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☆ A TikTok creator made a video that went viral. A few months later, she had a 6-figure contract for a mystery book series.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Katie Siegel is the author of newly published mystery novel, "Charlotte Illes Is Not a Detective." Siegel didn't originally envision the story as a novel, but as a video series for TikTok. An editor at Kensington Books saw her videos, and Siegel ended up with a six-figure book deal. "When it came up on my feed, I thought, 'This would be such a great mystery series,'" Plackis said. The two decided to work together on a proposal, and a few months later, Siegel had a six-figure, two-book contract with Kensington Books.

Persons: Katie Siegel, Charlotte Illes, Siegel, Katie Siegel didn't, she'd, TikTok, Shannon Plackis, Plackis, perusing, Vida Engstrand, Siegel's, BookTok, Barnes, Noble, Michelle Schusterman, that's, preneurs, I've, creatives Organizations: Kensington Books, The New York Times Locations: Kensington, The

A version of this story appeared in the August 4 edition of CNN’s Royal News, a weekly dispatch bringing you the inside track on Britain’s royal family. We recently found out that Prince Harry will also be grabbing his passport and heading to the Southeast Asian nation for his own charitable cause. The Duke of Sussex will be competing in his Sentebale charity’s annual polo match there next weekend. Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attends the Sentebale Polo Cup 2018 in Windsor, England. It was also at a polo match in Windsor in 1970 where a young Prince Charles reportedly first met Camilla Shand and they became friends.

Persons: Prince, Wales, Prince Harry, Duke, Sussex, Harry, Prince Seeiso, Duke of Sussex, Dominic Lipinski, Nacho Figueras, Haruhisa Handa, Handa, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, Samir Hussein, Prince William, –, William, Catherine, Max Mumby, Barack Obama, Prince George, King Charles, Prince Philip, Prince Charles, Camilla Shand, Love, Prince Archie, George, Charlotte, Louis Organizations: CNN’s Royal, London CNN, Kasane, Singapore Polo Club Team, Promotion Society, Values, Polo Cup, Polo, cyberbullying, Technology, Power, New, Royal, Polo Day, Billingbear Polo Club Locations: London, Singapore, Lesotho, Africa, Botswana, Lion City, Tokyo, Our, Windsor , England, New York, Persia, Windsor, Surrey, England

☆ Man who visited every country without flying has finally returned home
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-02 | by ( Kate Springer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

After nearly ten years of travel, Pedersen successfully visited his 203rd and final country, the Maldives, and began his long-awaited voyage back to Denmark. In early 2020, the intrepid traveler suddenly found himself stuck in Hong Kong for two years with just nine countries left. “I look back at Hong Kong, and it’s a bit of a paradox. Next came a 16-day journey back to Hong Kong, where he returned to hotel quarantine for another two weeks. Pedersen in Hong Kong, where he spent an unexpected two years during the pandemic.

Persons: Torbjørn, Thor ” Pedersen, Pedersen, He’d, ” Pedersen, ”, “, Le, I’ve, He’s, ‘, ’ ”, Maxime Champigneulle, Gunnar Garfors, it’s, It’s, you’ve, he’s, “ There’s, Mike Douglas Organizations: CNN, CNN Travel, Maersk, “, Port, Le, UN, Danish, Hong, Denmark, Pacific, Tonga, National Museum, Ross Energy, Aarhus . Port Locations: Denmark, Maldives, Danish, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Aarhus, Kenya, Colombia, Australia, Norway, Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Mongolia, Pakistan, Syria, Iran, Nauru, Angola, Ghana, Iceland, Canada, Hong Kong, Everest, Palau, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Pacific, Tuvalu, Fiji, Singapore, Malé, Norwegian, Aarhus ., Aarhus What’s, Suez, Germany

☆ I work remotely from a Caribbean island. Here's how I relocated from Oregon, found love, and started a family, without comprising my career.
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Ashley Couto | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Shelby Smith took a six-month career break and traveled to Curaçao, a Dutch Caribbean island. Smith fell in love and moved from Portland, Oregon, to Curaçao permanently to start her family. I visited Curaçao on vacation and knew I'd be backI visited Curaçao, a Dutch Caribbean island, on vacation in 2019. Three days before I landed, the whole island went on lockdown. If you think living on a remote island would be much cheaper, think againSome living costs on the island are cheaper, but others are more expensive.

