Featured Report: When the FCC gambles on number portability, consumers stand to lose

Wireless Week

B&N and Samsung Launch New Nook Tablet

Aug,20,2014

by: Andrew Berg

NEW YORK - Barnes & Noble (B&N) Wednesday unveiled its new Nook tablet, the first of its products to be released since the company announced it would outsource its line of slates to Samsung. The new Nook is essentially a re-branded Galaxy Tab 4 that comes running Barnes & Noble’s Android overlay.  B&N CEO Mike Huseby called the launch an “historic” day for his company, saying that he was very proud to be partnering with Samsung. 

Tim Baxter, president Of Samsung Electronics America, noted that the research firms are seeing a slow-down in tablets, but he also said that Samsung continues to see sales of its slate grow. He attributed that growth to Samsung's variety of sizes and choices.  Read More

RCR Wireless Week

When the FCC gambles on number portability, consumers stand to lose

Aug,17,2014

by: JERRY JAMES

The Federal Communications Commission will soon make a critical decision regarding a vital component of the U.S. telecommunications infrastructure: selecting the administrator for local number portability. Portability enables U.S. consumers to keep their phone numbers when they switch carriers and supports the routing of virtually every voice call and text message sent across the country The FCC will decide whether to stay with current vendor Neustar or direct the industry to transition to a new vendor, Telcordia, a subsidiary of Ericsson. The contract with Neustar is currently scheduled to expire in July 2015, about 10 months from now.  Read More

Fierce Developer

'Like' it or not, Facebook's developer program change is the right decision

Aug,19,2014

by: Shane Schick

According to Facebook, all app developers using its platform should be able to honestly quote a version of Sally Field's famous Oscar acceptance speech: "They 'like' me! They really, really 'like' me!" Earlier this month, Facebook made some significant updates to its Platform Policies under games and proper use. The first one comes as no surprise: In keeping with recent moves by Google and increased threats from regulatory bodies, Facebook is requiring developers to be up front about any in-app purchase requirements in so-called free-to-play (F2P) games. Read More

RCR Wireless News

Reality Check: Making voice over Wi-Fi a reality

Aug,15,2014

by: DAVE FRASER

Wi-Fi is now an essential part of our smartphone and tablet-enabled lifestyle. Today, more than two-thirds of our monthly wireless data is consumed over Wi-Fi, and all signs are that this proportion will continue to grow. So while the traditional, cellular-centric view of the industry positions Wi-Fi as a support to the mobile network, there is an alternative and provocative perspective: we actually use the cellular network as in-fill during the time we spend away from our Wi-Fi connections, be they in the home, the office or our favourite coffee shop. Read More

Wirehead Technology: IBM Showcase

We are an IBMer,  Wirehead Technology has teamed up with IBM to bring a broad range of business and technology services that deliver real business results and can help connect your business's people, information and systems to create a smarter, more successful enterprise. Proven to work for small and medium businesses, the IBM Collaboration Solutions portfolio delivers robust collaboration software that empowers people to connect, collaborate, and innovate while optimizing the way they work. IBM Collaboration Solutions capabilities help our customers become a social business, one that embraces networks of people to create business value.  Click Here  

Feature Report: How to Display Prices on Your Business Website. Or Not.

Dex Media

How to Display Prices on Your Business Website. Or Not.

July,10,2014

by:Jeff B. Copeland 

NO. Never give a price till you’ve had a chance to persuade a customer of the value of what you’re selling and that’s best done by moving the conversation along from your website to a phone call or other two-way communication.

YES. Your customers are already price-checking your product or service on Amazon, Milo, Yelp, LegalZoom, AutoMD and on and on. Get into the price conversation up front. Plus, save yourself the trouble of giving sales pitches on the phone to shoppers who can’t afford you.  Read More

Ad Week

LinkedIn Ads Can Be Tested and Targeted Like Never Before

July,24,2014
by: Garett Sloane
LinkedIn advertising is growing up. The company officially launched Direct Sponsored Content today, a sign of maturity that has brands and agencies ready to invest more in the platform. Direct Sponsored Content allow an advertiser to test, tailor and target messages similar tohow they do on Facebook. 

