Internet Usage: Urban vs. Rural

The number of people who own a computer or mobile device that can access the internet is continually increasing, as is internet usage itself. It seems to be unchanging though, that people in rural areas are less likely to be connected.

The Numbers

Studies from 1998 through to 2015 show that internet connectivity in rural areas throughout the United States is consistently between 6 and 10 percent lower than in suburban and metropolitan areas. Though internet usage is continually increasing in both rural and urban areas, the discrepancy is showing no signs of decreasing, meaning rural internet access is neither catching up to urban access nor showing signs of doing so.

Possible reasons for the discrepancy

Age – Senior citizens comprise a much larger percentage of the rural population than of the urban and suburban population, 22 percent compared to 14% and 16%. Statistically, only about 17 percent of senior residents in rural areas go online at all. This along with the fact that far fewer young adults, the age group most likely to go online, live in rural areas may account for some of the discrepancies.

Availability – Nearly 30 percent of rural residents report that the ISP they use is the only one available to them, less than one-third as many urban and suburban residents said the same thing. This means that the availability of internet access through an Internet Service Provider is significantly lower in rural areas.

Economics – One might assume that people in a lower income bracket are less likely to have internet access, but it doesn’t seem to be so. Families with an annual income over $100,000 showed a 2% lower internet usage rate in rural areas. This gap increases to just 3% in low-income families earning under $25,000 a year.

Education – This seems to be the great divide. Rural residents with a college degree are just one percent less likely to use the internet than their urban counterparts. For those with some college, the difference quickly expands to 4%. If you live in a rural area and have just a high school diploma, you’re 6% less likely to access the internet. For those with no diploma of any kind, the digital divide between rural and urban residents is 7%.

Usage Levels

Not only are rural residents less likely to have internet access, for those who do, usage levels are much lower. This is likely due to the quality and availability of internet access. A much higher percentage of rural residents only have access outside of work or home, limiting their internet usage. Given that the quality of internet access is lower, rural residents will spend less time on video sites like YouTube.

Companies such as Wave Direct offer better, higher quality internet penetration in areas of rural Texas and Ontario. This may start to close the digital divide – slowly. However, more than likely in the US and worldwide, there will always be some discrepancy between urban and rural areas.

5 Emerging Web Design Trends of 2017

As we round the corner on 2017, several design trends have emerged and should propel us well into 2018 and beyond. Visitors are more savvy than ever and are tired of the same old same old. Study these trends and you’ll be able to stay on top of the web design game well into the future.

Clever, User-Friendly Graphics

In 2017 people have pretty much seen everything when it comes to website graphics. You have to give them something they haven’t seen before, add some novelty to your site, or take an old concept and give it a new twist.

One way to do this is to create design graphics online and put them through an A and B split test to see which one works best. You can quickly use audience reaction to guide your next move and give them what they want before they even know they want it.

It’s All About Typography

Typography has been popular since the dawn of graphic design, and shows no sign of slowing down. if you can come up with an eye-catching font and make it stand out among the other graphics on the page, you may have found a winner.

There are more fonts to choose from than ever before, with new ones being created daily. In this respect, it makes it easier to wow your visitors with a new font. On the other hand, it is up to you to present that font in a way that is appealing and in their comfort zone.

New and Exciting Layouts

The way your pages are laid out means a great deal, and this year we’ve seen designers go to great lengths in the pursuit of new page layout ideas. Always push the envelope with layouts, with one foot in the box doing what’s proven to work, and one foot outside the box trying new things and testing them out in the real world.

Fun, Quirky Animations

Animations are always a big hit when they are done right. You don’t need to have CGI-style, Pixar-grade animation, in fact simple animation is all the rage, and easier to pull off than you might imagine.

You can have a vintage or retro look to your site, and give things a rudimentary animation and your visitors will still appreciate the time you spent to get things moving. As long as your style of animation matches the style and theme of your site you’re all set.

Content Gets The Spotlight

No matter what you do design-wise on your website you don’t want to lose focus of what really matters. People are there for the content, so make sure you are displaying it in a way that makes it easy to consume, whether it is text, images, or video.

It’s easy to get caught up in thinking that you need a lot going on at your site in order to impress your visitors, but the saying “content is king” still applies and is something to keep in mind throughout the entire design process.

