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The top 10 videos people were obsessed with in 2016, according to YouTube

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adele carpool karaoke

It's hard to tell exactly what video is going to take off on the internet.

YouTube has collected the top 10 trending videos on its platform throughout 2016, based on views, shares, comments, likes, and more.

"Collectively these 10 videos have 550 million views and were watched for over 25 million hours," YouTube said in a statement.

The viral videos range from Adele singing on James Corden's "Carpool Karaoke" segment to Japanese comedy and a science video that looks at what's inside a rattlesnake's rattle. So, basically, things that happen to fascinate a whole lot of people.

See all the top 10 trending videos on YouTube for 2016:

SEE ALSO: The 25 worst movies of 2016, according to critics

10. "Brothers Convince Little Sister of Zombie Apocalypse"

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9. "THE $21,000 FIRST CLASS AIRPLANE SEAT"

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8. "Donald Trump: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)"

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See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Here's what's next for Facebook, according to a top analyst (FB)

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Facebook presentation Mark Mahaney IGNITION 2016

RBC Capital managing director Mark Mahaney gave a presentation on the of future of Facebook at Business Insider's Ignition conference on Wednesday.

While Mahaney doesn't see advertiser interest in Facebook slowing soon, he is cautious about the potential threat Snapchat poses to Facebook's growth, particularly among the younger teen demographic.

He also sees longterm revenue potential in Messenger and WhatsApp, two messaging apps owned by Facebook with one billion users each.

Mahaney has been covering internet stocks since 1998. He's consistently rated as one of the most accurate tech analysts and has been following Facebook since the company's inception.

Here's the presentation he gave on Wednesday about what's next for Facebook:

SEE ALSO: What to expect from Apple 'the fortress' in 2017







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The 10 most popular music videos of 2016, ranked

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rihanna drake work

The music video has found a new life on YouTube.

The form once used to promote singles with rotation on MTV can now make or break an upcoming artist looking for a wider audience online. (The views even count toward artists' Billboard chart positions these days.)

YouTube has compiled the most popular music videos in 2016 on its platform. Fifth Harmony landed the top spot for its suggestive clip for "Work from Home," which has over a billion views, and Rihanna and Drake managed to snag a record with their hit "Work": the most views in the first 24 hours (11.9 million).

See the most popular music videos of 2016 on YouTube below:

SEE ALSO: The worst movies of 2016, according to critics

10. twenty one pilots - "Heathens"

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9. Coldplay - "Hymn for the Weekend"

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8. Zayn - "Pillowtalk"

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See the rest of the story at Business Insider

21 clever kitchen gifts under $100

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silicone bakeware setKnow someone who loves to cook but already has everything? We're here to help. 

We found 21 clever gifts that everyone — even the most seasoned cook — would want in their kitchen. 

Indoor herb garden

Finally, a way to grow an herb garden without actually having to gow an herb garden. The Click & Grow does all the work for you. You just plug it in, and it lights and waters your plants for you. You should go from seeds to basil in just a few weeks.

Click & Grow Indoor Smart Herb Garden, $38



8-piece silicone bakeware set

Instead of buying every bake ware piece separately, wondering if you really need a chocolate mold that's shaped like a tea kettle, just drop $10 on this 8-piece set. It has everything you could want. And because it's all silicone, it's easy to clean when you're done.

Joiedomi 8-Pieces Silicone Bakeware Set, $9.50



No-spill Wine Glasses

For the hostess, consider a set of these chic, spill-preventing Saturn Glasses.

The wine glass can stand upright or tilted, and each cup is hand-molded and made from glass molded in California. The design also makes them perfect for stacking. 

Saturn White Wine Glass, $36



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A woman who quit her job as an investment banker now earns just as much traveling the world on her own

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kristin addis balloon

In March 2012, Kristin Addis quit her job as an investment banker in Southern California.

"It was hard for me when our paid time off was only 14 days per year," she tells Business Insider.

"We'd go to the office puking our guts out because we didn't want to use our vacation time being sick. I felt back then like even if I wanted to, in that 14 days, I wasn't really allowed to take it all at once. I felt like 'What is this money worth if I don't have the opportunity to spend it on what I want?

"I thought there had to be more to life than that."

So she set out to find it.

