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Category: CallCenterPro

News and updates covering the call center industry.

  • Vicki Gunvalson Calls Brooks Ayers “Sick” After Hospital Reportedly Exposes Him As A Liar

    Vicki Gunvalson took to Twitter this week to respond to some fans who were wondering if she’s had any contact with ex Brooks Ayers following the revelation that he never sought treatment for cancer at City Of Hope National Medical Center as he claims he did.

    The Real Housewives star says she believed him because she loved him and never would have dreamed he would lie to her, but now she realizes he has issues.

    I don’t talk to him nor will I ever speak to him again. This man is sick…I am not the one who was untruthful. I loved a man and believed him just the way they believe their spouses,” Gunvalson said.

    Vicki also took to the social media site to thank her fans for supporting her earlier this month.

    Ayers reportedly claimed in 2013 that he was diagnosed with Stage 3 non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and after showing signs of a miraculous recovery, he said it was due to alternative medicine. But right away, Gunvalson’s daughter Briana smelled something suspicious. She said during a Real Housewives reunion earlier this year that Brooks hit on her at a party and was essentially busted in a lie about having cancer–he later changed his tune to her, saying it was pancreatitis–but when she tried to warn her mom, Vicki wasn’t hearing it. The incident caused a rift between the two of them and led to Ayers saying in an interview that the women on the show were causing problems where there weren’t any because they craved the drama.

    “I think they do it to create drama. It’s useless drama that brings on stress that quite frankly no one needs and in particular my situation. I’m not running from anything,” Ayers said.

    However, the hospital where he claimed to have received treatment has now issued a statement, saying they never saw Ayers.

    “City of Hope has not provided any cancer treatment to anyone by the name of David Brooks Ayers,” said Tami Dennis, Executive Director of Communications.

  • Emma Watson Helped Malala Yousafzai Come To Terms With Calling Herself A Feminist

    Emma Watson has become the face of modern feminism in recent years.

    After a couple of very inspiring speeches on the subject and last year’s launch of the HeForShe campaign, Emma Watson and her work in the feminist movement has inspired many women and girls to push forward and break down walls.

    To the list of most notable people to be inspired by Emma Watson can now be added activist and Taliban survivor Malala Yousafzai.

    Malala Yousafzai was, of course, shot in the face by Taliban operatives at 14 because she refused to stop going to school. They threatened the action because Malala is a girl and for no other reason.

    Now, Malala has told her story, won a Nobel peace prize and inspired many, like Emma Watson herself.

    Recently at the premiere of He Named Me Malala , a documentary about the Taliban attack and her life, Malala spoke to Emma Watson about her new-found comfort with the term “feminist”.

    Today I met Malala. She was giving, utterly graceful, compelling and intelligent. That might sound obvious but I was…

    Posted by Emma Watson on Wednesday, November 4, 2015

    Malala Yousafzai said, “This word, feminism, it has been a very tricky word and when I heard it the first time, I heard some negative responses and some positive ones.”

    #Repost @sarahslutsky with @repostapp. ・・・ Television junket continues! Love this chic little @Erdemlondon dress created from fabrics sourced in Italy and produced in Portugal! The suppliers and producers of these bad-ass boots by @Alexawagnershoes are located in Milan. Alexa Wagner is proud of their quality control systems, the excellent workspace and atmosphere provided for their employees. Jewels from @MoniquePean who strives to raise awareness of art, culture and global environmental issues through design, and is committed to partnering with artisans around the world to support traditional craftsmanship. Love this Feminine/Masculin Bag (because traits of both is beautiful!) by @clarevivier who roots herself in the Los Angeles design community, where her line has been made exclusively since 2008. Team on #beauty @charlottehayward @visapyyapy

    A photo posted by Emma Watson (@emmawatson) on

    She added, “I hesitated in saying am I a feminist or not and then after hearing your speech, when you said ‘if not now, when? If not me, who?’ I decided that there’s no way and there’s nothing wrong by calling yourself a feminist, and I am a feminist.”

    What do you think about Emma Watson’s ever-expanding influence in the world of feminism?

  • Demi Moore Called “Goddess” by Daughter Rumer Willis Following Red Carpet Appearance

    Demi Moore made a rare red carpet appearance on Monday, and shortly thereafter received quite the compliment from daughter Rumer Willis.

    It was at the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards that Demi Moore stunned in a black Zac Posen tea length dress with spaghetti straps. She paired the dress with simple silver jewelry and black Christian Louboutin pumps.