A Commonly-Overlooked Tool in the SEO Toolbox: Client Care

As search engine optimization professionals, we have many tools and techniques at our disposal. Our skill at building robust sites and boosting page rankings for our clients is eclipsed only by our exhaustive knowledge of search engine algorithms. Many of us are experts at teasing out the mysteries of search and developing new strategies to harness the power of online search engines. Advances in the SEO field seem to happen on a weekly basis, and we are equipped with many cutting-edge tools as a result. However, there is one extremely important tool that many of us neglect or overlook: client care.Continue reading →

Understanding What LMS is and Why Your Business Needs It

Internet and technology advancements have come a long way. For example, there was a time if you wanted a degree, you had no choice but to attend a brick-and-mortar school and sit in classrooms for 20 to 30 hours a week over the course of several years. Nowadays, there are a plethora of classes you can take online, letting you get a degree from the comfort of your own home.

Learning management systems, or LMS, are another example of how technology has come a long way. LMS is a type of software that allows a business to design, dispense, and track training from anywhere, and on any device. This type of software revolutionizes what companies are able to offer to their employees in terms of professional training.

Anatomy of LMS Software
While the LMS requirements and features you need play a role in determining which software provider you select, the basic anatomy of all LMS software is the same. Some of the core components you can expect to find include:

Rosters
A roster is a digital list of everyone enrolled in a specific training session. This is your way of keeping track of who attends and/or participates in specific training.

Document Management
Document management makes your LMS platform more interactive. It’s a way for you to assign homework for certain training sessions, and allows your employees to upload pictures and documents directly to the platform. This also makes circulating training material a great deal easier. Your employees have the option to download and print copies of the materials if they want, but offering digital copies allows you the opportunity to be a greener company.

Multiple Device Access
Providing access on multiple devices makes it possible for you to interact with your employees in training sessions from anywhere. This also makes it more convenient for your employees to access the materials.

Calendars and Schedules
The calendars and schedules within a LMS platform make it simple for you to stay organized. They also provide you with a way to hold your employees accountable for work needing to be submitted by certain deadlines.

Interaction
Through instant messaging, emails, and forums, your employees can interact with their co-workers if they have questions about the training material.

Assessments
You can use the LMS platform to set up assessments to test how well your employees understand the training sessions and materials.

Scoring
The scoring system makes tracking how your employees’ assessment results a breeze. You can see which employees need extra training, and your employees can see where they need to focus a little more time and attention.

Continued Training is Beneficial
As your company grows, advances, and changes, the responsibilities of your employees should grow and change with it. Continued training through LMS software offers the opportunity to improve the efficiency of your employees, as well as teach them new trends and skills. As an added bonus, this type of software provides an easy method for distributing fresh training material to seasoned employees. Employees of all skill levels and seniority levels can benefit from continued training.

Lapalingo A New Era

Online casinos have become so popular that casino portals increasing regularly and copy the completely alien design and navigation. However, Lapalingo casino is actively provided high-quality online casino experience, and Lapalingo casino pleases its players with new gameplay solutions that are radically different from competitors. First of all, what is worth paying attention to, this is a simplified registration system, but at the same time very effective.

Lapalingo casino offers all the popular games like slot machines, soft casinos, and live casinos. Lapalingo casino owned by Rabbit Entertainment Ltd. and licensed by Malta Gaming Authority. Moreover, Lapalingo has strict control over the course of gaming and ensure safety for all players. They Also provide bonus, here is the bonus links https://www.lapalingo.com/en/bonus

If you are looking for the best online casino experience then Lapalingo casino is the best place …

  • You can play at Lapalingo casino 24/7 anytime you want
  • You will not need any apps to play, just play from your browser
  • You can play from any devices as Lapalingo casino has responsive design
  • You will experience absolutely secure online gaming
  • You can find the most popular games in one place

Registration in the Lapalingo casino takes place only in two steps, and on the second step, you can add funds to the account. If you chose electronic purses for crediting funds, then within a minute after registration, the account is ready for the game. Navigation is thought through to trivia, pop-up hints help you quickly find what you want. The search system has flexible settings and the necessary tools for an exact query, with these parameters, the player will be able to find all the games they need quickly and efficiently.

