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For small businesses, setting up social media profiles, blogs and any other online presence is a trivial matter that takes mere minutes to complete. But how does one effectively pull it all together into one centralized hub?

Central.ly is a tool for creating one-page business profiles that can include a number of third party "apps" linking to sites like Twitter, Facebook, Yelp and, of course, a company's own Website. Think of it like About.me or Flavors.me, but for businesses rather than individuals. Indeed, the back-end interface will look very familiar to users of About.me.

As Small Business Week gets underway in the United States, online business card creation service MOO is marking the occasion by launching a self-service portal for small businesses.

MOO's Business Services accounts are available to companies with at least 10 employees. They're simply a way for small teams to order business cards for multiple people simultaneously. Other perks included enhanced customer service and additional industry-specific design templates.

Have you ever wanted to operate an old Windows XP desktop computer from a multi-touch, tablet-based interface? Now's your chance.

GoToMyPC, the remote desktop application from Citrix, launched an iPad app today, allowing you to access a desktop or laptop computer from Apple's popular tablet. Using the app, one can control any machine with the GoToMYPC software installed on it and operate it as though they were sitting in front of it.

Professional social networking site LinkedIn has published a series of retro-style videos introducing small businesses to the site and what it has to offer for business users.

LinkedIn's Timeless Guide to Small Business Success is edited with a faux 1980s TV commercial vibe, complete with rainbow-laden, early 1980s computer graphics and an old school Apple II-style desktop computer.

A report released by freelancer hiring site Elance today shows a surprising amout of growth in hiring during the fourth quarter of last year, especially in IT categories.

Among some of the most sought after technical skills on Elance last quarter were PHP, Wordpress, HTML/CSS, graphic design, MySQL, JavaScript and iPhone development.

Cloud computing has been a buzzworthy topic for some time, as more and more enterprises move their computing infrastructure and software to cloud-based solutions. While the cloud continues to be a smart option for them, it's also arguably even more beneficial for small businesses, whose resources can be miniscule.

First of all, what exactly is cloud computing? To take a broad definition, Focus Research describes it as "the ability for organizations to share critical computing infrastructure (e.g. servers, storage, etc.) and related services over the internet." This can include IT infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) or software (SaaS).

Google has always been proactive about making it easy to learn how to use their online advertising and analysis products. After all, the more people use AdWords and related offerings, the more revenue Google makes, and the better-equipped business owners are to reach potential customers.

Google Engage For Agencies is the company's latest effort to educate its customers about the online search advertising market and Google's offerings in particular. Upon completing four free, Web-based courses, users can unlock coupons redeemable for free AdWords buys. From there, business owners can decide to get officially certified as experts in Google AdWords.

It's been a few years since Yelp launched, but despite proliferating competition, the user-generated business reviews site isn't going anywhere. For some local businesses, it's a blessing. For others, the very public, sometimes brutal candor of their customers can be a lot to swallow.

Like it or not, social media has empowered customers to call it like they see it and businesses have no choice but to join the conversation. So how can a small, local business make the most of Yelp and its often passionate community? We talked to Luther Lowe, Yelp's Manager of Local Business Outreach and he shared a few pointers.

Starting on January 1, many U.S.-based businesses and individuals who sell products on third party Websites are going to need to file a new form with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Sellers on sites like Ebay, Half.com and Etsy who earn more than $20,000 or process more than 200 transactions per year will need to file the 1099-K form with their taxes next year.

You don't have to be United State government to recognize risks of having lax data security practices in place these days. And while larger organizations have robust IT departments, small companies often don't have the luxury of a huge budget.

Fortunately, there are a number of very simple ways in which small businesses can secure their data without burning a ton of cash.