Until now, brands could only sponsor messages that they first posted to their LinkedIn pages as organic content, limiting the freedom to test messaging without broadcasting to all followers and visitors to the page.

"This is a big step for LinkedIn monetizing the feed," said James Borow, CEO of Shift, a marketing software firm and LinkedIn partner. "Organic content amplified only takes you so far, so it's opening up this inventory for true 'A/B testing' and sophisticate advertising."  Read More

e-Marketer

Pinning? Bet You're Doing It on Mobile
July,22,2014
by: Staff
eMarketer estimates that 40.1 million US consumers will use Pinterest via any device at least monthly this year—and based on recent data, it’s likely that most of this activity will take place on mobile. According to Q2 2014 research by ShareThis, US internet users logging on to Pinterest via mobile were three times more likely to pin than desktop users.  Three-quarters of Pinterest sharing took place on a mobile device. In comparison, Facebook—which claimed the overwhelming majority of all social shares—saw just over half conducted via smartphone or tablet.  Read More

Site Pro News

Effective SEO Tips for Small Businesses

July,28,2014

by: Tina Courtney-Brown 

Every small business with an online presence has to deal with the issue of SEO. Most, however, haven’t a clue where to begin. As you delve into the topic across the endless articles on the subject, a feeling of being overwhelmed can easily taint the process; for many, the task seems daunting and endless.

In truth, SEO is not rocket science. While it can be a complicated formula, there are very clear and effective ways to kick start your SEO efforts. In other words, there are SEO tactics that are absolutely essential to success, and they provide the perfect foundation from which to build your strategy.

Don’t be overwhelmed. Be educated. Take the list below and implement each suggestion, one by one, and your rankings will reflect your efforts. They may not land you at the number one position over night, but they will give you a boost and provide insight on what’s working and what’s not. Having a place to start from is priceless. It’s time to dive in and master SEO.

Read More

Social Media Services

Hello Small Business Owners,

Do you need help in getting your social network up and running but don't know where to go? We can help let our new Social Media Managed Services will set up all of your social networks from Facebook to Pinterest. We can also help with writing a company newsletter and blogs and distributing it to all of your social networks. Our services can will also link your website content to social network that will Drive more traffic to your website with focused, targeted email communications. Build and manage your email list: import existing customer lists, add names individually, or capture contact information from website visitors. Don't have a website? we can build one for you that is optimized for social media. Need to know more check out our website at Wirehead Social Media Services

Featured Report: Want to Know How to Get a Billion Visitors to Your Site?

Small Business Trends

Want to Know How to Get a Billion Visitors to Your Site?

June,20,2014

by: William Johnson

Matthew Inman, once a Web designer and a developer, is now devoting his time to his true passion creating humorous content on his site, The Oatmeal. His website has over a billion visitors a year.So how does he do it? Slow and Steady Wins the Race If you think he earned popularity in one day, then you’d be wrong. Not all of his views provided huge revenue for him. He realized it’s only his loyal fans that visit his site at least 10-20 times that are most likely to purchase his merchandise. Read More

Wall Street Journal

Social Media Fail to Live Up to Early Marketing Hype

June,23,2014

by: JEFF ELDER

In May 2013, Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. bought ads to promote its brand page on Facebook. After a few days, unhappy executives halted the campaign—but not because they weren't gaining enough fans. Rather, they were gaining too many, too fast  "We were fearful our engagement and connection with our community was dropping" as the fan base grew, says Allison Sitch, Ritz-Carlton's vice president of global public relations.  Read More

Dex Media

How do YOU Market Your Business? Two Non-Typical Ideas

June,16,2014

by:Marion Jacobson

The Fox Valley area, west of Chicago, is home to a number of great towns similar to many you can find all across the country. Along with two partners, for 6 years I owned an IT service and web design company in a picturesque small town along the Fox River, population about 25,000, surrounded by several other similar-sized cities. Read More 

Site Pro News

How to Create a Massive Social Following

June,23,2014

by: Tina Courtney-Brown

When it comes to the follower side of social media management, we all know quality trumps quantity. Yet the fact remains that follower count is still a significant vanity metric. You can’t grow your quality social contacts without focusing on quantity, at least as a secondary objective. One of the questions I hear most often about social is a simple one: How do small businesses most effectively build their social following?  Read More

