I must confess: I’m a Twitterbug. When I first heard of Twitter, however, I was rather skeptical and thought, "Why, oh why, would I want to know if some guy in Hoboken likes his hoagie from Georgio’s, or how much he misses ‘Perfect Strangers?’ How does that impact me?"

Yet lo and behold, I eventually discovered the myriad professional uses for Twitter, and we’ve even applied it to our Chamber communications protocol with measured success, enabling us to spread our message to more businesses, policy wonks, and legislators than ever before. However, employers — and employees — should beware of the many ways such social media can backfire if one becomes a little too candid; it’s a valuable lesson for communications staff, CEOs, and potential hires alike. Case in point:

I saw this exchange on Twitter, which is a painful lesson in how NOT to use Twitter in this tough economy.

A lucky job applicant tweeted the following:

"Cisco just offered me a job! Now I have to weigh the utility of a fatty paycheck against the daily commute to San Jose and hating the work."

This tweet caught the attention of Tim Levad, a channel partner advocate for Cisco. To which he responded:

"Who is the hiring manager. I’m sure they would love to know that you will hate the work. We here at Cisco are versed in the web."

Ouch! The person who dissed the Cisco offer quickly took their Twitter account private. But Twitter search retained the record.

Remember a couple months ago when the PR guy’s tweet about Memphis came back to bite him? This is another example of the need to be careful with what you post on Twitter, and social media in general.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Bennett sent a memo to Indiana’s public school superintendents today outlining the need for a full 180 day school year. He states his case as follows:

I believe strongly that schools must do everything in their power to ensure students receive the full 180 days of education as prescribed by state law. Please be advised that beginning in the 2009-2010 school year, it will no longer be the practice of the Department of Education to adopt emergency policies allowing schools to apply for waivers of the financial penalty for canceled instructional days.

As President Obama said last week in unveiling his education agenda, "the challenges of a new century demand more time in the classroom."

We expect schools to find ways to ensure the 180 day standard is met, despite cancellation of school days due to severe weather or other emergencies. A full instructional day is defined in law as five hours of instruction at the elementary level and six hours of instruction at the secondary level. Lunch and recess are not counted as instructional time…

The Department of Education stands ready to assist school corporations in planning their calendars and seeking creative solutions to guarantee students receive the 180 days of classroom instruction prescribed in state statute.

Our own Derek Redelman lauded the decision in an Indy Star article:

Derek Redelman, vice president of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, applauded Bennett’s decision, saying it was a step closer to ensuring Indiana children are in class long enough to compete in a global economy.

The state originally required 180 days of class as a compromise, with the understanding that it would work toward a much longer school year, he said.

"We are seeing that our competitors around the world are getting kids into school longer," Redelman said. "I think it’s pretty clear that you can cover more material if you’re in school more."

The Economic Club is pleased to announce a series of presentations throughout Indiana during the summer months of 2009. These events, dubbed the "Economic Club Summer Series," will feature the same high-quality speakers that the regular season events have become known for.

"We are very excited to be bringing the (Economic) Club, in a physical sense, to other parts of the state," comments Steve Walker, president of the Economic Club.

An arrangement allowing WFYI to produce statewide broadcasts of current presentations has helped generate a great deal of interest outside of Indianapolis over the past two seasons. Hosting events in other cities is part of the continuing effort to bring the Economic Club to all Hoosiers.  

The first stop on the 2009 Summer Series tour is set for June 9 in Merrillville — featuring tax policy expert and nationally published opinion leader Scott Hodge. Indiana Pacers president Jim Morris will be the keynote speaker for a July 14 event in Evansville, and Fort Wayne will play host in August. Details for the August event and other specifics are still being finalized but will be announced soon.   

Current sponsors for the 2009 Summer Series include Ivy Tech, ProLiance Energy, Franklin College, Schmidt Associates and ESW Inc. Speaker’s Reception sponsors include NIPSCO – June; Old National, Regency Commercial Associates – July.

A variety of sponsorship opportunities remain. Contact Jim Wagner for details at jwagner@indianachamber.com.

The master of this space, colleague Matt Ottinger, shared a post a few months ago about the future of the newspaper industry. Since then, more bankruptcies and closings have been making headlines. As someone who spent nearly 20 years (seriously, I started when I was in high school) at various newspaper publications, it’s a sad thing to see.

