Written coverage of the David Ortiz Children’s Fund.

Ghostwriting on business success for Daymond John.

Blog posts dedicated to event management. Everything from how to hire a corporate event photographer to assembling the perfect swag bag.

High-quality images are a given for selling luxury real estate, but gaining an edge with online realty in the year to come means taking advantage of video. Keep reading

“Good morning,

I’ve seen a trend over the past few years suggesting significantly better lead generation for websites that immediately respond to customer interest.

Data shows that website visitors who engage a chatbot or live-chat salesperson are more likely to be converted to customers and routinely score higher on customer satisfaction surveys. When visitors land on your website and want to know more about a property, chatbots will allow you to target that buyer and responsively cater to their needs.

Chatbot services are also cost-effective, can be integrated into your website in a matter of minutes, and will provide you with automated control over lead generation. The data gathered will inform your team with FAQs, contact information, and an easy segue for deeper trust with potential buyers.

Chat availability creates value by answering the call for instant gratification and provides your team with a chance to boost conversion ratios. A good chat service should blend automated bots with live sales reps and give you an opportunity to make a strong first impression.

Wishing you all a chatty week!”

Two eBooks on digital transformation for Microsoft.

Diversity At Work: Why It Should Be An All-Hands Mission.

Product Copy:

The Bainbridge was born on a rainy morning in Washington State—emerging dry from the folds of more cumbersome, rain-soaked baggage. 

The pack climbed aboard its human, destined for stormy navigation of the cities and airports and backcountry spaces of planet earth—retreating occasionally into its larger counterparts—only to redeploy for errand and adventure, alike.

In addition to traveling essentials, the Bainbridge protected peace of mind for its human, to whom it was guaranteed for life.

The raw emotion and element of surprise inherent in live presentations can capture an audience and create lasting positive associations for your brand. If you want your clientele to habitually attend, purchase more frequently, and recommend your product, integrating their experiences into your event strategy is crucial.

Keeping attendees focused during meetings, events, and product demonstrations is a skill that very few master. Humans are notoriously distractible; cell phones, as a tool of commerce and social frivolity, have made it that much harder to keep your audience interested in what you have to say.

Clever business leaders embrace technology despite this double-edged nature and the best among them find ingenious ways to transform potential distractions into tools for engagement.

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Companies need software developers—and whether you’re looking to round out your resume or to secure a new and gratifying challenge—organizations both large and small are eager to receive applications from competent, qualified developers.

In this post, we’ll break down a few types of companies that depend on software developers, and highlight what each can offer to your career.

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Keeping potential customers engaged without pushing too hard is a fine line: overwhelm them with outreach and your leads will likely bounce; but fail to follow-up quickly and accurately enough, and you risk losing your warm lead to a competitor.

To retain—and then recycle—each lead available to your team will require expectation setting throughout your product’s lifecycle, and this demands teamwork between sales and marketing. For each campaign you run, marketers should aid your brand in understanding the motivations for each potential lead, and salespeople should follow-up with a cocktail of targeted data and personalized service.

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Despite operating in an economy under sanction from the European Union, the Arab league, the United States, and 11 non-EU European governments; young Syrians are mustering an entrepreneurial spirit above their nation’s zeitgeist of violence.

“Entrepreneurship isn’t only about advanced technology startups; a lot of [Syrians] are starting [non-technical] businesses, initiatives, and projects to solve local problems,” Al-Amjad Tawfiq Isstaif, a co-founder at Wikilogia, said. “The local needs are huge, and I think there is great potential.”

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Historically, marketers have used lead generation—the process of creating new contacts for the sales team—as a primary metric for their success.

This measurement can assure that quantity will easily begin taking precedence over quality, and sales teams become tasked with the time-suck of following up on leads that are not ready to speak with a salesperson or perhaps not even interested at all.

Rather than focusing and measuring the top of the funnel (lead generation) activity, and then passing those leads down to sales, pipeline marketing focuses on identifying where each lead falls within your buying cycle, delivering content that is relevant to enable decision making. Your goals are then based on revenue and the customer’s experience with a given brand.

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Imperialism, ideology, and war are not historically unique developments in a city that predates human record. After ten millennia, there is very little that the city of Damascus has not experienced. A Startup Weekend; however, is one such event.

On February 18, 2014, the international community will gain its first introscopic look into the entrepreneurial community of Damascus, the capital city of civil-war-laden Syria.

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The number-one quality people demand from a company is honest communication about products and services. This sounds like a no brainer––but for some brands, “telling it like it is” isn’t the norm.

