CLCKR, the mobile phone accessory company, is proud to announce a partnership with Swedish lifestyle fashion brand, Richmond & Finch, bringing to market a range of stylish Universal stand and grips for any-sized mobile device.
Richmond & Finch’s mobile accessories are inspired by the latest fashion trends, and the collaboration includes new striking floral designs perfect for spring and summer to the CLCKR Universal stand and grip line.
CLCKR is a universal and multifunctional phone stand and grip enabling a firmer hold and multiple viewing positions. It’s easy to apply using 3M-adhesive and does not leave residue. CLCKR’s grip enables a firmer hold, safer use of your device and its ultra-strong design is compatible with most wireless chargers. There are numerous uses for CLCKR, including positioning your mobile phone in portrait, landscape or conference call mode.
● Antimicrobial Protection kills up to 99.99% of germs
● Wireless charging compatible
● Easy one-hand usage for screen optimization
● Clickable into portrait and landscape stand mode for easy viewing
● Reusable 3m adhesive – residue-free attachment on devices
“We are very excited to partner with Richmond & Finch on this new range of CLCKR Universals,” said Phil Mulholland, Managing Director of CLCKR. “Our initial range of Universals appeal to our male audience, while this new line will surely draw the attention of female users with bright, floral designs that are sure to liven up your smart device.”
“Partnering with CLCKR offers an opportunity to blend the bold and expressive patterns Richmond & Finch is known for with the functionality of CLCKR’s Universal grip,” said Amelie Söderberg, CEO of Richmond & Finch. “This collaboration provides users with the best of both worlds, yielding a product that is sure to be just as functional as it is beautiful. We are excited to partner with CLCKR on this new line for spring.”
The new Richmond & Finch range features 6 fresh designs, including zebra print, magenta stripe and a selection of floral motifs. Available now from: https://www.clckr.com/uk/richmondfinch-collection
Instagram have announced a new way to protect people from seeing abusive DMs as well as the ability to prevent someone you’ve blocked from contacting you from a new account. Social media has been under big pressure to tackle such and much more is still needed to be done here to curb this kind of behaviour this is a step forward and lets see what the future hold, see the Press release below.
A new feature to filter abusive messages
We understand the impact that abusive content – whether it’s racist, sexist, homophobic, or any other kind of abuse – can have on people. Nobody should have to experience that on Instagram. But combatting abuse is a complex challenge and there isn’t one single step we can take to eliminate it completely. For example, we know that many in our community, particularly people with larger followings, have faced abuse in their DM request inbox from people they don’t follow.
Because DMs are private conversations, we don’t proactively look for hate speech or bullying the same way we do elsewhere on Instagram. That’s why we’re introducing a new tool which, when turned on, will automatically filter DM requests containing offensive words, phrases and emojis, so you never have to see them. This tool focuses on DM requests, because this is where people usually receive abusive messages – unlike your regular DM inbox, where you receive messages from friends. It will work in a similar way to the comment filters we already offer, which allow you to hide offensive comments and choose what terms you don’t want people to use in comments under your posts. You can turn both comment and DM request filters on and off in a new dedicated section of your Privacy Settings called Hidden Words.
We’ve worked with leading anti-discrimination and anti-bullying organisations to develop a predefined list of offensive terms that will be filtered from DM requests when the feature is turned on. We know different words can be hurtful to different people, so you’ll also have the option to create your own custom list of words, phrases or emojis that you don’t want to see in your DM requests. All DM requests that contain these offensive words, phrases, or emojis – whether from your custom list or the predefined list – will be automatically filtered into a separate hidden requests folder. If you choose to open the folder, the message text will be covered so you’re not confronted with offensive language, unless you tap to uncover it. You then have the option to accept the message request, delete it, or report it.
This new feature is designed to help protect you from potentially offensive or abusive DM requests, while also respecting your privacy. All message filtering will take place on your own device, which means this feature won’t send any message content back to our servers. Using this feature doesn’t share the content of your DM requests with us, unless you report them.
We’ll start rolling out this feature in Ireland and a number of other countries in the coming weeks and will look to expand to more countries over the next few months.
A new way to protect you from unwanted contact
We’re also making it harder for someone who you’ve already blocked from contacting you again through a new account. With this feature, whenever you decide to block someone on Instagram, you’ll have the option to both block their account and pre-emptively block new accounts that person may create. This will be available globally in the next few weeks.
