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The reason dating is so frustrating is that we're looking at it all wrong

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couple on a date in a cafe

  • A date is not an opportunity to assess whether the person is "The One," as tempting as that might be.
  • That's according to Joanna Coles, the former editor of Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire magazines, the chief content officer at Hearst Magazines, and the author of the new book "Love Rules."
  • Instead, Coles said, you should use a date as a chance to see if you actually like the person and would want to befriend them.
  • Spend time doing activities you enjoy instead of searching for "The One" and you just might find someone to fall in love with.


I was never very good at dating.

This isn't to say that I didn't go on many dates: I did. And this isn't to say that I didn't generally enjoy the other person's company: I did.

The problem was that, for the four years between college graduation and my entrance into a real adult relationship, I felt like I was wasting my time. It didn't matter that I was meeting new people, or that I was having fun — if I wasn't meeting the "right" person, it was all for naught.

I hadn't thought about those feelings in a while — then I heard Joanna Coles speak at a launch event for her new book, "Love Rules: Finding a Real Relationship in a Digital World."

Coles is the former editor of Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire magazines; she's currently the chief content officer at Hearst Magazines. In "Love Rules," Coles guides readers in assessing what kind of love they want and being as practical as possible in finding it.

At the launch event, which took place at NeueHouse in New York City, Coles spoke with Nina Garcia, editor of Elle magazine. Meeting "The One," Coles told the audience, is "the wrong question to be asking." Instead, she said, the goal is "having a bigger life."

Coles expanded on this idea a few days later, in a separate interview with Business Insider. "Online dating is incredibly good for expanding your social network in general," she said. "I have lots of stories of people who moved to cities and didn't know anybody and built up a friend group through online dating."

What Coles is really suggesting is not to see dating as a zero-sum game: Either the date is a success (you get married; you hook up) or a failure (you go home alone and neither of you ever texts the other again). There's a happy medium here, and it's finding someone you want to hang out with — maybe just once, maybe more than once; maybe in a romantic context, maybe in a platonic one.

"If you swipe or match with someone and immediately start asking yourself, 'Is he or she The One?' it's the wrong question to ask and you will probably be disappointed," Coles told us. "And that's a lot of pressure to put on a first date."

On a date, ask yourself if this is someone worth adding to your friend group

I know that if I'd heard this advice in my early 20s, I would have loved it — on an intellectual level — and promptly gone on to ignore it as soon as I went out with someone new.

But Coles also had some more concrete suggestions for mentally reframing a date, and dating in general. She recommended asking yourself:

  • Do I like this person?
  • Would it be worth adding this person to my friend group?
  • Do I want to see this person again?
  • If I don't find this person attractive, do I have a friend who might find them attractive?
  • Is this a person who I have something in common with?

That question about whether a pal might find the person attractive could prove more useful than you think. Research suggests that most American couples still meet through friends. So if everyone in your friend group agrees to pass along their "cast-offs" to someone else, you all could wind up with a higher chance of meeting someone great.

Perhaps the best way to get out of the dating-is-wasteful mentality is to just live your life and do things you enjoy.

Instead of spending all your free time on dating apps, re-allocate some of that time toward "expanding your actual social network," Coles said. In particular, she recommended joining a sports team or a choir, taking a painting class or a dance lesson.

"You'll meet more people and you'll have something in common to talk about with them and something in common to do, which doesn't just revolve around the hope you have that this person might turn into The One."

Richard Feloni contributed reporting.

SEE ALSO: Diversity in hiring is more important than ever — and media exec Joanna Coles says there's a right and a wrong way to do it

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: A data scientist reveals how you can tell if a first date is going well based on language choice


How your place in the birth order could affect your success in life

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siblings

  • Siblings often have different personalities, and their places in the birth order may be partially responsible.
  • First-born kids tend to be leaders, like CEOS and founders, and are more likely to achieve traditional success.
  • Middle-born children often embody a mix of the traits of older and younger siblings, and they’re very relationship-focused.
  • Last-born individuals are used to fighting for attention and respect and aren’t afraid to break the rules and redefine success.

 

We tend to associate first-born siblings with leadership and success and “the baby of the family” with rule-breaking and humor. And while science doesn’t universally back up those assumptions, some experts have found that one’s place in the birth order can have a lasting impact on professional success.

SEE ALSO: A psychologist explains how birth order affects your chances of success

1. First-born kids are poised for success

First-born children have a special place in the family hierarchy.

“[They] come into the world as their parents’ sole princess or prince,” wrote Jeffrey Kluger, author of the book “The Sibling Effect: What the Bonds Among Brothers and Sisters Reveal About Us” in an article for "Time."“They are more inclined to be pampered, more inclined to be indulged, more inclined to grow up with a sense that they sit at the center of the familial orbit.”

They also may be inclined to assume leadership positions. In a 2007 survey of 1,582 chief executives, 43% reported that they are the first born. Another, smaller survey revealed that first-borns are 55% more likely than the rest of the population to be founders of companies or organizations.

“Studies of CEOs have shown that those who are first-borns tend to run their companies conservatively — improving things by, say, streamlining product lines, simplifying distribution routes and generally making sure the trains run on time,” Kluger wrote in an article for TIME.

Elon Musk, Richard Branson, and Jeff Bezos are all first-borns who went on to become successful CEOs.

Eldest children also tend to have higher IQs and be more cautious and dutiful, the New York Times reports, and they often earn higher salaries, according to study from CareerBuilder.



2. Middle-born children are team players

Kids who are born in the middle tend to be less well defined in their personalities than their older or younger siblings.

“They’re more of a puzzle,” Kluger wrote. “They may adopt the behaviors of the biggest siblings or the littlest ones — or they may find some behavioral blend of the two.”

Research from the University of Redlands in California found that middle-born kids are more relationship-focused, which bodes well for their careers.

“At the heart of nearly all jobs is that kind of relationship management — connecting, negotiating, brokering peace between differing sides,” Kluger wrote in TIME. “Middle siblings may not wind up as the corporate chiefs or the comedians, but whatever they do, they’re likely to do it more collegially and agreeably — and, as a result, more successfully — than other siblings.”

Katrin Schumann, co-author of "The Secret Power of Middle Children: How Middleborns Can Harness Their Unexpected and Remarkable Abilities," said in an article for "Psychology Today" that middle children are social beings, skilled negotiators, and good team players who think outside the box and resist conformity. She pointed to such examples as Madonna, Martin Luther King Jr., Charles Darwin, and Abraham Lincoln.



3. Last-born kids rewrite the rules

When you’re the last-born child of the family, you have to contend with being the smallest and weakest of the bunch.

“That makes them more inclined to be rebellious (the better to overturn the system),” Kluger wrote. “It also makes them funnier, more intuitive and more charismatic than their older siblings. If you can’t use strength and size to prevent yourself from getting pushed around, you learn to disarm with charm and to pay attention to other people’s thoughts and motivations in order to stay one step ahead of them.”