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Most of these mental healthcare professionals couldn’t legally vote, or hold office, or openly reject the sexism of their age—but they still changed healthcare and humanity forever.

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The characteristics of a fad diet are built around the intense, contagious enthusiasm for a niche weight-loss strategy, and the general promise of a faster and easier pathway to results. These crazes seem to emerge without scientific credibility or precedent, and are most often accompanied by the toned abdomen of a popular, fast-talking swami.

This economy is rooted in the painful reality that a vast majority of American adults are overweight, and nearly 40% are clinically obese; a medical condition that dramatically increases the risk of Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, depression, fertility and respiratory breakdown, and cancer. A 2017 study found that obesity now drives more preventable deaths in the U.S. than smoking.

When trying to identify a diet that works for you, THIRA’s Resident Dietician Emily Fitch encourages you to consider these red flags:

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Camp Sula is a 16-acre plot of cabins, campsites, and RV hook-ups located on the East Fork of the Bitterroot River. Beyond its access to hunting, fishing, and skiing, Camp Sula offers guests a mini-golf course, an extensive lending library of books and movies, and a stocked fishing pond for kids. We host events each season and take every opportunity to plug our guests into whatever activities are taking place in the Bitterroot. A number of national historic sites, wilderness areas, and historical landmarks are within an hour’s drive, as well as the Salmon, Wise, Big Hole, and Bitterroot rivers.

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Homemaking can require hauling a sofa up ten narrow flights of concrete stairs, or carrying a mattress a thousand meters into the Olympic Rainforest.

The trick is: when you get where you’re going, you have to find a way to be comfortable. Photographer, Christopher Kerksieck, wasn’t comfortable when he arrived in Washington State. The move marked Kerksieck’s first experience living off the grid, in a rainforest, away from electricity, plumbing, and his mid-western roots.

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We celebrate most milestones in our days—and our lives—by eating.

We must eat, but we also love to eat, and perhaps the single greatest virtue of our nature is the one which wants to share our abundance with others, so that they may have something which is essential for their own survival.

The rituals of eating can be a beautiful, healthful extension of this generosity; they can also be sporadic, non-existent, or emotionally draining. This is because something mysterious happens to us when we feed together: so much so that the foods themselves gain comforting or repulsive connotations based upon how (and with whom) we gather to eat.

With these implications in mind, the findings of Harvard’s Family Dinner Project gain new significance and offer nutritionists and parents with a double serving of food for thought.

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In the demanding market where they work, U.S. software developers earn almost double the average American worker. Additionally, the United States Department of Labor has predicted that the number of American software engineers will grow by 17% between 2014 and 2024—dramatically faster than any other occupational segment.

It's a trend observed by Forbes, CNN, Entrepreneur, USA Today and others; they have reported extensively on the elevated demand for software developers in the U.S. CEOs call out to them, customers continue to demand their product, and non-technical employees seek a career-reboot through studying their craft.

Through hipper offices, higher salaries, and happier smartphone users everywhere, software developers are making a lasting cultural impact. In an effort to attract and keep coders, the leaders in tech are using salary, benefits, and opportunity to publicly compete for the best available talent.

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As entrepreneurs, we often take for granted our office-less lifestyle. Sometimes we decide to wake up and work from bed. Entrepreneurs generally don’t have a bureaucratic figure looming overhead telling us how it has to be done, when to start, where to eat lunch, and what time we can go home to see our families.

I’ve never considered how something as simple as a desk, an office, can reveal power, status, and control until I saw Jan Banning’s work, Bureaucratics.

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At approximately 8,000 feet above sea level, just west of the North American Continental Divide, a group of women and girls is riding through a snowstorm.

Some of the group is skiing and some are snowboarding; weaving in between trees and lift poles and deviations in the rolling slope. They ride up the chair in doubles—watching their cohort as they pass below—hooting and squealing and carrying on in a way that would be bizarrely over enthusiastic anywhere else. They high-five and fist bump and build each other up in a unique and powerful way.

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NORTH CASCADES — Through 33 switchbacks, thousands of biting flies, and crowds of hikers, Margaret Miller managed to hike the Cascade Pass trail’s 3.7 miles of rocky, steep terrain in about six hours. At the age of 88, she is legally blind. Miller returned to the national park for the first time in almost two decades on Saturday, August 14, for the beginning of the National Park Service’s annual revegetation effort. Miller and her late husband Joe were solely responsible for initiating the re-vegetation process in the Cascade Pass area, and were one of five couples who fought to make the North Cascades National Park a reality.

