Facebook Live is a whole new platform that is inclusive, raw, truthful and organic. We are using it for events like the Lansing Mayoral Debate to include the citizens of Lansing in important events that matter. The event is being held at The Lansing Brewing Company which runs on ACD fiber. The best technology is there and we are taking advantage of it with this broadcast.

“Some of the most engaging videos I see are coming from people just taking them with their phone; you want people to feel they are an active participant in what you are putting up on Facebook, not a passive observer ”

The following is an article from Government Technology about the potentials of using Facebook Live in Government:

Facebook’s newly released video feature has created a lot of hype, primarily among users who embrace the platform as a way to stay in touch with friends and relatives and, of course, share the ever-popular cat video. But what does the new apparatus mean for government?

At first glance, another way to post video content online hardly seems revolutionary. But when given a second look, it really could make things easier for state and local governments to get their messages out to the people who already care enough to follow them.

Until recently, the live video feature had only been available to public figures, but on April 6, the social media company expanded its user base to include everyone. With built-in features like real-time feedback and analytics, users at all levels have a new toy to play with.

For a state or local government, the possibilities are just as unlimited as they are for, say, a big wave surfer who decides to enable live streaming while he goes about his business — maybe not as exciting, but likely more informative. A press conference or meeting can now be shared live, direct to the source, much like it would have been through a platform like Periscope.

Katie Harbath, Facebook’s Global Politics and Government outreach director, addressed attendees of the 2016 Government Social Media Conference in Reno, Nev., last week, saying the tool presents a new way to engage constituents who might otherwise not participate in things like public meetings.

In Canada, the speaker said, officials were surprised to see users take interest in recent budgetary hearings. According to Harbath, roughly 2,000 people watched proceedings using the Facebook Live tool.

“Now, that’s not a huge number. It’s not in the millions, it’s not even in the tens of thousands, but that’s 2,000 more people who wanted to participate in this process about the budget that otherwise would have never had a chance to do so,” she said. “Even just broadcasting your press conferences and your speeches, you can reach a lot more people by going live than you could maybe reach who is there in person.”

While leveraging online video is far from a new concept for government agencies, instant access and the ability to receive comments during a video broadcast seems to have taken its place as the next step in the medium’s evolution.

Harbath said those who are drawn to the live feeds watch three times longer than prerecorded video and engage as much as 10 times more.

The possibilities behind live streaming video were a topic of conversation at Facebook’s F8 developers conference this week as founder Mark Zuckerberg demonstrated the capabilities of streaming from a DJI drone.

The company has also opened the API to third-parties to allow for better integration into the commercial markets.

According to Harbath, users of the live service will soon be given the ability to include groups, use filters and draw on the live broadcast, as well as include a map so users can see where real-time live streaming is taking place.

As Facebook stacks its chips behind video, at least for the time being, other trends in the medium are also catching the attention of company officials. Harbath noted that viewers aren’t necessarily drawn to high production values, but instead linger on in-the-moment videos that immerse them in the action.

“Some of the most engaging videos I see are coming from people just taking them with their phone; you want people to feel they are an active participant in what you are putting up on Facebook, not a passive observer,” she said, noting that one of the biggest trends the company is seeing with video is how people are interacting with it on a mobile device. “We really think that video this year is going to be one of biggest game changers on social media.”

A growing number of Midwest businesses are seeing the profits of their competitors inch ahead of their margins because they’re deploying fiber-optic based technologies.

Fiber broadband delivers competitive advantages. And it could be a threat to companies that are not deploying it.

“Fiber-optic connectivity offers great advantages to Michigan-based companies of all sizes, particularly businesses using cloud-based technologies, off-site data storage, and operating with multiple locations,” said Chris DeVine, Major Business Accounts Manager at ACD.

Fiber broadband is the underpinning of the backbone of productivity for many businesses. Even if you think your business doesn’t need faster Internet, fiber broadband opens the gateway to the future, allowing your business to scale-up easily and run more efficiently.

Brent Sanders is an operations manager at DBI Office Interiors, located in Lansing, MI, and his company uses a direct hand-off to ACD’s Gigabit fiber network in Lansing. He says DBI needs massive broadband and robust connectivity to power the company’s productivity technology.

DBI uses the Internet for connecting every aspect of its business from sales to design, build, and customer follow-up. Their fiber optic network is involved from the moment a sale is made to the moment it’s delivered.

This means designers and managers at DBI’s headquarters are connected through high definition wireless devices (Ipads, computers and cell phones) with sales people in the field, who are also connected to the employees building office interior systems in their warehouse.

At any given time there are three or four dozen people connected to their fiber network, nearly every position at DBI requires an Internet connection whether it’s for purchasing, design, or customer service.

For instance, warehouse managers at DBI are virtually riding shotgun with their delivery truck drivers. As soon as a customer signs for a product that order gets automatically uploaded to the website to show proof of delivery. This is the same technology used by UPS and FedEx, meaning fiber allows a medium-sized company like DBI to compete in the global market.

“We are living in a time when small businesses can have the same technological advantage as a global corporation,” said ACD’s CEO Kevin Schoen. “Your profit-gains will be large in comparison to the little amount of time and money you spend.”

Project walk-throughs have also advanced with fiber. DBI designers use tablets when walking through a project space. If they find a problem, they’re able to take a picture, attach it to the problem-point in the project’s CAD drawings, and send it to a DBI designer at the office. This allows salesmen, designers, and warehouse staff to collaborate in real-time. These staff members are quickly solving little problems before they become big ones.

