Just how lucrative could it be to create and sell virtual items for free games like Valve’s Team Fortress 2? Very, it turns out. Valve’s recently announced that, since 2011, it’s paid out over $57 million to folks participating in its Steam Workshop …
There’s never been more sport for Brits to watch on TV. That should be cause for celebration, but there’s a problem: broadcasters are fighting for the rights to show different leagues and tournaments, which is locking sports away behind different sat…
Sorry to remind you of one of the more banal parts of working life, but it’s time for a story about corporate email services. It’s a market that’s traditionally been dominated by Microsoft, although Google is managing make some in-roads with its ente…
Anyone paying attention to the world of pop culture knows that it’s a hostile one, with feuds and rivalries between artists being the norm. When it comes to relationships between female artists, infamous Twitter battles between Iggy Azalea and Azealia Banks and notorious showdowns between Nicki Minaj and Lil’ Kim lead many to think, as T.I. recently put it in an interview with Vibe, that women simply can’t get along. In an industry known for its long history of female rap beefs and cutthroat competition, the inspiring and sisterly relationship between Beyoncé and Nicki Minaj is a welcome change. Since we could all learn something from their fierce feminist friendship, here are five lessons from the Queen of Rap and Queen Bey.
1. Beyoncé and Nicki celebrate each other’s sexuality. Their recent collaborations, “Flawless (Remix)” and “Feeling Myself,” are feminist anthems that honor and elevate sexual empowerment and agency. The artists’ message is especially important when taking into account the long history of sexual exploitation and stereotyping of black women. Womanist scholar Emilie Townes explains that the stereotyping of black women is an example of “the history of dominant culture resorting to denigrating myths to maintain the status quo.” Townes explains that the contrasting images of the asexual Mammy and the highly sexualized Jezebel show how white culture has destructively shaped perceptions of black women’s sexuality. Beyoncé and Nicki’s musical collaborations challenge and deconstruct these damaging stereotypes and celebrate a sex-positive view of black women and their bodies.
Our users have spoken. Yesterday we launched the first three categories of the 2015 Travelers’ Favorites Awards: Top Destinations, Best Winter Destinations, and Rising Stars.
The Gogobot Travelers’ Favorites Awards, released annually, celebrate the best places that our members discovered all over the world, from the most amazing hotels and restaurants to their favorite beaches and guided tours.
It doesn’t hurt that this year, destinations like Venice (a Top Winter Destination), India (Hyderabad is a Rising Star) and Tokyo (a Top Destination) are more affordable than they’ve been in a while, thanks to the strong dollar. Plus, India’s nifty new visa on arrival system, introduced late last year, adds an extra incentive to visit the subcontinent. Read more on how much you’ll save, and other newly affordable destinations, in our blog post over here. Or keep reading for more on our January winners.
Photo: February in Venice: Carnavale by: US Army Africa flickr – Courtesy: Gogobot Top Destinations
Gogobot users love the classics. This year, New York City is bumped to number one from its second place slot last year. While residents are facing the everlasting march of gentrification (brilliantly sent up on SNL last week) and enjoying the lowest crime in ages, and travelers are still willing to pay top dollar for access to some of the nation’s best restaurants, hotels and culture. Asia wins big this year, as well, with Shanghai and Hong Kong in the top 10 and Bangkok, Singapore and Tokyo also on the list. Check out all Top 20 Destinations here.
Photo: Lower Manhattan by: Yenni Vance – Courtesy: Gogobot Winter Destinations
Southern California tops the list with ski destination Big Bear Lake. But the Eurozone quickly catches up, with Venice, Prague and Oslo garnering the next three spots on the list. Sapporo, Japan, also wins for its snow fest, and frigid midwestern metropolis Minneapolis is a surprising winner – users love the arts scene and skyways keeping them toasty. See all 20 winners here.
Photo: Snow at Big Bear Lake by: Nouhailler flickr – Courtesy: Gogobot Rising Stars
Who doesn’t want to look into the future? This year’s (very international) list sees Vatican City on the rise (no small thanks to that spectacularly popular Pope) along with increasingly hip Eastern European capitals like Belgrade and Riga. It’s Reykjavik, Iceland, however that takes top honors…between the hot springs, northern lights, and now cheaper flights from the States, our users couldn’t ignore this city anymore. Outside Europe, Fortaleza, Brazil is gaining fast, as is Panama City and Perth, Australia. Philadelphia (number 6) was the only Stateside city to make the cut, a large part in thanks to its exploding restaurant culture. See the complete list of Rising Stars here.
