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Twitter Buckles Under Pressure, Lets You Block Users Again | Armonk Realtor

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Twitter reversed its stance on blocking a second time Thursday night, reverting to the original policy in the face of what it admitted was tremendous opposition on the service. “We never want to introduce features at the cost of users feeling less safe,” Vice President of Product Michael Sippey wrote in a blog post. The original story is below.

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If you’re having problems with a stalker, you don’t need a restraining order — just wear a blindfold. That at least appears to be the logic behind a policy change Twitter announced Thursday, one its users are calling baffling.

Previously, the service allowed you to block any troublesome follower, denying them access to your tweets. Now, in an about-face, the process of blocking simply mutes the user in question, meaning you can’t see their tweets. But they can retweet you, allowing their followers to contact you in turn.

“If your account is public, blocking a user does not prevent that user from following you, interacting with your Tweets, or receiving your updates in their timeline,” the company says in its amended “blocking users on Twitter” help page.

A company spokesperson explained to Forbes that the change had been made because “people would see they had been blocked and get mad,” resulting in “antagonistic behavior.”

But that didn’t wash with many users who’d experienced real harassment on the service. “This is a huge and very serious problem for people, like me, who have received repeated rape and death threats on Twitter on a fairly consistent basis,” wrote Zerlina Maxwell, a prominent…

Armonk, Chappaqua Lead in Highest Ask Price | #RobReportBlog

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Armonk,   Chappaqua Lead in Highest Ask Price | #RobReportBlog
Katonah$18,995,000.00
Pound   Ridge$5,700,000.00
South   Salem$12,200,000.00
Mt Kisco$3,950,000.00
Chappaqua$24,750,000.00
North   Salem$18,500,000.00
Armonk$24,900,000.00
Bedford$14,500,000.00
Bedford   Hills$10,995,000.00
Bedford   Corners$12,000,000.00

Bob Vila’s 5 December ‘Must Do’ Projects | Armonk Real Estate

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This month is all about the holidays — from decorating the house inside and out to making sure you have everything you’ll need to keep warm and safe. With so much to accomplish, it’s best to develop a plan and stick to it. Here are my top-five “must-do” projects for December, with a Christmas countdown topping the list.

No. 1: Countdown to Christmas

The holiday clock is ticking and there’s so much to do, right? Pick up a fresh tree (or unpack that artificial one), untangle and test the strings of mini-LED lights that you hastily put away last year, and start looking for places to hide the gifts you’ve already started to purchase at stores and online. No! Stop! With a little smart planning, you can get all of your holiday activities done in record time — and still enjoy the season.

For starters, begin to clear away everyday decor from shelves, mantels and tabletops. If you are going to decorate for the holidays, it will be much easier to work with a blank canvas. Likewise, make sure you have sufficient room for the tree. A tree that looked to be a perfectly appropriate size at the lot may actually appear quite different once it’s made it through the front door into the living room. Consider rearranging the furniture — or even removing some — to give the tree the space it deserves. And, if it’s a fresh-cut tree, be sure to locate it away from heat sources and direct sunlight, and water regularly to prevent it from drying out too quickly.

Next, before the holiday cards begin to arrive, plan a spot to display them, whether on the mantel or in a decorative holder. Check the return addresses on the incoming envelopes against those in your address book to be certain you’re up to date, then recycle the envelopes. Before you start wrapping gifts, create a wrapping station where everything you need is in one place — scissors, wrap, ribbon, tape, tags and a pen. Once the gifts have been wrapped and tagged, be sure to designate an out-of-the-way spot to hide them, like in a guest room, under a bed or at the back of a closet shelf. You’ll probably want to find a different hiding spot from last year, just in case the kids are on to you!

Because food and entertaining are an important part of the holidays, be sure to create some order in the kitchen as well. Clean out the pantry and refrigerator before you start shopping for food and ingredients for your holiday meals and treats. If you bake, make sure countertops and work surfaces are clear and uncluttered. You’ll want to have space not only to roll out the cookie dough, but also to hold the cut-out cookies prior to and after baking. Take inventory of your containers to make sure you have enough on hand for storing cookies as well as keeping leftovers fresh and available.

