After a series of discussions with the other team owners, drivers, and INDYCAR, we have been generally assured that INDYCAR is aware of the issues with the tech inspection reporting/penalty procedures and will be addressing them at some point in the future.

We’re heartbroken over the effect that this situation has on our team member’s families and on the careers of our drivers, but we’re hopeful that confidence will be restored in the integrity of the Indy Lights championship in a timely manner and that our partners will be encouraged to resume their participation.

For additional information, please contact Mark Olson at molson@o2rt.com.

We’ve been on the track with O2, (drivers Peter Dempsey and Mik Grenier), helping sponsors (Pulse and CellSafety), helping clients, bringing in new clients, updating files and much more here at JBH. We’ve had to hire more people (welcome to Shanda and Becky!).

And, on a side note, we’ve been writing blog posts for most everyone-except you!  I am sorry for abandoning you. My sincerest apologies.

So before we are off to Vegas in another month for the next race, we have committed to keeping you more updated. I promise.

See you soon!

Here are screenshots of the old vs new Twitter:

Old Twitter

New Twitter

Although there is less marketing area now, I encourage you to adapt your background for the New Ways. It is but one example of the constantly-changing scene of social media and how adaptable we must all be.

Need some help with it? Here is a Mashable article that will help you learn how to adjust your background.

This weekend will continue the adaptation process for the Mexican driver; at Mid Ohio he jumped into the Indy Lights cars without ever having the chance to drive one before, and now with a few laps under his belt he will have to quickly learn the Northern California road course as it will be his first experience at the track.  Martinez and the O2 Racing Technology group will once again carry the Quamtel Inc. (OTC: QUMI) colors, along with some of the company’s most popular products such as Data Jack.

David Martinez

“I’m really looking forward to getting back in the #36 Quamtel car this weekend and continuing with the work that we’ve all done together.  Mid Ohio was a difficult weekend for us on track but we all kept our heads down and kept improving and learning as much as possible, we managed to improve the set up on the car and every lap I was improving my driving and understanding what it takes to make these Indy Lights cars go fast.  But it was also a great weekend for us as a team because we built a great chemistry and working relationship and that is something that not only is very hard to find, but it is also something that will pay off big time in the future.

I’ve never driven at Infineon Raceway before so for the first practice I will be playing catch up to everybody else there, but that’s racing and I’ll just have to learn the track very quickly and begin working on the setup up as soon as possible.  I’ve watched many videos and I have done a huge amount of laps in the simulator around the track, so I will be as prepared as you can be when I get in the car.  The goal this weekend will be to keep building our speed and close the gap to the front runners, and then being smart during the race and fight for a good result.”

The group’s campaign, “¡Hola Quamtel!” means, “Introducing Quamtel”. As a communications company with products spanning almost every modern form of communication, it seems appropriate to use “¡Hola!”, because it is universally recognized as a welcome or a greeting. What better way to begin a relationship than with a simple “Hello”?

Martinez will also launch the Racing for Mexico program which will partner with non profit organizations and utilize motor sports to bring together individuals and companies to support the Hispanic community as they celebrate Mexico’s bi-centennial anniversary.

For live timing and live streaming video of all of the Firestone Indy Lights sessions this weekend please visit www.indycar.com.

About Quamtel

Savvy investors already know Fort Lauderdale based Quamtel Inc. (OTC: QUMI) as a 21st century communications company. With VoIP products, pre-paid international calling cards, 1-800 numbers, virtual office services, a major on-line dating service, 3G wireless, and more, Quamtel continues to grow at the rapid pace of technological change.

Recently, Quamtel launched its latest product: DataJack. DataJack is a 3G wireless USB memory stick (with speeds easily fast enough to stream the FIL and IICS races or to run a VoIP video conference). DataJack will have demo units available at Mid Ohio for people to enjoy.

Quamtel stock (QUMI) can be purchased from any brokerage account.

Associate partners include: Brandwidth Agency and JBH Marketing & PR.

A letter from David to fans.

