Arkansas Business is now on Facebook. So if you'd like to be a fan, search for "Arkansas Business" on Facebook or click or go directly to the Arkansas Business on Facebook page. We'll be sharing news headlines and, soon, hosting discussions and seeking more interaction from readers.

You can also find us on Twitter, @ArkBusiness. And our Arkansas Business 40 Under 40 alumni group on LinkedIn continues to grow, so if you're a past Arkansas Business 40 Under 40 honoree, click here to join.

Meanwhile, while you're on Facebook, check out the Pages for our other Arkansas Business Publishing Group magazines, newspapers and Web sites:

The New York Times Magazine previews on The New York Times Web site a long story on former President Bill Clinton's new life, one in which the world no longer revolves around him. If you don't have time this week to read it, it's worth a look over the weekend.

A taste: "His left hand trembled a little bit during dinner, as it tends to do late in the day. It worried him enough at one point that he had himself tested for Parkinson’s disease, but the results came back negative; his doctor says he has just signed too many autographs over the years."

The central Arkansas marketing and banking communities mourn the loss of Tom Steves, who was killed in a motorcycle accident in northern Pulaski County Tuesday afternoon.

Steves was the executive vice-president and marketing director at Twin City Bank. He had also been the executive vice-president and chief operating officer at Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods until 1999.

Roller-Owens Funeral Home in North Little Rock will be handling the funeral arrangements, which were incomplete Wednesday morning.  We invite you to leave your condolences and rememberances of Tom Steves in the comment box below.

People are still writing about Kim Hendren, the possible candidate for U.S. Senate (no papers yet!) who stuck his foot in his mouth recently re: Chuck Schumer.

There's been all kinds of political commentary on that, including some discussion of the matter between Little Rock blogger Blake Rutherford and I. Barry Goldberg, an executive coach who writes a column for Arkansas Business. That discussion noted here.

In addition to political and social matters, Goldberg's been thinking about the Hendren gaffe from a communications standpoint and points to lessons we can all learn about "leadership communications."

Not surprisingly, the Hendren gaffe is a perfect example of what not to do! Among those lessons, from Goldberg's Leader's Notebook blog:

If you are going to apologize, apologize. Justification, reframing and excuses are not an apology.

When he was taken-to-task about the statement by an Arkansas blogger, Hendren endeavored to apologize. Unfortunately, his attempt only made matters worse. An apology made with conditions, explanations, justification and reserve is not an apology. Hendren’s effort managed to include them all. The press, the blogsphere (conservative and liberal alike) and the public fed on this further communication snafu like a steak dinner. The comments that drew the most fire had to do with his justification that there are Jews he admires, especially Jesus; and, that he was just “…attempting to explain that unlike Senator Schumer, I believe in traditional values, like we used to see on The Andy Griffith Show.”

And if you are going to apologize, apologize for the right thing. In another comment, Hendren says “I made the mistake of referring to Sen. Schumer as ‘that Jew’ and I should not have put it that way, as this took away from what I was trying to say.” So, the problem, in Hendren’s view, is not that he should not have brought Schumer’s faith into the argument, but that he distracted listeners from his actual point.

Updated: Last night’s Little Rock Tweetup (#LRTweetup) was big fun! Thanks to Natalie Ghidotti and Angel Murphy Galloway for organizing last night’s event at Sticky Fingerz downtown, attended by about 30 hardcore Arkansas tweeters, some of whom dropped in before attending last night’s other big event, the start of the Little Rock Film Festival.

It was great to put a face to the avatar and connect with folks who are passionate about the Arkansas’ social Web community in all its permutations. We had political bloggers, Web designers/programmers, academicians, media folks, marketing professionals, mom bloggers, IT pros, entrepreneurs, lawyers, authors, photographers and more — in short, a great cross-section of our enthusiastic, Web-savvy community.

Click here to see photos from the event.

Original post, 5/13:

What should be a big networking opportunity happens tonight in Little Rock at our first big "tweetup" meeting of the Arkansas Twittersphere at Sticky Fingerz Rock ‘n' Roll Chicken Shack in Little Rock's River Market District!

As you might have heard, it all begins at 5:30 p.m. in Sticky's back room. Buy your favorite tweeter a drink or three and connect with your followers and the people you follow on Twitter.

And I don't have to tell you what a good time it is to be networking. Tonight's another good chance to make new friends and solidify connections that might help your career down the road.

And don't forget to check the Official Little Rock Tweetup Hastag, #LRTweetup, for any last-minute chatter or to track the event in real time if you can't be there.

I look forward to seeing everyone tonight!

Our Arkansas Business marketing guru Jim Karrh is back this week with part two of his series on effective e-mail marketing campaigns. You can see part two, which links to part one, here.

Professional marketers, as well as anyone who interacts with e-mail on a daily basis as part of their jobs, should take note. There's solid tips and principles here for everyone.

