Atmosphere in the workplace is everything– conditions have to be just right. The room can’t be too hot or cold, your chair has to have just the right amount of cushion, and your coffee takes half a splenda and just a splash of soymilk. So what playlist you choose to play in your office or at your desk really sets the tone of the environment and can foster or hinder productivity.

So what makes the perfect song to work to? Something mellow, yet upbeat enough not to put you to sleep; lyrically interesting and percussive, yet not distracting. Here is the playlist of songs I’ve been jamming to before happy hour.

1)   Whispers- Passenger

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9ZlADL1TqM

2)   Slow Motion- Phox

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcnQ9-qWSfc

3)   Stay Gold- First Aid Kit

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwLMRA3Fi7E

4)   Be Okay- Oh Honey

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15pMHi9h8rI

5)   Escape- Jack Johnson

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szHSZf8zkyA

6)   Uknowhowwedu- Bahamadia

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyGUesyG7bU

7)   Stolen Dance- Milky Chance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX-QaNzd-0Y

8)   Lay Me Down- Sam Smith

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AVJcLcuQdOw

9)   Who Are You, Really?- Mikky Ekko

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Wl4UnxMlJY

10) High Life- London Grammar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqyZW7MWHPs

11) Harvest Moon- Poolside

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suWbFPaVoEA

12) 5 Years Time- Noah and the Whale

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8YCSJpF4g4

13) Jamie- Basic Vacation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTEC_VNcZo0

14) Obeder- Purity Ring

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETbGpGJNVLM

15) Wings- Birdy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJTXDCh2YiA

16) Ya Hey- Vampire Weekend

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-BznQE6B8U

17) Que Veux-tu- Yelle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHB9epBQxlI

18) Keep You- Wild Belle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLKOmXm6W3s

19) Strawberry Fields Forever- Candyflip

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp6Wc9IQ1w

Mothers may no longer scold their sons for being on their devices at the dinner table, thanks to the BBQ Pit Boys, and other culinary YouTube sensations alike. This group in particular specializes in BBQ, hence their name, ranging from pork, beef, and poultry, to wild game. The men upload one new recipe every week, streaming a hands on tutorial providing thorough explanation of each and every step from start to finish.

The internet, technology and digital communications have replaced the need for human labor in a plethora of professions across a wide range of industries, including cooking. Interactive online streaming platforms such as YouTube

Let’s all take a second to consider how many text messages we send a day. Yep, that’s quite a few. They are disturbingly convenient in our fast-pased, constantly communicating world. We love the idea that we can rapidly send a brief (and sometimes grammatically incorrect) thought across the country in seconds. But what’s even better in today’s world, thanks to digital developments, is that now we have even better and quicker ways of expressing ourselves, and that is what we call emojis.

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We hear that what is put on the Internet, stays on the Internet, from our parents, our friends, our teachers and our colleagues. However, our unrealistic sense of personal invincibility overshadows both the advice received and the plethora of online scandals witnessed. Putting things in writing allows for the opportunity of redistribution, reinterpretation, and in the case of the Republican Party, utter chaos. Today’s Speaker of the House election scandal proved that not even the government has immunity to online leaks.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a Republican from California, (shocking, right?) removed himself from the race to take the place of John Boehner as Speaker of the House, “a stunning move that threw a fractious Republican Party into chaos and further complicated an already tumultuous leadership contest.” Although McCarthy claimed to the media that his withdrawal was due to his belief that the party needs a “new face,” a leaked internal e-mail from Re. Walter Jones may suggest otherwise. The letter, which was intended only for the eyes of candidates for House leadership, asked anyone who had a “significant scandal in their closet” to remove themselves from the race. Just bad timing, or is this why McCartney withdrew from the race within minutes of receiving the e-mail?