Younger siblings are more likely to participate in high-risk sports than their older siblings, according to researchers from the University of California, Berkeley and Guildford College. This translates to bigger risk-taking in the professional world, according to Kluger: “Last-borns are more likely to blow up the tracks and buy new trains — reinventing a company entirely, rather than simply reforming or improving it.”

Another study found that last-borns are more relaxed, easy-going, and funnier.

“Multiple studies have shown that the baby of the family is likelier than other siblings to be a writer or artist or especially a comedian — Stephen Colbert, the youngest of 11 siblings, is a great example of this,” Kluger wrote. “All this, again, speaks to the last-born’s ability to get inside other people’s heads. You can’t write a powerful poem if you don’t deeply understand what moves your potential readers.”



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

'I'll never beat that record': Trump praises Barbara and George HW Bush's 73-year marriage

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  • President Donald Trump offered his condolences to the family members of former first lady Barbara Bush who died on Tuesday at age 92.
  • Trump also gave a self-deprecating comment in light of the decades-long marriage between Barbara and former President George H.W. Bush.


President Donald Trump offered his condolences following the death of former first lady Barbara Bush, and added a self-deprecating comment in light of the decades-long marriage between Barbara and former President George H.W. Bush.

"Our hearts are saddened by her passing, but our spirits are lifted by the memories of her goodness and her grace," Trump said in his opening statement during a news conference with Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday. "She was a good person."

"Melania and I send our prayers to Barbara's husband of 73 years. I'll never beat that record," Trump quipped.

The Bushes 73-year marriage is the longest of any presidential couple. The two met at a dance in 1942, when Barbara was 16 and Bush was 17.

SEE ALSO: A new era of diplomatic relations with North Korea is on the horizon — here's what's happened so far

Join the conversation about this story »

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Netflix's 'Amateur' director had to navigate real-life NCAA regulations in casting a 15 year old as a basketball star

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Amateur_William Gray Netflix final

Director Ryan Koo got himself the golden ticket when his directorial debut “Amateur” was bought by Netflix in the script stage to be one of its original movies. But the journey the movie took to get to the streaming giant’s millions of viewers was a challenging one.

It’s a struggle to make every movie, but Koo can make the argument that he took on obstacles that most first-time filmmakers don’t.

In “Amateur” (currently available on Netflix) we get a look inside what young basketball phenoms go through to get the attention of a big-time Division I NCAA school. Main character 14-year-old Terron Forte is a star on his school basketball team, but to get to the next level his family enrolls him in a shady prep-school. In doing so, we see firsthand the corruption behind youth athletics where the kids no longer play for the coach, or to get into college, or even the NBA — they play for the brands.

To capture that authentic feel, Koo cast 15-year-old actor Michael Rainey Jr. in the role of Terron. And as he explained to Business Insider, what came with that decision were a lot of restrictions that, if navigated incorrectly, could have crippled the entire movie.

SEE ALSO: The director of HBO's Andre the Giant documentary explains how he debunked some major myths and got Vince McMahon to cry

The frustrations behind finding a lead actor

Koo said a big reason why it took years for “Amateur” to get made was because of his insistence on having a real teen for the lead role.

Not only would that mean that there would be production restrictions laid on him because he was working with a minor (more on that below), but he would have to find a kid who wasn’t just skilled at basketball, but had top acting skills to carry a feature film.

“In basketball films you are working with an actor who probably had to learn how to play the sport for the role rather than come from a starting point of being a great basketball player themselves,” Koo said. “So I always assumed I was going to need to cast a basketball player who had never acted before.”

The problem Koo found in his research is a skilled high school basketball player could potentially play in college. If he were to pay that person for being in the movie that person would lose his eligibility to play basketball in college, according to the rules by the NCAA which does not allow its student athletes to be paid.

“You're talking about a weeks-long movie shoot as a full time job, which you can't pay your lead actor,” Koo said. “So we were on the phone with the NCAA a few times about this to try to figure out what we could and couldn't do and who we could cast.”

Eventually Koo got extremely lucky and found an actor who had been a talented basketball player for years.

Michael Rainey Jr. had been a working actor since 8 years old, starring along side Common in the 2012 movie “Luv” and the son of Sophia Burset in “Orange is the New Black.” But Koo learned that he had also played basketball as well, even running point on an AAU team.

Rainey got the part and Koo teamed him with a basketball trainer to hone the moves he would show off in the movie.

But things didn’t get easier for Koo going into production.



The crew’s worst nightmare: Shooting a movie in “splits”

It’s a term that gives movie crews the chills — splits. That’s when a production’s shooting day is split up between a daytime block and a night block. The “Amateur” production had to do this because it was shooting a movie with a minor, so he could only work 8-and-a-half hours per day with production required to stop at 12:30 am. And because high-school basketball games are played in the evening, there would be a lot of evening scenes.

“That gives you very little flexibility to swap things,” Koo said. “You have to make the first half of your day because you're racing daylight, and we had a hard out every night at 12:30.”

So most days would start with the production getting set up at noon on its Denver set, Rainey would show up on set at 3 p.m. and they would immediately begin shooting. They would break for lunch at 8 p.m., wait until it got dark, and then shoot the evening scenes until Rainey had to wrap at 12:30.

And because Koo and his production were racing the clock daily, the “Amateur” production never had a company move (meaning packing everything up and moving to another location). That's a rarity for any movie.

“We had no time,” Koo said. “So what we ended up doing was finding locations that we could use for many locations. In the movie it looks like Terron goes from this less well-off public school to a much nicer, posh private school. There's one school I used for at least four schools. In the gym we did painting and made it into different colors to make it look like they played in different gyms.”



A 15 year old’s remarkable poise during the drama to get the movie’s final shot

“Amateur” ends with a powerful scene where Terron breaks down and cries after thinking back on the experience he’s just gone through and what the future may bring.

For the scene, Koo wanted Rainey to show real emotion and not have him do it with fake tears. Rainey was up for it, and everyone was set up to start the scene once he gave the sign to Koo that he was ready. Koo said all was going according to plan and he thought the scene was perfect when he said “cut.” However, there was one problem.

“Our cameras didn’t work,” he said.

They tried another take, and again, the cameras didn’t work. Though Koo said both he and Rainey were upset about what was happening, the director commends his young lead actor’s composure.

“We got it on the third take,” Koo said.

Looking back Koo can’t believe they pulled it off with all the restrictions against them. But he admits he would absolutely work with a teen as the lead in his movie again.

“There is no substitute for the very real, very unique, emotions of youth,” he said. “I think that's why audiences respond to coming-of-age stories — we are aware, especially later in life, of how fleeting those moments were. We'll never be the same age again and we'll never get those feelings back. When I look at Michael in the film I feel privileged to have captured, and preserved, those emotions on-screen.”



