Technology is quickly becoming a vital necessity to everyday life and CTCNet completely understands that. In fact, they envisioned this many years ago and was quite large in 1997. With over 175 community technology centers, they created an easy way for people of all walks of life to access computers and the internet.

Some locations that are members of the CTCNet are non-profit organizations, churches, academic institutions and the like. However, many are simply training centers, internet cafes, shelters and such. The ways in which open access to the internet can be shared are as varied as the reasons as to why someone would think of and develop an organization like CTCNet.

Apple recognized the work that CTCNet was doing and believed in what they were doing. In 1996, Apple gave CTCNet an admirable grant to 18 CTCNet centers. They again awarded them in 1997 in response to the request for proposals that were issued in December of 1996.

CTCNet’s Mission

CTCNet believes that all people, regardless of race, religion or social status should have equal rights and access to technology and the ability to learn the skills to use it. It was founded by the Playing to Win foundation. They understood even in the late 90’s that technology was moving fast. It was going to become a staple to everyday life and that people who did not have the ability or advantage of using and learning these technologies would sooner or later get left behind in a sea of ever-advancing technologies.

CTCNet provides the means for foundations, organizations and programs to come together and give people who would normally not have access to computers the ability to use them, get hands-on-experience with them and get used to them. They do this in a safe environment that fosters a learning attitude, encourages discovery and builds self confidence in those who may otherwise never have the means to grasp the coming technologies.

CTCNet also provides these organizations what they need in order to further enhance their facilities, as well as the ability to encourage and influence other programs in the area to do the same.

CTCNet was well ahead of its time in its creation and vision. Today, technology is all around us every day. It’s at school, it’s at work, it’s at home… it’s in your local McDonald’s. Everywhere you turn you are surrounded by technology that many people would have never even thought of when CTCNet took it upon itself to make sure people would not be left behind.

Today it’s easy to see how technology plays such an important role in our lives. However, there are still people who have never used a smartphone. There are people who wouldn’t quite know what to do if they were required to sit down, create a new email account and send something off to their boss. Technology will only continue to grow and if people aren’t even caught up with the technologies we have now, how can they at all be expected to grasp the next generation of technology?

The Beginning of CTCNet

CTCNet is the brainchild of Antonia Stone. Stone was once a public school teacher and actually put together her own computer technology learning center in the basement of a housing development back in the 80’s. She founded CTCNet (the Playing to Win Network) in 1990. She received a five-year grant from the National Science Foundation in the 90’s that helped her to grow CTCNet’s services. She was able to bring in new members, which put the network on a path to becoming an independent organization.

By the year 2000, it had a National Board of Directors to represent the number of organization members and was declared a tax-exempt, non-profit organization in Massachusetts. It moved its main office to Washington DC in 2003.

In 2006, AT&T announced they were providing a $1 million grant to CTCNet in order to help give people with disabilities access to computers and technology. AT&T’s three-year initiative called the ‘AccessAll’ will give community technology staff members access to universal design and to provide assistive technology. This technology caters to accommodating a wide variety of learning styles, as well as different degrees of learning abilities.

CTCNet will only continue to play an ever-changing and important role in our society as we progress into the future and further into technology. There’s no doubt that they’ve been the saving force of probably hundreds of thousands of people who very well likely may have never had even the tiniest chance of learning or using the technologies of today. We can only hope that CTCNet continues to receive the support and admiration that it has over the years.

Technology will never stop. Time will never slow. We may not be able to ensure every single person will always have equal opportunity to learn about technology, but CTCNet will always strive to ensure that as many as possible will.

Are you looking for a new way to reach potential customers from their cell phones? Are you wondering how the popularity of mobile devices changes marketing? Keep on reading! This article will provide you some essential tips on marketing to people on mobile devices. It’s information that any modern marketer should know.

Have your customers engage in your marketing process. Many people love taking videos with their phones, and uploading them to the internet, and sharing with Ares filesharing software You. can ask people to make short videos of all the different ways to use your product, and post these on your website. People will feel recognized for you showing there movie, and you will be getting more advertisement.

Make your messages fun. Remember that mobile can also be used as a source of entertainment. Make your messages interesting and exciting, while providing the subscriber with either meaningful information or entertainment. When subscribers are doing something or just waiting for something somewhere, they will look to mobile as an exciting or enjoyable distraction.

Perhaps mobile users would like to be treated a little better than the average user, and perhaps you could make them feel as if they’re getting a little extra by subscribing to your mobile site or app. You can offer special rewards just for mobile users in order to increase the mobile side of your business.

Work hard in order to make visiting your site a pleasurable experience for people if you really want to convert sales with mobile marketing. Because most mobile users are on-the-go users, they’re more inclined to quickly browse through multiple sites than Pc users are. Give them a reason to stick around.
Weigh your competition. Have a family member or friend sign up to a mobile subscription of a competitor. Doing this will give you an inside look as to how their program operates, and let you know what you can do that will outperform them. Doing this before you actually start your campaign will give you a strong edge.

Keep setting expectations and keeping yourself safe, legally. After a person opts-in, or even during the process, inform them of how often they can get text messages from you. Also, give them an “opt-out” option if the messages are too frequent or if they want to avoid possible message charges. Always include the line, “standard rates may apply.”

When you are emailing your mobile marketing messages, you want to make sure that you have the customer’s first name, and use it! When a message feels personal, people will probably read it. Spend a little time so that you are giving your customers a feeling that they can trust you.

It’s important to take advantage of the opportunities that mobile marketing provides. Most people have their cell phones on them at all times, which means the window of time in which you can reach your audience is greatly increased. Look to the tips in this article as you work to develop new strategies for marketing. They’ll help you think with mobile devices in mind.