Less than a year later, Addis bought a one-way ticket to Bangkok, planning to travel overland through Southeast Asia. Since then, the now 30-year-old has largely stayed on the move, documenting her journey through her blog, Be My Travel Muse, and sharing the expertise she's gathered in her book, "Conquering Mountains: The Guide to Solo Female Travel," produced with Nomadic Matt's Matt Kepnes.

Below, she talks about the new life she built traveling the world: what it looks like, the reality of working on the road, and how she affords it.

 

SEE ALSO: 16 people who are living the dream without spending a fortune

Addis, who had lived in Taiwan when she was 21 to study Mandarin, started her trip in Southeast Asia because she'd read a traveler could get by on $1,000 a month, a sharp drop from the $3,000-$4,000 a month price of her California life.

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 In Newport Beach, California.



"I had been saving for years," Addis remembers. "It was between putting money into buying a condo or traveling." She managed to accumulate around $20,000 in cash, plus about $60,000 in retirement funds, which she says she won't touch until it's time to retire.

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At Hohenzollern Castle, Germany.



"I've never had debt other than school debt," Addis says. "I won't spend money I don't have, and I don't want to dip into funds meant for later. If I couldn't make being a travel influencer work, I would have gotten a job before I touched my retirement savings."

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 In Maui, Hawaii.



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30 of the best young adult books of the year

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girl reading

The INSIDER Summary:

• So many outstanding young adult novels across genres came out in 2016.
• Here are 30 picks that will sweep you into their pages.
• American Girls drops some serious truths about what it's like growing up female in America.


It seems many years there's one huge stand-out book that outshines the rest, whether in mass popularity or critical acclaim (or for the true unicorn, both!). This year, however, we had so many outstanding young adult novels that it's incredibly hard to pick a best young adult book of 2016. So, we didn't. Instead we picked 30 stand-out books that if you haven't yet read, you totally need to.

These top-notch YA books are by huge names — Maggie Stiefvater, E.K. Johnston, A.S. King, John Corey Whaley, Sabaa Tahir, and more — and newcomers who are already making their mark on the young adult world. There are series continuations, stand-alones, and the beginnings of what we know will be the next huge set of books we need.

In these stories we're sent to 16th-century England, the underworld, literally across space and time, Prohibition-era Oregon, back to Ketterdam, the time of Dracula, and our never-so-simple everyday modern life. There are fantasies, science fiction stories, magical realism, brutally honest true-to-life contemporaries, historical fiction tales, and everything in between. What they all do have in common is that these 30 books are going to sweep you up into their pages and stay with you for a long time.

When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore

You've never read a book quite like this one, and I mean that in the best way. It's an unconventional, magical realism love story that will wrap you up in its yarn. Miel and Sam have been BFF since she literally spilled out of a water tower when they were children. Miel grows flowers out of her wrist but she crushes and drowns them so the Bonner girls, who everyone knows can enchant any man to fall in love, don't steal them, and Sam holds his own secrets. The two, as you do, fall for each other, but don't expect 300 pages of will-they-won't-they. The story is lush, sexy, and ethereal, making you feel like you've been enraptured by some old fairy tale that, strangely, feels completely modern at the same time.

Click Here To Buy



My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows

You probably learned in history class that Edward VI and Lady Jane Grey had untimely deaths in 16th-century England, but three YA authors are here to give them new (hilarious) life in My Lady Jane. What if the Nine-Day Queen was never executed for treason? Well, if Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows' imaginations dictated, it would be a super-funny, high fantastical romp through history. It sounds high concept, but it's executed beautifully, giving readers a totally wacky, wisecracking adventure story that has the anachronistic fun of Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette, but much more successful.

Click Here To Buy



The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner

In The Serpent King, Jeff Zentner brings to life an impoverished Southern small town named after a member of the Ku Klux Klan and the outsiders who live there without shying away harsh realities. Though the story drives its way to a brutal act of violence, what shines is the power of friendship through it all. Dill is the son of an incarcerated extremist preacher who is bullied because of his family. Travis is a kind soul who feels desperately out of place in his hometown, and Lydia dreams of traveling to New York to have a career in fashion. Zentner creates these three teenagers who feel almost impossibly real and show how friendship can withstand anything, often even more than family and romantic love.

Click Here To Buy



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I've used a meditation app loved by Wall Streeters and Olympic athletes daily for the past 8 months, and now I can't imagine my life without it

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meditating guy meditation

Over the past eight months, I've had fun being the obnoxious guy who tells everyone he meditates every day. 