    “Yep that’s my mom….she is a goddess #wce #flawless #notscaredifiagelikethis Mama you are my inspiration my icon and my role model and I love you. #nofilter,” Rumer Willis captioned the photo of Demi Moore at the event.

    A photo posted by Rumer Willis (@ruelarue) on

    Moore looked flawless, wearing minimal makeup. Not many women her age–Demi Moore is 52–look that youthful without lots of cosmetic enhancement. She looks a lot like she did 25 years ago.

    Some younger ladies graced the red carpet on Monday night, too. Karlie Kloss was there, as was New Zealand singing sensation Lorde. The younger set had nothing on Demi Moore, however.

    It no doubt makes Rumer Willis proud–and certainly Scout and Tallulah, too–that their mom is naturally beautiful and doesn’t need much help to get red carpet ready.

  • Kendall Jenner Goes Backless, Practically Topless at 20th Birthday Bash

    Kendall Jenner wore a sexy jumpsuit to her 20th birthday bash on Monday night that was backless and the next-best-thing to topless, too. The black Sergio Hudson jumpsuit featured wide legs and fishnet insets, as well as a wide patent leather belt cinched at Kendall’s tiny waistline. The plunging V-neck reached her waist–leaving little from the waist up to the imagination.

    Tuesday is actually Kendall Jenner’s 20th birthday, but a group assembled at The Nice Guy in L.A. for a private party the night before.

    Sisters Kourtney Kardashian, Kim Kardashian West, Khloe Kardashian, and Kylie Jenner were on hand for the celebration, as was Kendall’s mom, Kris Jenner. The Keeping Up With the Kardashians gang weren’t the only celebrities on the guest list, however. Justin Bieber, Nick Jonas, Kanye West, Tyga, Gigi Hadid, and both Jaden and Willow Smith attended Kendall Jenner’s birthday bash.

    Anyone who knows anything about the Keeping Up With the Kardashians family knows the ladies love having their pictures taken. In keeping with that theme, Kendall’s party featured a photo booth. Some fun shots emerged from that photo booth Monday night, and found their way to Kylie Jenner’s Instagram account.

    “Happy birthday Kendall pot pie,” Kylie captioned this shot that features Kendall Jenner in the back row.

    A photo posted by King Kylie (@kyliejenner) on

    Do you suppose there will be another birthday celebration for Kendall Jenner on her actual birthday, November 3rd? She can’t possibly dress any sexier than she did on Tuesday night in that jumpsuit.

    Maybe the Jenner-Kardashian family will do something more low-key for Kendall. Do you think Caitlyn Jenner and Kris Jenner will attend a gathering for Kendall together?

    Happy 20th birthday, Kendall Jenner.

  • Shannon Beador: “RHOC” Star Calls Out Hubby’s Former Mistress at USC Game

    Shannon Beador was appalled this weekend when hubby David’s former mistress, Nicole McMackin, showed up at the USC game they were attending–making her presence known to the couple and their friends. The Real Housewives of Orange County star slammed McMackin in an Instagram post.

    “Go Trojans! Cheering with good friends!” Shannon Beador captioned her post. “Sorry @tamrajudge couldn’t make it! Someone with no moral compass decided to show up again. Watch reunion part 2 on Monday night and you will understand who I’m talking about. #narcissist #stalker.”

    A source tells Us Weekly that Nicole McMackin was more than obvious when she first arrived at the game–parading in front of Shannon Beador and her husband.

    It was when David and Shannon Beador were leaving the game that the two women came face to face.

    “That’s when Shannon calmly said to Nicole, ‘You have a lot of nerve being here,’” the observer said.

    Shannon Beador’s words were met with a, “F—k you,” from McMackin.

    The altercation continued, infuriating Shannon Beador to the point she returned to her section and yelled, “Nicole is the woman who had an affair with my husband!”

    While that wasn’t exactly a dignified response, what more can you expect from a Real Housewives of Orange County star?

    Nicole McMackin had an eight-months-long affair with Shannon Beador’s husband. Beador found out when she heard her husband whispering while on his cell phone. A little investigating on Shannon Beador’s part told her all she needed–and probably some that she didn’t–to know.

    These days Shannon Beador insists there is love and life, even after infidelity–and she hopes she and her husband can serve as an inspiration to other couples who have experienced what they went through.

    Love my husband! Having an amazing night at the most incredible restaurant @panxacocina #restored #godisgood

    A photo posted by Shannon Beador (@shannonbeador) on

    Clearly Shannon Beador has never heard that old adage, “Once a cheater, always a cheater?”

    Will she live to regret her recent words and actions?

