It seems that the government is calling for a state of panic amongst U.S. citizens. Is it necessary? Well, my take on it is: not yet anyway. They kind of jumped the gun. The way our collective attention to news issues tends to skip from story to story, I suspect most Americans will no longer be thinking about bird flu by the time it reaches the States. If it reaches the States.

It seems to me that this may just be another Anthrax in the making. My intention is not to jinx the people of the United States. I guess I just get tired of unnecessary scares. Which is not to say that I don’t think people should be prepared. But maybe we should be prepared for more than one little flu, or one bio warfare tactic, or one… who knows what’ll be next?

My thoughts?

• YES Airlines should require coughing passengers to wear surgical masks. Who wants the regular flu or even a cold?
• YES Companies should be prepared for situations in which 50% of their workforce calls out sick. I worked at a small firm a few years back and literally 9 of our 21 employees fell ill during the same week one winter.
• YES We should consider what public (and private) buildings could successfully be used to house hundreds or thousands of people should the need arise. This goes not only for quarantine measures, but also natural disasters and so forth. How about the people displaced by hurricane Katrina? Similar occurrences will likely happen again during your lifetime.
• NO We should not be scared of every little flu, virus, bug or bacteria found overseas. Yes, they exist. And yes, you might get sick some day. But is it really worth freaking out about in the meantime? No, probably not. Take reasonable precautions and get on with your life.

Here’s an interesting story about what blogging can do for your marketing and PR efforts.

And if that’s not enough information for you, check out a conference or seminar on how your business can benefit from blogging.

Or for information on what business blogging can do for your SEO efforts, check this out.

Nope, I don’t work for them, and no, I’m not getting a kickback.

When I started my company in 1994, I had little more than an MBA under my belt and a handful of innovative ideas. Most of my ideas worked and now I run a successful small business.

I believe one of the most important keys to success is staying on top of things. I keep up with the news, sports, weather, trading, changes in technology and market trends. It’s time consuming, but I love it. I love it so much that I’ve become an information source for friends, family, coworkers and now you.