Ever since I decided to try out the guided-meditation app Headspace last December after hearing about it on Tim Ferriss' podcast, I've been much more aware of my thoughts and emotions, and with a few exceptions (including a rough day at the airport) I've been much calmer and more collected in times of stress.

I've dealt with occasionally intense anxiety since I was 11 years old, so that's an accomplishment.

Headspace isn't a hippy-dippy placebo; it's a straightforward teacher that helps you learn the basics of breathing and visualization associated with secular meditation.

The company reports it has 8.5 million active users, and this includes Wall Streeters, Olympic athletes, and celebrity executives like Arianna Huffington and Richard Branson. Companies like Goldman Sachs and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have bought package subscriptions for employees. The app is free to download, but a subscription unlocks full access to all of its lessons.

After using it for so long, I've gotten to a point where it's become an essential part of my daily routine. Below, I'll break down what it's like to use.

SEE ALSO: I followed Barack Obama's morning routine for a week, and it taught me a valuable lesson about mental toughness

Headspace was founded by Rich Pierson, left, and Andy Puddicombe in 2012. Puddicombe was formally trained as a Tibetan Buddhist monk during a 10-year excursion in his 20s. Headspace's lessons are secularized versions of exercises Puddicombe studied.



Puddicombe is your Headspace teacher. He appears periodically in video tutorials to give you a bit of extra insight. I've become very familiar with his English-accented voice!



When you begin Headspace, you have access to the 30-day Foundation pack, which introduces you to the basics of guided meditation.

After going through the first 30 days, you can access the rest of the exercises through a subscription.

I signed up for the year subscription, which now goes for $96, though you may find some promo codes floating around for a discount.

It's certainly not cheap, but if you take it as $8 a month, it's worth it for a daily user.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

24 things to consider before taking Adderall

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It's easy to see the appeal of a pill that keeps you in the zone in our hyper-focused, fast-paced, always-connected world.

That's why it's probably no surprise that by most measures, both legal and illegal usage rates of prescription stimulants like Adderall, Ritalin, Concerta, and Vyvanse (or the generic forms of some of these drugs) continue to remain stable or rise for everyone from young children to adults in the workplace and even among the elderly.

For people with ADHD, these drugs can be lifesavers. But as we know, many others are tempted by potentially cognitive enhancing drugs too, even if there are big questions about whether or not they work. We don't get enough sleep and everyone from students to office workers is trying to get an extra boost.

But before you jump on the bandwagon, here are some facts about Adderall and other stimulants you should know.

SEE ALSO: Hallucinogenic drugs could soon work 'like a surgical intervention' for mental illness

First of all, you should (and legally have to) talk to your doctor before getting Adderall.

Adderall, Ritalin, and similar medications are Schedule II drugs, which have medical uses but also have a high potential for abuse that can potentially lead to dependence — they should only be taken after a consultation with a doctor.

They are generally prescribed to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. The way your body responds to the drug may depend on whether you actually have ADHD, according to some research.

However, there isn't a simple test that determines whether a person definitely has ADHD. 

To make that diagnosis, your doctor or mental health provider may ask questions to see whether you have a certain number of the 18 ADHD symptoms listed in the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) — they check for six symptoms in people 16 and younger and five symptoms of inattention or hyperactivity for anyone older. A doctor who decides that those symptoms aren't caused by something else may prescribe a stimulant to see whether that helps.



If you like the feeling of Adderall or Ritalin, you may be less likely to have ADHD.

A 2014 study had the surprising finding that people who were genetically predisposed to feel euphoria when on stimulants were also less likely to have genes that predisposed them to ADHD and schizophrenia.

This might explain why some people who don't have ADHD may be especially likely to abuse stimulants — it makes them feel particularly good. Still, that's probably not the prime factor that drives abuse. A recent study found that the best predictor of stimulant misuse among adolescents was the use of other mind-altering drugs like alcohol, tobacco, or marijuana, which the researchers say indicates there's a strong social component. 



More and more adults are getting prescriptions for ADHD medication.

Between 2007 and 2012, the number of adults with ADHD prescriptions roughly tripled.

