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Sunday, February 19 – the day we've all been waiting for – is almost here. Set to be in New Orleans, this year's All-Star game is setting up to be a very interesting one, to say the least. From "beef" to defending champions, it's got it all. The East vs. West rivalry carries on, with some big (and new) names on the roster this year. NBA All-Star Starters Eastern Conference Position Player Team All-Star Appearance BC Kyrie Irving Cleveland Cavaliers 4th BC DeMar DeRozan Toronto Raptors 3rd FC LeBron James Cleveland Cavaliers 13th FC Giannis Antetokounmpo Milwaukee Bucks 1st FC Jimmy Butler Chicago Bulls 3rd Western Conference Position Player Team All-Star Appearance BC Stephen Curry Golden State Warriors 4th BC James Harden Houston Rockets 5th FC Kevin Durant Golden State Warriors 8th FC Kawhi Leonard San Antonio Spurs 2nd FC Anthony Davis New Orleans Pelicans 4th NBA All-Star Reserves Eastern Conference Position Player Team All-Sta...

Mark Dalton Media Nowadays everyone is using either Snapchat, Instagram, or both. Two different social media platforms, yet very similar in some ways. "Stories" have been brought to life since Snapchat's existence and has very recently made an appearance Instagram. Which one is better for you and your content? The Difference Snapchat lets you share your content through a single track called a story, which is made up of 24 hours’ worth of image or video snaps that you’ve shared for others to see. Once a snap is 24 hours old, users can no longer view it unless you reshare it as it automatically deletes itself. Instagram, on the other hand, lets you share content through two tracks: the stories and the feed. Your feed is permanent and stays on your page collected with other pictures, whereas your stories only have a 24-hour life. By combining the permanency of your feed posts with the 24-hour duration of your stories, you can generate urgency while providing cons...

Social media seems to be what everyone eats, sleeps, lives, and breathes nowadays. If you don't have at least a Facebook, it's almost as if you don't exist in the world. Twitter and Instagram have claimed their thrones, with Snapchat still up and coming; Not to mention Tumblr, LinkedIn, Youtube, Pinterest, and so on. With so many different social media platforms, it's almost impossible to choose which one is the "best." Personally, I love Twitter. I'd have to say it's my favorite social media outlet (with Instagram a close second). Why? Twitter gives me the ability to follow different accounts that cover a wide variety of topics that interest me. Hashtags allow me to follow topics without having some type of commitment to the topic, such as liking or following a page. It has an immediacy of breaking news and updates on developing stories almost faster than news outlets at times. Twitter is detailed. And who could forget the ease of follow...

Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images It's not about how Super Bowls start. It's about how they finish. Super Bowl LI started off with what could arguably be the most boring few hours of football in Super Bowl history. The Atlanta Falcons seemed to have the game in the bag. Quarterback Matt Ryan seemed to be doing everything right, whereas his opponent Tom Brady could not prevent getting sacked or missing wide-open receivers down the field. The lifeless Patriots were down 28-3 going into halftime. Lady Gaga was the only thing that seemed to give the game life. And then the Patriots happened. Granted, the first touchdown of the night coming from Tom Brady only came at the end of the third quarter and even then, the game didn't feel competitive in the slightest bit. But once that first score came, it was like taking candy from a baby for the Patriots. They went on a tear, defensively stopping the Falcons and then offensively, with Brady leading the way. Huge play after hug...

Super Bowl LI is looking to be one of the most historic Super Bowls yet. With the anticipated game of the year coming up in a few hours, the Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots are preparing for the game of their lives. Atlanta Falcons' quarterback, Matt Ryan, has recently been named the NFL MVP for the first time in his career, making the stakes higher than ever. According to Bleacher Report , no player who has won the regular-season award has also taken the Super Bowl award in the same season since Kurt Warner of the St. Louis Rams did it 17 years ago. Ryan's opponent, Tom Brady, has is included in this statistic, losing twice in the Super Bowl despite winning the MVP himself. This is also Ryan's first appearance in a Super Bowl, while this year will be Brady's sixth appearance. Brady's past Super Bowls have been widely controversial, however. From "spy gate" to "deflate gate", Brady and the Patriots have been labeled "...