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 13 biggest mistakes people make on dating apps — and what to do instead

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couple dating

Hands up if you have hundreds of matches on dating apps who you've never spoken to. It's a pretty common habit, and probably the result of just having too much choice. 

But according to Erika Ettin, relationship coach and the founder of dating site A Little Nudge, this is just one of the many ways we are doing ourselves a disservice when it comes to looking for love.

Ettin spoke to Business Insider about all the ways you're going wrong on your dating app profiles, and what you should do instead to help you find "the one." They aren't rules, rather tried and tested methods that work.

"You'll find an exception to every rule, but my background is analytical, and I'm an analytical person," Ettin said. "So if something works 99% of the time, that's what I'm going to recommend. You'll always find the 1% and that's fine, but I'd rather give you a better chance."

Most of the mistakes are surprisingly simple — scroll down to see how many you're guilty of. 

SEE ALSO: You've heard of 'ghosting' — here are the 11 modern dating terms you'll probably start hearing everywhere

1. Not writing a bio

You might think that not writing anything on your profile makes you look aloof and mysterious. In reality, you just look boring, and you're giving your potential matches too much of a reason to swipe left (left meaning no thanks).

"It doesn't matter how attractive you look in your pictures, if you haven't written a single word then people question what the heck you're doing on there," Ettin said. "So it doesn't take much. I only recommend 20-40 words on a dating app. 20 words is not that many, and you can write anything."

You can write a couple of words about what you do for a living, two truths and a lie, a few bullet points — it doesn't matter. Literally anything is better than no words at all.



2. Just writing your height

This is one of Ettin's pet peeves. Some men think women are just after a man over a certain height, which isn't true at all.

"When men only list their height, it's as if that's the only thing to offer in this world," Ettin said. "I'm sure some people who care about height are appreciative of that, but seriously is that the only thing? It's insulting! Like, wow he's a catch, he's 6ft tall, but maybe he was in jail last year."



3. Too many pictures

Just because an app allows you to upload a certain amount of photos, this doesn't mean you should. According to Ettin, four or five is the optimum.

"People have a tendency to look through every picture and find one they don't like, and then dismiss you because of that one," she said. "I would never put more than five pictures. It's enough. People can see what you look like."



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 20 most popular TV characters in the world

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end of f ing world

In any form of storytelling, characters are often what draws an audience in.

But in television, compelling characters are especially crucial, as they're tasked with holding the interest of viewers over the course of a season or an entire series. 

TV Time has compiled data from the in-app voting of its 12 million registered global users this year to track which TV characters audiences have gravitated toward the most in particular episodes. The app tracks 60,000 TV shows.

But which characters were the most popular?

Netflix, it turns out, has (unsurprisingly) found successful formulas for character development, as a number of characters from Netflix originals like "The End of the F***ing World" and "Money Heist" appear on this list.

Here are the 20 most popular TV characters in the world (followed by the 20 most popular in the US), according to TV Time users:

SEE ALSO: The 50 best TV show seasons of all time, according to critics

GLOBAL DATA



20. Sheldon Cooper — "Young Sheldon"

Played by: Iain Armitage



19. Denver — "Money Heist"

Played by: Jaime Lorente



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 15 highest-paid doctors, according to LinkedIn

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woman doctor physician medicine research microscope medical

  • Medicine is a field that's supposed to promise high salaries.
  • That's a popular line of thinking, anyway.
  • But some roles tend to rake in higher pay than others.
  • LinkedIn looked through its salary data to figure out which healthcare jobs earn the most money.


Medicine is a lucrative field.

It is true that highly skilled people working in an in-demand industry like healthcare tend to make a lot of money. But which positions really earn the most?

In order to find out, LinkedIn provided Business Insider with data collected through the site's salary tool over the past year, which asks verified members to submit their salary and collects data on wages. Of course, since the data is self-reported by users, it might be subject to some variation.

The jobs are all from the healthcare industry, but c-suite titles were eliminated from the search. LinkedIn calculated median base salaries, as well as median total salaries, which included additional compensation like annual bonuses, sign-on bonuses, stock options, and commission.

The top gigs all went to physicians. These 15 positions all make a median base salary of at least $225,000 a year.

Here are the highest-paying jobs in healthcare:

SEE ALSO: The 15 highest-paying jobs in tech, according to LinkedIn

DON'T MISS: The highest-paying jobs in finance, according to LinkedIn

SEE ALSO: 6 things Hollywood gets wrong about doctors — and 4 things it gets right

15. Hospitalist

Hospitalists are physicians who provide general medical care to hospitalized patients.

Base median salary: $225,000

Total median salary: $240,000



14. Pathologist

Pathologists focus on diagnosing diseases.

Base median salary: $240,000

Total median salary: $250,000



13. Medical director

Medical directors are typically physicians who occupy a senior role in a hospital or health clinic.

Base median salary: $238,000

Total median salary: $258,000



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Amy Schumer's new movie, 'I Feel Pretty,' has a 36% on Rotten Tomatoes and is projected to bomb at the box office

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i feel pretty amy schumer

Critics are panning the new Amy Schumer-led comedy, "I Feel Pretty," with the film's trailer having already spurred an online backlash this week ahead of the movie's release on Friday.

Schumer stars as the film's lead character, Renee, who the film's website says "struggles with feelings of deep insecurity and low self-esteem" but one day "wakes from a brutal fall in an exercise class believing she is suddenly a supermodel."

Written and directed by Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein, "I Feel Pretty" drew criticism on social media earlier this week over its trailer, which some argued appeared to promote a negative stance on issues of body image.

Schumer has responded to the backlash in interviews with multiple outlets. She told Vulture that audiences should see the film before judging it, and she described how she felt the film addressed issues of low self-esteem.

"It's not about an ugly troll becoming beautiful — it's about a woman who has low self-esteem finding some," Schumer told Vulture. "Everyone's got a right to feel that feeling, regardless of their appearance."

But film critics appear to have not found much redeeming material in "I Feel Pretty." The film has a 36% "Rotten" rating on the reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.

"I Feel Pretty" is also expected to open to a slow start in theaters this weekend. The Wrap projected that the film was set for an opening of $13 million to $15 million at the box office, well below the release of Schumer's 2015 film, "Trainwreck," which opened with $30 million and went on to gross $140.7 million worldwide.

Here are a few of the harshest reviews of the film so far:

SEE ALSO: The 44 worst movies made by iconic directors — from Spielberg to Scorsese

"An honest-to-God fiasco. Virtually every single aspect of this rigidly unfunny comedy is botched, from the characters to the plot, the themes to the core message."

Inkoo Kang, The Wrap



"'I Feel Pretty' takes a talented comic and casts her in the worst possible light (and I don't mean that literally — she looks fine)."

Sara Stewart, The New York Post



"Ersatz and predictable, 'I Feel Pretty' just wanders in circles of amiable confusion, and the star never finds a groove that connects the two halves of Renee into one believable woman."