In 2007, there were 5.6 million monthly ADHD prescriptions for people aged 20 to 39. By 2012, that number approached 16 million

The number of adults who have an ADHD prescription is now rising faster than the number of new prescriptions for children getting the same drugs. Some reports indicate that despite any concerns about overuse of stimulants, there was a 5.9% increase in prescribed stimulant use from 2014 to 2015, mostly driven by more use among adults.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

A psychologist analyzed our personalities by looking at photos of our desks — here's how accurate we think she was

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Lily Bernheimer

You may not realize it, but your desk might say a lot more about you than you'd think.

Without ever meeting me, environmental psychologist Lily Bernheimer looked at my desk and taught me a few things about myself.

Bernheimer, the cofounder and director of Space Works Consulting, a UK-based environmental-psychology consultancy, holds an M.S. in Environmental Psychology from the University of Surrey and a B.A. from Brown University.

Her job at Space Works is to make workspaces and urban environments work for the people and purpose they serve. She is currently writing a book on the psychology of everyday spaces, "The Shaping of Us," to be published in 2017.

A few weeks ago, I sent Bernheimer images of my and a few of my colleagues' desks. She analyzed the images and sent back her observations and assessments via email. All she had to work off of was the photos — she's never met or talked to any of us.

I showed my coworkers what Bernheimer had to say and asked them for reactions.

Here's what Bernheimer concluded about me and four of my coworkers — Emmie, Libby, Amanda, and Sara — along with their responses:

SEE ALSO: The unusual items that Donald Trump, Mark Cuban, and 11 other successful people have in their offices

Emmie's desk

Bernheimer says: "This is the classic desk of a highly conscientious person: orderly, disciplined, and cautious. The books are perfectly stacked, there's no clutter, and everything is in its proper place. But beyond being extremely tidy, we also see signs of organization: to-do lists, sticky notes, and perfectly placed pen and paper, poised for planning. Besides being hard working, reliable, focused, and achievement-oriented conscientious people like to make plans and follow routines."

Emmie's response:"The assessment seems pretty accurate. I'm all about being organized and having a plan to tackle my work. I like routine and knowing exactly what I'm going to do each day. I try to make a to-do list for the next day every afternoon before I leave. I try to work hard and be a reliable team member, so I hope that comes across to my coworkers as well."



Libby's desk

Bernheimer says: "Cluttered, chaotic, colorful: this is the desk of an extrovert. Extroverts are excitement seekers and get easily bored without stimulation so they like to surround themselves with bright lights, materials, knicknacks related to their many activities, and warm, saturated colors like red.

"The phone is also placed within easy reach, whereas some of Libby's colleagues have pushed their phones out of the way or off the desk all together. But with their days so busy, extroverts often don't have enough time to tidy up! I would expect Libby to be assertive, cheerful, and above all friendly."

Libby's response:"I'm actually a textbook introvert. I just don't have anywhere else to keep my books or phone! I do recognize myself in that last sentence, though. A friendly introvert — that's me."



Amanda's desk

Bernheimer says: "This looks like the desk of an introvert. At the other end of the spectrum from extroverts, introverts are overwhelmed by too much stimulation, and draw their energy from solitary pursuits. Amanda seems to have built a fortress for herself, with books, hardware, and even hats piled high, creating a secure position of refuge. A greater need for personal space is linked to introversion and higher rates of anxiety.

"Sitting on the periphery can also be a sign that you are low in agreeableness: the tendency to be helpful, cooperative, and sympathetic. There is also a generally grey and cool color-scheme to this desk, aligning with introverted color preferences. But introverts shouldn't get a bad rap: They are often highly creative and productive types who need their own fortress to flourish."

Amanda's response: "Gosh, is she right? I thought the items on my desk said I'm an extrovert. I took it as, 'look at all these things on my desk you can ask me about!'"



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

We just learned about some more big changes coming to 'Pokémon Go'

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Pokemon Go

Anticipation is high for what's coming next to Pokémon Go.

The game's creator, Niantic Labs, has hinted that new Pokémon are coming next week. Players think this could mean they'll finally be able to catch "Legendary" creatures like Mewtwo or even the next generation of creatures.

Thanks to new code found in the game's most recent update that's been uncovered by The Silph Road, we have a good idea about which features to expect:

SEE ALSO: Here are the Pokémon you should start stockpiling in Pokémon Go before new creatures are released

Pokémon genders hint that they may be able to breed.