There is no denying that social media has changed the game when it comes to branding and marketing. According to HubSpot , social media marketing has a 100% higher lead-to-close rate than outbound marketing. At this point, not having an active social media as a marketing tool will absolutely kill you. You need  it in today's world. Here's why: You can respond to problems immediately. Customers will reach out to you and give you feedback, whether it's good or bad. If there’s a problem with your product or service, you'll want to know right away and with a social media platform, you’ll be the first to know when there are issues and will be able to fix them right away. Numerous studies have shown that consumers appreciate companies that respond to customer complaints. A strong social media presence also builds brand loyalty. Active social media profiles equals having more loyal customers. It's simple: when you’re actually interacting on social media with peop...

There are always two sides to every story, right? This rings true when it comes to social media. Let's think about the pros, here. Social networks helps out businesses in a variety of ways. Radio, TV commercials and print ads have found themselves completely obsolete and demand for thousands of dollars. Yet, with social media, the businesses can connect with their targeted customers for free, only having to worry about energy and time. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other social networks have become so popular that it's become the best way for bloggers, article writers, etc. to communicate. As mentioned in this article on LinkedIn, these social networking sites have opened the opportunity for all the writers and bloggers to connect with their clients to share their expertise and articles. This will lead to their audiences sharing articles, blog or expertise in their social circle which further enhance your networks of the followers. Social media has helped make ...

Philadelphia has come alive since the arrival and presence of a particular man. That man is named Joel Embiid. As a native of Philadelphia myself, I can assure you of two things. One, Philly is filled with crazy people. Two, we love our sports teams. Hard. The Philadelphia 76ers are known for having a few rough years recently. As a season ticket holder for the Sixers, let me tell you personally, it hasn't been easy to watch. Last year, the Sixers ended with their worst record in history at 18-64. This year, they've already surpassed their total wins from last season and they haven't even reached the halfway mark of the NBA season. Embracing his nickname as "The Process", Embiid is not only being known for his dominance on the court and being the reason the Sixers have re-surged and come alive this year. It turns out he's a pretty funny guy, too. From trolling Donald Trump to telling the world he wants to get in the NBA All-Star game because he wa...

Remember when Dez Bryant caught it, but didn't? He will have a chance to redeem himself this upcoming weekend as the Dallas Cowboys take on the Green Bay Packers. This game will make it the first playoff game between the Cowboys and Packers since January 2015, when Green Bay beat the Cowboys 26-21. Of course, "the catch" controversy involving Dez Bryant is the most memorable moment from that game and will probably be revisited a few times this week leading up to the big game. On the other hand, in the other NFC game, the Seahawks and Falcons will match-up in Atlanta in a rematch following a controversial game as well in Week 5 where the Seahawks won it 26-24. In that game, the Falcons left Seattle unhappy after a no-call on a possible pass interference against Julio Jones in the fourth quarter. The Seahawks-Falcons game is also a rematch of a wild playoff game from January 2013. In that game, the Falcons blew a 27-7 lead in the fourth quarter, letting the Seah...

A new study shows that Facebook may actually be making us unhappy. It's odd to think that Facebook could possibly be making us unhappy, when most of us tend to go on it to pass time or entertain ourselves to do the opposite effect—to make up  happy . We all want to go on, look at pictures of our family members, see cute videos of puppies, etc. How could that possibly make us sad? The University of Michigan psychologist Ethan Kross, who conducted the study, argues that that’s exactly how it makes us feel. Over two weeks, Kross and his colleagues sent text messages to eighty-two Ann Arbor residents five times per day. The researchers wanted to know a couple things, such as how their subjects felt overall, how worried and lonely they were, how much they had used Facebook, and how often they had had direct interaction with others since the previous text message. Kross found that the more people used Facebook in the time between the two texts, the less happy they felt—and t...