Ty Burr, Boston Globe



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Here's which generation you're part of based on your birth year — and why those distinctions exist

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selfie millennials times square new york city

  • Pew Research Foundation recently established its definition of millennials as people born between 1981 and 1996.
  • Defining generations helps researchers see how coming of age during certain historical events and technological changes influence the way people see the world.
  • Pew thinks it's still too early to define the generation that comes after millennials, but some names tossed around are "postmillennial generation" and Generation Z.

The only generation officially designated by the US Census Bureau is the baby-boomer generation.

Yet that hasn't stopped demographers from classifying other cohorts into ranges of birth years. Often this is done to better understand how formative experiences such as world events or technological changes shape the ways people see and interact with the world.

In March, the Pew Research Center established an official cutoff point for the end of the millennial generation, formally designating millennials as people born between 1981 and 1996.

In an explanation of that decision, Pew president Michael Dimock wrote that generations are better viewed as a tool for understanding how perspectives and views change — not as strict categories that define who people are.

Older millennials and younger millennials probably feel differently about a number of topics, but most were between ages 5 and 20 when the 9/11 terrorist attacks happened. That means that those attacks and their aftermath loomed large as those people have become adults.

The economic recession of 2008 — which came at a time when many millennials were entering the workforce — played a significant role too. Plus, as Dimock put it, "Millennials came of age during the internet explosion."

Here's how Pew officially categorizes the generations by birth year at this point in time:

Which generation you're in based on your birth year chart_BI Graphics

The number of birth years that a generation includes can vary. Millennials span a 16-year range, according to Pew. The Gen X cohort was another 16-year group, but the boomers had a 19-year range and the silent generation an 18-year range.

Picking a cutoff year is complicated, of course, as groups change over time.

"[T]he differences within generations can be just as great as the differences across generations, and the youngest and oldest within a commonly defined cohort may feel more in common with bordering generations than the one to which they are assigned," Dimock wrote.

Yet establishing a cutoff point helps researchers investigate how a group has been shaped by similar experiences.

Pew thinks it's too early to define the generation that comes after millennials, but some names that have been tossed around are "the postmillennial generation" or Gen Z.

By the time people born in 1997 or later became teenagers, the US had largely become a place where it was possible to be constantly connected to the internet, usually with a mobile device (the iPhone launched in 2007). While millennials largely adapted to social media and consistent connection to the internet, people born from the late '90s on probably don't remember a time without those tools.

But the kids being born now will likely be considered part of a new generation after Gen Z.

Dimock said it's always possible that new data could give researchers a reason to reevaluate these generational boundaries, though. In the meantime, he said, the group coming of age after millennials would be especially interesting to follow.

"We look forward to spending the next few years studying this generation as it enters adulthood," Dimock wrote. "All the while, we’ll keep in mind that generations are a lens through which to understand societal change, rather than a label with which to oversimplify differences between groups."

SEE ALSO: Past generations left millennials and future youth facing a crisis

Join the conversation about this story »

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High schoolers across America will start playing video games for sport this fall — meet the 25-year-old Detroit native who made it happen

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Delane Parnell PlayVS esports 2

  • Delane Parnell, a 25-year-old Detroit native, is bringing a competitive video gaming (or eSports) league to high schools across America.
  • He is not the stereotypical Silicon Valley tech founder and has overcome a lot. "I'm from Detroit. I grew up in the Jeffries Projects. Raised by a single mother. My father was murdered before I was born," Parnell said matter-of-factly.
  • His startup PlayVS is teaming up with the country's leading governing body for high school sports to build infrastructure for an eSports-focused league.
  • Student athletes will form eSports teams at their schools, compete with players from other schools, and battle for titles at state championships.

 

Growing up, Delane Parnell and his friends would gather after school in a classroom, where a plucky science teacher set up laptops and PCs for an unofficial competitive video gaming, or eSports, club. It created a safe space for Parnell, who grew up in a tough Detroit neighborhood, to be competitive, laugh, socialize, and engage in something he loved: video games.

Now, Parnell, 25, wants to bring a competitive eSports league to high schools across America.

His venture-backed startup, PlayVS, is building an online platform that will let teen gamers form eSports teams at their high schools, compete with players from other schools, and battle for titles at state championships. The idea is to bring eSports into the fold of traditional high school athletics by giving gamers a platform to operate on and a stage for recognition.

PlayVS is announcing on Thursday that it's landed an exclusive partnership with the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), an organization that writes the rules of competition for most high school sports in the US and reaches nearly eight million high school athletes. The two will work together to introduce eSports across NFHS's 50 member states.

From 8 Mile to Silicon Beach

Without eSports, Parnell isn't sure he would have made a career in technology.

"I'm from Detroit. I grew up in the Jeffries Projects. Raised by a single mother. My father was murdered before I was born," Parnell said matter-of-factly.

As a teenager, he moved to the city's West Side and lived a few blocks away from the notorious 8 Mile Road. He started his first job at age 13 and played sports — requirements his mom put in place to ensure her two sons would stay out of the neighborhood until she got home from work.

Parnell grew up without a computer or home internet. So when a science teacher put together an unofficial eSports club — before eSports was even "a thing" — in his classroom after school, Parnell jumped at the opportunity. There, he found his community, and his people.

After graduating high school, Parnell went onto become a senior associate at a small seed-stage investment firm called IncWell Venture Capital and an early employee at Rocket Fiber, a high-speed internet company based in Detroit. But he had an itch to build something around eSports.

A fateful meeting on a dance floor with Peter Pham, an angel investor and cofounder of a startup incubator called Science, at South by Southwest led Parnell to move from Detroit to Santa Monica to develop his idea. He founded PlayVS out of the incubator a month later.

How PlayVS works

Parnell describes the PlayVS platform as a virtual gymnasium, weight room, and trophy case.

High school students will choose from four game titles to play, "practice" online on school computers, and compete during two four-month seasons that each end in a state championship.

esports, Overwatch League

While students will play the games on a bigger distribution platform like Steam, the PlayVS platform will download the scores of those matches and publish the results on its own ranking of top gamers. Students will be able to maintain player profiles and team pages on PlayVS.

"We look at ourselves as a full-stack sport," Parnell said.

The inaugural season kicks off in October, with high school students in at least 15 states getting access to PlayVS's platform. Parnell declined to name the game publishers or states taking part, but said the games will span three genres: multiplayer online battle arena, fighting, and sports games.

The eSports industry is on fire

PlayVS will lean on the NFHS to help it build infrastructure for an eSports league that Parnell hopes to take across 50 states someday. According to Parnell, the federation had been looking to expand its offerings into eSports for at least two years, as it watched interest in eSports grow.

Some 335 million people watched or played eSports in 2017, an increase of 19% year over year, according to market intelligence firm Newzoo. If the eSports nation were an actual nation, it would be the third largest country on the planet, ahead of the United States in population size.

