Blog, YouTube & Content Monetization

The average adult spends five hours and 48 minutes each day looking at their phones. Heineken thinks that’s way too much time and has launched a new campaign encouraging people to put their devices down and socialize more in person. Ideally, with a beer of course. With consumers spending 88 days per year scrolling on their phones, the Dutch brewer this week is kicking off a “Social Off Socials” marketing blitz that’s built around the premise that adults acknowledge they spend too much time online, but also feel trapped in a vicious cycle of social media addiction. Heineken commissioned a study of 17,000 adults of legal drinking in the U.S., U.K., and seven ot…

Mattel just got its first custom global typeface in over 80 years, and it’s brimming with brand easter eggs. Mattel operates dozens of brands under its corporate umbrella, each with their own visual identity and brand voice. But, until now, Mattel has never had its own proprietary typeface for its overarching brand, instead opting to license multiple existing fonts on a global scale—an endeavor that was not only expensive, but also came at the cost of visual consistency across Mattel’s many product lines. Otis Gibson, founder of the Chicago-based creative agency Gertrude, says his agency was tasked with “putting a lasso” around Mattel’s corporate identity. Their soluti…

2025 was defined by reports of a “low-hire, low-fire” environment: the unemployment rate remained fairly low, at just over 4% in December; yet headlines of constant layoffs seemed to dominate the news cycle, and those who are unemployed are taking longer to find work. It’s all been very confusing. And the most recent U.S. jobs report, released today, presents more mixed signals. This week’s report indicated American employers added 130,000 jobs in January, and the Labor Department reported the unemployment rate fell to 4.3%. Everything in the report isn’t good — it also indicated just 181,000 jobs were created last year, which is the lowest number since 2020 — but…

For 50 years, America’s generosity has been stuck in neutral with charitable giving frozen at 2.5% of GDP. But not because people stopped caring. In 2024, total giving hit record highs, and food banks saw donations surge as families faced delays in SNAP benefits. The heart is there. What’s missing is technology that turns generosity into lasting impact. We can’t solve today’s biggest problems, from food insecurity to climate change to health inequity, without unlocking the full potential of AI. For the first time, technology connects data across causes, predicts needs before they arise, and turns generosity into measurable progress. If generosity is the fuel, AI is th…

What many applicants may not realize is that, nowadays, the first hurdle in applying for a job is dealing with AI. Candidates now often must clear an artificial intelligence system that screens their résumés that quietly determines who advances, and whose application is filed away in a drawer or spam folder, never to see the light of day. Now, a new lawsuit filed on Tuesday is the first in the U.S. to accuse an AI hiring company of violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Eightfold AI, a venture capital-backed artificial intelligence hiring platform, is being sued by two workers in California for allegedly compiling reports used to screen job applicants without their…

Cryptocurrency mogul Do Kwon is scheduled to be sentenced Thursday for misleading investors who lost billions when his company’s crypto ecosystem collapsed in 2022. Kwon, known by some as “the cryptocurrency king,” pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court in August to fraud charges stemming from Terraform Labs’ $40 billion crash. The company had touted its TerraUSD as a reliable “stablecoin”—a kind of currency typically pegged to stable assets to prevent drastic fluctuations in prices. But prosecutors say it was all an illusion that came crumbling down, devastating investors and triggering “a cascade of crises that swept through cryptocurrency markets.” Kwon,…

If you ride along a bike path in the U.K. city of Leeds and approach a street, the traffic light can automatically turn green for you—or stay green if you’re already midway across. The city is one of a growing number testing technology that uses sensors, anonymous data, and AI to make it easier to cross streets. Made by a company called VivaCity (known as Viva in the U.S.), the sensors can detect cyclists and pedestrians from more than 200 feet away. In some cases, someone on a bike might not need to stop at the corner. Pedestrians can keep walking without breaking their stride. (Cities can choose to program traffic signals to give cyclists either a shorter wait or full…

When I first learned about Roth IRAs and Roth 401(k) plans—the tax-advantaged retirement plans that are funded with a taxpayer’s after-tax income—I remember thinking that it must be nice to have enough income that you could afford to contribute money to your retirement without an immediate tax break. But even though you fund Roth accounts with after-tax dollars, making them more expensive on the contribution side, they are ultimately a savvy way to save money in the long run. Unfortunately, if you don’t know what these accounts are or how they work, you will miss out on all of their benefits. Here’s everything you need to know to make the most of Roth retirement a…

