Reagan Wireless Donation brings Christmas Cheer to Orphanage in the Philippines

"Today is Christmas in the Philippines.  The children thank you for your generous donation of the playground, bicycles, toys, food and medical supplies.  Tomorrow, we head to another orphanage with 186 children from 7-18 years old.  The children were very happy to receive your gifts," Fernando Kuehnel, Founder and Chairman of the Board of the Kabataan Charity said in a letter thanking Daniel Kaufman, Reagan Wireless President & CEO.

An orphanage in the Philippines, where a typhoon devastated large parts of the country last month, has received a generous donation of $25,000 from Reagan Wireless, a leading technology company in the global cellular phone distribution industry.

The orphanage that is home to more than 160 children used the donation to purchase medical supplies, food, toys, bicycles, and build a playground which was unveiled on Christmas day.  

"This is an ongoing donation we have been making for over two years now.  The needs of the orphanages have increased since the typhoon as a result of kids either losing parents, or through the loss of job and possessions, making it impossible for some parents to afford to take care of their children," Mr. Kaufman said.

The Kabataan Charity is a 501(c) 3 charity with a mission to provide aid to orphanages or children's homes in the US and worldwide, including those in the Philippines.

More information about Reagan Wireless can be found at www.reaganwireless.com.

SOURCE Reagan Wireless

RELATED LINKS
http://www.reaganwireless.com

McCusker & Company's Service USA Division Launches New Line of Commercial and Consumer Android Tablets

ServiceUSA, a subsidiary of McCusker & Company, a leading worldwide provider of consumer and commercial electronics extended warranty services, will soon start offering its own branded line of commercial and consumer Android tablet products designed for the special needs of today's businesses, retailers, distributors and home users.

"We surveyed the tablet products out in the market today and recognized that there was a true need for a product branded by ServiceUSA and backed by the peace of mind of the McCusker & Company extended warranty protection," said McCusker & Company Chief Executive Officer Will McCusker. "Now our commercial and consumer customers can purchase a product that is endorsed by our firm with the same warranty protection they entrust for their other valuable electronics."

The tablet is being developed in conjunction with North Carolina-based 13 Enterprises. 13 Enterprises specializes in providing enterprises, educational institutions, hotels and other corporate projects with a complete 360 solution. They offer a full suite of tablet products along with custom imaging, assets tags, custom cases and even bulk or drop shipping.

"13 Enterprises was a great partner to develop and bring this tablet product to market," McCusker said. "We are looking to forward to launching this new Android tablet product in 2014 and sharing the availability of this technology with our valued customers."

ServiceUSA has also partnered with Computer Tree to provide the technical support, repair center, and help desk for the new ServiceUSA tablets. Service USA will provide sale and lease options for the products to corporations and distributors.

For more information about ServiceUSA, a division of Colleyville, Texas-based McCusker & Company, please check outwww.goserviceusa.com.

Colleyville, Texas-based McCusker & Company is a leading firm offering custom product protection solutions for a wide variety of consumer and commercial industries. The company specializes in fulfilling the underwriting, licensing, and administration requirements for international warranty and service programs.

Their comprehensive solution includes data administration; customer service; repair and depot facilities along with national onsite service maintenance and installation. They serve the electronics industry; HVAC; LED lighting; precious metals and auto parts industries among many others.

SOURCE McCusker & Company Inc.

RELATED LINKS
http://www.mccuskerco.com

Facebook: Live Streaming (muted) Commercials

Have you heard the news about Facebook's new way to increase engagement, shares and likes for the MARKETERS? Please share your thoughts. 

#k10friends #k10networking #k10 #k10earth

___________________________________

FROM FACEBOOK NEWSROOM

Testing a New Way to Watch Promoted Videos in News Feed

December 17, 2013

Since September, we've been testing a way to make videos more engaging on Facebook, and as a result we've seen views, likes, shares and comments increase more than 10 percent.

We're beginning to test a similar video viewing format for advertisers. Marketers will be able to use this new format to tell their stories to a large number of people on Facebook in a short amount of time - with high-quality sight, sound and motion. This approach will continue to improve the quality of ads that you see in News Feed.

This week, a small number of people will see video ads for the new film 'Divergent' begin playing as they come into view in News Feed on mobile and desktop. Here’s how it will work:

• Rather than having to click or tap to play, videos will begin to play as they appear onscreen - without sound - similar to how they behave when shared by friends or verified Pages. If you don’t want to watch the video, you can simply scroll or swipe past it.
• If the video is clicked or tapped and played in full screen, the sound for that video will play as well.
• At the end of the video a carousel of two additional videos will appear, making it easy to continue to discover content from the same marketers.
• On mobile devices, all videos that begin playing as they appear on the screen will have been downloaded in advance when the device was connected to WiFi – meaning this content will not consume data plans, even if you're not connected to WiFi at the time of playback.

