With all the gloom in the global economy, I got to wondering whether there is anything else going on in the world of business. I'm looking for growth because I think that's what will ultimately bring the economy out of the doldrums. Not surprisingly, that growth is coming from technology companies. In Growth Matters, I look at consumer technology companies that point the way to growth trends -- and in the process introduce services and products you may want to explore.

With all the magazines and newspapers shutting down these days, it came as a surprise to me that some companies are making money by retailing content online. One of Europe's leaders in this business is HDS Digital. I interviewed Aymeric Bauguin, HDS Digital's Managing Director, who said "HDS Digital is an e-commerce platform dedicated to the retailing of digital magazines and books, and operating under a white-label strategy on Relay.com and on major French e-commerce websites like 3suisses.fr, RueduCommerce.com, VirginMega.fr."

With all the gloom in the global economy, I got to wondering whether there is anything else going on in the world of business. I'm looking for growth because I think that's what will ultimately bring the economy out of the doldrums. Not surprisingly, that growth is coming from technology companies. In Growth Matters, I look at consumer technology companies that point the way to growth trends -- and in the process introduce services and products you may want to explore.

I was surprised to learn that the world's second largest e-commerce company, behind Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), is Germany's Otto Group. I interviewed Thomas Voigt, Vice President Corporate Communications for the Otto Group, who said, "The Otto Group companies focused on multichannel sales at an early stage and added E-Commerce to their traditional mail-order operations, in order to plan for the future."

With all the gloom in the global economy, I got to wondering whether there is anything else going on in the world of business. I'm looking for growth because I think that's what will ultimately bring the economy out of the doldrums. Not surprisingly, that growth is coming from technology companies. In Growth Matters, I look at consumer technology companies that point the way to growth trends -- and in the process introduce services and products you may want to explore.

If you like playing games on your PC, then you should know Jagex -- or its popular RuneScape game. To learn more, I interviewed Adam Tuckwell, Jagex's head of public relations, who said, "Jagex is one of the world's leading developers of browser-based games. We specialize in the development of online games that can be played on almost any PC in the world. Our flagship title, RuneScape, is a massively multiplayer online role playing game that has been played by over 150 million people."

With all the gloom in the global economy, I got to wondering whether there is anything else going on in the world of business. I'm looking for growth because I think that's what will ultimately bring the economy out of the doldrums. Not surprisingly, that growth is coming from technology companies. In Growth Matters, I look at consumer technology companies that point the way to growth trends -- and in the process introduce services and products you may want to explore.

Do you feel as though the Internet lacks personality? If so Plista may help. I interviewed Dominik P. Matyka, Plista's founder and CEO, who said "Plista personalizes your Internet experience by helping you to find and share content that's relevant to you and therefore saves you time and money. Plista allows you to experience your favorite sites in a brand-new way. It provides you with recommendations and personalization on sites you know."

With all the gloom in the global economy, I got to wondering whether there is anything else going on in the world of business. I'm looking for growth because I think that's what will ultimately bring the economy out of the doldrums. Not surprisingly, that growth is coming from technology companies. In Growth Matters, I look at consumer technology companies that point the way to growth trends -- and in the process introduce services and products you may want to explore.

If you're overwhelmed by all the new content on the Web and want your friends' help to sort through it, then Mister Wong may be just what you need. I interviewed Christian Clawien, press spokesperson for Mister Wong, who said "Mister Wong enables the saving of favorite websites with the use of personal tags. With an individual account, one has access to their bookmarks online regardless of whether at home, university, Internet café, at work, or even via mobile."

With all the gloom in the global economy, I got to wondering whether there's anything else going on in the world of business. I'm looking for growth because I think that's what will ultimately bring the economy out of the doldrums. Not surprisingly, that growth is coming from technology companies.

The fastest growing companies these days share a common trait -- they help make the lives of consumers easier and more fun. Whether it's navigating in your car, looking for fun restaurants, playing games on your mobile, arranging meetings with your friends, personalizing the reams of songs and videos aroung the Web, or planning a vacation, the fastest growers are the ones that do these things the best. So, in Growth Matters I look at consumer technology companies that point the way to growth trends.

This morning the stock market rose a bit even though the jobs numbers were worse than expected (this makes sense if you buy the idea that there is no logical explanation for daily market movements). Investors expected the unemployment rate to top 7.9% with 648,000 jobs lost in February and the actual numbers were worse -- 8.1% and 651,000, respectively.

But do you really care about government statistics? The simple fact is that if you're now unemployed you're scrambling to find a job and it's probably very tough. And if you have a job, you're worried you won't have it for much longer. I meet with several undergraduate and MBA students each week who are looking for help to find jobs. And the simple reality is that there are no easy answers. But I have three ideas.

With all the gloom in the global economy, I got to wondering whether there is anything else going on in the world of business. I'm looking for growth because I think that's what will ultimately bring the economy out of the doldrums. Not surprisingly, that growth is coming from technology companies. In Growth Matters, I look at consumer technology companies that point the way to growth trends -- and in the process introduce services and products you may want to explore.

Do you accumulate lots of electronic stuff? Do you wish you could keep it altogether in one place and synchronize it with your laptop, mobile devices, and desktop computers? If so, Evernote is for you. According to my interview with Phil Libin, Evernote's CEO, "We had a good year in 2008. We raised money to get through this difficult economic period. And I am optimistic. The big idea behind Evernote is that a few billion people want a better brain. People need to deal with more stuff and process more stuff. They need an external brain to store and recall the stuff they want to remember."

