I tried it. Here’s what I learned.

I recently started posting regularly on my Instagram account, and I have about 1,200 followers. But I wouldn’t call myself an influencer, unless I’m influencing people to write more and drink coffee, which is pretty much all I post about.

My main goal, as anyone who checks out my account would be able to see in an instant, is to have a nice place to post selfies and share a bit more of my real life. It’s not to sell anything — I don’t have a single sponsored or branded post on my feed.

Nevertheless, brand after brand after brand leaves eerily similar comments on my feed, asking that I DM them to “collab.” …

Here’s exactly how I set it up and what happened.

As a successful blogger, one of my most frequently asked questions is how to promote a blog post on social media. And until recently, my answer was “I literally have no idea,” because I’d never done it.

Sure, I used to link recent blog posts in Facebook comments. Yes, I talk about them on Instagram. But I’d never gone through the full process of actually promoting a blog post on social media.

Well, I got pretty tired of not having a decent answer for people, so I decided it was time to find out. What does happen if you buy an ad to promote your blog post on social media? …

Why does the internet continue to hate on teen girls who want to succeed?

For anyone who hasn’t yet graced TikTok with their presence, I’ll give you a quick synopsis about why this is such a hot-button issue:

• A pair of sisters, the D’Amelios, get famous on budding platform TikTok for their lip-syncs and dances. They are at least part of the reason the app is as successful as it is.
• They have combined yearly earnings of 7 million, at the ages of 16 and 19 years old.
• In a scripted video, they badmouthed their personal chef (yes, they’re really rich) when he serves them snails in a paella
• In the same video, Charli openly stated that it would be nice to get to 100 million followers within a year of hitting one million. …

It’s the difference between learning to code and learning computer science

Imagine, like so many folks, that you decide what you want to study when you’re just 18. You go to college, finish a four-year degree in Mechanical Engineering, and then realize what you actually want to do is get a job in coding. There are tons of benefits — pay, flexibility, personal satisfaction. It’s a no-brainer.

There’s just one problem: The last thing you want to do is go back to school for another two or four very expensive years. After reading a bit online, you see that a possible route for you is getting a job after a coding bootcamp. …

Psychologists say these traits point to self-destructive behavior.

You may think you have no self-destructive tendencies until you take a look at your life and realize all your dreams, relationships, and accomplishments have been carefully and thoroughly sabotaged by nobody other than yourself.

Nobody’s doing it on purpose, and most people don’t even realize they’re doing it. The truth is that many of us have well-established habits of self-destruction that we’re completely blind to. We have all the trimmings of a successful life — the right interests, the high ambitions, the willingness to keep trying. But we keep failing. And we don’t know why.

Here are the 6 most common traits of truly self-destructive people. If you spot yourself exhibiting any of these, it may be time to examine what your actual goals are, and take the time to understand why you’re stopping yourself from accomplishing them. …

Secret societies, fancy outfits, crying in libraries and more.

When I got my letter of acceptance to study at the University of Oxford, I had just finished a physics test and was trying to sneakily check my email.

As soon I saw the words, “We are pleased to inform you,” I actually dropped my phone. “Mrs. Peterson,” I whisper-yelled quietly as I could because other kids were still taking the test, “can I please call my mom in your closet? I just found out I got into Oxford!”

“Sure,” she said, a little nonplussed. “…Oxford, Mississippi?”

I went to a fairly suburban high school in Georgia, where not that many people knew it was a Big Deal to get into Oxford. I knew it was a big deal, but even I didn’t know the weirdness I was about to get myself into. Throughout my three years there, I fell in love, fell into a British accent, and fell into the river. It was an amazing, exciting, terrifying and very strange time in my life — all the more so because I had no idea what to expect. …

A comprehensive guide of where you can find these jobs, what kind of freelancer they’re best for, and the benefits of each one.

When you think about freelance writing gigs, the concept can seem vague. What types of writing gigs are out there? How do you find them?

Before I started, my idea of freelance writing was Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City. I was a little disappointed to find out most freelance writers do not muse thoughtfully over their MacBook pros, wearing fine silks and dishing on their many love interests to legions of enthralled followers. The reality was much more mundane — but much more accessible, too.

Although we can all aspire to be Carrie Bradshaw, this guide is intended to walk you through 6 common types of freelance writing gigs, as well as where you might find them. These are all great opportunities that will help any freelance writer find their feet in this industry. …

Psychologists find positive language stimulates the frontal lobe.

Imagine if you knew exactly how to introduce yourself in a way that would leave an amazing first impression. It’s the kind of minor change that could have serious ramifications on the rest of your life — after all, first impressions count more than any future impressions you’ll make in a relationship.

“First impressions…are tightly connected with the enduring biases subjects bring along,” write Schiller et al in their 2009 study on a neural mechanism of first impressions.

It’s possible to change a mind later on — but it’s easier to make a good first impression right at the start.

The problem, as a lot of us will recognize, is that when humans get put under any kind of pressure conversationally, we don’t tend to make good impressions. …