  • Zendaya Gets Photoshopped, Calls Out “Modeliste” Magazine Until Photos Removed

    Zendaya was photoshopped recently, and she refused to stand for it. The 19-year-old was shocked to learn that Modeliste magazine had slimmed down her hips and torso in her November spread.

    Immediately taking to social media, Zendaya Coleman called out the publication.

    “Had a new shoot come out today and was shocked when I found my 19 year old hips and torso quite manipulated. These are the things that make women self conscious, that create the unrealistic ideals of beauty that we have. Anyone who knows who I am knows I stand for honest and pure self love. So I took it upon myself to release the real pic (right side) and I love it?? Thank you @modelistemagazine for pulling down the images and fixing this retouch issue,” Zendaya captioned the post.

    A photo posted by Zendaya (@zendaya) on

    You’ll note in the caption that Zendaya also thanks the publication for removing the photos in question. Fortunately the magazine heeded the singer’s wishes and made things right.

    Zendaya is just one of many young women to be photoshopped recently–and is among those who won’t stand for the practice.

    By Thursday afternoon, her post had received nearly 700,000 likes.

    On Thursday, the Editor-in-Chief of Modeliste–Amy McCabe–issued a response to Zendaya’s disdain over her photoshopped images.

    “Thank you, Zendaya, for raising a very important issue,” the response began.

    “We were honored to work alongside Zendaya and her entire creative team and family for the photoshoot in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and specifically chose Zendaya as our Cover Model for the issue as we have a deep respect and admiration for her openness, honesty, the genuine manner in which she connects with her loyal fan base, as well as her integrity. We believe her to be an authentic and positive representative and an inspiration to women and of the values which we at Modeliste also hold,” the response reads.

    “We hope you enjoy the ‘Unedited Edit’ images from Modeliste that we will release soon as a collaboration between Modeliste and Zendaya while also learning more about Zendaya from our interview with her which can be read in our Model Diaries on www.ModelisteMagazine.com.”

    Way to go, Zendaya. Those photoshopped images didn’t add anything to her beauty. She is gorgeous as is, and she had every right to be enraged by what the magazine’s editors did to her photos. This practice has lent itself to an epidemic of sorts where young girls feel the needs to achieve unrealistic “perfection.” That perfection isn’t real, however, when it is photoshopped.

    May this serve as a warning of sorts to other publications that believe they can improve upon the already-perfect looks of their models.

  • Cheerios Recall: Gluten-Free Boxes May Contain Wheat, Says General Mills

    If you recently purchased a box of “gluten-free” Cheerios, it may not actually be gluten-free.

    General Mills is “embarrassed and sorry” to have to recall approximately 1.8 million boxes of Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios.

    The Cheerios recall amount to several days of production, and is due to an “undeclared allergen – wheat”. General Mills says that some boxes marked “gluten-free” may, in fact, contain wheat after a flour mix-up.

    “Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios produced on [certain dates in July] at the company’s Lodi, California facility are being recalled because an isolated incident resulted in wheat flour being inadvertently introduced into the gluten free oat flour system at its Lodi facility. As a result, the products may contain an undeclared allergen – wheat – in products labeled as gluten-free,” says the company.

    “We want to reassure you that this was an isolated incident and we have implemented a solution to ensure that this will not happen again. The Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios produced at our other facilities are, and will continue to be, FDA compliant and gluten-free. We’ll also continue to test products and our oat flour supply extensively to ensure our products meet the gluten-free standard. We care about what you and your family eat and we are truly sorry for this mistake. We will work extremely hard to earn back your trust.”

    Check this graphic to find out if the box of Cheerios sitting in your pantry is affected:

    Screen Shot 2015-10-07 at 11.30.14 AM

    This recall only affects products sold in the US, not those distributed by General Mills Canada.

    The Food and Drug Administration says it received 125 complaints about the Cheerios before the voluntary recall.

  • Google Announces Dynamic Callout Extensions For AdWords

    Google announced new dynamic callout extensions for AdWords ads. These are an automated extension that highlights specific business and product information in Google search ads.

    The company launched callout extensions last year to allow businesses to add text highlighting specific info about products and services. The dynamic ones update appropriately.

    “Dynamic callouts are generated based on the information on your website, helping reduce the amount of time you spend managing individual callouts,” Google says. However, it’s important to continue adding and optimizing callouts because dynamic callouts may not show for all advertisers. You can add your own callouts at the account, campaign, or ad group level. We’ll always prioritize showing the callouts you provide over dynamic callouts.”

