Not Dead Yet: Magazine Industry Reports 10% YOY Growth in Readership

By Kelda Rericha | Oct 1, 2014

The death of print media has been so widely reported for so long that many of us would never even questions its truth. But the beleaguered magazine industry has released a new report that might prove those assumptions wrong, especially for those with a digital platform. On Monday, the Association of Magazine Media (MPA) released […]

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Sexism on Jeopardy?

By Ann Smith | Sep 30, 2014

Women’s rights are gaining focus in the media. Stories including Emma Watson’s United Nation speech, the #yesallwomen Twitter handle and the contraception debate in recent Supreme Court cases are drawing attention to the issue of equal rights for women. Adding to the touchy issue, Monday night’s Jeopardy episode included a questionable category that stirred up […]

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Addicted to Technology?

By Ann Smith | Sep 18, 2014

With the enormous amount of buzz surrounding the new iPhone, it’s worth the time to think about what life would be like if we weren’t so consumed with the newest technology, social media and the world online. Sometimes we spend too much time on our technological devices that we decide to create apps like Moment, […]

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Mural Madness

By Kris Travis | Aug 28, 2014

Have you seen all the beautiful new murals around Portland? During the week of August 18-23, the not-for-profit public mural project Forest for the Trees brought together 20 international artists to make their mark on our fair city. According to their site, “The mural project promotes public visual expression; collaboration; and community engagement with contemporary […]

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Spreading Awareness Through the #Icebucketchallenge

By Ann Smith | Aug 20, 2014

Unless you live under a rock, the ALS #icebucketchallenge has probably taken over your newsfeed at some point in the last few weeks. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), often referred to as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. To #strikeoutALS, people post a […]

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Making Emergency Preparedness Cool

By Kris Travis | Aug 7, 2014

    If I may, with another preparedness post (as you can tell, we’re planners here at A. Wordsmith)… While most Californians have long been familiar with big earthquake risks and emergency preparedness plans, some Oregonians have been slow to acknowledge our state’s potential to experience “the big one.” There has been an increased effort […]

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Networking made easier for Introverts

By Ann Smith | Aug 5, 2014

Does the thought of networking make you anxious? Nervous? As an introvert and recent college graduate I have experienced the anxieties that comes from networking with business professionals. I know the importance of gaining these valuable connections to grow in my career, but that never makes it easier to walk into a room full of […]

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Be Brief or Be Ignored

By Ann Smith | Jul 23, 2014

This week’s Fast Company Leadership quote comes from Joseph McCormack, author of Brief: Making a Bigger Statement by Saying Less. Despite the irony that this man wrote an entire book on brevity, its a message I find valuable today. Today was the day I broke my iPhone and have reverted back to a non-smart phone. I […]

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The Universal Typeface Experiment

By Kris Travis | Jul 14, 2014

We all know the BIC pen—it’s the classic, no-fuss ballpoint pen most of us have grown up using, on everything from school essays to forms at the doctor’s office. (Did you know it is even part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art?) Well, this tried-and-true brand is branching out, and calling […]

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Eye-opening Always ad redefines the #LikeaGirl stereotype

By Ann Smith | Jul 9, 2014

The ad was uploaded to the Always YouTube on June 26th and has received over 30 million views all over the world. After watching the video though it makes you think, aren’t we over the #LikeaGirl insult? “I don’t think we are past the ‘run like a girl’ stereotype. Look at the women in this […]

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Lego’s new female scientists

By Mary Gorretta | Jun 26, 2014

You may remember hearing about a 7-year-old girl earlier this year who wrote a letter to toy manufacturer Lego complaining that there were not many options for girl Lego figurines. Lego had recently been criticized for gender-stereotyping when it released a “Lego Friends” line targeted to girls, featuring pink and purple pastel colored sets, such […]

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Become a Meeting Master

By Kris Travis | Jun 23, 2014

Keep meetings productive with these tips How many hours would you say you spend in meetings in an average week? Do you feel they are hours effectively spent? Are your meetings (mostly) productive? Team meetings are essential, but we can all admit we’ve had to sit through a few terrible time-wasters. 99U gathered some interesting […]

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