It’s a real pleasure to be able to share my last few weeks’ thoughts with all the Indy Lights fans out there. 2010 had been a tough year for me on the racing front, we had been working extremely hard to be able to get back in a car but we hadn’t been able to find the funding for it.  But things always have a way of working out, now here I am, it’s a great feeling to be the one writing the next few words: “Dreams come true if you want them bad enough.”

My decision to join Genoa Lights (now O2 Racing Technology) might have come as a surprise to many in the paddock, but this was a result of a lot hard work from the best group of people you can find.

About 3 weeks ago, I had basically given up on racing open wheel this year. It was a regular day for me in Monterrey, Mexico when Mark Olson (team owner) sent me a message on Skype asking me: “Are you ready?”

What can I say? The 2 easiest questions in racing for a driver are these:

1)     Are you ready to drive?

2)     Do you want new tires?

So, I guess I don’t have to explain what my answer was. Besides getting to drive again, I was going to get the pleasure to have the backing of a great company, Quamtel.

I flew to Indy on the Tuesday before the Mid Ohio race weekend to visit the Genoa shop. I can only say one thing about this part, it felt just like home, everyone has been great about constructing this opportunity into something big for the future together. The team hooked me up with a sweet Dreyer & Reinbold Infiniti car for the week and I got to drive it to Mid Ohio. The first 2 hours of my trip went fine. After a while, I have to say I got a bit bored with the endless straights that you get on the US highways. Back home, we have more corners, bumps or pot holes on the road which makes it more interesting and keeps you awake (not kidding).

After getting to Mid Ohio I got to walk the track with my engineer Thomas Knapp, I had driven there before so on that side of things I felt pretty comfortable.  On Friday I finally got to drive the Indy Lights car for the first time. I have to tell you, getting up to speed after a year of not driving was way tougher than I had anticipated. Most teams had a test on this track earlier this year, so they were jumping on it right out of the box, which made it even harder. The team and I did a pretty good job, trying to learn each other’s ways as fast as we could, but we had little time.

We had a tough qualifying session, I was still getting used to these heavy cars, and we also had a problem with the shifter mechanism which slowed me down under braking and probably bumped us back a couple of spots and ended up 13^th.

The warm up went much smoother as we found some speed on the car and myself and made the top 10 (finished 9^th). At this point, it seemed like we could manage a decent result for our first race.

By the start of the race, I had jumped from 13^th to 11^th on the start and made progress as I was putting some pressure for the 10^th and 9^th spots. After 20 laps of pushing hard to get close enough to make a pass, the car started to understeer and for some reason we just lost overall speed. We lost a position and it seemed like there wasn’t much more that we could do for the day. Even then, when I was by my lonesome at P12, I tried to push hard to find more speed in myself to get ready for the next race (It seemed like a good idea then). With 2 laps to go, I went in too hard and lost the rear, spun and ended the race for us. It was a simple, honest mistake-trying too hard. Fortunately my #36 Quamtel/Racing for Mexico car was not injured. It wasn’t a great result, I know. But I have a great team behind me, and I’ve done the job before, so I can’t wait to get more races under my belt and climb back to the front.

Thanks to everybody out there who  is following us and cheering for us.  We are working very hard on our side to make sure we are here for a long time.  If you get a chance please follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Til next time,

David Martinez

Connect with us on Facebook:

Quamtel on Facebook

DataJack on Facebook

O2 Racing on Facebook

Racing for Mexico on Facebook

And on Twitter:

Quamtel

DataJack

O2RT

Racing for Mexico

O2 Racing Technology/Genoa announces that Monterrey, Mexico native David Martinez will be piloting the #36 Quamtel/DataJack/Racing for Mexico car at the upcoming Firestone Indy Lights event at Infineon on August 22nd.

After a solid debut at Mid Ohio, Quamtel and O2RT are continuing their “!Hola Quamtel” (meaning “Introducing Quamtel” in the universal language of “Hello”) campaign in several of the last races in the 2010 season as a springboard to 2011. Based on the progress made at Mid Ohio, they have retained Martinez for Infineon, and likely for the season finale at Homestead as well.