When Cadillac designed its new ultraluxury EV, the handcrafted Celestiq, the design team had to completely rethink its battery pack: a standard EV battery wouldn’t fit inside. “We had a challenge, because due to the low roof height and the expressive proportions, there wasn’t room for a typical battery in this vehicle,” says Tony Nausieda, chief engineer of electrical propulsion systems at GM. “It would have been probably pretty straightforward to do something like an internal combustion powertrain, but that was not at all what anybody wanted to do. This was conceived to be an electric vehicle.” They couldn’t compromise on the low lines of the car. It also had…

You wouldn’t pay a surgeon to file your tax return, and you wouldn’t ask your accountant to perform your appendectomy. The same is true for AI: Organizations should start realizing that different AI providers excel at different needs, from coding to specialized research or creative design. Over the coming year, enterprises will absorb a variety of these AI providers’ technologies in earnest and at scale—department by department, role by role. Legal teams will standardize on tools like Harvey. Customer service teams will rely on Glean or purpose-built agents. Development teams may choose resources from Anthropic. Marketing, engineering, finance, and HR will similarly g…

Fire officials and pro-density urbanists are often at loggerheads. This is especially evident in notoriously car-centric Los Angeles, where a firefighters’ union spent six figures opposing active mobility measures. The two camps can have different ideas of acceptable risks and priorities. But Matthew Flaherty, a firefighter who has lived in L.A. his whole life, bridges the two worlds. He’s an advocate for affordable, transit-friendly housing. His struggle to find an apartment in a walkable neighborhood led him to become a member of the Livable Communities Initiative, a nonprofit group advocating for more walkable neighborhoods in L.A. “Cities shouldn’t be designed aroun…

It’s a good day to be the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly. This morning, the company unveiled its latest innovation in the weight-loss drug wars: the KwikPen. Per a press release , the KwikPen contains a months-worth of Zepbound, Eli Lilly’s GLP-1 designed to combat obesity, and it’s designed to make taking the medicine more convenient. Alongside the announcement of this new innovation, Eli Lilly’s main competitor, Novo Nordisk, dropped the news that its experimental drug, CagriSema, perfomed worse for patient weight loss in a head-to-head trial against Eli Lilly’s proprietary drug, tirzepatide. A November study from the health policy non-profit KFF found that abo…

The death of Joann fabrics is turning out to be a big gain for at least one other retailer. Following the beloved craft chain’s bankruptcy and subsequent plan to wind down its operations, discount retailer Burlington Stores—formerly known as Burlington Coat Factory—is moving to scoop up dozens of leases from former Joann locations across more than 20 states, court documents reveal. The 45 locations, some of which have been home to Joann’s stores for decades, were listed as being taken over by various Burlington subsidiaries on a bankruptcy court filing last week, with the company expected to assume control of most of the leases on June 1. In January, Joann fi…

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said Saturday that he wants to step down as chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway at the end of the year. The revelation came as a surprise because the 94-year-old had previously said he did not plan to retire. Buffett, one of the world’s richest people and most accomplished investors, took control of Berkshire Hathaway in 1965 when it was a textiles manufacturer. He turned the company into a conglomerate by finding other businesses and stocks to buy that were selling for less than they were worth. His success made him a Wall Street icon. It also earned him the nickname “Oracle of Omaha,” a reference to the Nebraska city where Buffett…

Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. On Friday, Trumark Homes—which has been majority owned by Japan-based Daiwa House since 2020—announced that it has struck a deal to acquire a Seattle metro-based homebuilder JK Monarch. The deal is the latest in a recent string of U.S. homebuilder acquisitions by Japanese firms. Exactly five weeks ago today (February 13), Japan-based Sumitomo Forestry announced that it had agreed to acquire Tri Pointe Homes—a giant public homebuilder ranked No. 715 on the Fortune 1000—for $4.5 billion. Then on February 23, Stanley Martin Homes—which has been owned by Japa…

Hospital intensive care units are notoriously noisy, with medical equipment emitting alarms, beeps, and other alerts designed to grab the attention of overextended healthcare workers. That constant barrage can lead to what experts call alarm fatigue, causing stress and exhaustion for doctors and nurses who must distinguish between routine signals and those indicating a patient is in urgent distress. Patients, too, often struggle to rest amid the cacophony, even though sleep is critical to recovery. To Ophir Ronen, a serial tech entrepreneur who sold his IT alert-handling startup Event Enrichment HQ to PagerDuty, the problem sounded familiar. Ronen first encountere…

