What is Your Social (Media) IQ?

Social Media began as a way to connect family and friends, but has blossomed into an

incredible tool for promoting your business.  This medium is so effective that it has become an essential part of any business that wants to know success in today's competitive marketplace.  The beauty of this type of exposure is it's relative low cost and the sheer magnification power it embodies.

The question we must ask now is; how well do we know this tool?  Everyone knows Facebook (it has an Academy Award winning movie about it), and Twitter is everywhere, but how about Bebo? DeviART? or even FourSquare?  

Check out this article udemy.com's learning blog about the top 10 types of social media and how they work: https://www.udemy.com/blog/top-social-media-sites/

The Need for Speed

The Need for Speed

Have you ever been frustrated because your internet speeds seem low?  You aren't alone.  A recent survey by Akamai called "State of the Internet" shows that the U.S. is slipping in the global ranking of internet speed.  While the United States ranks 9th globally in terms of fastest internet, evidence seems to show that U.S. internet companies are doing little to reverse this slide down the rankings.

It stands to reason that smaller countries like Japan and South Korea could offer a faster

network because of a smaller geographical area, therefore a smaller network to develop.  But these countries seem to be climbing these rankings mostly because of a focus on offering faster, better services.  While companies in the U.S. are content to tout their slower, more expensive products.  Google seems to be the exception, but their ultra fast Google Fiber is slowly crawling across the U.S. metropolitan landscape at a snail's pace.

Check out this article by Huff Post Tech for more detailed information about what other countries are offering http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/24/us-internet-speed_n_3645927.html#slide=1531965.

iSpy an iPhone?

Summer is winding down so that means it's time to begin debating the line of phone from Apple.  The trend since the June 2009 release of iPhone 3gs has been to release a half-step product between each full iPhone release.  There is, however, some indication that Apple may forego this tradition and skip the release of iPhone 5s (or 5c) and release iPhone 6 next June.  Typically these half-step releases have been a bridge between the previous phone release and phone released by Apple's competition.

In a recent article, TechRadar.com speculates that whenever the next iPhone drops, it's going to have many features that consumers are clamoring for, and phones made by Samsung and HTC are providing.  Features like more storage (rumored to mirror the 128GB capacity of the newest iPad), NFC (Near Field Communication) technology, and sharper, more powerful photo and video features are almost guaranteed.  Additionally rumors of other features like wireless charging and an adapter to handle the new (1+ GB speed) 802.11ac wireless standard are driving interest in iPhone 6 very, very high.

Check out this link to TechRadar's article for more information:http://www.techradar.com/us/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/iphone-6-release-date-news-and-rumours-1099865

How big a deal is going small?

The world we live in is trending toward using smaller, mobile devices for completing the tasks we do most; listening to music, watching movies and TV, communicating with friends and accessing the internet. A recent study by Google indicates that, as of February 2012, 38% of Americans own a smartphone. The same study says that 43% of all internet use comes from smartphones or tablet devices. Consumers want to be mobile. So what's the big deal about having a version of your website that is "mobile friendly"? Mobile websites are, generally, a condensed version of your full web site and will load faster than a full size site. Also, you are able to arrange information better, making your site easier to see and navigate on mobile devices.

Look at these two images of the same site, http://adamscountytravel.org/. The image on the left is of the mobile version of this site. When you visit this site on a mobile device, it automatically redirects to this version of the site. The picture on the right is the full site. Imagine how much easier navigating the mobile site is on a mobile device.

Another advantage of offering a mobile site is the professionalism a mobile site displays to users. When customers see that your site is easy to use on their mobile devices, they will be confident that your company keeps up with trends that are important to them.

If you are as amazed by the volume mobile device usage as we are, have a look at Google's report titled Our Mobile Planet: Global Smartphone Users. If a mobile website is something you'd like to consider for you or your business, please contact us at info@solterra.us .