    “Dynamic callouts can boost the average performance of your ads and are a factor in Ad Rank, however advertisers have the option to disable them,” it adds.

    Google is rolling out dynamic callouts globally over the coming weeks. They’ll only be available in English at first.

    Image via Google

  • Hootsuite Launches Business Social Media Education Program Called Podium

    Hootsuite Launches Business Social Media Education Program Called Podium

    Hootsuite announced the launch of of a new online education program called Podium, aimed at helping people develop skills for getting more out of social media for business.

    A spokesperson for the company tells WebProNews, “As one of the top 10 fastest growing job trends, training in social media is essential for success in today’s job market. With 10 million plus users, Hootsuite has a unique understanding of what it takes to be successful with social media and Podium reflects our continued commitment to helping social media professionals grow their business and excel in their careers.”

    Podium gives users certification in social media marketing so they can showcase “credible” and “sought-after” skills to employers and clients.

    There are six courses consisting of forty short videos with tips and strategies. The courses include: Introduction to Social Media Marketing, Optimizing Your Social Media Profiles, Social Media Strategy – from A to Z, Growing Your Online Community, Content Marketing Fundamentals, and Social Advertising Fundamentals.

    Screen Shot 2015-09-23 at 4.52.52 PM

    “Demand for social media education has grown rapidly and Podium is the only online social media education program offering all of its education content for free,” the company says. “In fact, jobs that require social media skills have increased 89 percent, making social media one of the top ten fastest growing job trends, according to job site Indeed. Indeed’s Chief Economist, Tara Sinclair emphasized that training in these cutting edge skills is needed to succeed in today’s labor market.”

    The courses allow users to learn at their own pace, but they can also ask questions and learned from others in the community forum.

    Image via Hootsuite

  • Study: Local Search Gets Local Businesses More Clicks, Calls Than Any Other Channel

    Study: Local Search Gets Local Businesses More Clicks, Calls Than Any Other Channel

    Facebook may be doing more with is ads to help local businesses, but local search is still much more effective.

    BrightLocal recently released results from a survey (via Search Engine Land) finding that local search drives more clicks and calls than any other marketing channel as well as greater ROI than any other digital marketing channel.

    The firm polled local business owners in August in order to understand which marketing channels drive the most traffic, calls, and offline visits to local businesses. It covered “all types” of businesses including plumbers, accountants, dentists, etc. 477 people who optimized for 8,200 locations in the past year responded to the survey.

    It found that local search and organic search deliver the highest quality leads and that 34% would choose local search over any other channel. It also found that social media, display ads and Bing Ads deliver the lowest ROI.

    Here’s a look at how much time respondents dedicated o various channels:

    And here’s how they rated effectiveness of each channel:

    Businesses consider phone calls to be the most valued success metric compared to web traffic, search rankings, and significantly over customers actually walking through the door or inquiring via website. With that in mind, here’s what BrightLocal’s respondents reported about calls generated by various channels:

    Be sure to take a look at the full report, which provides a great deal of analysis and additional finding.

    Images via Thinkstock, BrightLocal

  • iPhone 7?: Marketing Firm Asks Apple To Not Call New Phone 6s

    iPhone 7?: Marketing Firm Asks Apple To Not Call New Phone 6s

    iPhone 7 would be preferrable to iPhone 6s for one marketing company in New York.

    6s Marketing has asked, in some very quirky and attention-getting ways, that Apple’s new phone be called the iPhone 7 rather than the iPhone 6s, which would trump their company’s claim on the moniker.

    6s Marketing has posted ads all over the city asking Apple, in “Dear Apple” form, to go with iPhone 7.

    The ads have captured the attention of citizens all over the place due to their interesting premise and simplistic styling.

    6s president, Chris Breikss, said in a statement that the name of the company is sentimental and pleas for Apple to consider iPhone 7.

    Times-Square1

    He said, “The name came from a custom license plate on a Mercedes that my father and I spotted when I was 11 years old — it read SSS SSS. After much deliberation, we realized that translated to ‘six-esses,’ or ‘successes.’ Years later, that eventually became the name of our company.”

    iPhonebus

    He added that the name 6s is very important and said, “After the iPhone 4S and 5S launched, we realized that our once-unique name could be in jeopardy, linked to the most popular mobile device in the world. We love Apple’s products; most of us use iPhones on a daily basis, and we’re flattered to potentially share the same name.”

    He continued, “However, we would prefer that Apple change the naming convention and consider calling their next phone the iPhone 7.”