This is in addition to our harassment policies, which already prohibit people from repeatedly contacting someone who doesn’t want to hear from them. We also don’t allow recidivism, which means if someone’s account is disabled for breaking our rules, we would remove any new accounts they create whenever we become aware of it.
Continuing our work to combat offensive comments
As well as using our proactive detection technology to help catch violating comments, we offer a number of tools to help you control abuse in your comments. If you have a public account, you have the option to only allow comments from people you follow and/or are following you.
We’re also starting to hide common misspellings of offensive words from your manual comment filter list, so that even if a word you don’t want to see is accidentally or deliberately spelled wrong, you still won’t see it in your comments.
We know there’s still more we can do, and we’re committed to continuing our fight against bullying and online abuse. We’ll keep working in partnership with experts, industry organizations, teens, creators, and public figures to understand their experience on Instagram and how we can evolve our policies and products to protect them from online abuse.
If you have a business in the service industry, there’s a big chance that some of your operations will extend beyond the office. As the business grows, you will have one or several teams out there in the field performing various tasks daily or occasionally depending on the current demands. Whether you are the manager or the owner, managing such a team can present a wide spectrum of challenges.
For instance, it can be a bit daunting to tell whether all members of the team are at work in the required hours and are diligently performing their roles as stipulated in their employment contracts. Some might give themselves time off or not show up for work. It is even harder to keep track of progress and monitor performance on field service tasks when dealing with outsourced teams.
While all this can cause frequent headaches, it doesn’t necessarily have to be the trigger to your downfall. You can streamline field service operations and keep track of everything, provided you have focus and use the right approach. Without further ado, here are some tips on how to better manage a field service team.
1. Embrace Technology for Better Response and Delivery
There is no lie in the fact that the world has changed greatly over the years, especially due to technological advancements. Most of these advancements are designed to save time and money while increasing convenience and reducing the manual effort spent. When managing a field service team, technology can help streamline processes and make the job easier for you.
If you guessed right, you need to embrace technology even more if your business is located in countries like China, the US, or the United Kingdom, where technological expertise is immensely utilized. If you are providing field services in England, Wales, Northern Ireland, or Scotland, field service management software in the UK can help ease your worries. The best part is that you don’t always have to be behind a desktop computer screen to utilize this software. You can get a version that is mobile compatible for better team management in real-time even while away from the office. A reputed field service management solution also comes with features like:
Job sheet management
Instantaneous job detail updates
Progress and time-tracking
Job location tracking
Productivity tracking
Inventory management
Real-time communication with customers
Real-time communication with team members
And much more
All these features can help make it easier for you to manage and monitor your field service team regardless of how far from the office they are.
2. Ensure Improved Communication
As a manager, your job is to act as the coordinator of the team. It is your job to make sure that the individual members of the team collaborate for efficient service delivery. A field service team will of course not be enclosed in a single room working towards a common goal. Maintaining collaboration in a team that is out there in the field requires effective and efficient communication. With that in mind, if you want to effectively manage such a team, you need to make sure communication between you as the manager and the team members is top-notch. Communication makes every member comfortable with each other and the management as well which in the end makes the execution of tasks more effective.
3. Have Clearly-Defined Operation Protocol in Place
As a team with common goals, you have procedures you follow in service delivery. As a manager, you are tasked with making sure any delivered service should adhere to that protocol. To make this possible, every member of the team needs to clearly understand every relevant procedure. This reduces the amount of work you have to do as a manager and also increases the effectiveness of work execution. As a way of enhancing this, make sure that every member has access to this information from anywhere they are. This promotes service delivery in general.
4. Always Have a Back-Up Plan
Optimizing your service operations can improve customer satisfaction, save time, and minimize your scheduling headaches. One of the ways to do this is to be prepared with a backup plan in case anything goes wrong. For instance, you could consider having some members of the entire team on standby in case the ones in the field fail to deliver. This means conducting thorough research on the current demand of your services to balance it with your capacity. It also means being on the lookout when demand is on the rise so you know when to bring in the new force in case of delays. This helps improve efficiency for your team and the company at large.