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The agriculture industry is tasked with feeding the inhabitants of planet earth, and considering that an estimated 795 million human beings go malnourished each day, the system has room for dramatic improvement. 

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An estimated one in six women suffer from postpartum depression, and many more develop compulsive behaviors (such as washing their hands or obsessively checking whether their baby is breathing.)

As a cocktail of hormones surge and sleep arrives less regularly, anxiety and depression can weigh heavily on new parents—and particularly on moms who must nurse around the clock. It’s important to remember that taking good care of a baby is impossible without taking good care of yourself.

Below are some reminders for staying healthy after becoming a mother:

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Being active in an online community is a productive way to build connections and diversify your understanding and experience with software. We recommend these eight networks to get you started. 

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If you're struggling in your job search, it's time to alter your strategy. Here are some tips for when you’re knee-deep in job applications and not getting results.

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It’s not magic that allows your smart phone to summon Snapchat’s responsive contortionism at a moment’s notice: it’s the vast network of computer servers located in branded warehouses around the planet that your device is fundamentally connected to. It’s the Cloud.

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For professionals and hobbyists alike, software has become a necessary component for the recording, mastering, and distribution of music. Code connects artists and audiences in ways unimaginable to the rock stars of yesteryear. The laptop—while lacking the stage presence of an electric guitar—has emerged as the hallmark tool for a new generation of music makers. 

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As total student loans in the US approach $1.5 trillion and the average university graduate braces for more than $35,000 in academic debt, more Americans are opting for less traditional—and faster—forms of education.

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In the midst of mind-numbing testing cycles, burgeoning enrollment, and shrinking budgets, American classrooms need help—and educational technology (ed-tech) may be part of the emergent solution.

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When applying to jobs in software development, as in any other profession, you should expect to compete against other highly qualified applicants. A common concern we hear from incoming students is that their previous work history or gaps in their resume will hinder their job search. Even with demand for software developers at an all-time high, it’s essential to consider how your past work experience will affect your hireability going forward, particularly as you interview for your dream job.

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Not knowing how to answer an interview question; being late; delivering a weak handshake; saying the wrong thing—these are just a few of the nightmares that lurk in the dark corners of a job hunt. The good news? All of these anxieties can be easily alleviated with deliberate preparation before your next interview. 

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If you are bored at your current job, dread Mondays, or just feel generally under-challenged and under-paid, you may need to do more than change jobs—it might be time to change your career.

Software developers are expected to see the highest IT job growth through 2020, and continue to enjoy some of the best perks available in an office environment. And if you already enjoy learning, like working with data, and have a little experience managing the code on your Tumblr or SquareSpace site, you’re well on your way to becoming a coder!

Start your transition to a career in software development with these resourceful steps:

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The first half of this series looked at five steps to explore a career in software development. From researching earning potential to attending introductory classes, you’ve prepared to make the switch.

But now comes the more challenging (and rewarding) part of your journey: the part where you learn to code and get a job! Here are the actions that you can take after completing steps one through five that will help you make a successful career switch.

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Can code be used to create art? Absolutely—just ask the growing community of artists who are using free, open-source technology to engage audiences with a new medium of digital expression.

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When our eyes are trained on the economic, political, and cultural ramifications of code, it’s easy to understand why software developers remain in such high global demand. President Obama recently pledged $4 billion for funding of computer science education in US public schools, and analysts continue to project dramatic growth in the software economy through 2016 (up to 45% by some estimates, even after record-breaking growth of 36% in 2015).

My personal continuum of engagement—with friends, family, and world events—is possible most principally through the ingenuity of code. And despite being a ‘non-technical’ professional, I’ve committed myself to a career path that is almost entirely dependent on software.

From the time my phone alarm rings each morning to the time I close my laptop each night, my relationship to code is inescapable.

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Emily Aviva Kapor-Mater earned a certificate in Full-Stack JavaScript Development from Code Fellows in August 2015. She now works as a full-stack developer in Seattle, and enjoys building software that facilitates simple, practical, and socially-positive experiences for users.

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You don’t need to be an expert to appreciate the work-streams, vernacular, and economy of software development—but if your job requires you to directly support programmers, your proficiency with code will inevitably correlate with your compensation.

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Measuring your application’s performance offers an opportunity to objectively understand the product’s functional, practical, and financial viability. This means recording as much data as possible—and remaining determined to act based upon what certain segments of data expose.

