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The psychology of side projects: How creative hobbies improve our performance at everything

Jul17
by on July 17, 2014 at 7:54 pm
Posted In: Analysis and Opinion, Around the Web, Entrepreneur, LifeHacks

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This post originally appeared on the Buffer blog. At any given time, I have a side project running. It’s often a new blog or a Tumblr or a book or a newsletter. Sometimes I try to design WordPress themes. Other times I try photography. This ethos of new projects and new improvements runs throughout our Buffer team. We love to find ways to grow, excel, and improve through side projects and hobbies. I have yet to create the next Uber or Gmail—million-dollar and million-user enterprises that began as side projects. The good news: You don’t have to create a million-dollar company to…

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Valve announces The International Dota 2 Championships will be broadcast on ESPN

Jul17
by on July 17, 2014 at 7:37 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

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Valve today announced a big milestone in the gaming world: The International Dota 2 Championships will be broadcast on ESPN. An exclusive show previewing the final match will be presented on ESPN2 while the tournament will be available live on ESPN3. The content will also be accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app, and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. ESPN viewers will have access to all the matches, along with related interviews and analysis happening over the course of the four-day event. The preview…

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Blippar demos augmented reality gaming on Google Glass

Jul17
by on July 17, 2014 at 6:48 pm
Posted In: Apps, Around the Web, Gadgets, Insider

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Augmented reality company Blippar is on a mission to be the bridge between the physical and digital worlds. Today, the company took another step on that mission as it company showed off an early build of its augmented reality games running on Google Glass for the first time. When Glass was first introduced, Google spent a lot of time talking about the convenience of its capabilities. Make a call. Take a picture. It’s simple. While that’s unarguably true, what most people really want when they use Glass for the first time is the experience promised by the science fiction movies of their youth, they want interaction with the…

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21 of the best B2B growth tactics to test

Jul17
by on July 17, 2014 at 6:18 pm
Posted In: Analysis and Opinion, Around the Web, Entrepreneur, Roundups

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David Arnoux is Head of Growth and co-founder of Twoodo, helping teams organize using simple #hashtags. This post originally appeared on the Twoodo blog. As you are all probably tired of hearing by now, growth hacking is not simply a series of tricks or tactics, but a mindset to do what it takes to grow a company. It is data-driven and dovetails quite a bit with online marketing. Each of the 21 B2B growth hacks listed here is an article in itself, but I’m going to keep it brief. Many B2C growth hacks can be creatively tweaked to be valuable as B2B growth hacks….

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Microsoft confirms it’s closing Xbox Entertainment Studios and halting production of new original TV shows

Jul17
by on July 17, 2014 at 6:06 pm
Posted In: Around the Web, Insider

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Today has been a tough one for Microsoft. After announcing 18,000 layoffs, it has also confirmed that it is shutting down its original programming studio, Xbox Entertainment Studios in the coming months. While the studio itself is being shuttered, the Halo original TV series and Signal to Noise documentary series will continue to be produced by Nancy Tellem, Jordan Levin and other Xbox Entertainment Studio employees. Microsoft had hoped to follow in the footsteps of Netflix producing original content in order to sway consumers to its console and services. But with the Sony PlayStation 4 outselling the Xbox One based on its commitment to gaming…

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