Before I get to this week’s microbusiness news, a bit of housekeeping.

Raw Voice (owners of Blubrry.com, the podcast network to which the Microbusiness News Briefs belongs) and several other podcasting companies have joined with The Association for Downloadable Media (ADM) on the “Consumers Attitudes on Advertising & Sponsorship in Audio and Video Podcasts” research project.

The project is a survey that should take about 10 minutes to complete and does NOT ask for personal contact information. The survey will record audience reactions to topics such as ad style, delivery and placement. The research will help podcast producers best fulfill the expectations of their listeners and viewers.

If you are willing to take a few minutes to complete the survey (and I hope you will), please visit http://www.takethesurvey.com/rawvoice. And thank you for your help!

Health care reform is back and the number one topic of the week, with two of our three stories focusing on that very interesting topic. The Senate Small Business Committee leadership (Landrieu and Snowe) are concerned about some of the issues facing the self-employed that are not addressed in proposed reform legislation. The NASE is concerned about that, too.

I don’t know why but … you’d think that eventually people would get it that they don’t get it, wouldn’t you? Personal paradigms are powerful persuaders.

Rounding out the weeks news is a recent proposal that says to businesses, “We don’t need you to site your factory or call center in our community. We just need you to hire our rural and small town constituents to telework for you. Isn’t technology wonderful?” New wrinkle on an old economic development tactic.

For more information:

• Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship
• National Association for the Self-Employed (NASE)
• (THOMAS) Rural and Small Town Telework Tax Credit Act of 2009 (H.R. 3627)