Both male and female genders are now referenced in the game's code, according to The Silph Road. It's unclear exactly how genders will be implemented, but they could be used in the future to allow for Pokémon breeding through eggs.

A separate "baby" reference for the game's buddy system further supports the theory that breeding is coming in a future update.



Ultra-rare "shiny" Pokémon will be catchable.

More references to "shiny" Pokémon have been uncovered, which are especially rare versions of existing Pokémon in different colors from the original games. 

Shiny Pokémon will likely be hard to find and seen as collector items, as they were in the traditional card-collecting game.



You'll be able to customize your trainer avatar and make Pokémon wear special costumes.

The Silph Road has found more code references to trainer customization, which should let you change aspects of its physical appearance for free and possibly through in-app purchases.

A "holiday" costume reference for Pokémon has also been found, which coincides with the recent announcement from Niantic that said more was coming to the game around the December holidays.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Prince Harry tried out being a trader for a day to raise money for charity

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Prince Harry (left) arriving to join City brokers ICAP and celebrities from the world of sport, television and entertainment on their trading floor in the City of London for the firm's 24th charity fundraising day.

Prince Harry was the guest of honour at ICAP's 24th annual charity day in London on Wednesday.

ICAP, a trading and broking business that will soon turn into a pure finance technology business, gives away all revenue and commission made on one day each year to a series of charity partners.

To get more people to ring up ICAP and do deals on the charity day, the company drafts in celebrities and public figures each year and has them man the phones.

The Prince tried his hand at being a trader. Here's how it went:

Prince Harry visited ICAP's London offices near Liverpool Street. Staff wear fancy dress every year to add a sense of fun to the occasion.



ICAP is donating money to over 100 charities around the world this year, including Save the Children, Doctors Without Borders, and Alzheimers Research UK. Sentebale, a charity supporting vulnerable children and orphans that the Prince is a patron of, will also get some of the money.



Harry reportedly flew in from Canada for the event. He was in Toronto to visit his girlfriend Meghan Markle.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The tightest race at the 2017 Oscars is best actress — here's who could win

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As we get deeper into award season, the picture of how Oscar night will turn out is getting clearer.

"La La Land" and its director Damien Chazelle are frontrunners in the best picture and best director categories. Casey Affleck, meanwhile, is the odds-on favorite to win best actor for his performance in the moving "Manchester by the Sea."

But best actress will likely keep people scrambling to guess until the big night.

The category has been famously tight in recent years. And this year performances by Natalie Portman, Emma Stone, and Amy Adams are all very strong, and anyone could win. Though they could be upset by the work of Taraji P. Henson or Isabelle Huppert. Or Meryl Streep could even swoop in and take down everyone, as she sometimes does.

Below are 10 actresses who all have a chance at being nominated and eventually winning best actress at the 2017 Academy Awards — and who we think has the best shot:

SEE ALSO: The 25 worst movies of 2016, according to critics

Amy Adams, "Arrival"

Adams has been nominated for an Oscar five times in her career (four times in the supporting actress category), and her portrayal as a linguist who is brought on by the military to communicate with aliens is the kind of performance Oscar voters love. She plays a character who is strong and assertive, but also tender and heartbreaking. It could lead to her first Oscar, and she certainly deserves one.



Annette Bening, "20th Century Women"

Bening gives one of the best performances of her career as a chain-smoking mother in the late 1970s who is trying to cope with her son turning into a rebellious teen. Playing it with a comedic touch, she will make you laugh and cry.



Jessica Chastain, "Miss Sloane"

Chastain plays a no-nonsense lobbyist and shows why she's one of the best actresses of her generation. Eschewing all the usual cliches of the woman-in-a-man's-world movie, she plays a role that shines bright in our "nasty woman" era.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

Politics and celebrity deaths dominated the discussion on Facebook in 2016 (FB)

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Chewbacca Mom

A lot happened on Facebook in 2016.

Politics unsurprisingly dominated much of the discussion among Facebook users, but so did the passing of celebrities like Muhammad Ali.

Facebook looked at the posts from its 1.8 billion users from January 1 to November 27 and anonymously aggregated them to find the top 10 most talked about topics.

Here they are in order:

SEE ALSO: Facebook’s growth boom shows no signs of slowing, says top analyst

1. The US presidential election

President-elect Donald Trump dominated news coverage on all fronts during the Republican primary and the general election where he beat Democrat Hillary Clinton in a massive upset, winning the White House in November.