No. 2: Firewood prep

Nothing celebrates the colder weather like the distinct scent and sound of a crackling log in the fireplace. A steady supply of firewood can help offset your heating costs, and unlike oil and coal, wood is a resource that can be replanted for future fire-burning pleasure. Before you start using your fireplace, make sure that your wood is properly seasoned and the right type for your heating requirements. Hardwoods, like oak and maple, burn slowly and steadily. They must be seasoned for at least a year, or you’ll be making more smoke than heat. Softwoods, like pine and fir, season faster and grow faster. They’re easy to split and easy to start but watch out for sparking and creosote buildup in your chimney. Because most firewood is seasoned outdoors, it will contain insects, so you don’t want to store more than a day’s worth inside your home at a time. You also don’t want to stack great piles of it against the outside of your house. To store a year’s supply, you’ll need a woodshed or some other covered storage area set away from buildings.

No. 3: DIY decorations

While there is an infinite supply of ready-made holiday decorations to purchase, there’s something about the season that heightens the appeal of handmade decor. A wreath form purchased at a craft or hobby shop can be transformed easily into a festive wreath to hang above a mantel or on the front door. Pinecones and evergreen branches can be woven into garlands to decorate the house inside and out. And if you are looking for a way to personalize your tree, there are an endless number of creative ornaments you can make. Here are 58 outstanding DIY ornaments to get you inspired. Make one for yourself — or as a gift to give.

 

 

 

http://www.zillow.com/blog/2013-12-09/bob-vilas-december-projects/

Eichler Remodel Spawns a Design Career | Armonk NY Homes

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Sometimes you don’t know what you want until it’s right in front of your face. Pamela Lin and her husband, Erwin Tam, had set out looking for a run-of-the-mill, contemporary cookie cutter home with two stories that they could move into without much renovating. But none of the dozens of homes they toured wowed them. Until they walked inside a home designed by well-known California developer Joseph Eichler.
Seeing the open-sky atrium surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows and the open floor plan, Lin and Tam’s style compass completely shifted. Turned out, they weren’t lovers of contemporary style at all; they were midcentury modernists at heart. “Right away we knew this home was for us,” Lin says.
Another thing they soon discovered: Lin is a natural designer. A full-time project manager for Google at the time, she reached out to a few professionals, but her tastes were so particular that she just decided to design the whole house herself, reimagining the kitchen and bathrooms and choosing furnishings, materials and paint colors. Two of her fellow Googlers saw the end result and each hired her to do their homes. Then a neighbor’s friend saw the house, knocked on her door and hired her. After that a different neighbor procured her services as well.
With such demand, Lin decided to start her own interior design company, Urbanism Designs.
Houzz at a Glance Who lives here: Pamela Lin, Erwin Tam and their daughters, Eniko (8 months) and Eliana (4) Location: Sunnyvale, California Size: 1,890 square feet; 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms

Lin researched Eichler homes because she wanted to preserve the Eichler feel but modernize it slightly. Previous owners had already altered a few features — they had removed some original interior wood paneling and painted the ceiling, for example — but she tried to keep the structure as original as possible. “We tried to preserve as much as we could and just modernize things without losing the structure and bones,” Lin says.
The exterior form is virtually unchanged apart from new paint. Lin also added frosted glass to the front door sidelight, changed the side fence to ipe wood and added landscaping steps and concrete planter boxes, which she designed based on a photo she saw on Houzz.
Exterior paint: Dolphin; door paint: Pumpkin Cream, both by Benjamin Moore
The front door opens to this atrium, which originally wooed Lin and Tam into buying the house. In their research they saw that many people opted to cover Eichler atriums to add more interior square footage, but they chose to preserve it.
Lin believes the previous owners thought to hire a company like Elizabeth Gordon Studio to design  a wood wall originally separated the interior and exterior and that changed it to frosted glass.
AFTER: Lin took the connectivity a step further by adding clear, double-pane glass. She also replaced the concrete with an ipe wood deck and a fire pit. Mexican pebbles keep other areas clean looking and low maintenance. “We wanted to make it a place where you’d want to hang out as a family,” Lin says. Cube: Frank Gehry; glass doors: Palo Alto Glass
The atrium leads to the kitchen, where Lin removed a partial wall that had blocked views inside. With that and the frosted glass removed, this outdoor space has become a focal point.
Previous owners had painted the ceiling white. “I would have loved to have the original wood color,” Lin says. They had also added generic veneer wood cabinets and a Spanish terra-cotta tile floor.