Mark Olson, former Indy Lights driver, and team owner states: “While we may not have gotten the result that we felt we deserved at Mid Ohio, the team really pulled together and executed the Plan flawlessly. Getting things done this late in the season, promoting our business partners effectively, getting David up to speed in a car that he’s never driven before, and ultimately putting a top 5 car on the track by race time was quite a feat. At the end of the day, we only worry about the things we can control.

Even more importantly to the long term health of the team and the sport in general, we demonstrated that we could deliver a sustainable, value-added commercial program to meet the needs of our business partners: Quamtel/DataJack. Now we have almost two weeks to carry this on-track and off-track momentum into Infineon.”

Brian Fowler, consultant to Quamtel/DataJack states: “O2RT/Genoa did an amazing job at the track, and on the business side of things. They’re a Lights team with an IndyCar-like team of Marketing professionals. The buzz they created at Mid Ohio measurably improved stockholder value and opened several
new doors for us. David really impressed everyone with the degree of professionalism that he brought to the table, and we see him as an excellent spokesperson for several of our brands going forward. I can’t wait for Infineon.”

Savvy investors already know Fort Lauderdale-based Quamtel Inc. (QUMI) as a 21st century communications company. With VoIP products, pre-paid international calling cards, 1-800 numbers, virtual office services, a major on-line dating service, 3G wireless, and more, Quamtel continues to grow at the rapid pace of technological change. Quamtel stock (QUMI) can be purchased from any brokerage account.

The Racing for Mexico program celebrates the Hispanic community, highlighting Mexico’s 200th anniversary and their contributions to the Global Community. Associate partners include: Brandwidth, Pierce Jewelers, Quest Business Agency, JBH Marketing & PR, and Express Medical Records.

Connect with us on Facebook:

Quamtel on Facebook

DataJack on Facebook

O2 Racing on Facebook

Racing for Mexico on Facebook

And on Twitter:

Quamtel

DataJack

O2RT

Racing for Mexico
For information regarding corporate partnerships, open seats, Quamtel/DataJack, Racing for Mexico, etc. please contact Mark Olson.

Genoa’s Firestone Indy Lights team announces that Monterrey, Mexico native David Martinez will be piloting the #36 Quamtel car at the upcoming Mid Ohio event on August 8th. In addition to running a LMPC car in the ALMS race, Genoa Racing will also be operating this effort.

Starting in karts in the early 90’s, Martinez has 19 years of racing experience, including: Champ Car, A1GP, The Rolex 24 Hr, The Sebring 12 Hr, and Formula Atlantics. With previous success in the “major leagues” of motorsport, Martinez has chosen the Firestone Indy Lights Series in order to re-ascend the ladder to IndyCar. The Mid Ohio event and future 2010 events will showcase his talent and help prepare him for a full campaign in 2011.

Martinez is sponsored by Quamtel and the Racing for Mexico program. Together, they are celebrating Mexico’s bi-centennial anniversary and their contributions to the Global Community.

Mark Olson, former Indy Lights driver, and current owner/team manager states:

“It’s a pleasure to have David aboard. He’s a pro, and it’s always a pleasure to work with professionals. Naturally one wants to manage expectations a bit, but we have great engineering, great equipment, and a great driver, so we’re expecting a great result. We’ve assembled a pretty good plan for getting David up to speed, continually developing David and the car with each stint, and then going for a result at the appropriate time.

It’s also a pleasure to work with a company like Quamtel. They have innovative, relevant products, and they’ve embraced the value of our approach to using motorsports to promote their Brand and their products. I’ve been so impressed with them, that I’ve acquired some QUMI stock for my own portfolio.”

Martinez states:

“I am extremely happy and proud to be able to drive the Quamtel car and to be part of this program with Genoa.  There has been a great amount of effort put into making all this happen, we have an impressive group of professionals working with us behind the scenes and we are very confident that all the hard work and preparation will pay off with a top notch program and a strong result on the track.

Mid Ohio is a track that I love and one that I’ve had success at in the past so I feel very comfortable to make my IRL debut there.”