 Wirehead Technology's Social Media Services

Small Business Owners,
We can now offer your business complete Facebook page development with ShortStack that can help your business get more out of Facebook. Now you can link your website into your Facebook page and reach your customers anywhere and they can share your product or services with their friends. Just think how Powerful that can be for your business. For more information or to set up an appointment visit
 Wirehead Technology Social Media Services
ShortStack Facebook Development

Featured Report: 7 Over-used Yet Effective Image Ideas for Your Website

7 Over-used Yet Effective Image Ideas for Your Website

dex Media
June,06,2014
by:Jeff B. Copeland 
The Big Photo at the Top of the Homepage - seems like you see that design on nearly every business website. Well, it's popular for some good reasons:
Good Reason #1: Our brains are wired to form an immediate opinion or feeling from an image, particularly an image of another human. 
Learn More

Social Media: 4 steps to build your personal brand using LinkedIn 

Marketing Sherpa
Jun,13,2014
by:Rachel Minion What is personal branding? A personal brand is an expression of a value proposition.It is a powerful message that clearly articulates who you are, what you do and how you create value. When applied to social media, a personal brand creates a memorable first impression that entices visitors to connect with you. When using LinkedIn, a brand message should be the professional version of your value proposition. This brand messaging should be consistent throughout your profile and capture the attention of your visitors. 
Read More

Amazon's streaming music faces barriers in cost, limited catalog

 

Mobile Marketer
June,13,2014
by:Michelle Saettler
Amazon seeks to broaden the appeal of its Prime service by offering streaming music as part of a paid-for, multi-entertainment bundle under one annual-subscription umbrella free of advertisement interruption. 
Read More



 

Small Business Owner,

Do you need help in getting your social network up and running  but don't know where to go? We can help let our new Social Media Managed Services will set up all of your social networks from Facebook to Pinterest. We can also help with writing a company newsletter and blogs and distributing it to all of your social networks.

Our services can will also link your website content to social network that will Drive more traffic to your website with focused, targeted email communications. Build and manage your email list: import existing customer lists, add names individually, or capture contact information from website visitors. Measure your email campaign results instantly-check click-through rates, review new subscribers, and see who opened and clicked on each link so you can tailor your follow-up communications.

Discover how the power of Email Marketing by Constant Contact can help you better connect with your customers, strengthen your relationships with them, and grow your organization. Don't have a website? we can build one for you that is optimized for social media. Sign up for a FREE 60-Day Trial Need to know more check out our website at Wirehead Social Media Services

Featured Report: More Consumers Shopping Mobile and Local

Survey: More Consumers Shopping Mobile and Local Mobile Marketing Watch Nov,14,2013 by:Michael This holiday season, more consumers ever will shop local and with the assistance of mobile technology. According to Deloitte's 28th annual survey of holiday spending intentions and trends, increasing smartphone ownership is taking more consumers down the digital shopping route, while many shoppers plan to frequent local small businesses when visiting stores this holiday season. Read More

Social Circles - Use Social Media to Build a Touchpoint Corral Small Business Newz Nov,12,2013 by:Jay Baer There are very few sure things in social and email marketing...The open rate for email is 25% on average.The reach of a Facebook post (without paying to promote it) is approximately 5% - 15%.The reach of a tweet is almost impossible to determine. If you buy promoted tweets, you'll receive impressions data but not reach data. How many of your customers see what you post to Instagram or Pinterest? Who knows? That's unicorn math. Learn More

Want to Prove Your Company Is Human? Get Your CEO to Tweet  Social Mediopolis Nov,13,2013 by:Ekaterina Walter Big company executives are virtually invisible on social networks. Whether it's CEOs, CMOs, or CIOs only a small number of them are finding time to engage with their peers and their customers on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and other social networks. Most prefer to leave that to their marketing and PR teams. That said, it seems that executives do realize the value of such an engagement. A survey conducted by Bazaarvoice in the summer of 2012 among 100 Chief Marketing Officers clearly showed that CMOs see value in social media. Over 82% of CMOs believe social data has a measurable impact on brand awareness. Over 89% said that social data has influenced their decisions and 21% of those surveyed said social data affected at least one in five decisions they made. Read More