We’ll continue to refine this new way for brands to tell stories on Facebook to ensure the best experience for people and marketers.For more specifics on this feature for marketers, read our post on Facebook for Business.Frequently Asked Questions 

Q: Which videos start playing in News Feed?
A: At this time, videos start playing from:

1. Individuals (personal Facebook accounts or verified Pages
2. Some Pages, like those of entertainers and sports organizations
3. Summit Entertainment’s content for Divergent

Q: Is there a way to prevent these video ads from playing as they appear on screen?
A: The video ads will begin to play as you scroll through News Feed, but if you don’t want to watch, you can simply keep scrolling and the video will stop playing. Video ads are pre-downloaded when you are on WiFi so they do not consume additional data. 

Q: When do videos play with sound?
A: Videos will not play with sound unless you turn the sound on. To do this, click or tap on the video. 

Q: When will all video content begin to play as it appears on screen?
A: This is an initial, limited test. We will let you know if/when you'll begin seeing more video content begin to play as it comes into view. 

Auto Signatures REMOVE THEM

Automatic signatures on your smartphone, email, or other devices, advertising your device specs or manufacturer name, is NOT a good thing.

Most smartphones come with an auto signature enabled on the phone.
This usually says something like:
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy
Sent from my iphone

Many people have a certain amount of borderline psychotic brand loyalty. Remember every interaction with every potential customer counts. People and their device loyalty is equivalent to sports and car fanatics. The rivalry between Boston and New York baseball fans is similar to the one between Android and Apple.

Just because you love your phone, does not mean that everyone does. Chances are that many people you interact with, will have a different phone than you. People will start to formulate an opinion of you before you even meet.

When I see a stock auto signature it tells me two things:
1 - This person does not know how to remove the signature. They are NOT computer savvy.
2 - This person does not use the same device as me.

Sure any objection can be overcome, but why risk stacking the deck against you? We are human, and when humans have to make decisions, we weigh the options. When two identical options appear before us, we sometimes resort to picking petals off a flower to make a choice.

My basic tip for the day is to please remove the manufacturer loaded auto signature from your devices. Think of it like pulling the size stickers or hang tags off your clothes. YES IT LOOKS LIKE THAT TO THE REST OF US.

Side Notes for the Texually Inexperienced:
Android is an operating system (software) for Smartphones. A variety of smartphone hardware manufacturers use Android (Samsung, LG, HTC, and many more.)

Apple is a manufacturer of both hardware and software. When comparing we look at Android verses IOS (the Apple operating system).

Google+ Circulation - How to Use It

One of the biggest challenges I face when going after clients, is showing them what my follower number means on Google+. With the bulk of social media professionals hitting Facebook, Twitter and Pintrest with everything they have, many are missing the G+ wave that we are on. It is even more frightening when I see people on G+ trying to teach each other how to better navigate Facebook, rather then learning Google+ while they are here.

My #k10 method for explaining my reach is a three step process:

1 - Speak about my rank on CircleCount.com

CircleCount.com

2 - Explain the way that my posts on a particular subject will rank in the top results for people who follow me.
   
3 - Explain multiplication and the social network of Google+. If we use small numbers, let's start with 10 people. I have 10 people following me, and they share my posts with their audience. Those 10 people just turned into 1000. When I use my number specifically, I use a chart, with my picture in the middle with the current number of followers. Then I show a couple of other pictures of people who follow me, and their followers. The remaining follower count I multiply by 300, stating that this is the average number of followers each person has who follows me.

Now I know that this isn't science, and that my numbers will be off. This is the way I estimate it. I would love to hear what you are using to show your reach. How do you show your social media success beyond the follower number?

Why is this important?
We need to develop a standardized way to rank each other. Once we have collectively, as a community, established a norm, we will be able to use it when meeting with clients. The client will hopefully already know how we rank each other, so we can have meetings about action plans, and not impromptu educational introduction to Google+ meetings. Just like newspapers have circulation counts (see articles below), we need to have circulation numbers as well. This will translate into better contracts and higher ad sales.

If you are interested in collaborating on creating a standard, please comment and let me know. We are all on top of the wave, and we can significantly impact the way that Google+ is used and ranked among other social networks.

These are two examples of how Google+ followers are showing on Google. This is just the beginning. Many major newspapers are still not on Google+.

Click on Pictures to See Articles About Newspaper Circulation

What Is Wearable Tech, and What Can it Do for Me?

Top tech markets - younger Americans and early adopters - are the most likely to have concerns

There's an old saying that familiarity breeds contempt. That doesn't necessarily apply to all walks of life, as the seeming omnipresence of such products as smartphones and tablets doesn't seem to be driving consumers away from the desire for still better, stronger and faster ones. But lack of familiarity? Well, that may well breed ambivalence.