In a field service business, the last thing you want is to violate contracts or consistently fail to meet the agreed deadlines between you and your customers. Keeping your customers waiting shows a lack of proper team management, which can be detrimental to the organization in the long run. Thankfully, the few tips above should help improve your team’s productivity and company performance.
Edifier® International, prominent designer and award-winning manufacturer of consumer audio electronics for both the lifestyle and multimedia markets announces the lifestyle-led TWS NBQ earbuds.
Drawing on the same cutting-edge design and technology Edifier are noted for, the TWS NBQ earbuds offers a fashion-focused look whilst still delivering excellent audio quality. The new TWS NBQ earbuds block low to medium external environmental noise frequencies. This Active Noise Cancelling Technology features a sound-proof design which filters out external noise for the most optimal listening experience. Quick Ambient Mode can be conveniently activated by tapping the earbud, enabling you to hear external noise when it is appropriate, for example, flight announcements or traffic noise.
Superior sound quality is achieved through the 10mm composite diaphragm driver unit, which delivers a completely balanced, high resolution sound and punchy bass with a wider soundstage. The Bluetooth v5.0 provides a reliable, clear connection. Switch between music and gaming
Calls are crystal clear with the dual microphone noise cancellation, ensuring the clarity of phone conversations and enhancing the user’s voice. Easily answer phone calls by using the on-ear controls. The TWS NBQ also feature single address pairing and role-swapping, where the earbuds can be used together or separately, and the left and/or right earbud can be used for mono or stereo sound. On-ear tap controls also allow for the playing/pausing of music and the answering of phone calls.
Each earbud also includes touch controls, easily switching between gaming or music audio profiles and ambient mode, further enhancing your listening experience. You are also able to play, pause, accept or suspend a phone call and skip music tracks by a simple tap.
The TWS NBQ features up to 32 hours of playback time; seven hours with Active Noise Cancellation Technology switched on, and nine hours with this switched off. The compact charging case the offers up to 23 hours of charging before needing to be connected to a mains point.
Available in Snowy White, Sakura Pink and Hazy Blue, these stylish, low profile earbuds would be an essential component of any wardrobe and are provided with a protective carry case. The TWS NBQ earbuds also carry a IP54 rated housing for dust and water resistance, and you can personalise your settings further by connecting to the Edifier Connect App.
Main Features:
Active Noise Cancelling ANC True Wireless Stereo Earphones
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, there isn’t a person on the planet that doesn’t know all about social media. Social media has become an essential tool for every business regardless of its size. You need it to increase brand awareness, connect with current and potential customers, show authenticity, and boost your leads and sales. Instead of heading down to the mall every few days, customers use social media, such as Instagram, to learn about sales, new collections, view availability, and more. Instagram has above 1 billion active users, and most of them interact with businesses of different sizes every day.Instead of searching for ways to buy real Instagram followers, If you allocate some time and use Instagram correctly, it can do wonders for your business. Here are easy ways that will help you get more interactions on your Instagram account.
Engage for Engagement
One of the easiest yet effective ways to boost your Instagram interactions is by engaging with similar accounts in your niche. Instagram’s algorithm is highly built on engagement; the more you engage, the higher the chance that you will be seen. When you boost your account’s visibility, more of your visitors will interact with you. However, keep in mind that the quality of your interactions is just as important as how frequently you do it. This is why you should be mindful and selective when it comes to choosing certain accounts to interact with. For instance, if you’re in the beauty industry, you should interact with beauty brands, influencers, inspiration, and other industry-related accounts. This will help you appear right in front of the right audience- interacting with a fitness guru won’t cut it.
There are several ways in which you can find the right accounts to interact with. The simplest method is to scroll through your explore feed, which is usually filled with content that you may like, or the “recommendations by category” banner that’s right below the search bar. You can also search for specific keywords related to your industry in the search bar, which will generate many results. You can also search for niche-related hashtags which will show you related hashtags as well. Another great way to boost your interactions would be by interacting with your competitor’s audience. Go through the accounts that like and comment on their posts.
Social Media Manager
The best way to ensure that your social media needs are taken care of is by hiring a social media manager. The social media specialists at https://www.socialproof.xyz/ suggest that social media managers are always on top of any algorithm changes. This way, they can always adopt new strategies and tailor the content to suit these changes. They will also come up with great strategies that will translate your organizational goals into a social media campaign, resulting in better engagement, leads, and results. Social Media managers play a great role in setting and protecting the business’ reputation and bringing in new perspectives.