Deposit and withdrawal of funds at Lapalingo casino are fast and reliable. The game balance takes place within a minute, thanks to the separate processing of queries out of the queue. The player is available not only the most popular ways of enrollment but also currencies to choose from. Conversion occurs inside the bank automatically, before the confirmation of the operation, the user sees all the amounts and commission. The withdrawal operation is protected not only by the casino but also by the bank. To open access to the output, verification is necessary, which is an additional security guarantee.

Players of the Lapalingo casino receive bonuses on a regular basis with many different offers and game bonus. You will get an instant bonus for registration and after that whenever you make a deposit to your account you will get free spin each time to win exciting prizes. Moreover, you will have daily, weekly and monthly bonus for your gameplay. Moreover, you can play new games on a free basis, directly on the casino portal; the most active players receive excellent bonuses and gifts for participation. Thanks to the well-coordinated work, players get a slot machine that they like, taking into account all the wishes and opportunities.

Try out new games, invite friends, win games and earn in the Lapalingo Casino. They have a wide variety casino games that make even the most demanding users amazed with Lapalingo.

Multifunction Printer: Which is better to buy?

A multifunction printer tries to serve in many ways: people who need a little of everything without specializing in one area. Keep in mind that if you want to handle more than a few hundred pages per month, whether in print, scan or copy and then it might be best for you to look at an individual peripheral.

Best in value for money: It is the most balanced in all aspects of quality printing that does not leave indifferent and can handle quite high volumes.

The most professional for high volumes: It cost higher price with WiFi but designed for heavy tasks daily, with extra features and equally intuitive for the office.

If you are here thinking of that you need to buy a multifunction printer for your office then, Konica’s range of multifunction printers have a perfect combination with your Instant Ink program in which you can save a lot in ink.

Cost and savings

In general, we can say that we have named it the “best printer” because multifunction printer in quality-price for everything that offers at a reduced price both maintenance and initially in the purchase. While it is true that it does not stand out much above the others, but does very well its work.

Usability and connectivity

After connecting the multifunction printer, you can install it on Windows and Mac system with the help of the installation CD. The process is quite simple, and only with this step, all the functions have worked without problems in any of the operating systems.

Multifunction printer has a screen that makes it very comfortable to use and with better features than the other printers do. The controls are responsive, and the menu options are clear.

The multifunction printer also shines with its document feeder, which like its class can feed up to 50 sheets of paper. Even better, the mechanism has automatic double-sided printing. This means it lets you scan, copy and fax two-sided documents without having to intervene manually. As expected on such a device, it supports the most common sizes and does its job with the main tray, which has some adjustable guides to accommodate all shapes and sizes of papers.

As Wi-Fi connectivity is important to most users, it has multifunctional support for many different printing standards, including AirPrint, Bonjour, Android Print, HP Wireless Direct and Google Cloud Print.

Maintaining a multifunction printer

Most printers, including multi-functionality, require a little maintenance if you use them routinely, as the heads release ink if necessary. In contrast, if you do not print frequently, you may need to use the software that comes to you, where there are options that end up misusing more ink.

Some advanced technologies monitor the printer for diagnosing and fix the problems such as ink jams while printing. An advantage in ink programs that the wasted ink does not have the cost.

Should you buy a multifunction printer?

No doubt buying one of these represents the simplest, compact and responsive system of having all those features without having to buy a peripheral from each particular area. The fact of scanning goes quite well and there are fewer and fewer consumers who want to buy a separate scanner. Much multi-functional have a flat scanning platform, which works well for faxing, copying and document scanning.

Questions to Ask when Choosing SEO Services Provider

You took that bold step a while ago of dealing with SEO on your own, but since then, the frequency of your migraines has increased tenfold. To add insult to the injury, your site still doesn’t rank well despite all the hard work and time you have invested in it. If you are in such a situation, then it is right time you considered the expertise of a good SEO services provider. But, you are also faced with yet another uphill task. How do you find the right service provider? With the existence of many SEO companies claiming to be the best, the big task will be how to narrow down to just one which is reliable.

Your fear for hiring a fraudster is real and justified, to say the least. But worry no more because we shall look at some of the critical questions to ask your prospective SEO company before hiring.