    While this likely won’t be a successful strategy leading to an iPhone 7 announcement on the 9th, it will probably still be amazing promotion for 6s Marketing.

    And that was probably the plan all along, now, wasn’t it?

    What do you think about 6s’s attempt to get Apple to go with iPhone 7 for the new phone?

  • Ashley Callingbull: Native Canadian Wins Mrs. Universe, Makes History

    Ashley Callingbull: Native Canadian Wins Mrs. Universe, Makes History

    Ashley Callingbull was crowned Mrs. Universe on Saturday in Belarus. Callingbull made history as she became the first native woman and the first Canadian to win the Mrs. Universe title.

    Callingbull is 25 years old and she belongs to the Enoch Cree Nation in Alberta, Canada. The beauty titlist is also a motivational speaker, actress, model and dancer. She is also a finalist of Miss Universe before she married and became Mrs. Ashley Callingbull-Burnham.

    With its theme Domestic Violence and Reflection Over Children Mrs. Universe 2015 centers on the issue of domestic violence and how it affects both women and children.

    The 25-year-old Mrs. Universe, at an early age, had experienced poverty and witnessed how her mother suffered an abusive relationship with her step-father.

    She said she had an “incredibly difficult childhood” but it was her mother who taught her how to be grateful for everything she has. She was raised by her mother and grandparents.

    “Things that occurred in my childhood were incredibly painful and it is very hard to discuss. It was difficult to grow up the way I did, but it made me appreciate everything I have and most importantly made me the strong woman I am today.”

    She is proud of her roots and is honored to be the representative of the community that raised her.

    Callingbull said she will use her position to help Canada address the issue of abduction and murder of native women. The proud Cree member also urged indigenous people, through social media, to participate in their country’s national election next month.

    “Representing First Nations on the international stage was the best feeling in the world, ” the proud Mrs. Universe 2015 shared on her Facebook.

    Callingbull currently appears in Blackstone, an Aboriginal Peoples’ Television Network show.

  • Kim Kardashian Forced to Post a ‘Corrective Ad’ After FDA Called Previous One Misleading

    Kim Kardashian Forced to Post a ‘Corrective Ad’ After FDA Called Previous One Misleading

    Future first lady and Instagram queen Kim Kardashian has been forced to post a #CorrectiveAd on Instagram after she and a drugmaker ran afoul of the Food and Drug Administration over a deceptive ad.

    In now-deleted Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook posts, Kardashian touted the amazing benefits of a morning sickness drug called Diclegis, made by a drug company called Duchesnay.

    But according to the FDA, the post was “false and misleading.”

    “The Office of Prescription Drug Promotion of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has reviewed the Kim Kardashian Social Media Post for DICLEGIS (doxylamine succinate and pyridoxine hydrochloride) delayed-release tablets, for oral use submitted by Duchesnay, Inc. under cover of Form FDA 2253. The social media post was also submitted as a complaint to the OPDP Bad Ad Program. The social media post is false or misleading in that it presents efficacy claims for DICLEGIS, but fails to communicate any risk information associated with its use and it omits material facts,” says the FDA in a letter addressed to Eric Gervais, Executive Vice President of Duchesnay, Inc., dated August 7th.

    “OMG. Have you heard about this? As you guys know my #morningsickness has been pretty bad. I tried changing things about my lifestyle, like my diet, but nothing helped, so I talked to my doctor. He prescribed me #Diclegis, and I felt a lot better and most importantly, it’s been studied and there was no increased risk to the baby,” wrote Kardashian in her original Instagram post.

    Now, Kardashian has been forced to post a follow up ad – this time including the appropriate risk information.

    “#CorrectiveAd. I guess you saw the attention my last #morningsickness post received. The FDA has told Duchesnay, Inc., that my last post about Diclegis (doxylamine succinate and pyridoxine HCl) was incomplete because it did not include any risk information or important limitations of use for Diclegis. A link to this information accompanied the post, but this didn’t meet FDA requirements. So, I’m re-posting and sharing this important information about Diclegis,” she writes.

    The rest reads like any drug ad – a long list of warnings and possible side effects.