And while this process can reveal embarrassing realities, the point of recording your application’s performance is to improve the product and experience on behalf of users.

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Nearly half of the occupations in the US will be computerized over the next 20 years, and many industries are rushing to renovate their products and services for the future. The brands, industries, and individuals who can deliver a quality user experience—particularly to a mobile audience—have the best chance of success.

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The science fiction image of droids and robots going about daily life alongside humans is quickly becoming a reality. Futuristic fiction has predicted modern advancements in science and tech as we watch robots learn from humans and join assembly lines and factory floors.

Check out our favorite labor-intensive robots to inspire your own view of the future of tech:

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David Gardner is a co-founder at DealTapp, an app that connects Seattleites (and soon, others) with the best local deals. Gardner completed our Foundations II: iOS Development in 2015, and credits the atmosphere and instructors of the course with making his app possible.

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You’ve spent countless hours preparing your web app for “The Market” . . . but what now? Do the people you’ve imagined using your product actually exist? And if so, how do you find them?

Having a full-time marketer isn't always an option, so we’ve provided a few simple methodologies for getting started on your own.

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In 2014, Omron Corp. built robotic technology to rally with mankind at table tennis; European Space Agency robotstransmitted data from the surface of a comet; and, to the dismay of the Federal Aviation Administration, Amazon advertised their quest for drone-flight delivery.

In 2015, computer visualization technology will offer manufacturing robots a broader ability to observe, record, and respond to the tasks placed in front of them. And while robots are already moving and responding more fluidly than ever before (see robot riding a bike,) the inability for robots to see often constrains these advanced machines to one, specific task.

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Whether preserving hair follicles, or the secrets to wrinkle-free skin, consumers can be bashful when providing feedback about the cosmetic care products that make life (with hair loss, body odor, acne, etc.) more comfortable. And when a clientele is unwilling to tweet about #dandruff or #zitcream, how should beauty brands hope to digitally connect with customers suffering from common, ego sensitive conditions?

The beauty industry has long depended upon market research firms for collecting and organizing consumer feedback. Through monitoring personal care data and trends online, startup Poshly intends to give this research cycle a makeover– for brands and consumers, alike.

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For every flower-crowned, hippie-flavored photo that hit your Facebook feed this year during Coachella, you have an event organizer to thank.  For every dinner party that you brag about on Instagram, or every free gallery that you tweet about, an event planner somewhere deserves a pat on the back.

American students, entrepreneurs and artists each seek the occasions and communities in which they do their best work. In the bars, lecture halls, and hotels where these individuals gather, there is evidence for a growing sector of the American economy.

This economy includes the smartphone technologies that make taxi rides more productive and cute doggies more shareable. It also includes the job sector responsible for organizing the food, Ferris wheels, and tech celebrities that may appear at your next work event.

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As Managing Editor for Startup Weekend, I receive countless emails from eager entrepreneurs wanting to get their story in front of our global audience. I wish I could help every startup craft their unique and subtly-branded pitch but the work-load (as for most editors) is just too high.

Unless you’re being interviewed and covered by the BBC – editors don’t have time to develop a story for you. That’s your job.

California may be the world’s largest and best-known technology hub, but it is not alone in fostering innovative startups. In fact, such firms are emerging – almost unnoticed – everywhere, from Asian megalopolises like Singapore and Shanghai to small European cities like Espoo in Finland and Dwingeloo in the Netherlands. Many international startups – including Sweden’s Spotify, Estonia’s Skype, Israel’s Waze – and, most recently, China’s Alibaba – have gained billion-dollar valuations.

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Amman, Jordan is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The city is Jordan's political, cultural, and commercial capitol; and from February 13th to February 15th, Amman hosted a Startup Weekend for the third time.

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Customization and personal interaction are key when considering your website marketing plan and how to generate more website traffic. Audiences want to receive media tailored to their personal narrative, and they tend to reject generic, one-size-fits-all content.

Social media offers a window into the unique data of your followers—where they work, their favorite foods, or their preferred online retailers—and is a tool for driving google traffic. Your social media tactics should generate a personalized experience for followers and the specific target audiences of your brand.

Below are four tips to consider when building a social media marketing strategy to stimulate greater website engagement:

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Prior to the Ukrainian political upheaval of 2014, two entrepreneurs scheduled a Startup Weekend Women’s Edition in the country’s capital city, Kiev. Kateryna Dehtiar and Tetiana Siyanko originally scheduled their women’s event for the last weekend of February.