Blog, YouTube & Content Monetization

As Fashion Week takes over New York, London, and Milan, designers aren’t just showcasing their collections on the runway—they’re taking over LinkedIn. The job-seeking platform reports a fivefold increase in live fashion show broadcasts over the past three years, with 85% of luxury brands turning to the professional social network to reach those with money to spend. LVMH and Louis Vuitton set the trend in 2019, making live fashion shows on LinkedIn the core of their engagement strategy. The move quickly paid off. After unveiling a new men’s collection in Shanghai, the brand drew nearly a million potential luxury buyers in just three days. Soon fashion powerhouses…

Super Bowl LIX had a clear winner on the field, but victory for brands was more hard-won. Many aimed for impact, but did they deliver? Autodesk CMO Dara Treseder offers hot takes on this year’s hits and misses from the big game’s ads. She joins host Bob Safian to break down what makes an NBDB (“never been done before”) moment, why so many brands adopted a “safe” approach, and what trends business leaders should note going forward. This is an abridged transcript of an interview from Rapid Response, hosted by Robert Safian, former editor-in-chief of Fast Company. From the team behind the Masters of Scale podcast, Rapid Response features candid conversations with today’s…

When the news first broke, I was appalled three times after hearing about the death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. First, that this man was gunned down in the streets and his killer was at large. Second, when I learned that UnitedHealthcare rejects 33% of its claims, over five times that of competitors like Kaiser Permanente, which has a 6% claims rejection rate. Lastly, what shocked me most was seeing some people in a comedy Facebook group I’m in celebrating his death. One post featured a meme saying, “I hope he dies,” in response to news that he was shot. I get it, late-stage capitalism is brutal and unfeeling. The instinct to not care about those who seem …

This morning, news broke that the fast-credit fintech company Klarna has deposed its competitor Affirm as Walmart’s exclusive provider of “Buy Now, Pay Later” (BNPL) loans. Affirm stock (AFRM) dove over 10% Monday morning following the news, before regaining some of those losses. Shares are currently down around 5% as of this writing. According to a press release published this morning, Klarna will be partnering with Walmart’s majority-owned fintech startup, OnePay, “to exclusively offer installment loans for purchases at Walmart in the United States.” The partnership will be available both online and in stores, and will roll out at Walmart checkout this year. Kla…

If you’ve ever felt like your pet knows exactly when to pull you away from the stress of your computer screen, you aren’t alone. A landmark study surveying over 30,000 pet owners in 20 different countries found that 78% of dog or cat owners report that their pets remind them to take breaks during work or tasks, with 50% of the participants saying this happens daily. The study, which was conducted by YouGov on behalf of Mars, is the largest international survey of its kind in the world. The findings resonated deeply with David Reilly, global VP at Mars. “If my dog’s at daycare, I don’t take a break at lunch time,” he says. “But if my dog’s not at daycare, som…

PepsiCo is sick of being left out of the prebiotic soda craze—and to catch up with competitors, the multinational food and beverage corporation just dropped $1.65 billion to acquire the functional soda startup Poppi. The deal, announced this morning, will bring Poppi’s range of 14 colorful, low-sugar, prebiotic-packed sodas into Pepsi’s expansive existing beverage portfolio. The move comes as young consumers are increasingly turning away from traditional soda in favor of more health-conscious, “functional” beverages, which typically come with a mood or health benefit derived from a specific set of ingredients. Popular prebiotic brands like Poppi and Olipop fit in this…

In 1865, a new department store opened in Paris called Printemps (which is French for “spring”). The architecture is a stunning Art Deco masterpiece, replete with mosaics, dramatic turrets, and enormous windows with dramatic displays of recent products. Today, it sits among other iconic Parisian landmarks, like the Galleries Lafayette store and the Opera. But back then, there was nothing nearby except a railway line that only carried cargo. “When we opened our store on Boulevard Haussmann, it was a completely new area,” says Jean-Marc Bellaiche, CEO of Printemps Groupe, the store’s parent company. “It was a bet that this neighborhood would become hot and vibrant. It …