Clinton won the popular vote, however.



2. Brazilian politics

Among Brazil's many travails, its former president, Dilma Rousseff, was suspended from office in May. Brazil's Senate ordered her to stand trialin a historic decision brought on by a deep recession and a corruption scandal.



3. Pokémon Go

It was the newest craze — for a little while.

People swarmed busy streets, parks, and national landmarks to play Pokémon Go. Organized meetups to hunt Pokémon in places like Central Park drew thousands of people.



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

The 39 best small tech companies to work for, according to employees

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Greenhouse Software

When it comes to working in the tech industry, the myth is that the best employers are the biggies, like Facebook and Google.

And it's true that those are fabulous tech companies that pay well and shower employees with perks.

But for those that prefer the a small-company atmosphere, there's no shortage of great employers, too.

So in its annual look at the best places to work, job-hunting site Glassdoor looked at companies that had less than 1,000 employees and had at least 25 employee reviews between November 2, 2015 and October 30, 2016. Companies were rated on a 5-point scale, with 5 being the best.

Glassdoor's list of the 50 best small companies to work for was dominated by tech companies, doing everything from serving up health care software, to helping non-profits raise money. Here they are:

 

SEE ALSO: The 25 best tech companies to work for in 2016, according to employees

SEE ALSO: 38 enterprise startups that will boom in 2017, according to VC investors

No. 39: Thumbtack

Company: Thumbtack

Company Rating: 4.6

Thumbtack is a tech platform that lets people hire local professionals like house painting, event planning, music lessons, movers, etc.

An employee says:

“Incredibly dedicated, humble, and approachable management. All the C-level people are down to earth. Amazingly smart and talented people. Beautiful office space(s).” - Thumbtack Product Designer (San Francisco, CA)



No. 38: Elementum

Company: Elementum

Company Rating: 4.6

Elementum offers cloud software that takes big data and determines its impact on the supply chain.

An employee says:

“Employees are encouraged to act like owners, and can suggest the craziest ideas, provided they are well thought out.” - Elementum Product Employee (Mountain View, CA)



No. 37: Applied Predictive Technologies

Company: Applied Predictive Technologies

Company Rating: 4.6

Applied Predictive is a cloud-based analytics software company.

An employee says:

“Driven, motivated, young, people with their priorities in the right place. This company has well-rounded employees and a phenomenal culture.” - Applied Predictive Technologies Quality Assurance Engineer (Arlington, VA)



See the rest of the story at Business Insider

100 of the most exciting startups in New York City

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nowthis

The Berlin-based magazine The Hundert has been compiling lists of Europe's most exciting startups for years.

For the ninth edition of the magazine, the team focused on startups in New York City instead.

A panel of 40 judges, including Business Insider's Henry Blodget and Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, chairman of Spitzer Partners, chose the finalists. 

Below, check out 100 of the most exciting startups in New York City, republished with permission from The Hundert.

Axel Springer Digital Ventures, Berlin Partner, KPMG, SevenVentures and Weberbank provided support for the Hundert Vol. 9.

Disclosure: Axel Springer is Business Insider's parent company.

SEE ALSO: Order a hard copy of this list over at The Hundert

Abacus: Intelligent expense reporting

Fintech
Founded in 2013
20 employees
Funding $3.5M / 3 rounds

Founded in 2013 by Omar Qari, Ted Power, and Joshua Halickman, Abacus set out to reinvent the way companies reimburse their employees. Abacus helps businesses intelligently manage their employee expenses using data and behavior analysis to make recommendations, as well as automate expense creation and approval.

Using heuristics, expenses are curated to help administrators focus on anomalies and high priority items, while processing next-day reimbursements, enforcing company expense policy, reconciling corporate cards, and syncing with accounting software.

Abacus is partnering with companies like Salesforce, Slack, and Lever so that busy finance teams have a smarter way to manage business expenses.



ActionIQ: Solving the biggest problem marketers face

Big Data
Founded in 2014
35 employees
Funding undisclosed

Every business leader should be asking themselves: am I getting the most out of my data? For too long, the answer to this question has been no.

