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Blizzard, You Say? These 5 Companies Used the Social-Media Hype to Their Advantage.

Companies are getting adept at using big news events for marketing, especially on social media. The blizzard that stuck the Northeast over the past couple of days proves the point.A few opportunistic companies used the wintery weather as an excuse to get the word out about their products on Twitter. Here are five companies – all incidentally in the food and beverage industry – that tried to feed off the Snowpocalypse media frenzy in 140 characters (or less).1. Pepsi2. Olive Garden, owned by Darden Restaurants3. McDonald’s4. Guinness, owned by Diageo5. Dr Pepper, owned by Dr Pepper Snapple GorupStoryful contributed to this report....
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11 Startups That Will Let You Enjoy a Life of Leisure

On-demand startups have allowed us to become incredibly lazy. These days, there's no reason to leave your house unless you really want to. We've compiled a master list of on-demand services that will make you feel like a king without ever leaving home. Postmates Let's say one day you decide to play hooky from work. You'll probably want breakfast. Postmates[1] will deliver from virtually any restaurant you can think of within an hour. Unwind Me While you're waiting for breakfast, you can schedule a relaxing massage with Unwind Me[2]. They'll turn your home into a personal spa. Washio Chores are no fun. Instead of going out to do your laundry and dry cleaning, you can let Washio[3] pick it up and deliver it to you the next day. Shuddle If you have kids but don't want to deal with their stressful schedules, Shuddle[4] will have a professional nanny drive them around for you. Shortcut Shortcut[5], an "Uber for haircuts," will a send professional barber to your house. Minibar Maybe you want to throw a party and invite all your friends over. Minibar[6] will bring you beer, wine, and liquor in under an hour. Homejoy You'll probably need to clean up after that party. Homejoy[7] will send professionals to handle the job while you relax with your feet up. Eaze If you're in California, Eaze[8] will bring medical marijuana straight to your door. Worthee Worthee[9] will send someone to take care of your dog for you. Whether Fido needs a walk, training, or pampering, you're all set. Bannerman If you're feeling naked without your entourage, Bannerman[10] will send security guards to your home or private party. Uber And should you have to actually go somewhere, Uber[11]Lux will get you there in style. References^ Postmates (postmates.com)^ Unwind Me (unwind.me)^ Washio (www.getwashio.com)^ Shuddle…
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2 Things Entrepreneurs Should Not Worry About

If you’re like most entrepreneurs, odds are your friends ask you a lot more questions about your job than your buddy Bob who works in accounting at an insurance company. Through my zero years of experience as a licensed psychologist, I believe there are two reasons for this.First, unlike a regular job, there’s no way your friends can figure out how much money you earn. And, yes, they want to know. People are curious and gossipy creatures. Unlike most professions, entrepreneurs have no real salary range. Or, if they do, that range is somewhere between $0 and $10 trillion per year. So your nosey friend is going to keep asking you questions until he gets his answer.Second, and probably more nobly, your friends are asking you a lot of questions likely because they often fantasize about starting their own company but were never brave enough to do it. So they want to live vicariously through you. I’m more OK with this reason.When I ran The Tie Bar, my friends would drill me with questions under Reason #1 in an attempt to not-so-subtly find out how much I was earning. “How many ties do you sell a year?” would often be followed with, “And how much money do you profit per tie?” I could often see their minds churning trying to do the math in their heads. I was often tempted to just hand them a calculator.But there were two other questions I’d also often get that fell under Reason #2. My answer to each of those two questions was the same: “I don’t know.” I was asked these two questions so frequently, I started to believe that I needed a better response. It turns out I was wrong.After The Tie Bar was acquired, I became an angel investor and mentor…
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Don't Let Too Much Sitting at Your Desk Harm Your Health

