2021 - Page 2 of 4

Aug

31

2021

FCC Stepping Up Its Anti-Robocall Efforts in 2021

At the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), preventing unwanted phone calls, including illegal and spoofed robocalls, is a top priority. And there is good reason the responsibility is considered so important. These annoying, intrusive and often even dangerous calls are the No. 1 reason consumers file complaints with the government agency, which is charged with regulating telephone calls and other forms of communication throughout the United States. And according to reports, U.S. consumers received nearly 46 billion robocalls in 2020 alone. What the FCC is Doing to Crack Down on Robocalls To combat these unwanted calls, the FCC has recently engaged...

Aug

23

2021

5 Powerful Ways a Business Can Benefit From Boosting Its Social Media Efforts

In an increasingly internet-savvy world, social media has become one of the top ways people all over the globe stay connected with friends, family and colleagues. For businesses, social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube offer the opportunity to build and maintain strong connections with consumers, too. But according to a 2019 survey, nearly 40% of small businesses do not take advantage of the opportunity and have no social media presence at all. For business owners who fall into this group, it is never too late to start leveraging the business-boosting benefits of social media. And...

Aug

16

2021

5 Great Smartphone Apps for Musicians

Today’s smartphones are a serious boon for music lovers. Among other things, they give users the ability to store days (and even weeks or months) of music right in the pockets, not to mention allowing them easy access to all of it with just a few simple swipes and clicks. But the musical benefits of owning a smartphone certainly do not stop there. The devices can also deliver major advantages to musicians who own them. Consider these five great apps that can make life easier for musicians: The Metronome by Soundbrenner: Keeping time is essential for any musician, whether he...

Aug

13

2021

5 Great Websites Offering Free Online Resources for Small Business Owners

As upstart entrepreneurs know, when trying to get a small business off the ground or working to keep a more established one profitable, it is important to stretch every dollar. And one of the best ways for small business owners to limit a business’s outgoing expenses is to adopt a do-it-yourself mentality, taking on and gaining a high level of proficiency in as many business-critical tasks and operations as possible. Fortunately for business owners in the digital age, the internet puts a wide range of online resources at their fingertips to help them sharpen their business knowledge and skills. For...

Aug

10

2021

8 Simple Tips for Taking Better Smartphone Photos

Among the many reasons smartphones are so popular is they put a long list of powerful tools in users’ pockets at nearly all times. And of these wide-ranging tools, one of the most popular and regularly utilized might also be one of the longest tenured: the devices’ built-in cameras, which have been around since the days when the flip phone was at the technology’s cutting edge. These always-in-reach cameras, though, have certainly come a long way since their early days. While the initial cameras built into mobile phones were far inferior to their full-size handheld counterparts, the image quality of...

Jul

22

2021

7 Valuable Lessons Businesses Can Learn From the Pandemic

The global coronavirus pandemic forced American companies large and small to rethink their approaches to doing business. Unfortunately, the precautions put in place to slow the spread of COVID-19 led businesses everywhere to close their doors, many of them even permanently. But the crisis also offered some valuable learning experiences for the businesses that survived the unique challenges it presented. Consider these seven important lessons hammered home by the pandemic that businesses can harness to boost their durability and flexibility moving forward: Expect the unexpected — As the pandemic made clear, unforeseen events can have huge impacts on a business’s...

Jul

19

2021

7 Tips for Truly Unplugging From Work During a Vacation

In the modern business world, workers’ accessibility does not end when they leave the office or even when they leave the city, state, or country. Thanks to the ubiquity of smartphones, most members of the workforce can be easily reached no matter where they are, what they are doing or what hour of the day (or night) it might be. And while this could create significant and wide-ranging benefits for a business’s productivity and agility, it can also make it hard for workers to ever step away from the job truly and relax. Of course, this can also defeat the...

Jul

15

2021

6 Great Road-Trip Destinations … and 1 Essential App or Website for Each

The FTC service area and its regional surroundings in the Palmetto State are filled with amazing places to visit and many of them are within easy reach via a quick road trip. And of course, every destination offers something different, making for one perfect app visitors should install or website they should visit to enhance their adventure. Consider these six great road-trip destinations (including a couple undeniably quirky ones) located within 100 miles of Sumter, along with the perfect app/website for each: The South Carolina State House — Located less than an hour west of Sumter, the 130,000-square-foot seat of...

Jul

06

2021

July Is National Cell Phone Courtesy Month: 8 Etiquette Tips to Keep in Mind

For most American consumers, the smartphone is a nearly constant companion these days. And for many, it could even be considered an essential everyday tool that they might be lost or even borderline helpless without. But as helpful as the smartphone can be for modern consumers, it also presents clear drawbacks in some areas —and courtesy is an obvious top contender. (Just ask consumers who spend a lot of time in crowded places such as airports or movie theaters how annoying an inconsiderate smartphone user can be.) Such is the inspiration for National Cell Phone Courtesy Month, which is observed...

Jun

30

2021

5 Essential Smartphone Accessories for the On-the-Go Worker

Offering a wealth of mobility while enabling easy access to a range of the tools needed to get the job done and stay in touch with clients and colleagues, the smartphone is an indispensable tool for today’s on-the-go worker. And while the 21st century device can deliver a range of powerful capabilities on its own, it can become even more effective when accompanied by the right accessories. For business owners looking to boost productivity levels of their out-in-the-field workforce, here are five smartphone accessories that offer great ways to ramp up mobile workers’ on-the-go capabilities: Portable battery charger/power bank: When...