Photo: Blue Lagoon, Reykjavik by: sck242 flickr – Courtesy: Gogobot
Ed. note: We take a number of different factors into account when selecting our winners, looking at hundreds of thousands of reviews as well as other signals such as trips planned, Tribe specific data and postcards created during specific seasons (for our season specific lists) on Gogobot. We hope the reviews and postcards (snapped by passionate travelers like you) inspire you to plan your next adventure in one of our top cities, winter destinations, or Rising Stars…maybe even somewhere you never thought you’d go.
This post originally appeared on the Gogobot blog.
It’s almost that time again! Taxes.
I can almost see your gnashing your teeth and rolling your eyes right now. Nobody likes to do them. Unless you’re getting a refund like the recent HR Block commercial. The one with stacks of cash with your name on it! I wish.
If you are in the camp with most of us that dread doing them, here’s how I’ve made it, should I say…less taxing?
1. Start a paper folder or an electronic one. I personally use both. I start this as soon as the beginning of the year. For the documents like W-2s and 1099s that come via mail, I’ll put those in a folder until everything arrives. I also use an electronic folder. One popular way of saving receipts is through Evernote. It’s great for saving tax receipts and documents that you may need later on. You can scan directly into the program from your computer, or even email documents to it like your statements.
2. Watch for tax documents very closely. It doesn’t matter if these documents are coming via snail mail or electronically. I go on high alert around January 15th. For about a month or more, you really need to keep an eye out for various emails and mail that may impact your taxes. Check your mail thoroughly and don’t assume something that looks like junk is junk, and toss if before opening it and checking. Take the time to check all of your spam folders for tax documents. Sometimes they will end up there. If you don’t check, it may be a problem later when you get that little love note from the IRS.
3. Use last year’s return as a reference. I keep last year’s return handy through a scanned copy. I also keep the whole document and supporting stuff in an actual file. That way I don’t miss a deduction I took last year. I also create a tax template. It’s a great tool to see that I have all the income documentation as well as receipts and deductions for various categories
4. Start preparing before you see your accountant. I mentioned my tax template in the previous step. I have categories for business expenses, personal expenses and income. As this stuff rolls in, I record it, check it off and move to the next item. When all the blocks are checked I’m ready to talk to my tax professional. In order to create the template, take a look at your last tax return and record the main areas that affect you. Once I had my little tax template, I copy it and change it to the current tax year. If anything changes, I simply add it and copy it again as a new template.
5. Work on next year’s taxes….now! I do this every year. I got sick of not having everything handy and ready. I use a service called Expensify. It allows me to record all my business expenses via email forwarding or an iPhone app to take pics of receipts. There are tons of these applications available through your phone or online. If you own a business then you can use a service like QuickBooks. The point is, I do my taxes as the year goes on. That way I have just a few hours of prep and voila!
I have so many things that stress me out these days. Hey, I’ve watched the stock market everyday for the last 22 years and that’s enough! The last thing I want is not having a repeatable, streamlined tax prep procedure. Get organized and you won’t freak out over your taxes.
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Bubbles the dachshund was born without her two front legs. Bubbles owners however, took it upon themselves to give her the opportunity to walk and play like never before.
Using a combination of carbon fiber, a model airplane, and 3D-printed parts, they were able to give her a wheelchair where Bubbles two front legs never grew.
Her owners also uploaded the design of the wheelchair to MakerBot’s Thingiverse allowing other pet owners to provide help for their disabled pets.
Watch the youtube video here of Bubble now playing and walking freely with her wheelchair.
Rescue Idiot
Chris Stallone
Anastasia joined Coub in February 2014. Born in Siberia, she lives in Moscow and has been working in media and digital for the last 10 years. She began her career as a freelance journalist and interpreter for lifestyle press while studying international economics. In 2010, Anastasia was hired to Vedomosti/Financial Times (Independent Media&Sanoma Magazines) as money crime investigations junior reporter. From there she joined an education startup called Theory and Practice, growing the audience there in one year from 500 to 30,000 unique users a day. After T&P was sold, she worked as a Chief Copywriter for the branding agency Winter in Moscow and re-launched the web presence of Andy Warhol’s Interview Magazine in Russia.