ActionIQ is changing that with its world class Marketing Activation Platform, dedicated to giving marketers and analysts freedom and speed. While the major marketing clouds handle only 1% of customer data and interactions, ActionIQ provides the only solution that scales to 100% of customer data, analyzes it at unprecedented speeds, and lets marketers execute campaigns in hours--all without calling IT.

The platform is the fastest way for Global 2000 companies to connect all of their first party digital and offline data, generate insights on what drives customer behavior, and directly connect with all of their marketing apps.

The result is improved targeting, personalization, and reach across all marketing channels. Based in New York City, ActionIQ is backed by leading investors including Sequoia Capital and FirstMark Capital.



Adore Me: The new face of lingerie

E-commerce
Founded in 2012
100 employees
Funding $11.5M / 5 rounds

Adore Me is an e-commerce startup disrupting the lingerie market with affordable, fast-fashion and stylish lingerie. In four years, Adore Me raised $11.5M in funding and has 6.5M users, over 1M Facebook followers and 100 employees across the US and Europe.

In 2015, Adore Me was ranked #14 on the Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing companies in America, topping the charts as the #2 fastest-growing company in retail and #2 fastest-growing company in NYC.

Up until now online-only, Adore Me is expanding into retail and TV advertising and the brand has big plans to dethrone Victoria's Secret.



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The hardest-to-find toys each holiday season since 1983

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Bratz dolls

The hardest thing about shopping for toys might just be keeping up with the latest fads. Every year has its hottest toy that every kid wants, whether its Tamagotchis or Bratz dolls.

Ebates put together a list of the most popular toy for each year since 1983. Here's what the kids were after.

1983: Cabbage Patch Kids

Cabbage Patch kids were first created in 1978, and by the early '80s, they were everywhere. October 1983 heralded the start of the "Cabbage Patch Riots."Shoppers hopped from state to state, and withstood freezing temperatures in line, and fought each other in stores — all to buy Cabbage Patch Kid dolls. By 1985, the toy had $600 million in sales.



1984: Transformers

The toy trucks and cars that could transform into robots were so popular that they spawned an animated television series in 1986, and a live-action movie series by Michael Bay that's still ongoing.



1985-1986: Teddy Ruxpin

Talking animal toys are a dime a dozen now, but Teddy Ruxpin was one of the originals. It had a cassette tape attached to its back that told stories and synchronized the audio with its moving lips.



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There's now a $75 million private jet for your inner Texas oil tycoon (ERJ)

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Skyranch

There's flying, and then there's flying.

Brazilian private-jet maker Embraer prefers that its customers experience the finer side of aviation. Earlier this year, the Sao Paulo-based company dazzled with its Kyoto Airship concept interior that featured a massive skylight installed on its flagship Lineage 1000E jets.

Now, Embraer has teamed up with Eddie Sotto, a designer based in Los Angeles, to create a custom interior called Skyranch One. Instead of the Kyoto Airship's Asian theme, Skyranch is a harmonious blend of several cultures.

"Think Dallas' JR Ewing meets the daughter of a Brazilian rancher," Jay Beever, Embraer's vice president of interior design, told Business Insider in an interview.

As a result, the Skyranch offers a Southwest theme with some Spanish and Portuguese flair, Beever said.

Here's a closer look at the Skyranch One interior concept:

SEE ALSO: The incredible history of Air Force One

The Skyranch One interior is designed for Embraer's top-of-the-line Lineage 1000E executive jet. The 1000E has room for 13 to 19 passengers, with a range of nearly 5,300 miles.



Like the Kyoto Airship, the centerpiece of the Skyranch interior is a massive (by airplane standards) vertical "picture" window. Embraer strengthened the structure in the area around the window in a manner similar to that of an emergency exit door, Beever told Business Insider.



The interior is designed to "capture the solitude and privacy, the romance of the wide open spaces," Sotto wrote in a press release. "After all, aren't the skies the last frontier of privacy?"

Source: Sotto



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7 languages that are easy to learn for British people

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The Insider Picks team writes about stuff we think you'll like. Business Insider has affiliate partnerships, so we get a share of the revenue from your purchase.

ParisIt's no secret that Britain has the worst foreign language skills in Europe

Learning a new language is hard, after all. It takes time, energy, and cash to splurge on a personal tutor.

That being said, not all languages are hard to learn for native English speakers. 

History, similar roots in languages, and geographical proximity make some languages a breeze to learn for British people. 