Persons: Shelby Smith, Smith, I'd, Curaçao Organizations: Service, Facebook Locations: Curaçao, Dutch Caribbean, Portland , Oregon, Wall, Silicon, Aitutaki, Cook, Portland, Reveri, Netherlands, United States, American

☆ She’s sent postcards to herself for over 40 years. Here’s what she’s learned
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Francesca Street | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +11 min

CNN —Debra Dolan was 21 and on her first solo trip when she first sent a postcard to herself. Over the decades, she’s sent hundreds of postcards to herself from trips across the world. “I felt the most free traveling, I felt the most independent traveling, I felt most myself traveling, my most grateful, always, traveling. And I think that’s what the postcards capture.”A life in postcardsDolan says all the postcards she's ever sent herself have arrived. Dolan’s always sent her postcards mid-trip, she never “cheats” and posts them once she’s back home in Canada.

Persons: Debra Dolan, Dolan, ” Dolan, “, ‘ I’ll, ’, –, hadn’t, I’d, ’ ”, Here's Dolan, Debra Dolan “, ”, twentysomething Dolan, she’s, they’ve, Dolan’s, I’ve, – Dolan, ” Debra Dolan Dolan’s, Debbie, Debra, Debra Dolan Dolan Organizations: CNN, CNN Travel, Opera, Coliseum Locations: Canada, Vancouver, Finland, Australia, Amsterdam, Vienna, Helsinki, Santiago, Fiji, Turkey, Rome

☆ It's a huge win for Zuckerberg if Threads steals Twitter's lost charm and serendipity
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( Shona Ghosh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

But making it more popular than Twitter would be a big win for Mark Zuckerberg. Most Twitter users know that the platform comes alive during a breaking news event, such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Those paying average Joes are now prioritized in the feed, devaluing Twitter as a place to discover interesting people. A recurring theme on Threads: It's a nice place to hang out (for now...) Insider/Shona Ghosh/ThreadsThat niceness could be fragile and temporary. Threads may go the same way since, as the internet loves to say, we can't have nice things.

Persons: Mark Zuckerberg, Meta, TikTok's, Zuckerberg, Samuel Beckett, beery louts, Paul Graham, Paul Graham Zuckerberg, Shona Ghosh, Twitter, he'll Organizations: Twitter, Meta, ICE Locations: Ukraine

lydia polgreenI’m Lydia Polgreen, and this is “Matter of Opinion.” Today, we’re going to do something a little bit different. And the great sort of brilliant twist of the show is at the end, the winner is chosen by the people that the contestants have voted off. Like, that just seems really, really American. I don’t think we need to go that far, but she is the best version of America, like America as it fancies itself to be. And if they happen to come out while I’m outside, I’m like, you!

Persons: michelle cottle, I’m Michelle Cottle, ross douthat I’m Ross Douthat, carlos lozada I’m Carlos Lozada, lydia polgreen, Lydia Polgreen, ross, departmentwide, carlos lozada, ross douthat, polgreen, ross douthat I’ll, Gatsby, Jay Gatsby, it’s, We’d, carlos lozada I didn’t, Lozada, Michelle, there’ll, you’ve, I’ll, ”, I’ve, lydia polgreen It’s, Lydia, — ross, Sue Hawk, winder, — carlos lozada Wow, Richard Hatch, he’s, Rudy, carlos lozada “, carlos lozada “ Survivor ”, Mark Burnett, — carlos lozada There’s, ” lydia polgreen There’s, ” ross douthat, “, — ross douthat That’s, Ross, you’re, Carlos, carlos lozada You, JD Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald, Tom, TD Fitzgerald, Standish, who’s, ” ross, — carlos lozada, ross douthat —, Donald Trump, JD, ” Michelle, I’m, Dolly Parton, lydia polgreen Legend, She’s, scrappy, she’s, “ Jolene, michelle cottle Don’t, Dolly, Dolly Parton’s, michelle cottle I’m, polgreen It’s, It’s, — carlos lozada Oh, lydia polgreen — Henry Grabar, Mother Teresa, Henry Grabar, carlos lozada Ross, we’re, Sienna, Sienna’s, we’re Honda Organizations: New York, ”, Harvard, “, Blacks, Navy, carlos lozada “ Survivor, Trump, Housewives, HBO, America, Survivor, City Hall, DC Locations: United States of America, America, United States, Trump, Utah, Northern California, Adenville, Lydia, Park City , Utah, West

☆ Mercedes' Toto Wolff shares his tips on leading a superstar team and 2 key values for long-term success
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-04 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

For me, the notion of control freak is: know everything that's going on, but not interfering in everything that's going on. Toto Wolff Team Principal of Mercedes F1"And when you win, have no sense of entitlement... Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton and George Russell currently stand in fourth and seventh in the drivers' rankings, respectively. Mercedes drivers Lewis Hamilton (R) and George Russell (L) currently take the fourth and seventh placing in the 2023 Driver Standing respectively. "So for me, the notion of control freak is: know everything that's going on, but not interfering in everything that's going on... and getting that balance right."