How has your life experience made you the leader you are today?
You know what’s funny? I have no idea. I started working when I was 16. And it took me some time to start saying no to any job that implies day-to-day work with assholes and idiots– pardon my French. And always seize the opportunity to have fun and work with somebody I respect for their achievements or the way they do things. That’s the golden rule: never go down the aisle if you feel like it’s not going to end well.
How has your previous employment experience aided your position at Coub?
I used to work as a capoeira coach for a while, where I learned how to persuade people to do what I want them to do. And things I ask nowadays are usually much easier than a centre split.
But jokes aside, I don’t believe in the idea of a traditional career path. My gigs have included being a journalist, interpreter, copywriter in a small branding agency, and launching a couple of digital media projects as editor-in-chief. I got my Masters degree in International Relations and World Economy. Whatever you do, it all supplements your experience, and one day you realize it’s all useful, even though sometimes the bigger picture is a little funny looking.
What have the highlights and challenges been during your tenure at Coub?
For me personally, challenges and highlights are the same things, to be honest. I’d say my accomplishments would be the undertaking of a huge development, a fast changing product that needs showcasing because the product isn’t necessarily easy to explain in plain words.
Continuing to push our consistent growth is the biggest challenge. 50 million people watch us monthly. That’s scary, but it’s also so exciting.
What advice can you offer women who are looking to enter the tech and business world?
I presume that for the next couple of decades programmers will continue being the rock stars of the tech industry. If you feel like you’re up for the challenge, don’t be shy, go code. If you don’t code, don’t hesitate to enter the tech industry as there are still many other fields you can work in such as communications and sales.
How do you maintain a work/life balance?
Many of my friends also work either in media or tech, and I’m not sure yet if it’s a good or a bad thing. The past evening my boyfriend and I were talking about the essence and key ingredients of media virality instead of watching a TV series, for instance. I like it though. I’m not a very organized person, but I make sure to find time to play sports, go for a drink, a walk, check out a museum. The only thing that I wish I had more time for is books. I don’t read half as much, as I used to 10 years ago. Now I read email.
What do you think is the biggest issue for women in the workplace?
Personally, I haven’t experienced any; where I worked gender never mattered. Age did however. Sometimes people are scared if you’re too young, they fear you won’t be able to make executive decisions and are not responsible enough. Luckily I seem to have grown beyond that.
How has mentorship made a difference in your professional and personal life?
I believe a good mentor never actually mentors you, he or she just acts in some particular way that makes you want to learn from them. So I’m not sure how exactly some people influenced me. My former editor Irina Reznik (Vedomosti-Financial Times) sort of played that role, having taught me how to fish out information from someone who wasn’t necessarily eager to share it. My parents showed me how to stay cool when everything is rapidly going to hell. My boxing coach explained how to wait and strike back. All of these various lessons have proven useful.
Which other female leaders do you admire and why?
Ada Lovelace, first programmer in the world. Friends with Michael Faraday and Charles Dickens, she created the first algorithm to be carried out by a machine. Ada was also a visionary, being the first (and at that time — only) person asking questions about the analytical capability of the computers, i.e. the capability to go beyond simple calculation. She rocked, really. If I have a daughter, I’ll name her Ada.
What do you want Coub to accomplish in the next year?
Twice as big an audience, brand awareness worldwide. I also want Coub to be used by journalists, creative professionals, school kids, students, models, designers, — everybody!
VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — A baby caiman has found a new home at a Lithuanian zoo after its previous owner tried to sell it online, apparently upon realizing that the pet reptile he was raising in his bathroom wasn’t a harmless lizard.
Officials at the Kaunas zoo said authorities confiscated the spectacled caiman from a student who had posted an online advertisement for a large lizard.
They said the student had kept it for several months but, stunned by how fast it was growing, decided to get rid of it. Lithuanian law prohibits raising dangerous animals at home.
The 1.3-kilogram (2.8 pound), 63-centimeter (25-inch) caiman, named “Croc,” was handed to the zoo, where visitors could see it for the first time Wednesday.
It wasn’t immediately clear how the student had obtained the reptile.
The talent piling onto Netflix’s “Wet Hot American Summer” prequel is increasingly impressive. Now the series has cast Chris Pine and Jon Hamm and Kristen Wiig and Jason Schwartzman – all for recurring or guest-star roles, EW has confirmed.
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