  1. What are the examples of the sites you have optimised?

This is an essential question since it will give you a chance to scrutinise their expertise. It will also help you to know how genuine the company is. Past clients should not be a secret. If the company stalls or utterly declines to your request, it should be an alert. In fact, a trustworthy company should be proud of their past success and use them in marketing themselves.

  1. Do you guarantee a number 1 ranking?

If their first answer to this question is, “yes” run. This is because, according to Google search engine optimisation selection tips, no one can guarantee a number 1 rank in Google. This runs a cross to even non-competitive words.

  1. Where do you collect your back links from?

For SEO success, back links play a very vital role. Let them explain to you where they get theirs from. If their sources are not credible, then this will do you more harm than good. Ensure that they collect their links from only the reputable sites in the market.

  1. How much will the service cost me?

You probably know this by now, high price doesn’t always guarantee better quality. Just because your prospective DGreat Solutions provider charges more, it’s not a guarantee that they have the best services in the market. Also, remember some of the fraudsters charge high fees to appear genuine. Just do your research and know how much the services you seek should cost. Let the information you get from your research act as a guide on what to expect. However, it is imperative to know that cheap is expensive, therefore, avoid very low charging companies since it can be a sign of incompetence or desperation.

  1. How often do you provide reports?

A good SEO company should submit to its client’s weekly reports. Updates done on your website should also be frequent. This will help you evaluate the progress and the performance of your website.

  1. Which SEO practices and techniques do you use?

This is a critical question too. Let them explain to you what they use. The answer to this will reveal to you whether they use black hat SEO techniques or not.

It doesn’t matter whether you are an SEO expert or not. The above questions will help you pick the best DGreat Solutions provider in the market.

Sports Betting on Your Mobile Phone: The Real Benefits

We all know that advancements in technology have enabled millions of people around the world to stay connected 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It seems that most everybody has a smart phone, and they use these gadgets every single day. These gadgets have become a necessary part of our modern lives. And whilst you can do tonnes of stuff on your mobile phone, including shop, browse different sites, do research, watch movies and listen to music and more, there are now more people who see the benefits of betting on sports on their mobiles as well.

If you’re into sports and would like to bet on a game or two, try doing it through your mobile phone. The advantages are certainly numerous, and there are now many betting sites which offer great deals and bonuses (you can check out some great reviews like this one here for mobile sports betting sites).  So what are the real benefits of sports betting on mobile? Let’s find out.

24/7 connection

If there’s a match that you’re just itching to bet on and it’s happening right this minute, you can bet on it through live or in-play betting and know the results as soon as they come. That’s one beauty of sports betting on mobile: you’re connected 24/7, and you’ll know exactly what is happening as it happens. You’re in the midst of the action in real-time. To know more please visit website.

Easy withdrawal and payment options

If you do your banking through mobile, then you’d also be happy to know that when you bet on sports, you have easier access to your bank account/s. You can easily withdraw your prize money whenever you want, and you can easily settle your bets through a number of different mobile platforms as well. What’s more, withdrawing funds and making payments online is a lot safer nowadays, especially since many sports betting sites make it a point to enhance their security just because of the nature of their business. Your confidential information stays confidential and you’re guaranteed protection at all times.

 Variety

Whether you only go for football or you’d like to try your hand at horse or greyhound racing, there’s a sport that’s made just for you. What about grand slam tennis, or even rugby? You’re sure to find the sports that you like, and even if it’s a sport that you don’t know much about or have never bet on before, you can find some great tips from experts which you can use before placing your bets.

Convenience

With 24-hour access, you can place a bet anytime and from anywhere, as long as you have an Internet connection. So if your favourite team is playing halfway around the world and it’s 12 midnight where you are, you can still place your bets. This is convenience at its finest.

Image attributed to Pixabay.com

Why Well Crafted Content is Important for your Website?

The most important aspect of good SEO is writing high-quality content and it should be a key aspect of your SEO strategy. Content writing as a skill can be learned, but it requires some creative writing skills. If we are being honest, most of the blogs that we see are hardly readable and not at all informative. They are neither entertaining nor inspiring. I’m not asking you to be GB Shaw here, but you can try a little harder to write well.

I’ll try to convince you as to why you should be doing it through this post.