Long-Tail Hashtags
Long-tail hashtags are very carefully selected hashtags in terms of word choice and detail; to be more precise, long-tail hashtags perfectly describe the content’s context. Even though long-tail hashtags have fewer linked posts, it increases your chance of being visible and interacted with. When you use regular one-word hashtags, your post will keep getting pushed down every second as more posts use the hashtag. Besides, unless you have a huge account, it’s impossible to become featured in the hashtag’s “Top Posts.” You can still use general hashtags though, but make sure to mix in a few long-tail ones. Relying on general hashtags will not help you much in regards to discoverability.
Quality Captions
Coming up with a caption for every post is usually a headache- however, captions still play a huge role engagement-wise. Instagram’s present algorithm prioritizes the posts according to the engagement level. Good captions give the content context; whether you decide to tell a story or offer a different take on your image, it’s a good way to keep your audience engaged. You can also ask a question or raise controversy in your caption and encourage your audience to partake in the discussion. This way, you will ensure that the comments keep rolling in.
Instagram has become a key platform for businesses of all kinds and sizes. Whether you are a start-up or a well-established business, Instagram is among the best way to reach current and potential audiences nowadays. While it can feel impossible to stand out among all the popular accounts in your niche, there are ways in which you can boost your engagement.
it@cork has today officially launched TechFest 2021, which will take place virtually from 25th to 27th May. The three-day technology festival will include speakers from around the globe, interactive panel discussions, technical workshops and one-to-one networking opportunities. Marcus Weldon, former President of Bell Labs and former Corporate Chief Technology Officer of Nokia; and Caroline Dowling, Non-Executive Director at UNICEF Ireland and former Business Group President at Flex will deliver keynote addresses.
Other speakers confirmed include Cathal Wilson, COO of Nexalus; Steve Fleming, CEO of Voxxify; and Dr. Fiona Edwards Murphy, cofounder of ApisProtect, with more to be revealed over the coming weeks. it@cork will be closing the open call for speakers shortly as slots are filling up fast. Visit www.itcork.ie for more information.
Speaking on the launch of TechFest 2021, Gillian Bergin, it@cork Chairperson and Senior Consultant with DELL Technologies said: “The way we work and live has been transformed over the last year. The pandemic has forced us to rethink ourselves and our businesses. Business models have been reinvented and multi-year workforce transformation programmes have happened in days and months. When we exit this pandemic, that evolution will not stop. There is a new normal now. We need to always think about what’s next and how can we stay relevant?
TechFest Committee Chair-William Dalton, Trendmicro, Keynote Speaker Caroline Dowling, Director UNICEF and Chairperson of IT@Cork Gillian Bergin, Dell, Pic Darragh Kane
“At it@cork, we are excited to bring back TechFest as a three-day conference this year, to help answer some of those questions and give access to some of the brightest minds in the tech sector. Attendees will hear from speakers that have transformed and adapted to succeed, as the world around them has changed.”
Tickets for TechFest 2021, priced at €20 for it@cork members, €30 for non-members and free for students, are on sale now at bit.ly/TechFest21. Broadcaster Jonathan McCrea will MC the event.
Ms Bergin added: “Over the three days, we have selected themes, topics and speakers that will inform, challenge and energise attendees. Our Innovate track on Day 1 will showcase the disruptive technologies that impact us all and feature those who are innovating for people prosperity and planet. With the theme Transform, Day 2 will explore how current and future transformative technologies will impact the nature of work, from immersive technologies and mixed reality to artificial intelligence and future networking.
“To Inspire on Day 3, we will be challenging attendees to think big, explore possibilities and push limits, hearing from start-up founders who are changing the world, cybersecurity gurus and communications strategists.”
The conference is supported by partner organisations Trend Micro, Glandore, it@cork skillnet, KPMG, Cork City Council, Berkley Recruitment, Springboard Communications and Dell Technologies. it@cork is one of Ireland’s most established and connected technology clusters representing over 220 companies in the South-West of Ireland. A not-for-profit organisation, it@cork works with academia, private sector and state agencies to promote the region as a technology excellence hub.
Following the launch of Home for desktop and web earlier in the year, Evernote, the productivity app that lets users remember everything and accomplish anything, is now rolling out this new feature for iOS and Android (OS 10 and up).