Social Media Services

Small Business Owner, Do you need help in getting your social network up and running this holiday season but don't know where to go? We can help let our new Social Media Managed Services will set up all of your social networks from Facebook to Pinterest. We can also help with writing a company newsletter and blogs and distributing it to all of your social networks. Our services can will also link your website content to social network that will Drive more traffic to your website with focused, targeted email communications. Build and manage your email list: import existing customer lists, add names individually, or capture contact information from website visitors. Measure your email campaign results instantly-check click-through rates, review new subscribers, and see who opened and clicked on each link so you can tailor your follow-up communications. Send automated communications to new sign-ups via our Autoresponder tool. Communicate with your audience with confidence, knowing that Constant Contact will take care of getting your email delivered and keep you CAN-SPAM compliant. Discover how the power of Email Marketing by Constant Contact can help you better connect with your customers, strengthen your relationships with them, and grow your organization. Don't have a website? we can build one for you that is optimized for social media. Sign up for a FREE 60-Day Trial Need to know more check out our website at Wirehead Social Media Services

Featured Report: When Should You Start Building Your Social Networks?

When Should You Start Building Your Social Networks? Small Business Newz Aug,08,2013 by:Lee Odden During a neighborhood gathering I met a small business owner and after sharing our respective backgrounds, he proceeded to tell me his troubles with not having the time to keep his website current. Competitors were seemingly overwhelming his category online. He also disclosed that his offering requires a bit of an educational sales cycle and the industry category has had some mixed press. As we talked, I learned that innovations in the product line have advanced the capabilities significantly, but awareness of those advancements were hardly common knowledge within the target audience. The good news was a significant demand in search volume and conversation on social networks about the problems his product offering solves. Learn More

Tablet Users More Attentive, Tablet Ads Generate Better Recall, IPG's Manatt Huffington Post Tech Aug,22,2013 by: Andy Plesser Videos ads on tablets often grab a viewer's attention more because tablets are highly personal devices and consumers are usually holding them in their hands, says Kara Manatt, VP, Consumer Research Strategy at IPG Media Lab in an interview with Beet.TV. IPG studied tablet effectiveness and drew several takeaways - consumers often use their tablets when in a quiet, comfortable spot, they tend to multitask less on tablets, and they recall ads better as a result. Read More

How to harness the power of social media London Telegraph Aug,23,2013 by:Rebecca Burn-Callander Twitter. Facebook. Instagram. Pinterest. Myspace. Bebo. There are more than 200 social networking sites currently active across the globe, hosting trillions of conversations and billions of gigabytes of data. Over the past few years, small businesses have begun to harness the power of these networks to talk about their brand, engage customers, drive leads and even ramp up sales. But there are a few hard-and-fast rules that business owners should adhere to if they want to avoid going from social hero to hapless zero. Read More

Wirehead Technology's Social Media Services

Small Business Owner, We can now offer your business complete Facebook page development with ShortStack that can help your business get more out of Facebook. Now you can link your website into your Facebook page and reach your customers anywhere and they can share your product or services with their friends. Just think how Powerful that can be for your business. Click Here   Wirehead Technology also has partnerships with IBM Social Media, Shortstack Facebook Applications, Constant Contact, and others that can help you build and maintain your social media network to keep you in touch with your customers 24/7 on any social media network. So if you are looking to take advantage of how social media can help your business visit our website at http://www.wireheadtec.com/Social.html or email wireheadtec@gmail.com Don't wait contact us Today

Congratulations You are now Tech Coach for your school Now What?

Congratulations You are now Tech Coach for your school Now What?
Recently I responded to a question at Education World from a teacher who was just named Tech Coach for his school and wanted to know what he should do first . My answers prompted the editor of Education World to expand on my answers in the form of this blog about Technology in Education.
Before I start I like to say to educators “You can't teach 21th century students with 18th century methods”

Now for the answers, first thing you should ask yourself as tech coach is this a real job or just something on paper? Many times I come across so called tech coaches or tech coordinators who can barely turn on a computer much less maintain them. Let's say you do know something about technology. Do you know about the network that is in your school? If not then you should make a detailed inventory of what computers are in your network that are used by teachers, students, and administrators. You will find that you are dealing with three different systems. If you are only responsible for the students systems you will find that knowing about the other two systems will really help.

