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COVER STORY:
Pygmy Hunters Why Microsoft (and others) are hiring anthropologists to study fast-growing little companies, by Richard McGill Murphy, page 40
To better understand the software needs of entrepreneurs, Microsoft has been undertaking detailed field studies of small firms all over the U.S. Its executives refer to this sort of qualitative research as "anthropology," a term that has become a popular buzzword at the company in recent years. In addition to the code jockeys and marketing mavens who dominate the upper reaches of the corporate hierarchy, Microsoft employs numerous social scientists, including two credentialed anthropologists, to work on projects . . . Their fieldwork is far removed from the popular perception of the anthropologist as lantern-jawed adventurer in baggy shorts and pith helmet, canoeing up the Amazon in search of the proverbial lost tribe. But there is a certain correspondence between Microsoft's research agenda and the work of those old-time anthropologists, many of whom were funded by colonial governments that needed to understand their native subjects in order to rule them more effectively.

Welfare Farming, by Cait Murphy, page 20
Modern farming has become a dire mix of frustration, hard work, low returns—and counterproductive government policies. In the past five years alone, farmers have soaked up a record $99 billion in subsidy payments. Such charitable largesse might lead one to believe agricultural production is on the edge of collapse. Cait Murphy looks at why crop subsidies, defended as essential to the survival of family farms, instead are destroying them, along with entire rural communities.

Words That Sell, by Seth Stevenson, page 62
Pay-per-click search-engine advertising—also known as "keyword bidding"—was an exotic fad just a few years ago; now, it's growing in sophistication and popularity, particularly among small businesses. More small firms are using paid Internet search to boost their online sales. A careful search-engine strategy is vital, or the ad budget can be blown without selling a single pet monkey!

Healthy Choice, by Michelle Andrews, page 82
An often overlooked medical plan can save companies money. President Bush has been aggressively promoting health savings accounts (HSAs) as an antidote to rising health-care costs, but so far relatively few small businesses are seeing such plans as a cure-all. Spurred by the publicity surrounding HSAs companies have discovered that there is another type of plan that suits their needs better, one that is older and perhaps less sexy than an HSA but that gives more flexibility and control: a health-reimbursement arrangement (HRAs). FSB compares HSAs and HRAs on several key points including structure, funding, ownership and coverage.

Fatal Partnership?, by Alec Foege, page 92
Elizabeth Lochtefeld's risk-taking spirit and willingness to trust helped her succeed as an entrepreneur. Did the same qualities make her more vulnerable to MURDER? Lochtefeld seems like the last person to be fooled by a boyfriend or become the victim of a murder. After all, she was a hardheaded entrepreneur who knew her way around New York City's rough-and-tumble construction industry. Drawing on her squeaky-clean business reputation, Lochtefeld helped ex-boyfriend (Thomas) Toolan meet potential clients. . . On October 25, 1994, Toolan hopped a plane from New York to Nantucket, rented a car, and purchased a four-inch fishing knife with an orange handle at a local supply store, investigators say. Lochtefeld, 44, was discovered by police that rainy day afternoon on her living-room floor, brutally stabbed to death. Hours later, Toolan, 37, was arrested in Hopkinton, R.I., for drunk driving in a rented 2005 Chevy Impala. . . Once arrested, Toolan was charged with Lochtefeld's murder.

New Gardening Gear designed by small businesses, by Maggie Overfelt, page 112
Global Neighbor WhisperCut Mower, $495 - g-neighbor.com (motorless lawn mower).lightweight WhisperCut uses a scissorlike motion to cut instead of a flat blade, resulting in a less boxlike cut.
La Crosse Weather Station, $80 - lacrossetechnologies.com.La Crosse Technologies' newest wireless weather station, the WS-9075, tells gardeners what's going on outside—temperature, humidity, conditions—from anywhere in the house.
Cricket Forge Magnolia Bench, $2,600 - cricketforge.com.Cricket Forge was able to use the machine's accuracy to make functional products such as mailboxes and butterfly-shaped benches.
Ron Gladkowski Glass Terrariums, $200—$2,000 - terrariums.net . . . Sold at art fairs and a handful of galleries on the East Coast, each custom-made terrarium . . . is built without blueprints: The artist works from what he sees in his head.
The Rumford Gardener Indoor Gardening Kit, $40 - rumfordgardener.com . . . The Rumford, R.I., firm offers items such as ergonomic tools, kneeling pads, and an indoor gardening kit—its most popular.
Gardendance Stoneware Fish Torch, $94 - gardendance.net . . . For people who want backyard torchlights without going tiki, Mark Donley, 51, and his artist-sculptor wife, Tinka Jordy, 50, create five-foot-tall solid copper torches, along with other garden décor such as silver and glass birdfeeders.

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For further information please contact:
Susan Brown
212-522-0133
susan_brown@timeinc.com

Amy Mahfouz
212-522-2134
amy_mahfouz@timeinc.com

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