There are certain social media rules we can all agree on: Ghosting a conversation is impolite, and replying “k” to a text is the equivalent of a backhand slap (violent, wrong, and rude). But what about the rest of the rules? When can we really remind someone of our old Venmo request? What happens when someone tries to flirt with you on LinkedIn? Fortunately, terminally online writers Delia Cai and Steffi Cao are here to answer all your digital quandaries, big or small. Welcome to Fast Company’s new advice column, Posting Playbook. This week, Steffi opines on what you should do when you don’t want to be tagged in the group photo. How should I tell my friend I look …

When you think about ChatGPT, what do you see? A box. A prompt. A lot of text. OpenAI’s flagship product is defined by typography—it’s the way users communicate their queries, and the way the model responds in kind. Typography is “the first thing people interact with when meeting AI for the first time,” says OpenAI design director Shannon Jager. [Image: OpenAI]Which is why for its first rebrand ever, OpenAI put typography squarely at the center of its new look. OpenAI’s refreshed brand includes a tweaked “blossom” logo with lines that are thicker and all the same width, a new “point” mark, and a fresh wordmark set in its new typeface OpenAI Sans. [Image: OpenAI]Designed …

It might sound a little silly that there’s an entire subgenre of influencers who offer investment advice around Pokémon trading cards. Probably because it is a little silly. The idea of some YouTube Jim Cramer breathlessly warning viewers that “Surging Sparks is setting a fire under collectors and investors” is the stuff Saturday Night Live sketches are made of. Yet, there’s nothing silly about the amount of money changing hands in the Pokémon card space these days. Especially right now. If it weren’t clear from all the viral videos of brawls at various Costcos, the soaring popularity of Pokémon cards has lately reached stratospheric new heights. (Costco ultimatel…

Going global has been good business for Max. Since the video streamer’s debut in 39 Latin American and Caribbean countries a year ago, it has expanded to more than 70 markets globally, including Europe and Asia. These new audiences have helped grow its user base. In its most recently reported quarter, Max added 7.2 million global subscribers, bringing its total subscriber count to 110 million. As its audience grows, Max is also focusing on premium content and cracking down on password-sharing. JB Perrette, president and CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery global streaming and games, appeared on Fast Company‘s Most Innovative Companies podcast to talk Max’s international exp…

The Panama Canal is one of the most important waterways in the world, with about 7% of global trade passing through. It also relies heavily on rainfall. Without enough freshwater flowing in, the canal’s locks can’t raise and lower ships traveling between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Droughts mean fewer ships per day, and that can quickly affect Panama’s finances and economies around the world. But the same freshwater is also essential for Panama’s many other needs, including drinking water for about two million Panamanians, use by Indigenous people and farmers in the watershed, as well as hydropower. When the region experiences droughts, as it did in 2023–2024…

In recent years, brands have changed their entire marketing approach in order to attract the new breed of so-called eco-conscious consumers. This is unsurprising considering the mountain of research showing the majority of people saying they care about sustainability when it comes to their purchasing decisions. But the notion of an eco-conscious mass consumer who is willing to sacrifice their own personal comfort for the planet is largely a myth. This is because, while people might “say” they support sustainable practices, their actions tell a different story. Our own research reveals that almost six in 10 (57%) American consumers say sustainability shouldn’t come…

The 2025 tax season is in full swing, and the number one question most people have on their minds after filing their return is, “Where’s my tax refund?” Thankfully, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) offers a quick and easy online tool to help you check the status of your tax refund. Here’s what you need to know about the tool as well as how long it may take to receive your refund. Check your tax refund status with the IRS’s ‘Where’s My Refund?’ tool If you’re anxious about where your refund is, there’s good news: you can check its status in just a few seconds using the “Where’s My Refund?” tool from the IRS. Checking your refund status is pretty easy. Here’s h…

Some “copycat” versions of popular weight-loss drugs will soon be restricted in the U.S. The change comes as a federal judge declined an injunction that would’ve allowed compounding pharmacies to keep making more affordable versions. In a Good Morning America segment, Dr. Tara Narula, ABC News chief medical correspondent, explained how compound-drug creation works to meet demand. “When a drug is in short supply, the FDA allows these compounding pharmacies to essentially create copycat drugs. But when the drug companies say, ‘we are able to meet the demand,’ then those compounding pharmacies can no longer sell those drugs,” Narula said. The U.S. Food and Drug Adm…