Newzoo expects the global eSports economy will grow 38% to $906 million in 2018.

esports, Overwatch League, dhaK,

PlayVS will make money in part by charging a $16 membership fee per student per month that they (or their school) must pay in order to access the platform. That works out to about $128 per year, which could be cost-prohibitive for some students, over two four-month seasons.

When asked if he thinks there will be backlash from school administrators or parents who say eSports "isn't a real sport," Parnell bristled, calling the criticism a "generational issue."

Not everyone will agree with bringing eSports to high schools, though.

Last year, the World Health Organization said it was considering adding "gaming disorder" to a list of mental health conditions, stating that problematic gaming behavior might cause problems in other areas of people's lives. There's been a call for more research into the links between video games and violence in the wake of events like the school shooting in Parkland, Florida. For this reason, Parnell said that PlayVS will not offer shooting games on the platform.

Still, the percentage of teens who play video games rose to 72% in 2015. Some colleges in the US and Canada have started recruiting and offering scholarships for eSports, while some enthusiasts have turned their hobbies into lucrative careers as professional eSports gamers.

Parnell wants to give students a chance to seize those opportunities.

"Esports is about more than just playing games," he said in a statement. "It can be used to help students grow their STEM interests and develop valuable life skills, and since there are more high school gamers than athletes, it's about time we foster this pastime in an educational setting."

SEE ALSO: How playing video games affects your body and brain

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NOW WATCH: It turns out the life of a professional video game player is harder than you think

'Avengers: Infinity War' directors reveal 'the most frightening thing' about villain Thanos

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  • In an interview with Newsweek, "Avengers: Infinity War" directors Joe and Anthony Russo reveal "the most frightening thing" about villain Thanos.
  • They call him "understandable" and say that the audience might find themselves empathizing with him.
  • This calls to mind the "Black Panther" villain, Killmonger, who was praised for being a figure who made a strong argument — #KillmongerWasRight even trended on Twitter after the film's release.

 

The villain Thanos may want to destroy half the universe in Marvel's "Avengers: Infinity War," but according to directors Joe and Anthony Russo, he's sympathetic — and that's the most frightening thing of all.

When the movie hits theaters next week, audiences will get their best look yet at Thanos, played by Josh Brolin, whose battle against the Avengers has been teased and built up for the past 10 years of Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.

In an interview with Newsweek, the Russo brothers revealed "the most frightening thing about Thanos" is that he might actually have good reasons for his evil deeds.

"While he has a horrific goal in mind, he has a lot of conviction,” Anthony Russo told Newsweek. “Some of what he’s looking for in the movie is actually very understandable. That, I think, is where it gets very uncomfortable and challenging. You find yourself empathizing with him.”

"You don’t root for Thanos,” Dan DeLeeuw, Infinity War’s visual effects supervisor, told Newsweek. “But there’s something very charismatic about him."

This description resembles the "Black Panther" villain Killmonger, played by Michael B. Jordan, who was praised by critics and audiences for being a sympathetic figure even though his methods were brutal.

The character was so captivating that #KillmongerWasRight was trending on Twitter after the film's release because of how strong an argument he made despite the morally questionable execution of his goals. 

It might be hard to root for a guy who wants to wipe out most of humanity — including the Avengers — but we'll see just how compelling Thanos' motives are when "Avengers: Infinity War" is released on April 27.

SEE ALSO: The rise of the Russo brothers — from going into credit card debt for their first movie to directing 'Avengers: Infinity War'

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NOW WATCH: What will happen when Earth's north and south poles flip

All the TV shows that have been canceled in 2018

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Everything Sucks!

It's still early in the year, but the list of canceled TV shows is already piling up.

Networks haven't announced many cancellations yet, except for ABC, which canceled its freshman sitcom "The Mayor" and "Once Upon a Time," once a ratings hit. And in March, TNT announced the cancellation of its original series "The Librarians."

On the streaming side, things are a bit different. Amazon kicked off the year with a slew of cancellations, announcing the end of three quirky comedies, including the Golden Globe nominee "I Love Dick" and the comedian Tig Notaro's semi-autobiographical show, "One Mississippi." It canceled Golden Globe nominee "Mozart in the Jungle" in April, after four seasons. Also in April, Netflix canceled the 90s coming-of-age comedy, "Everything Sucks," which came to the streaming service in February. 

There are many more cancellations to come, especially since networks haven't announced the fate of their fall shows.

We'll update this list as more are announced.

Here are all the shows that have been canceled this year, including those from networks and Netflix:

SEE ALSO: The worst TV show of every year since 2000, according to critics

"The Mayor" — ABC, one season



"Chance" — Hulu, two seasons



"Lady Dynamite" — Netflix, two seasons



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

I'm an NYC local — here are 9 things you should see and skip when you visit

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  • New York City can be overwhelming, and you want to make sure you hit all the right spots on your next visit.
  • After living in New York City for five years, author Adrienne Jordan discovered which places are worth visiting and which you should definitely skip.
  • From active adventures to culinary hotspots, here are nine attractions you must see in New York City.

 

Visiting New York City is always a multi-sensory experience: from the hundreds of skyscrapers, the heady smell of street food, and the multitude of neighborhoods begging to be explored. However, narrowing down the best sights and attractions can be overwhelming.

After living in New York City for five years, I have found that some of the best places I’ve experienced have come from locals and insider recommendations. Here are 12 things I recommend people to do in the city, from visiting historic buildings, active adventures, to culinary hotspots:

SEE ALSO: 11 Hidden attractions in New York City that even locals might not know exist

1. Skip the Statue of Liberty — visit the 9/11 Museum at One World Trade Center instead

The view of the statue is just as spectacular from Battery Park (a 10-minute walk from the museum) as going to Ellis Island, and you have a picturesque skyline as a backdrop.

The museum tells the story of 9/11 through interactive technology, archives, narratives, and a collection of artifacts. 



2. Instead of buying a hot dog or sausage from a Manhattan food truck, try an egg cream

The food trucks are great for quick bites on the go, but you can take your time, sit down, and savor an egg cream at a restaurant.

The quintessential New York City soda fountain drink contains neither eggs nor cream and dates back to the early 1900s. You can find it at many iconic establishments in the city, such as Katz's Deli, Russ & Daughters, and Yonah Schimmel's.



3. Skip jam-packed Times Square, and head to Columbus Circle instead

The crowds in Times Square can be overwhelming at times, but Columbus Circle is not as busy, and is adjacent to Central Park, so you can take a nature-filled walk after shopping around.

At Columbus Circle, you can browse The Shops at Columbus Circle, have lunch at the French restaurant Landmarc, and burn calories with a day pass at Equinox.