In a related development, Indiana Business Magazine announced its shutdown last week after 52 years in the business. That also is not a good development. It reduces the number of voices — the business stories being told and the information and analysis made available.

Our Indiana Chamber BizVoice publication is now the ONLY general business magazine in the state. Not that we didn’t already do so, but we will take that responsibility seriously. Just a few facts:

• BizVoice has earned nearly 50 national and state awards over the past 10 years
• Our audience of 15,000 (and more for event distribution to both Best Places to Work and Chamber Annual Awards Dinner audiences) includes top Indiana business, political and community leaders
• We’re blessed with a staff that excels at telling those stories and creating an important and effective publication — both in print and online
• Jim Wagner, our Chamber business development coordinator, boasts more than 25 years of experience in working with Indiana companies and organizations. He knows what works for those looking to get the word out about their products and services

We’re hard at work on the next issue, honoring 70 Best Places to Work companies, featuring a special health care section and a Community Focus on Terre Haute. Learn more online.

In a recent ranking by Chief Executive magazine, Indiana was listed as the 11th best state in the U.S. for business, and the best in the Midwest. Texas topped the list, while New York was last.

And sadly, our neighbors, Ohio, Illinois, and Michigan placed 45th, 46th, and 49th, respectively. So perhaps the term "island of prosperity" might indeed apply to us after all. (Although Kentucky was 23rd.)

Hat tip to Inside Indiana Business.

To those of you reading this blog, our BizVoice magazine and numerous other written communication efforts, thank you. To those who also want to see the latest from the Indiana Chamber, you can click on the videos tab at the bottom of each page on our web site. What will you find?

• Commentaries from Chamber President Kevin Brinegar
• BizVoice magazine segments featuring stories from our current issue
• Profiles of 2008 Annual Award and Volunteer of the Year winners
• Our special policy outreaches on local government reform (featuring former Gov. Joe Kernan) and the Letters to Our Leaders campaign

In addition, Brinegar and other Chamber issue experts appear weekly on the Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick television program during the legislative session. Inside the Statehouse segments are also available online.

The State Science & Technology Institute (SSTI) is a leading provider of tech-related news and information. Its most recent issue offers a straight-to-the-point editorial about a lack of action in Congress that could prove devastating to small businesses across the country.

Inconceivable? Unconscionable? Inexcusable? Which word best conveys what is happening to the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program? Perhaps all of them. The SBIR program will expire March 20 unless Congress acts before that date.

No SBIR-related legislation has been considered by either chamber of Congress since the current session began in early January, and without action by Congress by March 20, the program expires. SBIR could be attached to some other bill before the deadline, but there is no indication at this point that that is going to occur.

It is inconceivable that one of the most successful federal programs to support the commercialization of innovation will be allowed to expire at the same time the country is desperately seeking investments to prepare the nation for the next economy. As SSTI has reported, significant portions of the Recovery Act are focused on investing in the future. Green technologies. Alternative energy. Information and communication technologies. Smart tech. SBIR should play an important role in that – just as it has supported the early development of a number of important technologies and tens of thousands of companies for the past 25 years.

It is unconscionable and inexcusable to think that a federal program would be allowed to expire that has proven to be effective. In addition to the hundreds of anecdotal success stories and profit statements from small businesses, a multimillion dollar independent assessment conducted by the National Academies of Science found SBIR to be effective.

The battle over inclusion of venture-backed biotech firms in SBIR derailed passage of an SBIR reauthorization bill last year. Both proponents and opponents were unwilling to compromise, and it seems both sides will lose now.

SBIR has proven to be a valuable screening tool for venture capitalists across many disciplines, including biotech. Compared to other small businesses, most SBIR winners are worthy of a closer look when prospecting for firms to add to an equity portfolio. Is VC eligibility going to prove to be the deal-breaker for SBIR’s continued existence?

SBIR, through its competitive application process and market-driven need for the resulting innovations to be commercialized, costs less than $3 billion a year and supports thousands of small businesses across the country and several thousands more high-wage jobs for some of the nation’s smartest entrepreneurs.

This one seems pretty simple. SBIR reauthorization should be part of the economy’s solution.