With all the gloom in the global economy, I got to wondering whether there is anything else going on in the world of business. I'm looking for growth because I think that's what will ultimately bring the economy out of the doldrums. Not surprisingly, that growth is coming from technology companies. In Growth Matters, I look at consumer technology companies that point the way to growth trends -- and in the process introduce services and products you may want to explore.

Do you like the idea of watching videos on your mobile? How about shooting your own videos and sharing them with friends? If that sounds good, Transpera may be the service for you. According to Transpera's CEO, Frank Barbieri, in January 2009, Transpera's "traffic increased to the highest day ever. It was up by a third [in the last week of the month]. Two years ago, I was sitting on the couch writing a business plan for mobile video at Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT). I was talking with a private equity firm that suggested that video on the phone would create significant change, and new technology including 3G and new handsets would change the delivery of video."

With all the gloom in the global economy, I got to wondering whether there is anything else going on in the world of business. I'm looking for growth because I think that's what will ultimately bring the economy out of the doldrums. Not surprisingly, that growth is coming from technology companies. In Growth Matters, I look at consumer technology companies that point the way to growth trends -- and in the process introduce services and products you may want to explore.

If you need directions in your car, there are many options available. One interesting service comes from Dash Navigation, which is changing from a hardware to a service focus -- making itself available for a range of devices. I interviewed its CEO, Rob Currie, who joined the company in late 2008 and said, "Dash is a pioneer of connected navigation."

With all the gloom in the global economy, I got to wondering whether there is anything else going on in the world of business. I'm looking for growth because I think that's what will ultimately bring the economy out of the doldrums. Not surprisingly, that growth is coming from technology companies. In Growth Matters, I look at consumer technology companies that point the way to growth trends -- and in the process introduce services and products you may want to explore.

If you watch TV shows and wish you could buy the clothes your favorite actress is wearing, you'd be a fan of Coolspotters. I interviewed Aaron LaBerge, who is CEO of Fantzer, the company behind Coolspotters, and he said, "Coolspotters is a Web application that allows fans of celebrity and pop-culture to discover and buy the fashions, brands, and products being used by their favorite actors, musicians, athletes, and public figures -- in real life, and in movies and television. The platform also allows knowledgeable fans to share what they know about today's hottest products, brands, celebrities, and entertainment."

With all the gloom in the global economy, I got to wondering whether there is anything else going on in the world of business. I'm looking for growth because I think that's what will ultimately bring the economy out of the doldrums. Not surprisingly, that growth is coming from technology companies. In Growth Matters, I look at consumer technology companies that point the way to growth trends -- and in the process introduce services and products you may want to explore.

With people looking to save money, coupons are more important than ever. But wouldn't it be great if you could get the benefits of a coupon without clipping them and taking them with you shopping? If you have a cell phone, you can get this with Cellfire.

With all the gloom in the global economy, I got to wondering whether there is anything else going on in the world of business. I'm looking for growth because I think that's what will ultimately bring the economy out of the doldrums. Not surprisingly, that growth is coming from technology companies. In Growth Matters, I look at consumer technology companies that point the way to growth trends -- and in the process introduce services and products you may want to explore.

With all the content on the Web, wouldn't it be nice if your friends could sort through it all and let you know which ones are worth viewing? That's the idea behind StumbleUpon, which its General Manager, Michael Buhr, described to me as follows, "StumbleUpon -- which eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) bought for $75 million in May 2007 -- is an internet community that allows its users to discover and rate Web pages, photos, and videos. It is a personalized recommendation engine that uses peer- and social-networking principles."

With all the gloom in the global economy, I got to wondering whether there is anything else going on in the world of business. I'm looking for growth because I think that's what will ultimately bring the economy out of the doldrums. Not surprisingly, that growth is coming from technology companies. In Growth Matters, I look at consumer technology companies that point the way to growth trends -- and in the process introduce services and products you may want to explore.

If you're thinking of having a party, it might not be a bad idea to use Evite to send out the invitations and plan the event. As Evite's Vice-President of Marketing and Public Relations Lariayn Payne told me, "Evite is the leading online service on the Web for invitations and party planning. Evite is free and easy-to-use and offers hundreds of stylish invitation designs for almost any occasion. Evite also offers fun and creative party ideas, planning checklists, and other tools, which save party hosts both time and money."

With all the gloom in the global economy, I got to wondering whether there is anything else going on in the world of business. I'm looking for growth because I think that's what will ultimately bring the economy out of the doldrums. Not surprisingly, that growth is coming from technology companies. In Growth Matters, I look at consumer technology companies that point the way to growth trends -- and in the process introduce services and products you may want to explore.

In the early 1970s, Ford Motor (NYSE: F) had a great slogan: "Ford brings you better ideas." Although the auto industry is driving in reverse these days, Ford is the only U.S. auto maker yet to take government money. It may need to do so eventually, but for now Ford is getting by. And one of its better ideas is Ford SYNC, which Charlotte Fisher, Ford's Global Design and Technology Communications spokesperson, described to me as "a voice-activated, in-car communications technology that lets Ford customers play music, call friends, or receive text messages, without ever taking a hand off the wheel."