Persons: Toto Wolff, Eric Alonso, Wolff, Mercedes, Red Bull, Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Red, Max Verstappen, It's, Peter Fox, Williams Organizations: Jeddah Corniche, Getty, Mercedes, Petronas F1 Team, Energy Asia, Petronas, Abu, Grand Prix, Anadolu Agency, Prix, of Russia, Sochi Autodrom, Hamilton Locations: Saudi Arabia, Jeddah, Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Malaysia's, Kuala Lumpur, Grand, Sochi, Russia

☆ Opinion | Aficionados of TCM Fear for Its Future
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

I speak as one of 25 TCM viewers chosen in a national contest to be a guest programmer on TCM for its 25th anniversary in 2019. Each of us was asked to introduce a film that meant something highly personal to us and to dedicate it to someone special in our lives. She sensed in that serendipitous moment that her father was still with her, and it sustained her. I chose the 1958 Oscar-winning musical “Gigi” and dedicated it to my wife. His gift was tickets to a performance of the show.

Persons: Maureen Dowd, Dowd, “ Bullitt ”, Steve McQueen, Gigi ”, Frederick Loewe Organizations: TCM, Turner, Warner Bros ., Broadway

☆ This Norwegian couple’s playful, gender-defying portraits were discovered by chance after their deaths
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-27 | by ( Jacquelyn Palumbo | Jacqui Palumbo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

At the turn of the 20th century, the studio run by Norwegian photographers Bolette Berg and Marie Høeg had a secret second purpose. Preus Museum--Norwegian Museum of PhotographyIn the photos, Berg and Høeg dress up in womenswear and menswear, using props and painted backdrops to set their irreverent scenes. Preus Museum--Norwegian Museum of PhotographyOne of Berg & Høeg's most recognized images is often misidentified as a self-portrait of the pair. Preus Museum--Norwegian Museum of Photography“I see them as businesswomen,” Aasbo explained. Altogether, there are now around 700 known negatives of Berg & Høeg’s work, some 80 of which chronicled their “private” lives.

Persons: Bolette Berg, Marie Høeg, visite, Høeg, Berg, Leif Preus, Kristin Aasbo, Preus, ”, ” Aasbo, “, Høeg’s, It’s, —, “ Marie, Høeg's, Ingeborg, Karl, it’s, Thorvald, August, Aasbo Organizations: Preus, Museum, Photography, Museum of, Berg Locations: Norwegian, Horten, Norway, womenswear, Madrid, Berg, Langesund, Finland, Nannestad, ”, —, Oslo, Lunner, Europe, Chicago

☆ DMs From New York City
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-26 | by ( Dodai Stewart | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

Dodai Stewart Dodai Stewart Dodai Stewart DMs From New York CityNew York City can be a study in overstimulation. Dodai Stewart Dodai Stewart Dodai StewartI am sure you have seen them. In a city that shouts and blares, these are little whispers, with voices as varied and distinctive as New Yorkers themselves. Dodai Stewart Dodai Stewart Dodai StewartSometimes it’s hard to comprehend what a city really is, beyond densely stacked gleaming towers and throngs of faceless, busy strangers. New York is just a bunch of people, and they want to talk.

Persons: Dodai Stewart Dodai Stewart Dodai Stewart Organizations: New York City New, New Yorkers Locations: New York City, New York City New York City, overstimulation, New York, New, Brooklyn Heights, Manhattan

☆ They fell in love backpacking through Europe then they lost each other. Here’s how they’ve ended up married for 24 years
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Francesca Street | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +16 min

Kim LatkovicLike Tom, Kim had spent that day in disbelief that she’d found someone who seemed so perfect, and lost him just as quickly. From there, Tom, Kim, Amanda and John chatted about their respective colleges and travels. From left to right: John, Kim, Tom and Amanda at the Hofbrauhaus Munchen on the first night they met. Over the next couple of days, Tom, Kim, Amanda and John explored Interlaken together. As soon as Kim’s parents met Tom, and saw Tom and Kim’s natural ease together, they were wholeheartedly supportive.