Next begin a relationship with the vendors that supply your school's technology knowing therm will open the door to help down the road including training and systems upgrades and advice on how to keep your system up to date.

Here comes the tricky parts begin an assessment of what the teachers really know about the applications they are using to teach are they using it or ignoring it because they were never properly trained on the application you will be surprised how many teachers could be better in technology if they knew they could get help to answer their technology questions. Or you might find that you have several tech savvy teachers like yourself could be a valuable part of your school's tech team many times I have been to schools where tech coaches work alone because they don't reach out to teachers who could help them and become advocates for him to introduce need and much needed technology to the school.

Tricky part two students many times tech coaches don't work with very tech savvy students who are eager to show him what they know about the technology they used every day. Students want to show that they are responsible and what to use technology to learn. For example many gaming companies go to high school students for gaming ideas in exchange for working with the latest gaming development software. You would be amazed at the drop in absentees and bored students when they are learning something that they can really use in their everyday life.

Social Media that word alone brings fear to schools and it shouldn't social media is a way your school can be part of your local community. Creating a social networking page branded and controlled by you is a great way to let the community know what is happening at your school. As a Tech Coach Understanding social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin is very important you and your school. In fact you can make this a project for the teachers and students that they can work on together.

Mobile Devices like many other industries education is also become a place where smartphone are becoming part of the way people work and play. But unlike other industries education different since you are dealing with students you are not employees and teachers who are. So what's the problem Wifi if you have one in your school these devices can access that system if it is not secured now you must do what other industries do that is MDM mobile device management and make sure to lock down those devices and restrict access to certain website while the students are in school. Since they devices can go anywhere in your system if it is not protected. This is where knowing your vendor comes in handy they can show you a way of controlling secure access if not then find a vendor who can but most times your wifi vendor will show you how to set-up a password protected wifi system.

Parental Involvement I have seen many times schools set up systems for students and teachers but don't get the parents involved this is a mistake. Sometimes parents have concerns about the technology especially when it comes to their kids accessing the internet and social media in school. You can solve this problem by inviting parents to technology days at the school to show them how the system works and how their children are being protected while they are working on the internet. Also show them how the technology can work for them. For example there simple program called “School Notes” that can send information to a parents smartphone like emergencies at school, parent/teacher meetings, and student grades. This way the parent will become involved in what's going on in the school. In some cases you will find some very tech savvy parents who are will to mentor students on what they are doing and open doors to careers that students can aspire to.

Tricky part three school administration many times tech coaches find that they have little to know budget to implement a solution for their school that's where you really have to become the CIO for your school. Now you should create a technology plan that shows how implementing your technology solution will benefit your school wit a clear Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) and a Return of Investment (RIO) for the school that not only save money but also also includes better attendance, record keeping, and better student/teacher interaction that implementing your solution will bring. Plus don't forget to bring in your advocate like teachers, students, and parents who will support you in from of the school board. So this is what you need to know about your new job as technology coach. Good Luck!

To give you a start on your new job please read this case study about one of our first clients Hayt Elementary School in Chicago their Tech Coach used our solution and was reward with a system that became a local standard for wifi in schools. Hayt Case Study

Equus is thrilled to release the Nobi Convertible v3, the latest tool designed to enhance students' learning and sharing in the classroom.

This full-featured PC switches to a tablet with a quick flip and swivel of the display. Its versatility provides an engaging educational experience that is suitable for all learning environments. The cost-effective Nobi Convertible features Windows 8, a 10.1-inch LCD display with capacitive touchscreen technology, 6 educational software applications, rugged and durable design, webcam, and so much more, making this the perfect solution for sharing information and encouraging collaboration. As the leading system builder to the Channel, Equus Computer Systems backs our products with great service, support, and price. To learn more about the Nobi Convertible and how it can benefit your customer, contact an Equus sales representative today.          Contact  Howard Lee Computer Sales Wirehead Technology Tel: 773-944-0370 Email: wireheadtec@gmail.com    Web:  http://www.wireheadtec.com/Whitebox.html#.Ufq5F6zJLw9