If you do decide to head to Times Square, instead of taking a photo with one of the costumed characters, visit Gulliver’s Gate, located in the heart of Times Square: the largest miniature world in the U.S. The permanent exhibition is 50,000 square feet of places around the world in miniature. You'll get a key when you enter which allows you to interact with different parts of the display.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Disney World employees share the 7 things they wish parkgoers would stop doing

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  • Walt Disney Worldemployees, also known as cast members, are trained in the art of creating a positive experience for guests.
  • But some visitors to the famed Orlando park don't make things easy for the people who work there.
  • Business Insider spoke with eight former Disney World cast members to get an idea of the most annoying guest behaviors.
  • From overly aggressive pin-hunting to blaming cast members for bad weather, these are the things sure to annoy or concern Disney World cast members.

Walt Disney World cast members interact with a ton of guests every year — as many as 20.4 million people visited the park in 2016.

But for employees, also known as cast members, not every interaction with a guest is going to be positive and seamless.

John Quagliano, a former cast member, told Business Insider that most guests were perfectly nice to cast members.

"But at the same time, a lot of people can be really testy," he said.

Quagliano, who worked in the Magic Kingdom, added that he understood why some Disney visitors might be on edge at the park.

"People have just spent this much money to have this wonderful vacation and come to Florida, and then all of a sudden they get to the park and they realize 'Whoa, my family and I maybe have to stand in line for 20 minutes,' or 'It's raining, and now the ride's closed down,'" Quagliano said. "A water's $3, so they get thirsty and they say, 'I just spent four grand on a hotel — how is the water $3?'"

But former cast members say there are some things visitors can avoid doing to avoid antagonizing them.

Business Insider recently spoke to eight people who participated in the Disney College Program at Disney World. Here are the annoying guest behaviors they said they wished would stop.

SEE ALSO: A look inside the daily routine of Walt Disney, who wandered through the office after hours and always carried snacks in his pockets

DON'T MISS: 11 insider facts about working at Walt Disney World only cast members know

READ MORE: 20 cities are left in the running for Amazon's second headquarters — and the story of Disney's secret hunt for land nearly 60 years ago could predict how Amazon's HQ2 will change its home city

Getting mad while waiting in line

At Disney World, the lines can get long, and heat and boredom can cause tempers to flare.

But one former cast member who operated rides like The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and The Mad Tea Party, told Business Insider that now that she had worked at the park, she'd "never get upset at a merge point, when a cast member lets all of the FastPass line go and not standby."

"There's a certain expectation in terms of how that is done — and knowing that, I am more than willing to be patient with the cast member at merge because I know they're just doing their job," she told Business Insider.



Ignoring cast members' instructions — especially when it comes to safety precautions

"A lot of guests sort of ignored safety-related directions," Devin Melendy, a former cast member who wrote "Devin Earns Her Ears: My Secret Walt Disney World Cast Member Diary," told Business Insider.

Melendy, who worked in Frontierland, said she often helped with crowd control during park parades. She said she felt uncomfortable when she had to ask guests to move to a better location and often got attitude in response.

Quagliano agreed, saying he sometimes encountered guests who were reluctant to comply with requests like moving strollers to the side to avoid blocking foot traffic.

"We don't tell people what to do just for the sake of doing it," Melendy said. "Disney is very devoted to safety and making sure that guests are happy and in a safe zone. We don't do it for fun — it's so everyone can enjoy the park and the parades in a safe manner."



Debating height requirements for rides

"You'll have guests try to argue about the height requirement when they're at the front of the line," Christina Hartless, a former Disney cast member, told Business Insider. "You'll have guests who try to stuff their kids' shoes."

Hartless worked at the Epcot attraction The Sum of All Thrills, which allowed guests to design a simulated roller-coaster experience.

The ride had two height requirements: You had to be 48 inches tall to ride and 54 inches tall to use the feature that would flip the attraction upside down.

As a result, Hartless said, she often encountered people who'd try to persuade cast members to look the other way when it came to height requirements.

"I once had a family tell me that they had come all the way from Brazil just so their 3-year-old could ride that ride," she said, "which I kind of doubted."

Fortunately, Disney World's website allows you to check which rides have height requirements before you waste your time waiting in line and bugging cast members.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

You're probably bending over all wrong — here's the right way to do it

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Whether it'd be picking something off the floor or tying your shoelace, we bend over to the floor every day. But have you realized that you might be doing it wrong and causing irreversible damage to your spine and back? With the help of professionals like Stuart McGill, the author of "Back Mechanics" and Jean Couch, an expert on spine alignment, we discovered the proper way everyone should bend over. Following is a transcript of the video.

If you’re American, chances are you’re bending over all wrong. When Americans reach down, they’re likely to first tilt their heads down and then bend from the waist. This contorts the body into a cashew-like shape. Not only is it uncomfortable, bending this way increases the stress on your spinal discs. These joints just weren’t designed to bend this way. Their job is to stabilize, not to move the spine. And over time, it can weaken the collagen fibers of your spine and cause back pain. The position can also cause your muscles to tighten and get tense. 

It might not seem like a big deal, but a little back pain can cause a lot of problems. According to a recent report by the CDC, nearly 30% of American adults reported having lower back pain within the past 3 months of the study. And the same investigation found that lower back pain is the leading cause of disability in Americans under 45. Lower back pain can also affect your mental health. A study by the American Academy of Pain Medicine found that adults with lower back pain are more than four times as likely to experience serious psychological distress compared to people without lower back pain. And contrary to popular belief, lifting with your legs isn’t any better. 

Stuart McGill: If you lift with your legs you will become very tired in the legs, you’ll stress the knees and the ankles. So it’s much for physiologically demanding.

The overarching issue, it seems, is that Americans have a habit of poor posture and alignment.  But strangely, people from other countries don’t seem to have this problem, at least until recently.

JeanCouch: You have to get to get into smaller and smaller villages. Because of media, everyone around the world has access to United States pop culture. And in almost all pop culture the body is completely collapsed. So we’re exporting this posture all around the world.

Couch has observed that people in Peru, Guatemala, and other non-Western cultures tend to bend using a technique that protects your spine. 

Jean Couch: In the United States people bend like this so the back is rounded. And people who are safe bend like this.

In this technique, you bend from the hips, keeping your back parallel to the floor. Why is this better for you? It all starts with how your hips are designed to move. These joints work like a ball and socket, so they freely swing back and forth. As a result, they can withstand a lot more force than your spinal disks, which aren’t made to handle repeated movements. When overstressed, these disks can separate and lead to disk herniation. So how can you get in the habit of table bending?

Jean Couch: Stand up, and put your heels 12 inches apart and put your toes 14 inches apart. Put your hands on your waist. When you bend here, it’s dangerous, it wears out your spinal discs and makes your back tense. Where you want to bend is not at your waist, it’s at your hip. So we have a shortcut we use —if you were Adam from the Bible, where would you put your fig leaf? Put a fig leaf here. When you bend, you want your figleaf to go through your legs. And then the spine comes along and just goes up and down.

Good luck! And remember, “cashew-chic” is not a good look for your back.

 

 

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Coachella has a rampant sexual harassment problem, according to 54 women interviewed at this year's festival

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  • Teen Vogue interviewed 54 women at Coachella for a report, and all of the women said they had been sexually harassed or assaulted at the music festival.
  • The report featured a series of quotes from women describing experiences of being subjected to inappropriate touching and comments.

