Mediaboss Marketing

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Sept. 4, 2012) - Sangoma Technologies Corporation (STC.V) - Around the world, social networking has become integral to the way many people communicate. While the benefits of these resources are apparent to most people, gaining access is an entirely different matter altogether-particular for people with disabilities such as visual impairments. Globally, some 39 million blind people face significant challenges in just using computers, to say nothing for engaging in social networking. It was an issue that Proximus, a Chilean-based communications provider, sought to address.

After completing a highly successful pilot, Proximus engaged PaloSanto Solutions of Ecuador to develop a cost-effective, robust, and scalable platform capable of serving 4,000 users. As a fundamental part of the design, Proximus selected the Elastix open source-based telephony platform. PaloSanto Solutions quickly designed and built a robust server-based solution, operating with Elastix software and using digital telephony interface boards from Sangoma, to provide connectivity from the Proximus system to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).

"Sangoma proved to be a highly reliable choice," said Paul Estrella, head of product development at PaloSanto. "As we worked closely with Proximus to design the final solution that would meet the performance requirements for the platform, we knew form the start that Sangoma boards were the best option for IP-to-TDM and PSTN integration."

The inherent quality of the Sangoma hardware combined with the award-winning Elastix platform continues to contribute to the extremely reliable operation of a platform that has had virtually no downtime yet continues to process nearly 2 million voice minutes per month.

"The voice hardware actually became the easiest part of this project" noted Estrella. "This, in turn, allowed our team to concentrate their efforts on other parts of the development to create the features and applications that dramatically expand the value of the system."

A recent case study, "Social Networking Made Possible for the Sight-Impaired", provides a detailed analysis of this implementation, and is available for download from Sangoma.

Sangoma's industry-leading solution portfolio enables the interworking of a wide variety of disparate TDM and IP networks, clouds, protocols, services, devices, and applications. Its portfolio includes award-winning voice and data boards, transcoding and gateway software, and standalone gateway appliances, designed for simple integration with open source and closed source IP PBX applications, contact centers, unified communications systems and service provider networks. For more information about the Sangoma portfolio of IP telephony and network integration solutions, or to locate an authorized reseller, visit http://www.sangoma.com.

About Sangoma Technologies Corporation

Sangoma is a leading provider of hardware and software components that enable or enhance IP Communications Systems for both telecom and datacom applications. Enterprises, SMBs and Carriers in over 150 countries rely on Sangoma's technology as part of their mission critical infrastructures. Through its worldwide network of Distribution Partners, Sangoma delivers the industry's best engineered, highest quality products, some of which carry the industry's first lifetime warranty. The product line includes data and telecom boards for media and signal processing, as well as gateway appliances and software.

Founded in 1984, Sangoma Technologies Corporation is publicly traded on the TSX Venture Exchange (STC.V). Additional information on Sangoma can be found at http://www.sangoma.com.

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Sangoma Boards Enable Social Networking for the Sight-Impaired

Social networking sites such as Facebook have been found to play a modest role in influencing most US users' political views. AFP pic

The poll by the Pew Research Centers Internet & American Life Project comes as Democratic President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney are using Facebook Inc pages and other social media as campaign tools ahead of the November election.

For most of those who use the sites, political material is just a small portion of what they post and what they read. And the impact of their use of the sites is modest, at best, Lee Rainie, director of the Pew project, said in a statement.

Thirty-six per cent of social networking site users say they are very important or somewhat important to them in keeping up with political news, the survey showed.

The sites are very important or somewhat important to 26 per cent of site users in recruiting people to get involved in political issues that matter to them.

A quarter of the site users say they are very important or somewhat important for discussing or debating political issues, the poll showed.

Twenty-five per cent of users say the sites are very important or somewhat important in finding other people who share their views about important political issues.

In each case, Democrats are more likely than Republicans or independents to say the sites are important.

A third of Democrats and liberals who use social networking sites say their activities on the sites have led them to become more active, compared with 24 per cent of site-using Republicans and independents.

The survey found that 84 per cent of site users say they have posted little or nothing related to politics in their recent status updates, comments and links.

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US social sites have modest political impact says poll

Summary: According to a new survey, the majority of young people - without a roof over their heads - remain connected through social networking.

According to a new survey, the majority of young people -- without a roof over their heads -- remain connected through social networking.

The Atlantic reported the results of a new study, published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior, which found that 75 percent of homeless participants in the study used social networks -- and the usage was comparable to college students.