    #CorrectiveAd I guess you saw the attention my last #morningsickness post received. The FDA has told Duchesnay, Inc., that my last post about Diclegis (doxylamine succinate and pyridoxine HCl) was incomplete because it did not include any risk information or important limitations of use for Diclegis. A link to this information accompanied the post, but this didn’t meet FDA requirements. So, I’m re-posting and sharing this important information about Diclegis. For US Residents Only. Diclegis is a prescription medicine used to treat nausea and vomiting of pregnancy in women who have not improved with change in diet or other non-medicine treatments. Limitation of Use: Diclegis has not been studied in women with hyperemesis gravidarum. Important Safety Information Do not take Diclegis if you are allergic to doxylamine succinate, other ethanolamine derivative antihistamines, pyridoxine hydrochloride or any of the ingredients in Diclegis. You should also not take Diclegis in combination with medicines called monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), as these medicines can intensify and prolong the adverse CNS effects of Diclegis. The most common side effect of Diclegis is drowsiness. Do not drive, operate heavy machinery, or other activities that need your full attention unless your healthcare provider says that you may do so. Do not drink alcohol, or take other central nervous system depressants such as cough and cold medicines, certain pain medicines, and medicines that help you sleep while you take Diclegis. Severe drowsiness can happen or become worse causing falls or accidents. Tell your healthcare provider about all of your medical conditions, including if you are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. Diclegis can pass into your breast milk and may harm your baby. You should not breastfeed while using Diclegis. Additional safety information can be found at www.DiclegisImportantSafetyinfo.com or www.Diclegis.com. Duchesnay USA encourages you to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

    A photo posted by Kim Kardashian West (@kimkardashian) on

    Of course, #CorrectiveAd or not, it’s still an ad. Probably a win for Diclegis.

    Image via Kim Kardashian, Instagram

  • Study Finds People Are ‘Practically Addicted’ To Email

    Study Finds People Are ‘Practically Addicted’ To Email

    When it comes to email, people just can’t seem to get enough. That’s the main takeaway form a new study conducted by Adobe. Sure, the conventional wisdom might be that people are sick of getting so much email, but the reality paints a different picture. People are checking their email constantly.

    Adobe surveyed over 400 white collar workers in the U.S., 18 and older, about their email use.

    “We found that Americans are practically addicted to email, checking it around the clock no matter where they are or what they’re doing,” says Kristin Naragon, director of email solutions at Adobe. “In fact, more than half of millennials check email from the bathroom! On average, survey respondents report using email six hours a day, or 30+ hours a week. Nine of 10 respondents say they check personal email at work and work email from home. More than one third report having multiple personal accounts.”

    When you think about how we’re constantly carrying around our mobile devices and that these tend to include email apps and their associated push notifications, the findings really aren’t that surprising, but are a reminder of just how engaged people are with their email accounts.

    “Email is a cornerstone of workplace culture as well as a powerful tool for productivity and collaboration — thirty-five percent say they prefer communicating with colleagues via email, putting it on par with face-to-face collaboration,” says Naragon. “But, the pervasiveness of email across all life activities is even more striking. We found that outside of work, Americans most commonly check their email while watching TV (70%), from bed (52%), on vacation (50%), while on the phone (43%), from the bathroom (42%) and even—most dangerously—while driving (18%).”

    The study also found that millennials are more likely to check work email outside of normal work hours and that a third are comfortable using emojis to communicate with a direct manager or senior exec. 88% use a smartphone to check email. 70% check email from bed, while 57% check from the bathroom and 27% (admittedly) while driving.

    A study from Yesmail found that consumers are opening and engaging with emails more than they ever have before, and that the “never active” subscriber segment fell to its lowest percentage ever.

    We looked at another study from Constant Contact this week looking at open rate factors. Check that out here.

  • Salesforce Announces What It Calls ‘The Future of CRM’

    Salesforce Announces What It Calls ‘The Future of CRM’

    Salesforce just announced Lightning, which it calls the future of CRM. It combines a major redesign of the user experience, which the company calls the “Lightning Experience.”

    The design is based on feedback from over 150,000 customers. Essentially, Salesforce Sales Cloud has been rebuilt from the ground up.

    Sales Dashboard

    Also part of the announcement is the Lightning Design System, which is described as a how-to manual for developers based on the new design principles, which include “clarity, efficiency, consistency and beauty.”

    “The Lightning Experience brings a consumer-grade experience that is modern, efficient and intelligent to every Salesforce user on every device—desktop, tablet and mobile,” a spokesperson for Salesforce tells WebProNews in an email. “Relevant information is surfaced for each screen, streamlining processes and making workflows more intuitive.”

    “The Design System is a how-to manual for Salesforce developers, enabling any developer or partner to build beautiful components that work with Salesforce on every device and operating system,” they said.

    Opportunity Workspace

    Salesforce Lightning App Builder was announced at Dreamforce 2014. They made it generally available last month. This is a way to build apps via a drag-and-drop visual interface.

    The company discusses the new offerings in more detail here and here.