A Teen Vogue report on the first weekend of Coachella found dozens of women who said they had experienced sexual harassment or assault at the California music festival this year.

Teen Vogue writer Vera Papisova, the author of the article, said in the report that she herself was "groped 22 times" during the 10 hours she spent at the festival. Papisova wrote that she spoke to 54 women who all said they had been sexually harassed or assaulted at Coachella. 

Coachella did not respond to Teen Vogue's story and has not yet responded to a request for comment on the matter from Business Insider.

The Teen Vogue story featured a series of quotes from women describing experiences of being subjected to inappropriate touching and comments.

"It never goes further than a touch on my butt or my back, but it’s not an OK place to be touched," a 20-year-old woman named June told the outlet. "Would you do that to a coworker? Or another guy? Then don’t do that to me. This is my third day, and it’s probably happened to me 40 times this weekend."

Music festivals, other than Coachella, have had a history of reported assault and harassment in recent years, including the more than 40 sexual assaults that were alleged to have occurred at two Swedish music festivals in 2016.

The Teen Vogue report concluded by noting Coachella's absence of "sexual-assault literature," or specific informational resources for attendees seeking help after being sexually harassed. The report noted that neither Coachella's online FAQ nor the informational pamphlet accompanying its tickets featured information on the subject.

Read the Teen Vogue report here.

SEE ALSO: Beyoncé's Coachella set was the most-viewed live performance on YouTube in the festival's history

Join the conversation about this story »

NOW WATCH: How Tyra Banks responded to being called 'too big' will inspire you

8 insider facts about shopping at Walmart that all employees know

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  • Walmart store employees know all about the chain's inner workings.
  • Some shopping hacks, savings tips, and store policies might not be readily apparent to shoppers.
  • Here's a look at some insider tips from employees that you should know if you're going to shop at Walmart.


Walmart stores are everywhere.

The retail chain reports that it currently operates 11,700 retail locations in 28 countries.

It's safe to say that the 1.5 million Walmart employees in the US — as well as their eight million international colleagues — know a thing or two about the chain's inner workings.

Whenever you're preparing to go on a shopping spree, it pays to come in armed with as much information as you can get. That way, you can keep an eye out for the best possible deals and shopping strategies the next time you visit your local Walmart.

Walmart employees know all of the tricks of the trade, from how to spot mark-downs to finding clearance items in the store. They also know all about store policies that might not be immediately apparent to shoppers.

Here's a look at a few tricks of the trade that only Walmart employees and long-time customers know about:

SEE ALSO: Employees explain how to read the price tags at Costco to get the best deal

DON'T MISS: Costco employees share their 9 best hacks for getting an even better deal

SEE ALSO: Walmart's Jet.com is offering employees outrageous perks in the talent war with Amazon

Don't be afraid to ask to see the store's clearance items

Clearance items aren't always easy to find. So when you're on the look out for deals, just ask for help.

"Over the course of the years, I've managed to find good deals because I looked and asked at the right times," a Reddit user who said they were a Walmart employee in 2016 wrote.

The employee described looking for electronics at their local Walmart. They asked the employee working in the electronics section to point out any clearance items. The Reddit user said they were "blown away with the deals I found. I saw Samsung tablets, GPS units, high-end external hard drives, and Bluetooth speakers."

Shoppers can also ask for a price match against a number of other retailers, including Amazon, Target, and Staples.

The store's policy says, "if you find a lower price from an online retailer on an identical, in-stock product, tell us and we'll match it."



The Savings Catcher app can really add up overtime

How helpful is Walmart's mobile app Savings Catcher?

Quora user and former Walmart employee Ward Miller wrote that customers shouldn't "expect boatloads of money to come rolling in" from the app because "Walmart goes to a lot of work to maintain its competitive price points."

The mobile app doesn't give shoppers cash back. It instead accrues store credits and dispenses e-gift cards that can be spent on Walmart's website or in its stores.

"That being said, I paid for a $140 dehumidifier using nothing but Savings Catcher rewards," Miller wrote.



Sales prices contain clues about hidden deals

Always check the price tags carefully at Walmart.

According to the site TipHero, sales prices ending in 7 are full-price, prices ending in 5 denote first markdowns, and prices ending in 1 indicate a final markdown.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The creators of Proactiv have a skincare company that uses an army of consultants to sell products — and it's suddenly the most popular in America

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Rodan + Fields

  • Rodan + Fields was the No. 1 skincare brand in North America in 2017 in terms of total sales, according to Euromonitor
  • It has a unique business structure. Products are either sold directly online or via its nearly 300,000-person team of consultants.
  • Rodan + Fields' skincare starter kits start at $170 and are aimed at reducing the appearance of lines, dark spots, and acne in adult women.

Rodan + Fields is currently the top-selling skincare brand in North America in terms of total sales, according to Euromonitor. But unless you pay close attention to your more entrepreneurial-minded friends on Facebook, it's likely you've never even heard of it.

That's partly because you won't find this brand in stores. Its products are sold by a team of consultants who market lotions and potions that claim to combat lines, dark spots, and acne in older consumers. The army of consultants typically sell products by word of mouth, at special events, or on social media. 

The consultants can either choose to take a commission on each sale or opt for their sales to count towards discounted prices on their own future purchases of these products. There's a roughly 50-50 split between these two types of consultants. According to company data, in 2016 56% of consultants were paid commission on at least one month of sales, while the other 44% received discounted prices. The consultants are not given commission for recruiting new consultants. 

The biggest benefit to the sellers is that they do not need to store inventory, as products are shipped directly from the company to the consumer. A spokesperson for the brand told Business Insider that consultants are actually discouraged from holding inventory.

The system seems to be working — Rodan + Fields' $1.3 billion of sales in 2017 made it the top skincare brand in  North America in terms of dollar sales in the skincare category, eclipsing longtime leaders Neutrogena and Olay, according to EuromonitorIt now has nearly 300,000 consultants in the US. 

The company was founded by dermatologists Dr. Katie Rodan and Dr. Kathy Fields, who were the brains behind the acne treatment system Proactiv, which made its way into millions of households in the US and became famous via infomercials after initially launching in 1995.

The duo licensed Proactiv to Guthy-Renker, a company that sells products directly to consumers via infomercials, and these products exploded in popularity in the early 2000s. This was also thanks to several endorsements from celebrities such as Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears, and Justin Bieber. 

Fields and Rodan finally sold off their rights to the brand for $50 billion in 2016, after they had shifted focus to their latest venture, Rodan + Fields, which launched in 2002. The pair is now ranked in joint 27th place on Forbes' list of the richest self-made women in America. 