It is not unusual to find entrepreneurs and executives at their desks for 10 to 12 (and even more) hours a day, determined to create, grow and sustain their businesses. While hard work almost always leads to business success, sitting at a desk all day can also have negative consequences.Recently, several studies have pointed to the dangerous effects of prolonged sitting. A study by German researchers found that sitting too much is the new smoking[1] -- raising your risk of diabetes, heart disease and even some cancers. And the risk actually increases with each two-hour period of sitting time.Related: Cubicles Were Originally Designed to Set Us Free and Now They're Slowly Killing Us[2]Another review recently published[3] in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute confirms that sitting can be fatal, with too much sitting being associated with a 24 percent increased risk of colon cancer, a 32 percent increased risk of endometrial cancer, and a 21 percent increased risk of lung cancer. The really bad news? Not even exercise can reverse the harmful effects of sedentary behavior.Business owners can either let this information scare them, or make some simple changes and do something about it. My mantra has always been, “change your life, not your lifestyle.” Successful business owners are never going to close up shop, or start working less. They have a business to run! Instead, it’s about finding ways to incorporate health and fitness into what we already do every day.Movement is the key. Our bodies were never made to sit hunched over a desk or computer all day. The negative effects on our circulation, respiration and posture show up in the statistics of how many people suffer from diseases and back problems from sitting. When you combine this with poor nutrition and obesity, the effects are even…
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Newsweek Takes on the Bible

The first issue of Newsweek for 2015 takes on a pretty big subject: The Bible. In fact the cover features the title The Bible: So Misunderstood It’s a Sin. They’ve decided to take on those who use the Bible to excuse inappropriate behavior or justify their own interpretations for their actions. The story begins with those who are loudest. The ones who use the Bible to proclaim homosexuality is a sin, those who demand prayer in school, and pray to God for salvation from their horrific political opponents. They choose passages out of context to suit their needs and twist translations to fit their motives. One wonders if these people have even read the Bible, given the way they use it. Examples of recent issues put forth using the Bible as support include climate change (impossible because of a promise from God to Noah), teaching creationism in schools, and vague signs of the end of times. None are actually in the Scriptures. Has the Bible simply become the go-to book when you want to validate any point at all? The article does not challenge the existence of God, but does challenge those who use it for their own purposes without even reading it. Their behaviors simply hurt people – all in the name of God. One of the main points is that none of us, NONE, have read the actual Bible. We have read various translations. There are discrepancies between versions that have evolved over the years. Some even have new sections that were added to the New Testament and omissions that contradicted orthodox beliefs. The most notable change is the addition of the story of the Passion in John. It was entirely made up by the Scribes in the Middle Ages. The style and prose are different than the…
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Don't Have a 3-D Printer Yet? This Startup Wants to Change That.

LAS VEGAS -- Food. Makeup. Cars. Even an entire house. People are making some wild things using 3-D printing[1]. But, so far, the technology hasn't really hit the mainstream.One startup that's trying to change that is Marina Del Rey, Calif.-based AIO Robotics[2]. The company was founded in May 2013 by Kai Chang and Jens Windau, who were later joined by Christian Siagian, who serves as vice president of software. Their goal was to develop a 3-D printer that could be accessible to everyone: small businesses, schools and households.The result is ZEUS, an all-in-one 3-D printer/copier/scanner/fax machine. Yes, it does all of those things in one desktop device. Retailing for $2,500, the company was expecting to have around 350 units sold and several more orders in-hand by the end of 2014. AIO is hoping their showing at Eureka Park -- the startup zone here at CES -- ratchets up their momentum by several notches.Related: From Eye Shadow to Entire Houses: 7 of the Craziest 3-D Printed Creations Yet[3]We caught up with AIO Robotics co-founder and CEO Windau to discuss the crazy world of 3-D printing. Check it out.Entrepreneur: Where did the idea to combine a printer/copier/scanner/fax machine with 3-D printing come from?Windau: We looked at the development of traditional 2-D printers and the transition into a multifunctional machine with an integrated 2-D scanner. That's why we believe this will be a natural transition for 3-D printers as well. Indeed it enables and simplifies lots of tasks like 3-D copying and 3-D faxing and in addition cost-efficiently utilizes one turntable for two technologies: printing and scanning.Entrepreneur: So how exactly does this thing work?Windau: A laser swipes above an object on a rotating plate for 360 degrees. A camera captures how this laser line changes its shape. This information allows us to calculate…
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