Working abroad might be just what your career—and personal life—needs. It exposes you (and loved ones) to new, different, and potentially more fulfilling ways of living. It expands your worldview. And it builds skills and a reputation that can serve you well in your field down the road. Marissa Andrada, who’s managed people operations for dispersed teams at major organizations including Kate Spade, Starbucks, Red Bull, and Universal Studios, recalls one American employee she convinced to take on a role in Hong Kong running human resources for the Asia-Pacific region. When the woman returned to the states after her assignment was over, she quickly moved up to manage g…

The wildfires in Los Angeles have destroyed entire neighborhoods, ravaging more than 16,000 homes and structures in Altadena and Pasadena, alone. Asher Bingham, an L.A.-based portrait artist, spends her days taking in the extent of what has been lost. She spends hours at her drawing table, illustrating homes that have been lost and then mailing them to the people who used to live there. One day, she hopes to have an art show that features different neighborhoods, with pictures of homes along with the stories of the people who lived there. [Illustration: Asher Bingham] Two days after the fires began, Bingham took to Instagram, inviting people who had lost their …

The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more. There’s a seismic shift reshaping the labor market, with tremors across government and business. The latest signal of this transformation is the announcement of the Skills-First Workforce Initiative, a collaboration of top employers aimed at making the skills needed for jobs more transparent. It follows an announcement from California Governor Gavin Newsom, who on April 2nd unveiled his Ma…

Brothers Jake Paul and Logan Paul made social media announcements Tuesday that suggested their next fight will be against each other and aired on HBO Max. Calling it the “moment you’ve waited a decade for,” the posts featured a head-to-head shot of the brothers with a March 27 date and the HBO Max logo. Further details were not included in the posts. Jake Paul, 28, and Logan Paul, 29, are both YouTube stars who know how to create a buzz. Their exhibitions have drawn the interest of the biggest names in combat sports. Jake Paul defeated Mike Tyson in November in an eight-round unanimous decision. Logan Paul went the distance in an exhibition against Floyd Mayweathe…

There are plenty of questionable examples of companies shoehorning useless artificial intelligence features into their products (Meta’s AI-powered profiles say hello!), but finally, Crocs has found one that actually makes sense. The casual footwear brand has partnered with ABLO, an AI fashion design platform, to let people use AI to design their own Jibbitz charms. Crocs are already all about customization, a strategy that’s helped the brand grow its revenue 4% over last year. Jibbitz charms, which can be plugged into the holes on the shoes’ upper and heel strap, add an extra layer of personalization, and AI takes that to the next level. “We have Jibbitz for ever…

The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more. While virtual doctor visits were available prior to 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic kicked them into overdrive: From 2018-2022, the percentage of American hospitals offering telehealth jumped over 14% to 86.9%. In 2021, McKinsey reported that the use of virtual care had stabilized at 38 times higher than before the pandemic. That same year, 85% of doctors offered it and 37% of adults surveyed had us…

Sharing personal hardships like divorce, health issues, and family emergencies can make workplace conversations emotionally difficult and professionally complex. But given that our working lives are not getting shorter anytime soon, it’s not a question of if individuals will need to have these conversations, but when. And navigating these conversations professionally while managing emotions and privacy requires careful thought and preparation. Here are some strategies to help you handle sensitive discussions with confidence while maintaining personal boundaries. 1. Determine the purpose of sharing your news Getting clear on your reasons for sharing will help yo…

Catfishing. Once a trend confined to the realm of online dating. Now, like other relationship phenomena including ghosting, career cushioning, and quiet quitting, it’s infiltrated the workplace. This is bad for employers and employees alike. Corporate catfishing is when employers make false or misleading claims about their working culture in job ads or interviews in a bid to attract top talent, and it’s a big issue. Research shows that 70% of hiring managers have lied to candidates during hiring processes. A separate study also found that 72% of workers have experienced “shift shock,” where the reality of a new job doesn’t live up to what you were sold. The reas…

Earlier this year, things looked dire for Google. AI search was rapidly eroding the company’s market share, as people turned to ChatGPT and dedicated generative apps like Perplexity to search for information. In January, reports showed that the company’s search market share had dropped below 90% for the first time in almost a decade. And as the year continued, it seemed like it would keep plummeting. Now new data from search analytics company BrightEdge shows that the bleeding appears to be over. Google’s market share has stabilized, and has even begun to tick up. Why? Google is fighting back against the onslaught of AI search. And it’s winning. S…