Persons: Tom Latkovic, He’d, Tom, Kim Morgan, who’d, Kim, John, Kim’s, Amanda, Tom didn’t, didn’t, “, ”, Munich’s, Marienplatz, whooped, Tom glanced, ” Kim, you’d, Kim Latkovic, she’d, John ., somebody’s, ’ ”, John chatted, ’, Kim couldn’t, –, Little, they’d, Tommy, Here's Kim, Switzerland Tom, Here's Tom, Tom’s, Kim Latkovic “, they’ve, gosh, she’s, we’ve Organizations: CNN, University of Michigan, University of Memphis, CNN Travel, Munchen Locations: Munich, Ohio, ”, Munchen, Prague, Interlaken, Switzerland, Lauterbrunnen, Venice, Italy, Atlanta , Georgia, Cleveland , Ohio, Europe, Memphis , Tennessee, Memphis, Marienplatz

☆ Silicon Valley escalates the battle over returning to the office
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Catherine Thorbecke | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

The updated policy includes tracking office badge attendance and possibly factoring it into performance reviews, according to CNBC, citing internal memos. Other tech companies are also grappling with how best to compel workers to come into the office after they’ve grown accustomed to greater flexibility. At Amazon, tensions boiled over last week as hundreds of office workers staged a walkout to call attention to their grievances, including the three-day return-to-office mandate that was implemented in May. In response to the walkout, Amazon previously told CNN it may “take time” for some workers to adjust to being in the office more days. (A Meta spokesperson told CNN the updated policy was not set in stone, and employees designated as remote workers will be allowed to keep their remote status).

Persons: Chris Schmidt, Ryan Lamont, ” Lamont, “ we’re, they’ve, Pamela, it’s, Schmidt, ” Schmidt, “, ” Organizations: CNN, Silicon, Google, CNBC, Alphabet Workers Union, Facebook, Good, “ Locations: New York City

☆ AI startup MindsDB aims to help every developer be a machine learning engineer. Here's the pitch deck it used to raise $25 million from investors like Mayfield Fund and Benchmark.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Vishal Persaud | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

AI startup MindsDB just raised a $25 million seed extension round led by Mayfield. The round comes less than three months after it raised a $16.5 million round led by Benchmark. The founders of MindsDB aims to help software developers worldwide perform the roles of machine-learning engineers. Founded in 2017, MindsDB is now gaining the interest of investors as AI has become the talk of the town in tech. In February, the startup announced $16.5 million in funding led by Benchmark.

Persons: Mayfield, MindsDB, Navin Chaddha, Chaddha, MindDB's cofounders Jorge Torres, Adam Carrigan, Torres, Chetan Puttagunta Organizations: Benchmark, Mayfield Fund, Ventures, Australian National University Locations: San Francisco, Europe

☆ Size of Jurassic sea giant found, study says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Kristen Rogers | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

The findings from the Late Jurassic period, though fragmentary, suggest the pliosaur was about twice the size of a killer whale — and move lead study author David Martill closer to redemption. However, he cautioned that an increase in length corresponds with an “exponential increase in volume … placing a biological limit on the upper size pliosaurs could reach.” Smith wasn’t involved in the study. Pliosaurs were “a group of large carnivorous marine reptiles characterized by massive heads, short necks and streamlined tear-shaped bodies,” according to Britannica. Benton wasn’t involved in the study. “Here is a marine reptile as large as a sperm whale, and there’s nothing like it around today.”

☆ Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says inventing and 'riffing' on ideas is easier if staff are back in the office
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said inventing is "easier" when staff are working in the office. "The energy and riffing on one another's ideas happen more freely" than from home, he said. Staff must work three days a week in the office from May, but some buildings won't be ready then. An internal memo obtained by Insider's Eugene Kim this week indicated that some of Amazon's office space won't be ready until September. Amazon didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider, made outside normal working hours.

☆ Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says his letter to shareholders follows one of the toughest economic years in recent memory. Read it in full.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Sam Tabahriti | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +38 min

Further, as machine learning adoption has continued to accelerate, customers have yearned for lower-cost GPUs (the chips most commonly used for machine learning). While some areas of the economy have struggled over the past few years, Amazon Business has thrived. Some people have never heard of Amazon Business, but, our business customers love it. For years, Amazon customers had asked us when we'd offer them an online pharmacy as their frustrations mounted with current providers. More recently, a newer form of machine learning, called Generative AI, has burst onto the scene and promises to significantly accelerate machine learning adoption.