Did you know that December is spelled with an X? Neither did we—until one influencer’s viral video showed the pitfalls of relying on AI for answers. AI is growing less and less popular by the day. A recent Gallup survey found a 14% decrease in excitement among Gen Z about AI since 2025, with 48% of working Gen Zers saying that using artificial intelligence in the workforce isn’t worth the risk. As anti-AI sentiment grows, anti-AI creators are finding a new niche. That includes Husk, an influencer whose videos showing ChatGPT’s frequent mistakes have gone viral over and over again. Take Husk’s most recent video. Pretending to be studying for a test, he asked C…

When Skype debuted in 2003, it was the first time I remember feeling that an individual app—and not just the broader internet—was radically disrupting communications. Thanks to its implementation of the voice over internet protocol (VOIP) and its simple interface, the app allowed users worldwide to call virtually any phone number directly from their PC with ease, in addition to calling other Skype users via its peer-to-peer (P2P) network. If you are too young to remember a time before smartphones, FaceTime, and WhatsApp, take it from me that Skype’s launch was truly revolutionary. It suddenly became simple to call home if you were traveling internationally. And if…

Metrics can tell you if you’re going the right direction or not. They can also be a waste of time if the metrics are noise instead of strong signals. There is no one right answer to which metrics to use, but understanding how others use them can turn on a light bulb for new ideas. We asked our Fast Company Impact Council members what metrics they track obsessively—and why— and the answers we share may have you rethinking your own tracking. 1. CONVERSION AND RETENTION I track a lot of metrics and it’s easy to get lost in the minutiae of the business, but as a subscription business the metrics of conversion and retention are my twin North Stars. What percentage of visitors…

A year ago, Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans were rejoicing. The beloved ‘90s series was finally getting a follow-up, thanks to the announcement of a sequel series coming to Hulu. But that excitement has turned to outrage as of March 14, when star Sarah Michelle Gellar announced on social media that Buffy wasn’t coming back from the dead after all. The reboot series, titled Buffy: New Sunnydale, would see Gellar reprise her role as the titular teenage vampire hunter, now all grown up and mentoring a new slayer, played by Ryan Kiera Armstrong. Oscar winner Chloé Zhao was set to direct and executive produce after pitching the project to Gellar four years ago. The team had …

DÔEN and Gap are teaming up for a second time following the success of the brands’ collaboration last year, which went viral on TikTok and sold out within a matter of days. This year’s collection will focus on “California vintage-inspired classics,” according to a release, and include some custGet ready, Gap and Doen are releasing a second collectionomer favorites from 2024, as well as some new additions, including several menswear pieces. This marks Doen’s first foray into menswear. The 38-piece collection, launching at 12pm ET on May 2, ranges in price from $34 to $158. DÔEN’s dresses normally start closer to $250, so the opportunity to own one of their iconic style…

Two California Democrats have introduced a bill that would allow rideshare drivers to bargain with gig companies, including Uber and Lyft, for better pay and certain benefits. The measure, Assembly Bill 1340, is likely to face steep opposition from the gig companies that rely on thousands of independent workers to keep their services operating at an accessible price point. “The bill would empower rideshare drivers with the right to organize for better working conditions and establish a process for gig drivers to choose their union,” California’s Service Employees International Union, which is supporting the bill, said in a press release. “It would protect workers …

The Supreme Court’s conservative majority on Tuesday signaled support for the religious rights of parents in Maryland who want to remove their children from elementary school classes using storybooks with LGBTQ characters. The court seemed likely to find that the Montgomery County school system, in suburban Washington, could not require elementary school children to sit through lessons involving the books if parents expressed religious objections to the material. The case is the latest dispute involving religion to come before the court. The justices have repeatedly endorsed claims of religious discrimination in recent years. “I’m surprised this is the hill to…

May has only just begun, but already, it has not been a good month for the tech industry in terms of layoffs. Since the month started, several prominent names in technology have announced layoffs, some involving a significant number of workers. Here are the companies involved in the latest round of tech layoffs Panasonic Holdings The iconic Japanese electronics giant, founded over a century ago, announced on May 9 that it would eliminate 10,000 jobs. That reduction equates to about 4% of Panasonic’s total workforce, reports Bloomberg. According to Panasonic CEO Yuki Kusumi, the cuts are to better prepare the electronics maker for the next few decades. The compa…

Chat platform Discord filed confidentially for an initial public offering in the United States, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The U.S. IPO market regained momentum in 2025 after nearly three years of sluggish activity, but hopes for a stronger rebound were tempered by tariff-driven volatility, a prolonged government shutdown and a late-year selloff in artificial intelligence stocks. Deliberations are ongoing and the company could decide not to proceed with a listing, the report said. A Discord spokesperson told Bloomberg “the company’s focus remains on delivering the best possible experience for users and building …