With tens of thousands of apps out there — social media tools, information receptacles, games and more — it’s hard to determine which (if any) might be useful for getting down to business. This task is made more difficult by the fact that the number of apps grows with overwhelming speed.

The old adage, “It’s not what you know, but who you know,” may be more pertinent than ever in the business world. Networking is always important in any business but, let’s face it, it can be tiresome. That’s why John Chason of Metrix Ventures, along with Lester Hutt of BevShots and Adam Kaye of Silicon Tally, teamed up to launch Startup Round, a unique, informal way for entrepreneurs to gather and share ideas … and an adult beverage or two.

Karen’s employee mentions to her that he is getting tested over the weekend for a heart condition. She asks whether heart conditions run in his family and tells him to let her know how the test goes.  She has just broken the law.

Given a chance to hire Apple Inc.’s often-combative co-founder Steve Jobs, entrepreneur Joseph A. Kelley would have found a place for him — in a branch office or working at home. Jobs was an inspiring genius.  But he was also a demeaning, belligerent boss with a notorious my-way-or-the-highway attitude. And Jobs probably wouldn’t be a good fit at Kelley’s Tallahassee-based GTO (Gates That Open), a national remote access gate manufacturer.

Employment opportunities are few and far between these days. The unemployment rate in Florida remained in double digits throughout 2011 and the outlook for 2012 looks to be just as dreary. That holds especially true for rural communities across the Sunshine State decimated by the economy and the bursting of the real estate bubble. At the start of the decade, life was good, there was opportunity for growth and everyone was flush with optimism. Then in 2007–08 real estate prices crashed — and so too did the hopes and dreams of many communities that had visions of a better tomorrow.

After her third daughter was born in 1995, Laura Johnson continued a tradition and pressed little Sarah Parker’s handprints into some clay.

You can get just about anything that swims at Doug’s Seafood Truck on St. George Island — scallops, tuna, grouper, several different sizes of Gulf shrimp scooped out of the water that morning.  Anything, that is, but mullet. You can walk over to the other side of the island and see their shiny, grey, oblong bodies jumping out of the still waters of Apalachicola Bay, but they’re not listed on the chalkboard menu of the many fish Doug’s has to offer.

He takes no offense at the question, coming innocently enough as it does from curious tourists visiting his popular seafood restaurant.

When the Florida Legislature is in session, David Hart’s job is “as close to 24/7 as you can imagine.” As the chief lobbyist for Florida’s largest business voice — with about 139,000 members — the 46-year-old is grateful he can go for months on only four hours of sleep a night.

Big BusinessShipbuilding is one of the oldest industries in the United States, and was once one of the most important. During its glory days, the industry contributed in major ways toward making this country a world power — playing vital roles in all of its major wars. But since the Civil War, the U.S. shipbuilding industry has declined significantly, according to GlobalSecurity.org, a public policy organization that focuses on the fields of security, intelligence and defense.

I’ll be honest. It’s hard to awe old reporters like me. I’ve had lobbyists try to con me and any number of public (and private) figures lie to my face. As a result, I’ve always told interns and “cub” reporters: If your mother tells you the sky is blue, go outside and double check.

At an earlier time, Tallahassee Magazine (a sister publication to 850) was produced within the walls of the Homes and Land Publishing Corp., a firm that employed about 300 people. Of those, 175 to 200 were in the production department, working two and three shifts a day to keep up with the demands of the expanding real estate industry and the growth of the Homes and Land franchise.

Just up from the St. Andrews Yacht Basin is a small treasure trove of shops and restaurants, locally owned businesses that exude charm and the feel of a long ago, more relaxed time. It is an escape of sorts from the mainstream bustle of ordinary life, a small breath of salty-aired simplicity.