PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED ON NEWS BREAK The cost of cable surged in 2020, despite the increase of bodies at home during the pandemic. In fact, a majority of service providers will continue this trend on into 2021, as many have reported that they will increase monthly service plans by 30 a month in some cases. People are cutting chords, and minimalists are downsizing. TV manufacturers are scrambling to think outside of the box. Companies like VIZIO are expanding their platform for sports-dedicated programming. Advertisers are finding a more effective means for getting their messages out. And, LG has been focused on bringing Stadia Cloud Gaming to their webOS Smart TVs in late 2021. Set to offer immersive 5.1 gaming experiences to audiences on lockdown, LG announced a partnership with Google on January 11th that would allow LG to natively support Stadia gameplay via webOS and Google TV, making them the first TV manufacturer to support extensive gameplay exclusively on-screen. Smart TVs running webOS 6.0 and webOS 5.0 will be the first to receive Stadia services later this year. “Supporting Stadia on LG TVs is our commitment to customers that gaming is an increasingly important feature expected by LG TV owners,” said […]
Consider SEO & SEM Bones, Social Media the Soul That Embraces
PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED TO TMC NET’S MAD MARKETER In a globalized economy and a world where customer relationships are everything, businesses are finding that “branding socially” is still the most effective means of retaining valuable customers and in acquiring new ones. Traditionally, high ranking sales professionals found that they did well by keeping in regular contact with those in their Rolodex or their top-secret black book. To keep in contact with hundreds of people on a daily basis — holding one on one conversation with everyone in that Rolodex – was a difficult and even impossible task to carry out. As the digital world exploded, this all changed. Now, we can keep thousands of people in the loop at once. We can interact as a group, and short conversations are now the norm. With social media, we can carry many short, private conversations at once. The downfall is, however, that many traditional business models aren’t up to speed and they’re throwing thousands of dollars away just to find no return on their marketing investments. Social media influences our lives, whether we want to admit it or not. It can influence us for the better. It can influence us for the worse. […]
Show of Hands: Have You Heard of Google Classrooms?
Previously Published to TalentZoo’s Digital Pivot Of course, Google created an app for teachers. Who would have “thunk” it? Of all the great things Google has given us to explore, many of us were unaware that Google even had a mobile app for educators, allowing them to “create and organize assignments quickly, provide feedback efficiently and easily communicate with their classes,” as Google so seamlessly puts it. For some of us, Google Classroom has been invisible, although it was actually launched last year. Teachers use Google Classrooms to host live discussions and classroom sessions. Classroom calendars remind students of important events and due dates. Google Documents and Forms are highly integratable, allowing assignments to be created and turned in directly through Google, eliminating the need for printing, or even a printer terminal, as Google Classroom is available only on mobile. Google has been listening to audiences and gaining feedback for evolving the Google Classroom’s abilities and third-party integrations. In fact, it wasn’t until yesterday, September 16, 2015, that many of us first heard of Google Classroom. Yesterday, Nearpod announced its official integration with Google Classroom. Until recently, it appears Google Classroom was designed more as a forum-based classroom. If the […]
YouVisit Contributes Major Change to VR Markets
PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED TO TMCNET’S WEARABLE TECH NEWS While virtual reality has been available to consumers for more than 20 years, it doesn’t seem like it caught on too well until recently. Companies like Google Cardboard, Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR have made virtual reality more mainstream, and now everyone is trying to get some action. YouVisit, a company with the mission of showing you the world, has developed one of the world’s largest collections of interactive virtual reality content. In fact, they have made it possible for user-generated virtual reality experiences, giving individuals, educational institutions and business all over the world the opportunity to create their own virtual reality content. Providing what some are quoting to be the “industry’s highest resolution VR experience,” YouVisit has formulated an algorithm said to be viewed at almost five times the resolution of other standard virtual reality content. The visuals are said to be so realistic, that users almost forget that they never left their living room. YouVisit’s algorithm cuts down download times and allows each experience to be powered at a higher resolution but at a much lower bandwidth. This takes place by allowing the user experience to transform how the algorithm […]
Rapid Adoption of Wearables Reflects Personality, Loyalty, and Convenience
PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED TO TALENT ZOO’S DIGITAL PIVOT In 2016, we will see a sharp influx in the production, delivery, and adoption of IoT technologies and wearables. Here, at Digital Pivot, we have disclosed quite a launches set for later this year. But just how rapidly are these technologies becoming part of our everyday lives? The NPD Group broke down dollar and unit sales for 2015, analyzing details related to the wearables industry, and came up with some pretty cool insights. In fact, it seems that we are starting to spend double that of the previous year just to have the top new wearables on the market. As wearables evolve, they are adopting the features we are disappointed our current version is missing. For this, we are okay with buying the product again — just because we need that upgrade. Spoiled, aren’t we? Not so much. It actually goes deeper than this. As innovation continues to build upon itself, we, as advanced users, seek sophistication in products that we use every day. While we aren’t necessarily looking for complexity, we do like to have a product at our fingertips that brings us little need for outside device utilization. We master products that we […]
Sharegate Escorts Proprietary Information to Enterprise-friendly Platforms
PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED TO TMCNET’S OFFICE365TODAY At a time when less is becoming more, we’re seeing the tech industry shift to efficiency and centralization. This week, Sharegate released a tool that will most likely gain popularity over the next few months. This tool, like so many others, is promising on better collaboration, communication and productivity. But, most importantly, as cloud-vested as it is, it is focused on ownership and security. First of all, we need to acknowledge David Roe at CMS Wire for filling us in on the smaller details of this new innovative tool. Next we have to explain why this tool is so important. Let’s break it down. Sharegate is, in a way, a bodyguard. He’s coming to usher information from Google (News – Alert) Drive, peacefully escorting properties from one user account to a more powerful enterprise account on Office 365. At Google Drive, or Google for Work, these properties were connected and made available through a web of connected users. At Office 365, they will now be stored on a central enterprise cloud with only primary ownership by each user. Sharegate is making sure this data gets to its destination safely – and without getting lost along the […]
A New Standard in CRM for Commerce, Healthcare and Remote Workforces
PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED TO TMCNET’S WEBRTC SOLUTIONS A sharp increase in online sales shows that consumers are learning to trust brands through interactive experiences and online platforms. A “buy it now” mentality has influenced the demand for most brands to shift the way they do business and often changing the first point of contact between the brand and the consumer. Most importantly, this adoption has led to an increased need to meet the consumer “at the door” with a qualified sales specialist and customer service representative in assisting the consumer in an enriched shopping experience. Last week, VeriShow released an integrated solution that benefits Salesforce Live Agent. This customer service tool allows companies to provide an enhanced live chat option in meeting their customers with a better in-store experience. Taking control of the sales funnel, VeriShow allows agents to lead the customer directly to a particular product or service of interest, as they are given the power to access consumer screens and better guide them through the sales process. This, of course, can be done in real time – and saving energy on behalf of the consumer, while better influencing the point of sale and reducing drop-offs to the sales funnel. […]
Verizon Will Join Wi-Fi Revolution in Early 2016
Previously Published to TMC Net’s Mobility TechZone As of this week, Verizon gave in and has begun allowing customers with Samsung Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge to take advantage of Wi-Fi calling through their smartphone devices. Although customers using other Android devices and iPhones will have to wait until early 2016, customers on thes e Samsung devices will be the first of many happy customers who will now directly connect to Wi-Fi in areas where reception is horrible, while traveling abroad or to simply save on minute usage. An alternative to traditional mobile phone service, Wi-Fi connections tend to be clearer, faster and allow for optimal video conferencing. While many argue that this can already be done via apps like Skype and Facebook Messenger, Verizon ensures a secure connection with no additional fees, while using the mobile device as usual. It also avoids the need to download additional applications and be at risk for security breach or virus. Networks are increasingly adopting Wi-Fi calling capabilities to cut back on network utilization, improve customer experiences and to claim larger coverage area. Using Wi-Fi capabilities when texting, allows for faster transmissions of data. Pictures and video are sent and received more quickly […]
UICO and HiCling Team Up To Release Fitness Band, Powered By duraTOUCH Technology
Previously Published to TMC Net’s Wearable Tech World UICO, a technology company dedicated to durable product solutions, recently announced the release of duraTOUCH, an innovation in all-weather use for Shanghai-based HiCling’s health and fitness wearable, clingband. UICO brings together global touch sensing experts in developing solutions to surface-related issues with touch enabled devices and providing users with high-performance, super-low power, touch sensing technology. UICOs additions to the clingband design have allowed for minimal power requirements, meaning that it doesn’t need to be charged on a daily basis. Users can monitor their health and fitness around the clock, accessing vitals, sleep and daily activity, athleticism and fitness, UV index and ambient light. The unique wristSENSE, a touch and skin sensor, along with other touch sensors, triangulate data simultaneously for multi-dimensional health tracking. “The touch performance of UICO’s technology is simply the best in the industry,” says HiCling CEO, Richard Chen. “The water immunity on clingband is unparalleled, and will provide the highest user satisfaction compared to other solutions in the market. We are very excited to be partnering with such a world-class company as UICO.” The company has patented a duraTOUCH technology that allows the clingband to work seamlessly against the […]
Robocast: Automating Social Like Never Before!
Previously Published to TalentZoo’s Digital Pivot Robocast launched a media player last April that allows users to “auto-browse social media links, including Twitter and Instagram Feeds, Searches, Hashtags and more.” Yesterday, Dec. 2, Robocast, Inc. released a major update to their Robocast Social player, continuing social play with just one click…and now a few new features. Robocast, Inc. has the power to shift “social” in the conference-room environment, before the press, and through the imagination of its users. In fact, this could be a new shift in brand promotion and social media releases. Robocast has the ability to play Twitter and Instagram posts paired with adjacent websites of interest. When clicking on a hashtag or username, Robocast automatically plays a social playlist of these posts and opens related social media attached to them. Twitter and Instagram are now integrated fully into Robocast’s social playlist. While users are no longer required to log on to interact with the social multimedia playlist, those who do will be able to access personalized feeds that allow commenting, messaging, and following of other users. In previous versions, this was not so much the case. “The goal has always been to make digital media use easier and more powerful, through familiar […]