More

Web Worker Daily has tips on how to deal with so-called "low-quality" messages, everything from spam to other kinds of unwanted mail that clogs up your inbox.

On "Today's THV This Morning," Alyson Courtney and I gave a quick, broad overview of Twitter and some businesses and organizations in Arkansas are using it. Click here to see the video.*

Like I said in the video, it's easy to get "social media fatigue" trying to keep up with all that's out there. The key for anyone thinking about using Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, whatever, is to think about your goals, the way you work, and your possible audience, then experiment to see what service best fits you based on that criteria.

You don't have to do it all. But you should be aware of what's out there.

Also noted in the segment: How the government is using Twitter to keep citizens abreast of the swine flu, how Tyson Foods is using Twitter as part of its charitable work, and Delta Trust & Bank's plans to Twitter this weekend from the Berkshire-Hathaway shareholders meeting.

Find THV Twitterers here. See more Arkansas Twitterers via my Arkansas Twitter Guide. And follow me on Twitter @LT, and Arkansas Business @ArkBusiness.

(* Did you catch my flub? I said "240" characters instead of "140." What can I say? It was 6:40 in the morning.)

Blake's Think Tank reported it months ago, and now it's official. After six years and drama galore, the Arkansas Young Professionals Network is calling it quits and yielding to a new young professionals group they say will be organized and run by the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The e-mail about ending the group was sent to members this morning from President Bucky O'Mell:

Dear AYPN Member,

After over a year of financial hardships and other difficulties, the Arkansas Young Professionals Network board of directors has decided that the best course of action is to wind down the business of AYPN.  Throughout its six year history, AYPN has had its ups and downs in membership; however, a number of barriers have prevented the organization from ever achieving a sustainable level of active membership.  While this year's group of officers has worked hard to overcome new challenges, in the end, we were faced with too steep a climb.

Fortunately, it appears another organization may soon emerge with a new networking outlet for young professionals in the Little Rock metro.  The Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce is making plans to create a new young professionals organization which would be managed by the Chamber.  I am confident that with the skills and strength of the Chamber behind it, this new structure will be able to achieve a level of success that AYPN could not, and I wish the Chamber the best of luck.  In cities around the country, the strongest young professionals organizations are those directly linked with chambers of commerce.  I have no doubt that the same will be true of our Little Rock Region.  I will keep you posted as the announcement develops.

Sincerely,

Buckley O'Mell

AYPN re-elected a new board of directors early last year in the wake of E-mail-Gate (long story; click here), but apparently couldn't recover (despite some motherly advice from Arkansas Business Editor Gwen Moritz). The Think Tank reported in December that the group would disband and that the Little Rock Chamber would create and manage its own young professionals organization.

Here's hoping for the chamber's group. Economic developers increasingly see having a vibrant young professionals organization in their communities as a key part of growing and attracting business. Little Rock could definitely benefit from a strong, healthy, viable organization that provides professional networking and career development opportunities, particularly in these economic times.

UPDATE: John Baine writes to say that this leaves the Arkansas Junior Chamber of Commerce as "the only state wide organization of young professionals in Arkansas" with eight chapters across the state.

Baine is state past president of the group, which you can learn more about it www.ArkansasJaycees.org.

Remember how Generation Y workers thought they didn't have to work their father's 9-to-5 shift? That they wanted flexibility in their jobs? That they valued friendships and feedback over a steady check? That employers needed to learn new strategies in order to cope with (coddle) these sensitive world-changers?

In this job market we wonder, "Yeah. How's that working out for them?"

It was this article that got us thinking. It's another of those "How to deal with and attract Gen Y workers" stories that now seems as if it were written in an alternate universe.

With unemployment on the rise and cutbacks everywhere, shouldn't Gen Y be lucky to have the job they have, so much so that employers need not sweat catering to their every need?

Just wondering.

Financial planning coach Shane Montgomery (who you can follow on Twitter here) appeared on "Today's THV This Morning" to talk about wise money management.

In two segments, he talks about everyday ways you might be wasting your money and how to avoid doing so. The segments are based on this piece at SmartMoney.com, which outlines potential ways of saving a few bucks in these tough economic times.

Click here to Montgomery's first segment, and click here to see the second one.

And yes, that's me, getting caught with donuts at the start of part 2. Long story.

• Arkansas Business, Now on Facebook
• The New Bill Clinton
• Remembering Tom Steves
• Communications Lessons Learned from the Hendren Gaffe
• UPDATE: A Little Rock Tweetup
• Jim Karrh: Tips for Effective E-mails
• THVideo: Twitter 101 with Alyson Courtney
• AYPN Calls It Quits in E-mail to Members
• Have the Tables Turned for Gen-Y Workers?
• THVideo: Tips on Wise Money Management

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