A new Harris Poll investigates Americans' familiarity with and attitudes toward wearable tech devices – small electronic devices that can be carried or worn under, atop or as part of one's clothing, and finds that nearly four in ten Americans (37%) indicate that they're not at all familiar with such devices and an additional third (33%) say they've heard the term but don't know anything more about them. This lack of familiarity is likely playing a role in the fact that roughly six in ten Americans (59%) don't understand the need for wearable tech devices.

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll® of 2,250 U.S. adults surveyed online between November 13 and 18, 2013 byHarris Interactive. (Full results, including data tables, can be found here)

As seen in previous research, uncertainty and trepidation are also strong when Americans are asked at what point, if ever, they would consider purchasing wearable tech. While 17% say they will consider doing so when it drops to a reasonable price and roughly one in 10 (9%) will consider it when they believe the "bugs" have been worked out, over a third (36%) – the largest segment by far – simply say they are not sure, and an additional 19% say they will never consider buying a wearable tech device.

"We believe that the category's essentially limitless possibilities are actually working against it, making it harder for consumers to wrap their collective heads around the segment. People need to understand what wearable tech is and how it can benefit them," says Aaron Kane, senior research director at Harris Interactive and a consultant on the company's new TECHpulse research tool, a study which monitors technological trends. "When smartphones came to the market, while most consumers probably couldn't have predicted the many directions the apps market would take us they at least understood that the products would at least look like and function as, well, phones. But with this emerging category, neither form nor function can be assumed."

Perks and perils When asked what benefits wearable tech could have on their lives, nearly half of Americans (46%) and majorities of Baby Boomers (57%) and Matures (62%) indicate that it won't have any; 54% of Americans believe it could benefit them in at least one way. Echo Boomers (ages 18-36) show more optimism about the segment, with seven in 10 (71%) identifying at least one benefit it could have on their lives. Some of the top benefits the wearable tech devices are seen as potentially having on Americans' lives include:

• Keeping them informed (26% of Americans; 33% of Echo Boomers),
• Making them more productive (18% of Americans; 29% of Echo Boomers),
• Making them feel more connected (18% of Americans; 27% or Echo Boomers), and
• Making them healthier (14% of Americans; 20% of Echo Boomers).

On the other hand, when asked about their biggest concerns with wearable tech devices only one-fourth (24%) of Americans say they don't have any concerns, while 76% have at least one. The top concern is price, with four in 10 (41%) saying they will be too expensive. Privacy and lack of unique features are the next strongest concerns, with nearly three in ten each indicating that such devices will make it too easy for others to access personal information and that they don't do anything consumers can't already do on a device they already have (28% each).

• Notable here is the fact that the most promising consumer segments for wearable tech – Echo Boomers and Early Adopters – are among the most likely to have concerns about wearable tech.
  • Echo Boomers (83%) are more likely than either Baby Boomers (73%) or Matures (66%) to indicate having any concerns about wearable tech.
  • Similarly, self-professed Early Adopters (79%) are more likely than Late Adopters (70%) to express concerns.

Further driving home the need for the wearable tech products to distinguish themselves more from existing tech devices is that fact that over six in 10 Americans (63%) say that wearable tech devices must meet their needs better than current technology for them to use such products.

Finding a focus Another topic investigated was interest in seeing wearable tech impact specific industries. Healthcare appears to be the frontrunner in consumers' eyes, with just over half (52%) indicating that they want to see wearable tech devices make a major impact in this industry. Just over four in 10 (42%) would like to see it make a major impact in the fitness industry, and 36% would like to see it make a major impact in the home automation industry.

To see or not to see? Visibility appears to be a subject of some contention when it comes to wearable tech. On the one hand, the majority of Americans (58%) say they want camera-equipped wearable tech devices to be clearly visible – a likely byproduct of privacy concerns, and as such likely a concern being voiced by those who would not be wearing it themselves. However, a strong minority (43%) say they'd be more likely to use a wearable tech device themselves if it couldn't be seen.

Son, I don't think I have as big a problem with pockets as you do Of course, one selling point of wearable tech is that, since you never really put it away, you never have to take it out either. Nearly half of Americans (48%) admit that they'd like to be able to access smartphone functions without having to dig in their pocket or bag.

• This is especially pronounced among Echo Boomers, with six in 10 agreeing that they would like to have this ability. Echo Boomers are more likely than any other generation to express this desire, particularly in comparison to Baby Boomers and Matures (60% Echo Boomers, 52% Gen Xers, 38% Baby Boomers, 36% Matures).
• Men (53%) are also more interested in this ability than women (44%).

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of Harris Interactive.

The Harris Poll^® #95, December 11, 2013 By: Larry Shannon-Missal, Harris Poll Research Manager

SOURCE Harris Interactive