’s Donna Morea, richness in simplicity
  May 8, 2008 by Brian Lustig
  Successful executives and leaders will often, upon reflection, cite choosing the career path less traveled as a key to their success. In looking back on her accomplished – and admittedly unexpected – 28 years at AMS (now CGI) during remarks at the ExecutiveBiz “Been There Done That” lunch series, Donna Morea took that adage one step further.

  (L to R) Donna Morea of CGI, Carole Brown of Northrop Grumman, Jim Garrettson of ExecutiveBiz, and Rich Klimoski of GMU

• Mark the date: 13th Annual Charity Basketball Tournament & Community Festival
  May 6, 2008 by Lisa Singh
  Her plan was to teach just one year. But once Susie Kay walked into H.D. Woodson High School in Ward 7, East of the Anacostia River, something happened: Her students’ perseverance soon inspired her to stay for more than a decade. Along the way, Kay founded the Hoop Dreams Scholarship Fund. Since 1996, HDSF has helped nearly 900 high-achieving students realize their dreams of attending college. In the following Q&A, Kay discusses HDSF, and the upcoming 13th Annual Charity Basketball Tournament & Community Festival, an event free and open to the public, in which more than 2,000 people will come together to celebrate high-achieving students from the District’s public schools.
  
  

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