    Image via Salesforce

  • Facebook Launches ‘Donate Now’ Call-To-Action Button

    Facebook Launches ‘Donate Now’ Call-To-Action Button

    Facebook announced the launch of a new call-to-action button for pages that enable users to give them money. This one is “Donate Now,” and is obviously aimed at nonprofits.

    Facebook said in a post on the Facebook for Business Page:

    We are excited to introduce a new “Donate Now” call-to-action option on both link ads and Pages. Now, it’s easier than ever for nonprofits to connect with people who care about their causes and encourage them to contribute through the website of their choice.

    To be clear, you actually have to identify your page as a nonprofit to have access to the button.

    donate-now

    “Every day, people use Facebook to raise awareness and support for causes they care about and to motivate others to do the same,” a Facebook spokesperson says. “We’re inspired by how much good comes from these connections, so we’ve added ‘Donate Now’ calls-to-action on Pages and link ads to make those connections easier than ever.”

    The button joins others announced late last year including Book Now, Contact Us, Use App, Play Game, Shop Now, Sign Up and Watch Video.

    Image via Facebook

  • Jodie Sweetin: Recovering Addict Worked at Treatment Center, Looks Forward to ‘Fuller House’

    Jodie Sweetin is a recovering addict–something she speaks of openly. When Full House ended, she found acting gigs, but only sporadically. In recent years she worked as director of a drug and alcohol treatment center. This work provided valuable life experiences, as well as an income, but acting was always her first love and first choice of jobs.

    These days Jodie Sweetin has left her job at the treatment center and has returned to acting. She is reprising her role as Stephanie Tanner on the upcoming Full House reboot, Fuller House. She was as excited about working with her former cast mates as she was for her return to acting.

    “I was completely on board with it,” Sweetin said during a phone interview while taking a break from filming Fuller House. “I stepped away from (acting) for a little while and enjoyed a normal experience, but when this came along, I got to go back and do the thing that I love. I missed it terribly and am beyond thrilled to be back.

    “The show is so well loved,” Jodie Sweetin added. “My kids are seven and five and watch the show. They think it’s hilarious to see their mom as a kid doing silly stunts and dance moves on the show. They come to the set now and are so excited to see me doing it again. They’ve known the cast their whole lives from barbecues, birthday parties and swimming.”

    In addition to Jodie Sweetin, Fuller House will star Candace Cameron Bure as D.J. Tanner, Andrea Barber as Kimmy Gibbler, John Stamos as Uncle Jesse (Stamos also serves as one of the show’s producers), Bob Saget as Danny Tanner, Lori Loughlin as Aunt Becky, and Dave Coulier as Uncle Joey.

    Noticeably absent are the Olsen twins. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen won’t be reprising their role as Michelle Tanner.

    Will you be tuning in to Netflix in 2016 to check out Jodie Sweetin and the old Full House gang in Fuller House?

  • Subway Just Yanked a Game Called ‘Jared’s Pants Dance’

    You probably heard that longtime Subway spokesman Jared Fogle will plead guilty to charges that he paid to have sex with 14 minors, as well as distributed child pornography.

    According to the court documents, Fogle committed these acts btween 2007 and 2015. His attorney says he will pay $1.4 million in damages, and he’s facing a prison sentence of five to 12.5 years, unless the court imposes a higher sentence.

    He was first arrested on suspicion of these charges in July.

    But up until early Wednesday, this game still existed on Subway’s website:

    Screen Shot 2015-08-19 at 4.44.41 PM

    Yes, that’s a kids game called “Jared’s Pants Dance” where kids, presumably, could catch falling menu items in Jared’s pants.

    I’m not sure this was anything short of weird before Fogle’s criminal activities came to light, but it sure isn’t now.

    Subway has since replaced the game with one starring characters from Pixar’s Inside Out.

    As you would expect, Subway has severed all ties with Fogle.

  • Google Compute Engine Customers Lose Data As Lightning Hits Data Center

    Google Compute Engine Customers Lose Data As Lightning Hits Data Center

    Google reports that it experienced errors with its Google Compute Engine service from last Thursday through Monday as the result of four successive lightning strikes on electrical systems of one of its data centers in Belgium.

    According to BBC News, “Some people have permanently lost access to their files as a result.”

    “Google takes availability very seriously, and the durability of storage is our highest priority,” the company said in a status update. “We apologise to all our customers who were affected by this exceptional incident. We have conducted a thorough analysis of the issue, in which we identified several contributory factors across the full range of our hardware and software technology stack, and we are working to improve these to maximise the reliability of GCE’s whole storage layer.”