Despite the fact that this surely could be a case of bad timing, due to the viral nature of digital communications, the emergence of this e-mail has thrown McCarthy into the hot seat, questioning his true reasoning for withdrawing from the race. Unfortunately, due to the re-tweets, re-posts and re-shares of the message, whether true or not, the influential world of digital communication has very easily convinced the public that Kevin McCarthy has “significant scandals in his closet,” which is why he is no longer running for Speaker of the House. This event portrays the mere power that digital communications can have, and that it can be used for both good and evil. If McCarthy does wrongly have a chest full of scandals, than the publicity of this e-mail has rightfully encouraged an undeserving candidate from removing himself from what is such a crucial race for the American government. However, if on the contrary McCarthy truthfully did remove himself from the race due to his compassion for the future of the Repubican party, than the usage of persuasive digital communications has wound him up in the wrong place at the wrong time, causing a major setback to both his political career as well as reputation.

Food apps that help bring you to locations that can satisfy your hunger and give you glimpses of food masterpieces are one download away!  Continue reading →

We’ve all heard of Yelp, the mobile app and website that posts crowd-sourced reviews about local businesses. Well now we have Peeple, a mobile app being talked about as the “Yelp for humans.”

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At the end of September, Instagram officially took Twitter’s spot as the number two social networking site, right below its father site Facebook. With over 400 million monthly users, Instagram is kicking butts and taking names. From now on, it’s so long 140 characters and hello Valencia filter. But why is it that Instagram is slowly but surely taking over the spotlight? As social media fiends move into October, who knows where this artsy and resrouceful app will lead its mere 400 million users.

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Up to 40,000 a month, apparently. Youtube has gone from a home video posting website to a career building platform since its launch in 2005. Vloggers (video bloggers), beauty gurus, and gaming channels receive views in the millions, and rack in a hefty percentage of advertising revenue. Not a bad gig, huh?

Additionally, vlogers and especially beauty video makers receive sponsorships, and include affiliate links, which make extra cash. Beauty brands like Maybelline, Lancôme, or Herbal Essences might choose to sponsor a beauty blogger, to the tune of anywhere from $100-$10,000 cash, plus the occasional all-inclusive trip to a studio or exotic location to film. Moreover, these bloggers often include affiliate links that track each click through and purchase they directed their viewers.

For many years, this sponsor-blogger relationship was kept on the down low, and viewers were kept in the dark about when bloggers were being paid for their rave product reviews. In recent years the FTC set guidelines that made it mandatory for bloggers to disclose when they were being sponsored. But still, there exists a veil of distrust for many viewers. An XO Jane
article states, “Now, clicking on a beauty or fashion video is equivalent to watching an ad… A beauty guru will rave about a new mascara she bought in a monthly favorites video… The sponsorship will be hidden somewhere in the description box, sandwiched between affiliate links.”

As blogging becomes a full time profession and personal brands become moneymaking giants, the relationship between bloggers and readers/viewers will inevitably change. It is important for marketers to keep a pulse on this tension as they continue to sponsor video bloggers.

How has our society advanced in this past century? If our world looks back 10 years ago, how different was it technologically? Today, technology and digital media have changed drastically from when it began. It has taken over our modern world of communications and media. Technology has advanced in ways that once seemed unimaginable; the iPhone, iPad, Apple watch, Samsung Virtual Reality, to so many more devices. There are also Apps that have grown with these technological advances that have made it nearly impossible to put our electronics down. Our needs and wants for simple things, such as ordering a taxi, have fueled the world of technology into constantly innovating new ideas and creations for a more “efficient” and “productive” society. It is now nearly impossible to see a human without the sight of an iPhone or at least a cell phone attached to their hand. Many people claim that their lives are on their phones or computers and they would lose “everything” if it were to ever crash. Living in the 21^st century, kids are now even growing up with the expectations of getting an iPhone at the age of 10 years old. Hearing this and seeing how different our world is from just a mere 10 years ago scares much of the human population now, as our lives depend on the use of technology.

So why this photo will bring you to tears you ask?

Pictured is an elderly lady surrounded by a swarm of younger generations looking at the world through a screen. While these people are so concerned with getting the perfect Instagram photograph, this elderly woman is capturing the moment through her own lenses. It brings us back to a time before our lives were complicated and cluttered with new devices and apps, where the only way to capture a moment was through natural senses and memories. The fact that this picture has become a viral sensation shows that people do think it is important for society to keep these ideals in mind and become more present in the real world.