The small but interesting research project, led by the University of Alabama's Rosanna Guadagno, interviewed 237 college kids and 65 homeless people. All subjects were roughly 19 years old. The team found that usage patterns for social networking in both groups were very similar.

90 percent of those attending college were on social networks, including Twitter and Facebook. Fewer homeless youth were found on social networking sites, but those that were reported the same time spent online -- at over an hour a day.

Guadagno argues that a 'digital divide' may be worth rethinking -- as living arrangements and stability did not appear to change how young people find channels to communicate. The study says:

"To the extent that our findings show a 'digital divide' between undergraduates at a four-year university and age-matched participants in a program for homeless young adults, it is mainly in types of Internet use and not access to the Internet, and that divide is relatively minor.

Since it is clear that the proportions of undergraduates and homeless young adults accessing social networking sites are similar, we assert that the term digital divide is not descriptive of the young adult population."

Another recent study from the University of Dayton explored how social media is used by the homeless -- perhaps not only for social contact and equality, but as a means to solve practical issues.

Leader of the study Art Jipson found that the homeless use social media as a place where all people are treated 'equally', and through a series of interviews, discovered that it can also be a medium to find social services, somewhere to sleep and the next hot meal. One subject said:

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75 percent of homeless youth use social networks

If the world of social media seems like a cyber jungle to you, take a look at the courses offered by Baker Labs, a company recently founded by Knoxville social media expert Gavin Baker.

Baker Labs offers small business owners and employees training on how to manage social media like Facebook and Twitter, Tumblr and YouTube, blogging and email marketing. Classes are for anyone, novice to expert, Baker said.

"At the end of the day, social media is a powerful tool," said Baker. "A lot of businesses want help with social media. There's a lot of demand, but most people can't afford to hire an agency to help them with strategy."

Baker is former social marketing director of Moxley Carmichael public relations firm in Knoxville, and he's taught social marketing classes for the University of Tennessee's noncredit programs. He started his new business in July and is now offering two classes a week, $50 each. A set of five classes, called Social Media Standards, costs $200.

Baker said that social media is much different than standard marketing because it's two-way communication with the customers.

"For years, business leaders would sit around tables and wonder what customers were doing. Social marketing gives you that collaborative feedback from your customers," Baker said.

If a business has to pick one social media site to use daily, Baker suggests using Facebook. He said it delivers the most bang for a business's buck. Seventy percent of U.S. adults have Facebook accounts, according to Forrester's North American Technographics Online Benchmark Survey.

"You're engaging your loyal customers, and they're commenting on things you're posting. Others may see it, so then they're exposed to the brand via their friend."

However, if that exposure is from negative comments about a business, that can be a problem, Baker said.

"Restaurant owners are especially sensitive about that," said Baker. "But, this is a chance to recover a customer, a chance to engage them. If their meal is so-so, most people don't call in, but they may say something on Facebook or Twitter. This is your chance to say, 'Let's make it right.'

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Networking guru creates new business, offers social media tips

The FBI recently published a report warning of the dangers posed by social-network sites that it says are being exploited by digital con artists, criminals and other dishonest actors.

The FBI report, made public earlier this month, states that social-networking criminals are exploiting this capability for nefarious purposes, using two main tactics.

They include computer hackers who specialize in writing and manipulating computer code to gain access or install software on computers and phones. The second method involves hackers who specialize in exploiting personal connections through social networks.

Social hackers, sometimes referred to as social engineers, manipulate people through social interactions (in person, over the phone, or in writing), the report said.

Humans are a weak link in cybersecurity, and hackers and social manipulators know this. They try to trick people into getting past security walls. They design their actions to appear harmless and legitimate.

Social-networking sites such as Facebook and others are Internet-based services that are used to share information and communicate.

According to the FBI, the risk of using social-network sties is that once information is posted to a social-networking site, it is no longer private.

The more information you post, the more vulnerable you may become, states the report, posted on the National Counterintelligence Executive site. Even when using high-security settings, friends or websites may inadvertently leak your information.

Personal information obtained by hackers and criminals on social networks can be used to conduct attacks on people or organizations; and the more information that is shared, the more likely someone could impersonate you and trick one of your friends into sharing personal information, downloading malware, or providing access to restricted sites, the report said.

Foreign intelligence agencies, predators, hackers and business competitors are among those who use social-networking sites that can be targeted in attacks. The information may not be used to attack the social-networking site, but could be used in other attacks.

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Inside the Ring: FBI on social-network risks