Rodan + Fields is the grown-up version of Proactiv

Rodan + Fields can be seen as a more upscale version of Proactiv. Its skincare is generally aimed at older women and split into four categories: redefine, reverse, unblemish, and soothe. A starter kit, which could include a cleanser, toner, and a day and night moisturizer, starts at $170. The most expensive kit, "Age Assault," costs $363

Rodan + Fields

The brand was brought by Estée Lauder a year after it launched, at which point it was being sold in department stores around the US. This method of selling wasn't successful, and realizing that the brand was a low priority in marketing dollars for Estée Lauder, the pair decided to buy back the company in 2007 and relaunch it with a new spin: using consultants to sell its products. 

"We knew we had products that worked and changed lives," Fields told Forbes in 2016. "We were compelled to continue."

The change in tactic came at the perfect time for the company as the recession hit and many were looking for work.

"People were losing their jobs like crazy," Fields told Allure in 2015.

Moreover, the company was growing at the same time as smartphones, Facebook, and selfies, which made the ideal combination for selling skincare products.

Today, consultants predominantly use social media to market themselves, posting before-and-after photos as proof of how effective these products are in reversing the signs of aging and curing adult acne. There are hundreds of groups on Facebook geared towards this.

A select few consultants can end up earning a six-figure salary, according to Allure, but this is generally limited to those who are high-profile figures or celebrities. There's no guarantee of making money, and this is clearly stated on the company's website. In 2016, 60% of paid consultants made on average $334 a year, according to the company. 

Bumps in the road

On Tuesday, Racked reported that the company is now facing a potential class-action lawsuit, filed on behalf of four plaintiffs who claim that Rodan + Fields' Lash Boost, an $150 eyelash growth serum, had given them a series of symptoms including burning and swelling. 

According to Racked, this is due to a controversial ingredient called isopropyl cloprostenate, which has not been approved by the FDA as a drug. The ingredient is banned in Canada, which means Rodan + Fields is unable to stock the product there. 

In a statement to Business Insider, a spokesperson for Rodan + Fields said: 

"We stand behind the safety and efficacy of Lash Boost. Many of the legal allegations involve comparisons to unrelated products, including prescription products that have different ingredients and formulations. We are going to let the specifics of our legal defense play out in court.

Lash Boost is intended for use as a cosmetic and as such, has been consistently advertised as improving the appearance of eyelashes. As with any cosmetic, Lash Boost may cause irritation in some users, especially if it is misused.  Rodan + Fields provides clear directions to users, including those who experience irritations."

SEE ALSO: A skincare brand with a cult following is in turmoil after its founder goes on bizarre Instagram rampage

Join the conversation about this story »

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There's a little-known Snapchat feature that lets you stop getting notifications from individual friends — here's how to use it

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The Snapchat app logo is seen on a smartphone in this picture illustration taken September 15, 2017. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

A Snapchat feature called "do not disturb" lets users silence notifications from specific people or groups without letting them know; it's one of the few well-received features on the Snapchat redesign that's been rolling out these last few months. 

The feature is inspired by those overly communicative friends who make you regret agreeing to push notifications, and is a great alternative to turning notifications off completely when your phone won't stop buzzing.

Snap was a little late to the game, since Facebook Messenger and iMessage already offered similar options — that could even be why it was released with no word from the company when it came out back in January, shared instead by TechCrunch's Josh Constine.

Here's how to use Snapchat's popular Do Not Disturb feature:

SEE ALSO: RED announced its $1,200 smartphone is coming this summer — take a look at all its futuristic technologies

Find the contact you want to mute in your friends list, and hold down the contact's name to get this screen. Then select "Settings."

As part of the redesign, you have to swipe right from your camera to get to your friends list.



Tap "Do Not Disturb" to disable notifications from that contact or group, but note that nothing will happen right away.

If the "Do Not Disturb" option doesn't appear, you might not have the most updated version of the app.



To see if it worked, you have to tap out of the contact's menu completely and then go back to it to see if the "Do Not Disturb" option changed to say "Turn On Notifications"

If it changed, you'll know the deed is done, but the person or persons you silenced will be none the wiser.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

There's a new vape pen taking over America — and it has Wall Street worried about tobacco stocks (MO, PMI)

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  • The Juul, a wildly popular vape pen with twice the nicotine content of similar devices, is starting to encroach on big tobacco's financial terrain.
  • In a recent memo, Citigroup analysts warned investors that the device's sales could have a negative effect on tobacco stocks such as Altria and British American Tobacco.
  • But the Juul isn't just popular among adults, and scientists say its potential health effects are concerning.
  • Shares of Altria and Philip Morris International plunged Thursday after disappointing earnings reports showing that sales of its new products were not meeting expectations.

A new vape pen is starting to encroach on big tobacco's financial terrain.

In a recent research note, Citigroup analysts warned investors that the Juul, an e-cigarette that's particularly appealing to former smokers because of its powerful nicotine punch, was beginning to disrupt tobacco stocks.

The note suggested that the rise of the Juul could bode poorly for tobacco companies — including Altria, British American Tobacco, and Imperial Brands — as sales are falling faster than they should.

The analysts expect a sustained slowdown for tobacco companies — something they see as directly attributable to the Juul and its "rapid growth." They said its skyrocketing sales would pose a significant challenge to traditional tobacco earnings.

"The US tobacco market is beginning to be disrupted by Juul," the analysts wrote, adding, "We don't expect underlying cigarette trends to improve much in the rest of 2018."

Several tobacco companies, such as Altria, Philip Morris, and British American Tobacco, make so-called next-generation devices designed to compete with the Juul, but most have failed to generate profit for companies.

On Thursday, shares of Altria and Philip Morris International plunged, most likely as a result of disappointing earnings reports showing that sales of its new products were not meeting expectations.

In 2016, Philip Morris International launched the Iqos, a heat-not-burn device that lies somewhere between a regular cigarette and an e-cig and is expected to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration later this year.

But that device isn't expected to protect Altria — which maintains sole distribution rights for the product in the US — from the slump, the analysts said.

Vaping and the future of big tobacco

Unlike cigarettes, which burn their ingredients, e-cigs or vape pens heat vapor via a small portable device.

The Juul, which comprises an e-cig device and interchangeable pods that contain nicotine, is one of the most popular vape pens, having generated a whopping $224 million in retail sales from November 2016 to November 2017 and snagging one-third of the total e-cig market share during the four weeks that ended November 4.

But the Juul is also trendy among teens — something that has been a big red flag for scientists, who warn that nicotine is highly addictive and damaging to the developing brain.

Several other health concerns related to vaping are also emerging.

A study published this spring found that some of the toxic metals in conventional cigarettes were present in e-cigs.

Another found that at least some of those toxins appeared to make their way through the body, as evidenced by a urine analysis by researchers who randomly sampled about 100 people in the Bay Area who vape.

And research presented recently at a large conference found substantial evidence tying daily e-cig use to an increased risk of heart attack.

SEE ALSO: Experts are calling out a vape pen with 'scary' nicotine levels that teens love — here's how it affects the brain

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