For a limited time, to help launch my new interactive company page on Facebook, I’m offering free online consultations to anyone who joins my page as a fan.

Just click the Become a Fan button in the Facebook box in the right-hand margin of this page. (Or you can just click here.) Then post your technology-related question as a new thread on the Discussion tab.

All questions should be related to the use of information technology in small and medium businesses. I’ll do my best to answer what I can, and I’ll at least steer you in the right direction for further research if I don’t know the answer.

Some suggested topics for questions:

• Software choices for particular type of business
• How to manage online customer relationships
• Online marketing best practices
• How to prepare a good requirements document for a software project
• …and many more

The most useful questions will be ones that help you solve real problems facing your business. Be as specific as possible.

This is a limited time offer, which I may withdraw at any time. Get your questions in now!

I find that many small-to-medium local businesses are hiding from their customers and don’t realize it. They still market to new customers in newspapers and the Yellow Pages, and they still stay in touch with existing customers (if they do) by direct mail.

But those traditional marketing channels are increasingly empty. That’s not where you find customers in the 21st century. No, they’re online. They’re on Google, Twitter, Facebook, StumbleUpon. They’re blogging and commenting on blogs. They’re forming communities of interest on Digg and social|median.

If businesses aren’t familiar with these venues and aren’t meeting their customers where they hang out and interact, then they’re missing an enormous opportunity to keep building even during these recessionary times.

So stop hiding from your customers^SM. I can help. Contact me today.