Home is a one-stop dashboard that gives users immediate access to their most recent and relevant information from one convenient location. Important notes, tags and shortcuts are instantly available and neatly organised upon opening the app, making Home the fastest way to get to things that matter.
As well as iOS and Android, Evernote Home is available to Mac, Windows and Evernote Web customers. iPhone and iPad users can get home today by updating their Evernote app from the iOS App Store. It will be rolling out through the Google Play Store over the next few weeks.
About Home:
Home provides users with more than one way to organise their content, giving them the freedom to shape their Evernote experience and see the information they want, the way they want it. This new feature will enable users to work faster and stay focussed, helping them to keep on top of everything without feeling overwhelmed.
When opening Home, Evernote Basic and Premium users will find three default widgets:
Notes: Users can select “Recent” notes to quickly pick up where they left off with any project; or choose “Suggested” notes and let Evernote’s powerful AI surface the content needed
Scratch Pad: Users can stay in the zone by jotting down quick notes on Home’s scratch pad. Notes can be left there forever, erased or converted into a note at any time.
Recently captured: This widget shows users all the rich content saved recently, taking users straight to their web clips, images, documents, audio and emails.
Evernote Premium and Business subscription users also have access to widgets for Notebooks, Pinned Note, Tags and Shortcuts as well as the ability to customise their home background image to fit their personal style. The combination of these widgets provides a powerful way for Evernote users to see their content and manage it all.
Stock markets can be a great way of getting your money to work for you. However, the market is very unpredictable. Getting started can feel intimidating and overwhelming for beginners, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll realize the benefits are worth the headache.
Here’s how to get started:
1. Determine How Much You Want To Invest
Deciding how much money you have to invest in stocks is one of the most critical decisions every investor must make. Why is that? For starters, the stock markets are very volatile, which means the value of your investment could shrink within days. This could put you in a terrible financial situation if you invested with the wrong money.
Which is the wrong money? You should always invest with money that you won’t be needing for the next five or so years. Stocks are a long-term game, so don’t invest with the tuition that is due in a few months.
You should also avoid using your emergency fund for investment.
2. Figure Out A Good Investment Approach
Once you have your investment kit in place, sit down and come up with a great investment strategy. This is where you need to ask yourself critical questions like what stocks to pick. This is not a problem for seasoned investors, but beginners are likely to have a harder time navigating the market. That’s why options like money market funds are ideal for newbies.
In a money market fund, an experienced investor shall pick the stocks for you, so your inexperience with the market won’t matter. Additionally, MMFs allow starting investors to have diversified portfolios without spending too much.
Another great way of being a passive investor is through Robo Advisors. These are brokerages like titan invest that invest on your behalf. The advisors will carry out the market research for you and develop an effective strategy to build a portfolio that’s in line with your investment goals.
Passively managed funds are without a doubt a great option for beginners with limited knowledge or time to spend learning the stock markets. However, if you can learn the markets and are willing to do the intensive research involved, active investment can give you decent returns quickly.
3. Open Your Investment Account And Get Started
You need a brokerage account to trade stocks. Luckily, there are dozens of brokerages on the market, and opening an account usually takes a few clicks. However, finding good brokerages is the most challenging part.
This is what you need to consider when looking for a brokerage:
a. Costs And Fees
You must know the exact fees and commission to expect from the brokerage. This is especially important if you have a limited budget and don’t want most of your earnings to disappear in fees.
Some of the common types of fees charged are:
Account opening – It’s a one-off payment, but it’s important to calculate the impact it’ll have on your investment kitty.
Minimum deposit – Investment accounts may also have minimum deposit amounts. Money market funds are known for charging high deposits.
Account maintenance – A few brokerages charge monthly or annual account maintenance fees. Others will waive the fee under certain conditions, e.g. if you maintain a given balance in your account.
Withdrawal fees – These are charged whenever you want to make a withdrawal from your account. Some brokerages may also limit your withdrawal if it drops your account balance below a set minimum.
You should know that commissions can change depending on the securities you are trading. Therefore, consider the different commission rates from the brokers if you are planning to venture into other options besides stocks.
b. Tools And Features
As a beginner, it’s best to work with a brokerage that supports your learning process. This means getting an account with educational resources that can help you understand how to analyze the market and trade the stocks you want. Find a broker with a demo account and practice with dummy funds before getting into live trading.
