Author: knjohn

How Accurate Are Punxsutawney Phil’s Groundhog Day Forecasts? | Live Science

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As the legend goes, if Punxsutawney Phil sees his shadow on Feb. 2, six more weeks of winter weather lay ahead; no shadow indicates an early spring. Phil, a groundhog, has been forecasting the weather on Groundhog Day for more than 120 years, but just how good is he at his job?

Not very, it turns out.

Punxsutawney Phil was first tasked with predicting the upcoming spring weather in 1887, and the process hasn’t changed much since. The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, takes care of Phil year-round, and on each Feb. 2, members of the club’s Inner Circle rouse Phil at sunrise to see if he casts a shadow. (Contrary to popular belief, Phil doesn’t actually have to see his shadow; he just has to cast one to make his wintery prophecy .)

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Facebook Ordered To Pay $500 Million In Oculus Lawsuit | Forbes

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A jury in Dallas, Texas ordered Facebook to pay video maker ZeniMax $500 million after concluding that Oculus founder Palmer Luckey violated a non-disclosure agreement, according to published reports. The same jury rejected claims by ZeniMax that Oculus had misappropriated its intellectual property.

While the award, which is likely to be appealed, is sizable, it is less than the $2 billion in damages ZeniMax sought, and it isn’t likely to significantly affect Facebook, which has more than $29 billion on its balance sheet. Facebook shares, which were up on Wednesday, barely budged following reports of the judgement. They shot up more than 2% in after hours trading after Facebook reported financial results.

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Why Spending $1,000 on an Instagram Post Might Actually Be Worth It | Inc.com

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If the name Txunamy doesn’t ring any bells, you’re probably not a tween girl. The 7-year-old fashionista has nearly 700,000 Instagram followers. But Ezra Dabah knows Txunamy well: When the former Children’s Place exec was looking to bring brand awareness to his startup, Kidpik, he decided the best way to reach his target audience of young girls wasn’t with print ads or Facebook posts, but by enlisting a small army of pint-sized social-media stars.

“These influencers are celebrities within their own circles,” says the CEO of Kidpik, which sells clothes, footwear, and accessories. When Kidpik hired a handful of young influencers, including Txunamy, for a livestreamed fashion show, the video hit 10,000 views within an hour and wracked up more than 250,000 social-media impressions within a week. “Working with influencers means you’re able to build a brand in ways that you were never able to do before–in a much shorter time and for much less,” says Dabah, who doesn’t spend any money on traditional advertising.

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The Netherlands’ highest wooden apartment building, can change its function like a chameleon | Inhabitat 

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The tenants of Patch22, the highest wooden apartment building in the Netherlands, can design and create their own floor plans thanks to the project’s impressive level of flexibility. Architecture firm FRANTZEN et al architecten designed Patch22 with multifunctionality in mind– the team anticipated different future uses so that the building can accommodate housing units or office spaces, depending on circumstances.

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5 Steps to Marketing a Micro-Business | Small Business Daily

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Is your small business marketing working as well as it could be? Marketing even the smallest businesses has gotten both easier and more complicated in the digital age. Easier, because online marketing is so affordable; more complicated, because there are so many options to choose from.

To find out how small business owners are keeping up, Vistaprint recently surveyed “micro-businesses” (U.S. small business owners with fewer than 10 employees). Here’s what they found.

Despite their small size, micro-businesses in general have moved into the digital marketing age. More than two-thirds (68.8 percent) say they market their businesses both online and offline. Over half (52.7 percent) say their online presence is “very important” to their marketing efforts, while 30.4 percent say it’s “fairly important.”

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Famous Ukrainian Entrepreneurs Share Their Vision of the Startup Environment In Western Europe | The Start Up Mag

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They are hungry! They are smart! They are from Ukraine, one of the most advanced Eastern European countries in terms of the development of the IT industry.

A surprising number of young successful startup owners, developers, and entrepreneurs are originating from this country. Some software developers from Ukraine made themselves a name by working for huge corporations, others by building their own companies.

With so many specialists residing in Ukraine, it is clear that if you want to hire software developers who can make a great product for you, looking elsewhere is a waste of time. Ukrainian entrepreneurs have their own vision of the modern market and its rules.

We want to talk about the best young entrepreneurs who achieved amazing success and made their dream come true. What are the reasons for their success and what do they think about the Western market?

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Smart Ways to Improve Communication for Better Work Relationships | Business News Daily

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Work relationships are an important part of your career, and one of the most critical is the relationship between a boss and an employee. Tension between you and your direct supervisor can have a devastating impact on your job satisfaction and career trajectory.

Sandy Mazur, division president of staffing services provider Spherion, said certain workplace policies — and differing expectations around them — can lead to a disconnected, fractured relationship between employees and their managers.

“This year’s (Spherion) Emerging Workforce Study found that despite workers’ demands for greater flexibility and work-life balance, employers are cutting formal work-life balance programs. When it comes to retention, bosses believe the management climate … and the company’s culture are most important, (but) workers believe financial compensation, benefits and earnings growth are most important for retention.”

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Why New York’s ‘tuition-free’ colleges will still cost $14,000 | Money CNN

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Governor Andrew Cuomo is pushing to make New York the first state in the country to adopt a tuition-free plan at both two-year and four-year public colleges.

The Excelsior Scholarship aims to make college more affordable for middle-class New Yorkers by lowering the cost and encouraging students to finish their degrees on time.

“A college education is not a luxury — it is an absolute necessity for any chance at economic mobility,” Cuomo said when the plan was announced.

But “tuition-free” isn’t the same as free.

Though Cuomo’s plan would lower a student’s total bill by up to about $6,000 a year, it could still cost them $14,000 for fees and room and board.

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New Jersey to Provide New Parents With Baby Boxes, Encouraging Educated Parenting | ABC News

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New Jersey is becoming the first state to officially partner with The Baby Box Company, a company that works to improve new parent education, encourage newborn health awareness and reduce Sudden Unexpected Infant Death Syndrome.

The program will distribute baby boxes filled with diapers and other newborn necessities to all new parents in New Jersey who complete a free online parenting education course. The course curriculum includes information on breastfeeding, prenatal health and safe sleep practices.

The box itself also acts as a mattress that the baby can use as a bed, encouraging healthy sleeping environments. According to a report by the Child Fatality & Near Fatality Review Board, 93 percent of infant deaths associated with Sudden Unexpected Infant Death Syndrome were directly related to a child’s sleep and sleep environment.

Source: New Jersey to Provide New Parents With Baby Boxes, Encouraging Educated Parenting – ABC News

Business-Friends? 8 Pros And Cons Of Starting A Business With Your Best Friend | Getentrepreneurial.com

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Starting a business can be a long and stressful road to take, it can also be incredibly lonely. That is why so many people opt to go into business with their best buddies. On paper, it’s a great idea, but we have all heard the horror stories, so what is the best option? Below, you will see four pros and four cons on starting a business with your BFF. By the time you reach the end of this article you will know if it’s right for you.

Pros 

Instant trust

In business trusting anyone that you work with is essential, yet that trust often takes some time to build. This can be very uncomfortable for you due to the fact that regularly (especially at the beginning) your livelihood is stake and you are gambling on a stranger to safeguard your dream. With a friend, on the other hand, there is already a strong bond. Having someone on your side that you trust is a very valuable asset.

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