    While the company says about 5% of the Standard Persistent Disks in the affected zone experienced at least one I/O read or write failure, it says less than 0.000001% of the space of allocated persistent disks remain affected. It’s in this small area where customers have lost data.

    “This outage is wholly Google’s responsibility,” the company admits. “However, we would like to take this opportunity to highlight an important reminder for our customers: GCE instances and Persistent Disks within a zone exist in a single Google datacenter and are therefore unavoidably vulnerable to datacenter-scale disasters. Customers who need maximum availability should be prepared to switch their operations to another GCE zone. For maximum durability we recommend GCE snapshots and Google Cloud Storage as resilient, geographically replicated repositories for your data.”

    This probably shouldn’t be considered a reason to avoid the cloud with your data, but perhaps serves as a cautionary tale that it might not be a bad idea to keep your most important data backed up locally. Just in case.

    Google says it has an ongoing program for upgrading to storage hardware that is less susceptible to the power failure issue that led to this incident, and that “most” storage is already running on the upgraded hardware.

    Image via Thinkstock

  • Infographic Looks At How To ‘Ethically’ Screen Job Candidates On Facebook

    Infographic Looks At How To ‘Ethically’ Screen Job Candidates On Facebook

    There’s an interesting new infographic from AkkenCloud making the rounds (via Social Media Today), which explores how recruiters can “ethically” screen candidates on Facebook.

    It combines data from a number of sources including: The Undercover Recruiter, HR.com, Slideshare, BNA.com, Shrm.org, Business2Community.com, business.time.com, CareerBuilder.com, and HRZone.com.

    According to the infographic, 84% of job seekers have a Facebook profile and 70% of recruiters say they connect better with candidates due to the widespread use of Facebook. 54% of organizations are using the social network for recruiting and 85% recommend it as tool to other recruiters.

    “It’s no surprise that Facebook is becoming a popular tool for recruiters,” says Akken Cloud’s Mark Wallace. “Over 18.4 million applicants are reported to have found their job on Facebook, and 85% of recruiters recommend Facebook as a great tool to their fellow recruiters. Along with the widespread use of Facebook in the recruiting process however, are the legal risks associated with it.”

    Take a look.

    Click To Enlarge

    Recruiting on Facebook: How to Ethically Screen Candidates

    Via AkkenCloud

    Image via AkkenCloud

  • Jenna Bush Hager Tears Up As Mom, Laura Bush, and Grandmother, Barbara Bush, Call In To “Today”

    Jenna Bush Hager Tears Up As Mom, Laura Bush, and Grandmother, Barbara Bush, Call In To “Today”

    Jenna Bush Hager got an unexpected surprise on Monday’s episode of Today.

    Monday was Jenna Bush Hager’s last day on the set before she goes on maternity leave.

    Jenna Bush Hager is getting ready to have her second daughter with her husband, Henry Hager. Their daughter, Mila, is 2.

    Jenna Bush Hager’s co-hosts sent her off right with gifts, including diapers, books, and other gifts.

    But, the best gift was a phone call from Jenna Bush Hager’s mom, Laura Bush, and her grandmother, Barbara Bush.

    Laura Bush said on the phone, “We’re calling in just to give her lots of love, and tell her we can’t wait to see that new baby.”

    The ladies said that everyone was anxiously awaiting the 13th, which is when Jenna Bush Hager is due.

    Family of before we become family of . Not sure our M knows what she's in for!

    A photo posted by jennabhager (@jennabhager) on

    Jenna Bush Hager was clearly emotional and teary, as lots of pregnant women are, and kept saying, “I can’t handle this!”

    Barbara Bush told her granddaughter, “Good luck to you and we know you’re getting ready to go on maternity leave and so we’re thrilled to have you around.”

    Missing Maine on a rainy NYC Monday after a wonderful week.

    A photo posted by jennabhager (@jennabhager) on

    Savannah Guthrie chimed in “One thing we know the Bush ladies know how to do is raise beautiful little girls.”

    To that, Barbara Bush replied, “Wait a minute. We’re not bad on boys!”

    Happy Birthday to my fiesty, funny, smart Ganny. Tune into @todayshow at 8am.

    A photo posted by jennabhager (@jennabhager) on

    Clearly they’re not bad on boys. With two former presidents in the family and a possible presidential candidate, not to mention a slew of other politicians, the Bush family isn’t lacking.

    What did you think of Jenna Bush Hager’s surprise phone call? Wasn’t that a sweet moment?