Our campaign, “!Hola Quamtel” means, “Introducing Quamtel”. As a communications company with products spanning almost every modern form of communication, it seems appropriate to use “!Hola”, because it is universally recognized as a welcome or a greeting. What better way to begin a relationship than with a simple “Hello”?

Savvy investors already know Fort Lauderdale based Quamtel Inc. (OTC: QUMI) as a 21^st century communications company. With VoIP products, pre-paid international calling cards, 1-800 numbers, virtual office services, a major on-line dating service, 3G wireless, and more, Quamtel continues to grow at the rapid pace of technological change.

Recently, Quamtel launched its latest product: DataJack. DataJack is a 3G wireless USB memory stick (with speeds easily fast enough to stream the FIL and IICS races or to run a VoIP video conference). DataJack will have demo units available at Mid Ohio for people to enjoy.

Look for DataJack VIP’s in the crowd at Mid Ohio watching IndyCar.com streaming video on their laptops, and watch for special DataJack giveaways announced over Twitter. Follow @Genoalights, @DMRacing4Mexico, @O2RT, and @MyDataJack for the DataJack giveaways.

You can also follow Genoa’s Indy Lights team, soon to be re-branded O2 Racing Technology (O2RT), on Facebook.

Quamtel stock (OTC: QUMI) can be purchased from any brokerage account.

Associate partners include: Brandwidth, Pierce Jewelers, Quest Business Agency, JBH Marketing & PR, and Express Medical Records.

For information regarding corporate partnerships, open seats, assets for sale, or other team matters, please contact team owner, Mark Olson.

The truth of the matter is this, Facebook can be a very powerful personal branding tool, but it must be used correctly. If, as a personal brand, your following on Facebook seems to stay around at the same number versus growing, then there is an issue. I suggest writing down your number of followers/likes  each day for a couple of weeks. Watch the patterns. If you lose a few people in a day or few days time, go look at your posts for those days. A few weeks of tracking will give you a better idea of what your readers are looking for.

Here are some tips to help  you on Facebook in your Personal Branding:

1. Make a business page. Put the majority of your business-related posts on a business page. Facebook will shut you down for too much “advertising” on a personal page. To make a business page, log out of Facebook and go back to Facebook.com. Click on “create a page for a celebrity, band or business”.  OR within Facebook  you can go to any business page and scroll down on bottom left column to find “create a page for my business”.

2. Make friend lists on your personal page. To do this, click on “friends” on the left side of your page, then click on “create a list”. Name the list and choose the friends you wish to put on that list. In the future, add people to their list when you accept their friend request or when you send a friend request. At the very least, try to categorize your friends into “personal” and “business”.  Some people also add a “family” list. And yes, people can be on more than one list.

3. Use the lists! To do this, post your status and then click on the padlock sign underneath the status box. Choose “customize”, “specific people” and then add in the lists that you want to see that update. You can also hide the update from other lists (or people).

4. Use discretion. While posting fun things while at a family reunion is appropriate for a family/friends list, this is something that those following your brand may grow tired of. However, business announcements, mentions of clients or work duties etc are appropriate posts for your business audience.

5. Accept friend requests from people that you don’t know (assume they are interested in your brand), but list them accordingly. And of course, always use caution and be conscious of safety. If someone gives you a pause, there is a reason. Do not be afraid to “unfriend”. Although they won’t receive notice, they will find out later if they go to your page and it says “add as friend”. If you don’t want them to know that you unfriended them or if they are a safety hazard, block them so they can’t even go to your page (under privacy settings).

Both followings on Twitter and Facebook can flounder or grow stagnant with too much about your personal life. Be friendly and let your personality show through. Respond to questions or concerns. But don’t flood the stream with TMI.

Follow me on Twitter

Friend me on Facebook

Facebook Social Marketing Pros

Now I agree that customers should have the option of communicating online when there is an issue. I have done it myself. And I completely agree that companies should address those complaints. However, companies need to be aware that it gives a horrible impression of their company when one clicks over to their stream and sees only replies to complaints.

