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Today Is National Suicide Prevention Day

The more suicides, the less of the becomes.

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Today Is World Suicide Prevention Day

Please show your support.

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3 Tips For  the Best Time to Tweet.

Tweet in the  afternoon EASTERN TIME (12 PM and 6 PM are better)

1 to 4 tweets per hour

Tweet midweek and weekends

Source: http://blog.kissmetrics.com/the-science-of-twitter-timing/

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Original Artwork for Social Innovation Fast Pitch (SIFP), a production of Social Venture Partners

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Original design for Social Innovation Fast Pitch (SIFP), a production of Social Venture Partners

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Social Innovation Fast Pitch (SIFP) funds changemakers in the Seattle area.

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Fewer than 5% of start-ups in the U.S. are owned by women, even though women make-up 46.9% of the population.

Source: Mashable

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Avolusis is a proud supporter of Social Innovation Fast Pitch (SIFP).   

SIFP ignites new ideas for social innovation. Non-profits and for-profits compete for $150,000 in funding and the opportunity to present cutting-edge ideas to as many as 1,000 of the most engaged philanthropists and investors around Seattle

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How Kinect from Microsoft Is Changing The World

Microsoft introduced Kinect in 2010.  And from this was born a world of Kinect hackers that found other uses for the motion detecting, body outline reading device. Some great uses are:

1. Enabling a drone to see its environment

2. Creating a 3D scanner that can create anything using a 3D printer

3. Directing the music of a computer generated orchestra

4. Remotely brushing a cat's fur

5. Interactive games where you use body language, or in some cases just your tongue, to control a virtual world.

6. A game that helps autistic children develop new skills

7. A scanner that reads the barcodes from food as you place it in the shopping cart

8. A device that helps Bloomingdale's shoppers find the right sized clothes

9. A device to better help you parallel park

Source: New York Times

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White Lies Are Good!

Source: New York Times

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What Gets Engagement On Facebook?

#facebook #engagement #surveys

Things like quizzes, trivia, and “Pick-your-favorites,” get shared by more users and  create more earned media for the brand.   Because these campaigns allow users to reveal personal preferences, tastes or opinions, they get shared more

Coupons, giveaways, and sweepstakes get the highest amount of entries on average. 

Finally, earned media gets conversions -- 82% of the users that clicked on a friend’s news feed post about a quiz they’d taken went on to take the quiz themselves. 

Source: Wildfire

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Innovation That Will Kill Companies

Here's a list of innovations that will change your life.. and the way companies to business:

1. Electric Clothes -- they can control your iPad and make batteries last longer. When : 2 years.

2. Yummier Coffee -- wholesale coffee used to be shipped in burlap sacks, but now its shipped in vacuum packed packages.  This means coffee maintains more subtle flavors, and roasters can create a better product without over roasting (e.g. think Starbucks Blonde Roast).  Want a coffee with a hint of seville oranges? When: 2 years

3. Talking Underwear -- underwear with sensors that report how hard you're working out will encourage you to be less sedentary.  When: 2 years

4. You Are The TV -- in 20 years, what will you tell your child when he asks "whats a TV if we watch TV on our iPads"?  Better yet, you may live in the TV -- new materials could make more surfaces serve as screens (e.g. counter tops, refrigerator doors, etc.). When: 4 years

5. Less Traffic Jams -- it's a known fact that traffic jams persist even after the accident causing it is cleaned-up.  Why? Because of waves of car's slowing and accelerating as they adjust to normal traffic flow.  Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), cruise control that keeps a fixed distance from the car in front of you, will reduce the problem.  When: 2 years

6. Better Bikes -- The future will hold no more chains when they are replaced by lightweight versions of drive shafts already in use in China and lighter carbon fiber frames.  When: 4 years

7. Car's That are First Responders -- Cars can already report on accidents through systems like OnStar, but in a few years they'll have the ability to tell EMT's the likelihood of certain injuries being present.  When: 4 years

8. Computer Screens That Massage You -- well maybe not massage, but at least they'd "message" you when you were slouching and causing damage that will make you need a massage.  When: 2 years.

9. No More Hangovers -- new synthetic alcohols avoid the next day headaches.  What's more to sober up, all you have to do is pop a pill.  When: 4 years

10. Talking Teeth -- researchers at Tufts are working on sensors that tell you when your teeth are undergoing decay.  When: 4+ years

11. Barcelona in the Microwave -- "sous vide" was once reserved for super high end restaurants like El Bulli.  But soon it will be available in the freezer section of your supermarket.  When: 2 years

12. Packaging You Eat -- Yogurt will soon be packaged in edible containers.  It'll be like an apple -- you can wash it and eat the peel, or peel it and just eat the inside.  When: 2 years

Source: New York Times

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What Makes A Great Story

#storytelling #books

Excitement

Sex

Information about a part of society we typically don't have access too, like secret societies in the Da Vinci Code, or crime families in the Godfather.

A protagonist in a tough situation, often in search of the American dream.

Transformation or awakening of a character.

Source: NPR

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How To Change People's Mind - Lie

#Lie #Lying

1% of people are honest and will never steal.  Another 1% are completely dishonest and will always steal.  The remaining 98% us are somewhere in between.  That's why you need a lock on your door -- to protect your things from the 98%.

While we like to think that the impact of crime and dishonesty comes largely from big liars like Bernie Madoff, the fact is the real impact comes from the sum of all of us lying, just a little.

In an experiment, people were asked to take a test and then report how many problems they correctly solved.  Afterwards, one group was told to shred their tests -- that way no one could see the results.  In the latter group, people on average reported doing 50% better!

Researchers found that it really didn't matter whether money was involved, people still lied.  Except there was a decrease in lying when the monetary award got really high -- and researchers speculate that's because people felt guilty if there was too much to gain.

What reduced lying?  If they recited the 10 Commandments before the exam began, people were far less likely to cheat.  In another sample involving students, cheating was less likely if they were asked to recall the school's ethics policy before taking a test. 

Finally, in a study in involving insurance -- applicants were more likely to be truthful if they signed an affidavit saying "I promise that the information I am providing is true" at the top of the form before answering questions as opposed to at the bottom, after answering.

Source: "Why We Lie" wsj.com

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How To Change People's Minds - Think Death

#Terror #Management #Theory #Solomon

In an experiment with 22 municipal court judges in Tucson, Arizona, half the judges were asked to write down some thoughts about their own death.  The judges were then asked to review a legal brief and to assess an appropriate fine.  Judges who thought about their own death assessed a fine of $450 on average -- that compares to just $50 for the other judges, which happens to be the typical amount that judges actually assessed for this type of crime.  The results were stunning -- particularly because the magnitude of the difference was so large. 

These types of patterns have repeated throughout various experiments on different topics including political choices and views towards immigrants.  When people are asked to think about their death -- their attitudes change remarkably.

Source: Scientific American