The office product side benefits from better connectivity too. There are fewer processing issues, allowing orders and purchasing to happen faster.

“Good, solid connectivity makes your toolkit a little more effective and so you just have fewer issues. The quality of the connection is vastly improved with fiber compared to copper,” Sanders says. “With fiber it’s so scalable, if I need to go from a 30 mg connection to a 40 I make a phone call to ACD, literally within an hour my connection is now running at that higher bandwidth.”

As a result of DBI’s fiber broadband they’re upgrading their office system, getting a better toolkit that includes videoconferencing and different systems to use with their customers.

Sanders says the fiber allows them to tighten their business up and be more efficient without having to worry about their bandwidth-usage or problems with connectivity.

“If you have the opportunity to be able to connect into the fiber and that’s something that’s available to you, I highly recommend that,” Sanders says.

Fiber is a superior product that allows businesses to do much more with better connectivity and a scalability that can grow alongside your business.

Michigan companies are finding new ways to save money and increase productivity using ACD’s fiber optic network. Watch the video and learn more about the internet of everything here.

Click here to read about

the internet of everything.

At ACD, we’re fascinated by any and all technologies.

This weekend’s Michigan Nordic Fire Festival in Charlotte, MI is a time to celebrate the technology of the Viking culture.

Some of the most famous Viking technologies include:

– Ulfberht sword made from crucible steel

– Strong  and surprisingly small ocean going ships that allowed them to navigate in very shallow water and at fast speeds

– Advanced compasses called Uunartoq discs that allowed them to sail whether sunny or cloudy outside

All of these technologies were unique to the Vikings and unheard of at the time of their occupancy. Most were not discovered until recently.

ACD likes to lead a culture similar to the Vikings and be ahead of the technology advancements brought to you and your families.

We look forward to the festival this weekend and hope everyone in attendance has a safe, fun, and culturally enlightening experience. See you there!

For more information on the Michigan Nordic Fire Festival, please visit: http://www.michigannordicfirefestival.com

Guest Blogger: Sanjeev Verma, Director of Network Operations, ACD

Three Things to Keep Your Data Safe

 

ACD’s experts want you to know that more apps and more features on your phone and desktop have created more doors for cyber robbers to get your money and your identity info. Being able to keep your money and your family safe are two critical concerns on the Internet today. It is imperative to know how to stay safe on the Internet so hackers don’t learn personal information.

What Can You Do?

The Department of Homeland Security says October is National Cyber Security Awareness
Month. The message this year is:

Stop think and connect which includes:

– keeping a clean machine,

– protecting your personal information and

-connecting with care.

Step One: Clean Machines are Safe Machines

First, to keep a clean machine one should keep security software current, enable automatic software updates, protect all devices that connect to the Internet including smartphones and gaming systems by enabling virus and malware protection, and scanning devices before plugging them in (such as USBs and other external devices).

Step Two: Logins are Key

Next, to best protect all personal information, it is important to lock down your login, make passwords a sentence that is at least 12 characters, have a unique account and password via different passwords for every account, and write passwords down to keep it safe.

Step Three: Social Media Security

Finally, to connect with care one must keep emails and social media clean by deleting threads every so often, limit the scope of usage on WiFi hotspots, and always check that a site is security enabled when banking and shopping online. These simple steps can make it much easier to keep yourself and your assets safe online.

National Cyber Security Awareness Month is upon us, and we want to help raise awareness about cyber security.

You likely won’t see them, but Lansing-based technology firm ACD installed 14 distributed antenna systems and built a fiber network throughout East Lansing.

This gives East Lansing world class Internet coverage, allowing businesses access to fiber optics for powering desktop computers, and gives the public improved cell phone and wireless Internet coverage.

“The improved coverage ensures that there is substantial capacity increase on 4G wireless service to East Lansing and will also result in improved broadband capacity for East Lansing,”according to Kevin Schoen, ACD’s CEO. “This next generation broadband network will also increase local companies connection speeds and reduce their business operational costs.”

How Will East Lansing Benefit?

• East Lansing residents are major consumers of broadband. MSU’s thousands of researchers have this need for speed, and it’s tech savvy residents made it a perfect place to build this network.

• The region has taken a huge leap forward in the next generation of broadband, into a gigabit network that lowers broadband costs for homeowners, government, and businesses.

• East Lansing is on its way to becoming a “FiberHood,” which means its residents now have world-class smartphone coverage and access to up-to-Gigabit-speeds in their offices — 100-times faster then regular broadband.

• How Did This Happen in East Lansing? The collaborative efforts of city officials and ACD have led to this important economic investment. ACD is building fiber networks in the areas where they can complete engineering and necessary permits. East Lansing city officials understand the importance of working with a provider such as ACD to build out broadband networks.

“People are making decisions on where to live and work based upon the technology infrastructure available to them. Our mission is to bring direct world class connections to all business andresidents, said Schoen.”

Tell Your Town’s Government Leaders To Get World Class For Your region’s Internet and Cell Phone Connections….It’s only a phone call away:   517-999-9999

About ACD and ACD Telecom, Inc. ACD owns an extensive statewide fiber network and is a leading fiber optic provider of broadband services to businesses and residential customers. ACD is headquartered in Lansing, Michigan. Learn more about ACD.net and its commitment to the state of Michigan at www.ACD.net