There are some companies that are addressing this. Comcast has a separate feed (ComcastCares) for customer service issues and Southwest now says in their bio: “The LUV Airline! For official concerns please use the link provided in the web section above to let us know!” (The link goes to the contact page on their website).

For the companies that have not offered an alternative for complaints in the real world, I offer the following tips so that your stream remains positive, and therefore a draw, for followers:

1. Respond to each complaint in the public stream. No, you don’t have to give all the information but people need to know that you are addressing the issue. So tweet or comment back and say something like “please email me more info” or “looking forward to helping you. Can you DM/message me more?” Also when it’s resolved, tweet that back as well. Try “Thanks so much for letting us know. I hope the issue has been resolved for you?” Follow up is KEY. If it’s on Facebook, make sure you comment on the original stream where the complaint was written.

2. Try to not end the day on a negative note. Of course, this is hard as people can reply to you 24/7 on the sites. But who wants to follow a company when the last five tweets or updates are from upset customers? And more importantly, who wants to give business to those companies? I recommend that several times a day, you add positive info, news, announcements, etc to your stream. This will help counteract any negative or problem-solving tweets.

3. Ask customers who are happy to post that they are happy-especially after an issue has been resolved. Hint- if you tweet directly to the person after the resolution, there is a likely chance that the complainer will respond back in a positive way. I would treat each complaint as an “incident report”.  Follow through on the answer and post the results (keeping customer privacy in mind, of course).

4. Consider another avenue for complaints. Chances are, the customer is not seeking to rat you out on the social sites. They just want a way to contact you, and contact you quickly. So consider the moves above by Southwest Airlines and Comcast and look at advertising another avenue for streaming complaints. Then follow through and get back to your customer quickly.

5. Use search options to find complaints from customers who aren’t complaining on Facebook or Twitter using your username. Keep in mind that some people will complain on the social sites without using your username on the sites.  Of course, it is always best that those complaints are addressed too so once a week or so, search for your name on the social sites.

Alysia embraces an organic lifestyle, and has for many years. “When I was ready to get pregnant, I took to making our home for the baby as 100% natural & organic as possible. David and I have learned so much about the toxins and chemicals of our world, much of it very scary, and how they affect our health. An organic home is a choice for the environment, global impact, and our personal health.”

Reiner’s recent films include “The Vicious Kind” (Sundance 2009, Executive Producer Neil LaBute), “Arranged”, “Schooled”, “One Last Thing” and “Sideways” (as Christine, Jack’s fiancée – SAG award winner for outstanding performance – ensemble cast). “The Vicious Kind” was just nominated for two independent Spirit Awards.

TV experience includes the recurring role of Cindy on “The Starter Wife”, and guest spots on “30 Rock”, “White Collar”, “The Sopranos”, “Law & Order”, “Law & Order: SVU”, “Law & Order: CI”, “Love Monkey”, “The Jury”, “The Drew Cary Show”, “The Practice”, “Family Law”, and “Jack & Jill”.

Alysia’s current project is “Speed Grieving”, a short film she made after the sudden loss of her young, vibrant, charismatic father to cancer. Reiner chose to honor him by following his mantra “make a difference, have fun!” She states, “I made the film to help people through the confusing and overwhelming grief process. It’s a surreal fantasy so it’s not just a tear-jerker, and we have received incredible response from audiences. We are on the festival circuit now, with four coming up in the next couple of months, and then it will be coupled with a grief guide to be used as a grief counseling tool in hospitals, hospices and medical schools. I’m so excited to make art that helps people heal.”

Ruby Pinwheels carries 29 organic and all natural brands, including skincare items. They look forward to having Alysia and her daughter Livia as part of the team. Alysia says, “I love that Ruby Pinwheel’s mission statement is about health, environmental, fair trade benefits, community and giving back. But best of all, it is about JOY and finding a way to be a mom and serve the world in a way that builds esteem and is very valuable.”

For more information or to connect with Alysia or Ruby Pinwheels for interviews, email Julie.