Freddie Mac reports Mortgage rates increase | Armonk Homes

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Freddie Mac (OTCQB: FMCC) today released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), showing average fixed mortgage increasing strongly following better than expected reports on private job growth and new home sales.

News Facts

  • 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.46 percent with an average 0.5 point for the week ending December 5, 2013, up from last week when it averaged 4.29 percent. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.34 percent.
  • 15-year FRM this week averaged 3.47 percent with an average 0.4 point, up from last week when it averaged 3.30 percent. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.67 percent.
  • 1-year Treasury-indexed ARM averaged 2.59 percent this week with an average 0.4 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.60 percent. At this time last year, the 1-year ARM averaged 2.55 percent.

Average commitment rates should be reported along with average fees and points to reflect the total upfront cost of obtaining the mortgage. Visit the following links for the Regional and National Mortgage Rate Details and Definitions. Borrowers may still pay closing costs which are not included in the survey.

 

 

Case Study: Advanced Content Marketing | Armonk Realtor

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Case Study- Advanced Content Marketing

Content is a two syllable word that has become an online marketing strategy.  Its impact has far reaching effects that belies its verbal simplicity. It  influences search engine results, drives online engagement and can create brand  awareness at velocity when it goes viral.

With Google’s recent updates, the role of content has increased in priority.  The search giant is now rewarding sites with higher rankings that offer unique  content that delivers a quality user experience.

This means that progressive brands need to become publishers and not just  advertisers. Advanced content marketing is a human and creative art form with  soul enabled by technology and process driven. It is multi-media content at  scale that leverages a brand’s reach that is efficient and amplified.

Is corporate media getting better than mainstream media?

In a recent article on the Hubspot blog, Dan Lyon poses an intriguing question.

“Is corporate media getting  better  than mainstream  media?”

He then cites examples of Microsoft, General Electric and Google who are  using both technology and their great content archives to “out publish” existing  traditional media companies.

I think that in some cases he may be right.

Today’s companies do have the technology and platforms to go it alone. They  often have the marketing CRM’s, databases, access to vast libraries of content  and the technology to make a traditional newspaper brand look bland.

Marketing and publishing has been democratized

Technology changes have put the power in the users hands. Companies don’t  need to understand how to use a printing press.

  • Want to publish. Launch a blog
  • Need to design and create an online magazine. Hire a designer, assign an  editor and writer and create your brand magazine using Photoshop.
  • Have the impulse to shoot a video. Buy a $1,000 video camera, create a video  and upload it to YouTube
  • Feel the motivation to market. Amplify your content to your Facebook and  Twitter fans and followers

Should some advertising dollars be moved to publishing?

Companies such as Red Bull are moving their spending from advertising to  publishing. They are also about creating “conversations around the  brand” not “about” the brand. This means creating content that has  heart and soul of the brand embedded but not mentioned.

No-one wants to talk about the drink but the lifestyle that revolves around  the brand image.

Advanced content marketing case study:  Lorna Jane

Lorna Jane is an “activewear” label for women that has been around for over  20 years. The brand is about fitness and fashion for women. They have embraced  the the strategy of advanced content marketing.

Their aim “to inspire women to live their best life through active  living”. Their mantra and mission is based upon a three pillared philosophy  of:

  • Move
  • Nourish
  • Believe

“Lorna Jane is not simply a clothing label, it is a way of life”. They are about fitness and a healthy lifestyle.

Lorna Jane’s marketing is not about talking about its product but being a  publisher. The heart and soul is about creating conversations around the  brand.

Jessie Dean, the Digital Marketing Manager at Lorna Jane has a team that  includes:

  • Social media specialist
  • Social media coordinator
  • Editor of “Move Nourish Believe”

They have also created a separate and secondary brand that is about the  lifestyle and mission that is core to the Lorna Jane message.

 

 

 

Read more at http://www.jeffbullas.com/2013/11/27/case-study-advanced-content-marketing/#CgUbpkk6o1KJEJiZ.99