Intermediate and advanced traders should focus on the analysis tools on the platform. Go through all the tools and determine whether they are what you want before opening your account.
In addition to the features, check the responsiveness of the platform, ease of navigation, trading hours, etc.
c. Ease Of Transacting
How easy is it to deposit and withdraw funds? Check how you can fund your account and how long it takes for the money to settle. You also inquire about withdrawing procedures and how long it takes for the funds to reflect on your bank account.
d. Customer Service
Customer support is essential regardless of your skill level. As a beginner, make sure you can reach the customer support team with ease in case you are experiencing difficulties finding or using certain features. Advanced investors should be able to get technical assistance as quickly as possible to avoid costly inconveniences.
Learning how to trade stocks is an ongoing process that demands patience, resilience, and continuous practice. It won’t be easy, but you can definitely get good at it with time. Countless investors have done it before, so there’s really no reason why you shouldn’t.
Instagram is one of the social media networks that has billions of users and is, therefore, a good channel to sell your products and promote your business. The more people that a platform has, the more your products are seen and it is a great way to improve the exposure of your brand. A study that was done by Facebook, reported that more than 80% of the people that were interviewed discover new items and services on Instagram and they prefer shopping here than on any other social media network.
Because today most people search for items online before they shop for them, your business needs to have a social presence like on Instagram. You will meet potential customers here who you can turn into actual buyers of your products. To run a thriving business on Instagram, you can follow the guidelines given below.
How to Sell Your Products on Instagram
The first step in running your products online is having an Instagram account. To create your account, visit instagram.com or download the Instagram app from your play store or AppStore and then click on sign up. Enter your email address and then choose a username and password for your Instagram account. This will create your account but this will not help to promote your business.
If you want to sell your products online, switch your account into a business account by clicking on the edit profile, and then you can select “Switch to a Business Account”. The next step is to complete your bio and make it catchy to add its value so that people know what your business is about. Ensure that you also add your business website to your profile. Here are some tips on how you can sell more products on your Instagram;
1. Frequently Post Your Products
One of the secrets of selling your products on Instagram is by posting your products regularly on your Instagram feed. It is also advisable to create your own URL for all Instagram posts that link to your listings and products that you are selling. Choose a specific day of the week when you will be posting the products so that your customers can know when to look for them. When posting the items, ensure that you post a variety of them, that is, different colors, sizes, and types of products that your customers can choose from.
Use backdrops like white walls when taking photos of your products so that they can stand out. The type of backdrop that you choose depends on the color of your products. It is also important to regularly post products on your Instagram stories and highlight them so that they do not disappear after 24 hours which is the set time for stories to disappear.
2. Create Tutorials
Another way to sell your products online is to create videos that teach your customers how to use your products. You can take short clips or long ones on IGTV. You can also create videos showing the process of creating your products and the hard work that you put into the process. Allow your customers to ask questions to promote interaction and feedback about your products.
3. Share Stories that Customers Post about Your Products
When customers are impressed with your products, they will post them on their Instagram and they can tag your business. Thisgoes a long way in promoting your business.You can request these customers for permission to share these posts and their feedback on your Instagram page and using an Instagram hashtag generator to find the perfect hashtags is a great way to get attention by your audience.
How to Promote Your Business through Instagram
There are different ways that you can increase the exposure of your brand on Instagram. They include making use of Instagram influencers and ambassadors who have a huge following and when they post your products or review them, they can influence their followers to buy them. You can also promote your business by doing exclusive giveaways to your followers who are excited by such offers and may purchase more of your products.
Running contests on your Instagram page is another way to create awareness about your brand where you give the winner of the contest gifts from the products that you are selling. You can also promote your business on Instagram by using Instagram Ads that are not too obvious or boring.
In summary, Instagram has billions of users and it is, therefore, a good platform to sell your products online to a large audience. To sell your products on Instagram, you need to create an Instagram business account and complete your bio with a catchy description of your business and even your business website. Posting regularly on your Instagram feed, stories and highlights, creating tutorials about your products, and sharing posts of your customers are some ways to sell on Instagram. You can then promote your business through Instagram Ads, using influencers, give-aways, and running contests among your followers.