Check out all the tweets here: http://mashable.com/2015/10/05/viral-red-carpet-photo/?utm_cid=mash-com-fb-main-link#kvJQphHtSOqb

Who needs to pay a travel agent to book your next dream vacation when Pinterest can create your entire itinerary in just 6 simples steps for free!

Pinterest just announced their major milestone, becoming a creative community of over 100 million people! With more inspiration boards than ever before, it has never been so easy to plan out your dream vacation online.

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Fashion, lifestyle and beauty bloggers across the world are changing the way we look at clothes and various lifestyle products. Not only have they changed the way followers look at products but they have also essentially created a new sector of the fashion world. Bloggers are taking over.

Bloggers have been influencing the way the fashion industry conducts business and has taken over the digital component of shopping. How have they done this, some ask? They have taken advantage of the booming business of social media and digital communications, particularly in the business sense. In recent years it is now become possible for bloggers to make commission off purchases that their followers buy through innovative technology companies such as rewardStyle. Their main sources of income comes through their Instagram accounts and their blog websites. How are you supposed to make money off your Instagram and blog websites you ask? As surprising as it may be, these bloggers have hundreds of thousands or even millions of Instagram followers. After becoming a client at rewardStyle, bloggers are set up with an iLiketoKnowit account, which is where all the magic happens. These features allows a follower to receive an email with all the information about what the blogger was wearing or doing after they like it. The email provides the follower with a link on where to buy a similar outfit or sometimes the exact same outfit in the instagram picture – thus allowing the blogger to make money off the purchase by that link.

These strategies and tools have now allowed bloggers to become very influential and powerful in the world of fashion. It’s important to realize that this is because of the use of different digital channels that have taken over our social world today.

Top 5 Bloggers everyone should follow today: @galmeetsglam, @somethingnavy, @sincerelyjules, @whoworewhat and @songofstyle

In a crowded, oversaturated market of photo sharing, video posting, and media collecting sites and apps, what makes one pass the tipping point to success? Well, ask social media platform We Heart It‘s 30 million active users.

This fairly new website and mobile application has millions of (primarily) young women captivated by its clean, crisp platform, user friendly interface, and inspiring photos. But what is it? This San Francisco-based startup combined the best aspects of Pinterest, Tumblr, and Snapchat. Essentially, We Heart It is a photo-board creating app similar to Pinterest with a few additional and unique features. It abandoned Pinterest’s older, DIY, crafting, and wedding-centric vibe to appeal to a younger crowd. The overall feel of the site is more similar to the quirky yet aesthetically pleasing side of Tumblr, minus the clutter.

Recently, We Heart It added a feature called Postcards, which allows users to send a picture and short message to their connections on the app. This took what users love about Snapchat’s private photo messaging service, except these messages save rather than disappear after opening. With 80-90% of traffic coming from mobil devices, and the average user age of 18, We Heart It has a unique and niche market.

We Heart It presents new opportunities companies as well. Companies like Disney, Hollister Co., Vera Wang and Macy’s have partnered with the app to publish sponsored image posts in the user’s feeds. According to Dave Williams, President of the startup, these deals have been “substantial” and in the “six figures”. So take note marketing teams: We Heart It just might be the next big thing for the rising generation.

GM is stepping out into the car sharing market, launching Let’s Drive NYC in Manhattan, but only a very small portion. In fact, its only available to those who live at The Ritz Plaza.  Continue reading →

Digital communication is changing everything, including unemployment. Yep, you heard that right. The economy might just be bustling back into business thanks to the rise in constant online communication. Last month, the unemployment rate was at its lowest it’s been since 2008, and according to Jobvite’s annual Recruiter Nation report, we have social media and interpersonal networking to thank.

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Top sites and Instagram accounts that are a MUST to delve into to be an online foodie. Unleash your inner foodie with these food websites and Instagrmas… (warning, looking at photos on these sites and accounts may cause severe drooling…)  Continue reading →

Digital Communications and upcoming innovations and its Effects on Future Employment

In the most recent decades, innovations and new ways of communicating digitally have evolved drastically. All over the world, these new technologies take over the lives of the human race. Starting with Apple and their continuous growth and innovations, the human race has conformed into a technology based world and society that takes over our lives. Continue reading →