1. Clarity means more people will get you.

It doesn’t matter if the aim of your article is to entertain, to inform or to convince people, if you article isn’t articulated properly, your intent will be lost. Poorly written content isn’t very interesting to read and would loose engagement sooner. People would find it all the more difficult to understand your message.

Before you start writing, structure your content and be clear about the intent of your post. Every blog post will be carrying some kind of a message. What are you planning on saying? A message could be very simple and plain. An article on your site could be trying to educate people about the varied features of your product, or maybe try and explain your shipping process.

If an article is poorly written, there are much higher chances that readers won’t be able to understand your message. If you write a well thought out, properly structured blog post which is free of typos, there are much higher chances that readers will be able to understand the message you are trying to convey.

For example take a look at this review article on the Cosmopolitan Hotel. It is very clear, well structured and to the point.

2. Reducing bounce rate

If you are able to develop the skill to write  content that is well-meaning and properly structured, there are much higher chances that people will stay on your website longer and read your complete post. This will make sure that your bounce rates ae lower and it will eventually mean that your rankings will improve in search engine result pages.

3. Increase in trust

Well-crafted pieces of article will make sure that readers trust you more compared to other blogs in your niche. If you are able to create content that reads well and is devoid of typos, it will seem all the more professional and valid. This will make a lot more people trust you and your blog. If people are able to trust your blog, it means good business. They will come back to your website for more of your content, follow you and even buy your product.

4. More Social Media Following

Well-crafted blog posts are much more likely to be shared on various social media networks and have higher probability to be talked about among friends. If a post is to be shared on social media, you will have to take the effort to convince the reader to read your article first. All the more important is that someone will have to think that your post is awesome enough for them to share it on their social media networks. Most people think that the posts they share are a reflection of themselves, their thoughts and ideas. They just won’t share badly written articles on their social media timelines, because that will reflect badly on themselves as well.

Conclusion: Good quality content will always help you reach higher ranking and which in turn will help you get higher conversions

Writing good quality content won’t improve your SERP rankings instantly. It’ll be highly beneficial in the long run, as it will have a huge positive impact on your SEO. Well crafted content will have lower bounce rates and will have higher chances of grabbing a lot more eyeballs through social media attention.

I hope this article helped you in understanding the importance of good quality content for SEO. If you have any doubts let me know through the comments and I will clarify it. If you have any suggestions on improving the article, let us know that through the comments as well.

Play the most popular table games

Many people are interested in the possibility of being able to play the most popular table games. It is true that the online casino slot games that have been in development for a long time are some of the most popular of all the games on online casino gaming websites.

Still, that doesn’t mean that people only want to play these games and no others. There are many games available on online casino gaming websites, and most of them will still manage to attract a following from the multitudes of fans of online casino gaming websites. The table games are no exception.

Slot games are all united in the fact that they are entirely games of chance. While it is true that a lot of people will enjoy games of chance, many of them also want to be able to put their own skills to the test. Not all people have the skills necessary to really succeed in the world of online casino gaming when it comes to the table games that really demand huge levels of experience. However, the journey of actually getting to that point can be really exciting to a lot of people today.

Poker is still probably the most popular table game of all. People can play this game in a lot of different formats. Many of the professional online casino gaming fans are specifically going to be interested in poker and not in many of the other games that are on these websites. Poker has been one of the most popular casino games in general for a long time, to the point where it is genuinely difficult for a lot of people to imagine what a casino would even be like without poker.

Blackjack is one of the other really popular table games that a lot of people love and that truly does demand a lot of skill from most people. Blackjack is also a game that many people will enjoy for its own sake, even if they are not especially skilled at it in their own right. Still, this is a game that a lot of people can learn, and it relies on skills that are not as subtle as the skills that are involved with poker.

Poker requires a keen understanding of body language and a lot of the details of human behavior in addition to a strong knowledge of cards. People need to know a lot about cards when it comes to blackjack. That is the main skill that is on display when it comes to blackjack, and people really don’t need to worry about some of the other skills when they are playing a game like this. Still, there are lots of other options for the people who want online casino games that are a little bit easier for them to pick up, since blackjack and poker are both tough games for anyone to play. Games of chance are easier than games of skill in some ways, and they are harder in other ways.

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