The internet has made the world a smaller place – a concept that has been completely lost on phone operators across the globe who feel not all internet connections are created equally.
So if you’ve ever got back from holiday only to find you’ve been charged the earth for those texts, Tweets and Instagram updates, you’ll be happy to know data roaming charges are to be scrapped within the European Union (EU) within the next two years.
Using a phone is pretty much second nature to all of us – unless there are any readers born before the turn of the 20th century, it’s unlikely any will remember a time when we never used phones.
(Note for fact fans and pub quiz types…Alexander Graham Bell’s telephone patent drawing, March 7, 1876. The first successful bi-directional transmission of clear speech by Bell and Watson was made on March 10, 1876 when Bell spoke into the device, “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you.” and Watson answered.)
And since the advent of smartphones, the things have become an extension of ourselves, a Swiss Army-style tech tool for all occasions.
Here’s the twist though, you’ve no idea how to use the thing properly…
Working from home is many office workers idea of employment heaven and if offered the chance then the lure of a working day with flexible hours and no commute would prove too good an offer to turn down.
However, while it’s often assumed that remote working is good for your work/life balance, a recent study has found that if this balance is already out of kilter, then working from home can actually exacerbate feelings of mental and physical fatigue.
Social media has become a vital marketing tool for SMEs of all descriptions as it not only enables them to target their advertising directly to customers and brand advocates, it also allows for genuine interaction and can be great for customer relations.
And so popular have social networks become that last year, half of all SMEs in the UK increased their marketing spend on social media; higher than that of any other marketing channel
So here’s how SMEs are making social media work for them…