☆ Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says he's confident he can get costs under control in shareholder letter
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-13 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +38 min

☆ A 27-year-old professional athlete landed a gig at Benchmark. Here's how she's balancing a Nike sponsorship, elite running, and working at the VC powerhouse.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-29 | by ( Samantha Stokes | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Vanessa Fraser is a professional runner sponsored by Nike. As a professional runner for Nike, she's stared down American records, competed at national championships, and raced to make Olympic teams. These days, she's bringing that intensity off the track and into the world of venture capital. So when the call came from a recruiter working with Benchmark, Fraser was open to listening. In some ways, stepping back from full-time professional running and adding variety to her days have made Fraser an even better athlete, she said.

☆ Mark Zuckerberg: Early-career engineers tend to perform better when they're in person 'at least 3 days a week'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Early-career engineers tend to do better when they show up in person, Mark Zuckerberg said. Zuckerberg broached the idea of in-person work in a note announcing new layoffs of 10,000 employees. Elon Musk also ended remote work at Twitter when he took over at the social media platform last year. Billionaire Thomas Siebel, the CEO of software company C3.ai, told Insider this week about his company's own in-office culture, taking a dig at remote work. "If you want to work from home, like four days of work in your pajamas, go to work for Facebook," he said.

☆ Grubhub is losing its second CEO in less than 2 years as owner explores sale of company
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Nancy Luna | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A year after Just Eat Takeaway.com bought Grubhub, the European firm said it wanted to sell it. Grubhub is in great hands with Howard and the Grubhub leadership team, and I'm excited to watch the company continue to thrive." Over the years, Grubhub has struggled to find its footing in the hyper-competitive food delivery sector. 1 food delivery operator. In January 2018, Grubhub had 49% of the food delivery market, according to Bloomberg Second Measure.

☆ Companies want to know how many people are back in the office. They're using water coolers to find out.
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-08 | by ( Aidan Pollard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Bevi, a Boston startup, makes high-tech water coolers that collect usage data. Some investors and hedge funds are using this data to track America's return to office trends, Bloomberg reported. Bevi, a Boston-based startup that sells high-tech water coolers, collects data about how much water its machines dispense over time. When Bevi's usage data rose from 28% to 44% between January 2021 and 2022, office occupancy data collected by securities firm Kastle Systems rose in tandem. The companies hope to gain insight into office trends, as remote work continues to solidify itself as a standard.

☆ Archaeologists in Israel left red-faced after it transpired that a unique 'ancient' inscription was carved last summer
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-05 | by ( Isobel Van Hagen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An inscription bearing the name of a Persian king is "not authentic," the Israel Antiquities Authority said. In a demonstration, an expert in ancient inscriptions had etched the words into the shard last summer. The Antiquities Authority said they take "full responsibility for the unfortunate event." "The Israel Antiquities Authority takes full responsibility for the unfortunate event," said Professor Gideon Avni, the authority's chief scientist, according to Israeli news outlet i24. Darius I ruled the ancient Persian Achaemenid Empire from 522 BC until his death in 486 BC.

☆ Goldman Sachs pitching wealth clients on investing in Stripe shows how Wall Street drums up exclusive deals for its richest customers
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-27 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

To that point, Insider's Hayley Cuccinello has a story on how Goldman Sachs offered its richest clients the opportunity to invest in the buzzy fintech Stripe. If I can take the startup client my investment bankers are working with and leverage my wealth clients to help them fundraise, that's a win-win. Even better if the cofounders and employees of said startup turn around and come back to me as wealth clients once I help them get rich. More broadly, this is also just another example of how banks are always finding ways to cater to their rich clients. Click here to read more about how Wall Street is leveraging clients in its investment bank for its wealth business*(OK, I couldn't help myself.

☆ Happy hours, holiday parties, and office gossip are back. For remote workers, the FOMO is real.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Rebecca Knight | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Much is written about the professional opportunities remote employees miss by not working in person. On an intellectual level, I realize it's silly to experience pangs of FOMO for work get-togethers that I can't possibly go to. But on a middle-school level, I can't help but feel a stab of sadness about not being included in office social life, especially during this most social time of year. But now that more employees are back to in-person work, there are good times to be had — and remote employees are taking notice. Remote work works for my life, my family, and my job, and despite the drawbacks, I'd rather be WFH than any other setup.

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