Not only that, but learning a new language could increase your chances of earning more, and will definitely come in handy when travelling the world. 

We've rounded up the easiest languages for Brits to learn, made even easier with a course from Udemy.

Right now, not only is online learning on Udemy convenient, but it's even cheaper as most language courses are only £15 with code "GIFTUDEMY". 

 

7. French

French takes an average of 26 weeks (or 575-600 class hours) to learn at a proficient level for English speakers. Not only is France geographically close to us, but French is also close to English lexically which makes the vocabulary easy to learn, and in some cases, is familiar.

After all, English vocabulary has more than 8,000 French-derived words like colour, excellent, barbecue, and many more. Unsurprising really, since a version of French was spoken during the Anglo-Norman period

Learn to Speak: Conversational French - Full Course, £15 (originally £95)[84% off with "GIFTUDEMY"]  

 



6. Spanish

Not only is Spanish the third most spoken language in the world, but it's also one of the easiest to learn. Spanish is spoken as it’s written, which makes pronunciation and reading a breeze for Brits. Another way in which Spanish is easier to learn than other languages is the fact that it only has 25 phonemes (English has 34), and only one hard yet fun letter to pronounce – 'ñ'.

Conversational Spanish Made Easy, £15 (originally £145)[90% off with "GIFTUDEMY"] 



5. Dutch

Dutch and English are both Germanic based languages, which means that some words, and pronunciations are eerily similar ("groen" and "green," for instance). Although it's fairly similar to German, Dutch is much easier to learn as it doesn't have any cases, and the grammar is simply much easier. Not only that, but it has also appropriated a lot of French words, which makes the vocabulary feel familiar for native English speakers. 

Learn Dutch Online | Get Started!, £15 (originally £35)[57% off with "GIFTUDEMY"] 



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Waitrose predicts the 7 biggest food and drink trends in 2017

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Hawaiian Poke Bowl

Watermelon water and over-the-top desserts will have their moment in 2017, according to this year's Waitrose Food and Drink Report.

The British supermarket collected consumer research from 2,000 people of all ages and combined this with focus groups, insights from Waitrose food and retail experts, and sales data of millions of purchases during the year.

Here are Waitrose's eating and drinking predictions for the year ahead.

Hawaiian poke

Hawaiian poke, a raw fish salad that is traditionally made with tuna or octopus, will be popular in 2017, according to Waitrose.

In London, restaurants like Eat Poke are popularising the Hawaiian dish with their signature bowls of marinated raw fish, topped with pickles on a base of black rice.

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Lighter eating

Heavy cream sauces will be replaced with healthier accompaniments, like vegetable pureés, as part of a trend toward lighter eating, says Waitrose. "The lighter, the fresher and brighter the ingredients the better," the supermarket writes.

Take some tips from British Instagram star and cookbook author Ella Mills, better known as Deliciously Ella, who has built a successful brand off promoting clean, plant-based eating.

 

 



Gourmet meal kits

Ready-meal kits, or boxes that are delivered to people's front doors and contain pre-portioned ingredients and a recipe card, picked up steam this year and will remain trendy in 2017, says Waitrose. 

In the UK, popular recipe box services include Gousto and HelloFresh.

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20 photos that show what women really look like when they laugh

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women laughing thumb

The INSIDER Summary:

• Maud Fernhout took photos of women laughing out loud for a photo series she calls "What Real Woman Laugh Like."
• She wanted to show women laughing naturally as opposed to stiff smiles often seen on models.
• She hopes to encourage women not to hold back or be embarrassed of their laugh.


Maud Fernhout wants women to laugh. Not just giggle quietly, or chuckle with their hands over their mouth. She wants full-bodied, scrunchy-faced expressions of joy.

An anthropology and psychology major at University College Utrecht, she's found that a lot of women are embarassed of what they look or sound like when they find something hilarious.

In her photo series called "What Real Women Laugh Like," Fernhout put her photography skills to work to combat the stigma and celebrate how women look when they're not thinking about how they look at all.

Maud Fernhout is a 20-year-old student at University College Utrecht, originally from Amsterdam.



She'd been doing photography work for about a year when she started thinking about topics tied into social issues that she wanted to tackle.



"A true feminist at heart, the one-dimensional and objectified portrayal of women in media came to mind pretty quick," she said.



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