Blog, YouTube & Content Monetization

Gen Xers, born between 1965 and 1980, grew up with MTV and empty houses, earning them the name “latchkey kids.” The first generation who logged onto AOL Instant Messenger and played video games while still enjoying the freedom that came before helicopter parents took over is fascinating. But as a small generation that falls between baby boomers and millennials, they’re often overlooked. When it comes to their spending power, however, Gen X is small but mighty. According to a new report from ICSC, a trade association for retail real estate, Gen X may have more spending power than brands realize. While Gen X only makes up around 19% of the U.S. population, th…

In artificial intelligence, 2025 marked a decisive shift. Systems once confined to research labs and prototypes began to appear as everyday tools. At the center of this transition was the rise of AI agents – AI systems that can use other software tools and act on their own. While researchers have studied AI for more than 60 years, and the term “agent” has long been part of the field’s vocabulary, 2025 was the year the concept became concrete for developers and consumers alike. AI agents moved from theory to infrastructure, reshaping how people interact with large language models, the systems that power chatbots like ChatGPT. In 2025, the definition of AI agent…

There is an all-out global race for AI dominance. The largest and most powerful companies in the world are investing billions in unprecedented computing power. The most powerful countries are dedicating vast energy resources to assist them. And the race is centered on one idea: transformer-based architecture with large language models are the key to winning the AI race. What if they are wrong? What we call intelligence evolved in biological life over hundreds of millions of years starting with simple single-celled organisms like bacteria interacting with their environment. Life gradually developed into multi-cell organisms learning to seek what they needed and to avoi…

Students applying to college know they can’t—or at least shouldn’t—use AI chatbots to write their essays and personal statements. So it might come as a surprise that some schools are now using artificial intelligence to read them. AI tools are now being incorporated into how student applications are screened and analyzed, admissions directors say. It can be a delicate topic, and not all colleges are eager to talk about it, but higher education is among the many industries where artificial intelligence is rapidly taking on tasks once reserved for humans. In some cases, schools are quietly slipping AI into their evaluation process, experts say. Others are touting th…

Most of the software that truly moves the world doesn’t demand our attention: It quietly removes friction and gets out of the way. You only notice it when it’s broken. That’s not a bug in the business model; it’s a feature. In fact, “unnoticed but indispensable” is the highest customer-satisfaction score you can get. Consider these categories that already figured this out. The log-in that isn’t a task anymore Password managers, once you build the habit, fade into the background. They fill the box before you even remember there was a box. Single sign-on (SSO) systems go a step further and make logging in to everything feel like one action instead of 17 small, an…

As companies adopt AI, the conversation is shifting from the promise of productivity to concerns about AI’s impact on wellbeing. Business leaders can’t ignore the warning signs. The mental health crisis isn’t new, but AI is changing how we must address it. More than 1 billion people experience mental health conditions. Burnout is rising. And more people are turning to AI for support without the expertise of trained therapists. What starts as “empathy on demand” could accelerate loneliness. What’s more, Stanford research found that “these tools could introduce biases and failures that could result in dangerous consequences.” With the right leadership, AI can usher …

During a recent New York Fashion Week, a wood-paneled boutique popped up in SoHo next to Louis Vuitton and Bottega Veneta. On the racks were tailored, wide-leg jeans and simple black Henley dresses that signaled understated elegance. But unlike those of neighboring boutiques, the clothes weren’t from a storied European maison de couture. They were some of the newest collections from Scoop and Free Assembly, two brands led by Brandon Maxwell, creative director at the House of Walmart. The pop-up—which featured items priced between $8 and $75—was part of the Bentonville, Arkansas–based retailer’s strategy to get its products in front of urban shoppers who might not be f…

The trajectory of our national economy is a central concern of every American. Our living costs rise as would-be hegemons battle over neocolonial control through tariff policies. And while social media creativity holds our attention, some part of us recalls older ways of storytelling, and we wonder, where do we belong? Most of us, even newcomers to this country—especially newcomers—were taught from an early age that anyone who works hard will eventually thrive. But we repeatedly see and know that this is merely a story told to us, not reality. The community in which you are born has a tremendous impact on your eventual life outcomes. If you are born into a poor commun…

Shopping assistant chatbots were a novelty a year ago. Now, they’re everywhere. After rolling out AI-powered assistants, online retailers and tech companies have been adding more artificial intelligence features to make online shopping easier and more convenient. The latest crop of AI-powered shopping services and tools made their debut in recent weeks, just in time to kick off the holiday shopping season that begins with Black Friday. Here’s a rundown of existing and newly released AI services that can help with your search for the perfect gift in the run-up to Christmas: Retail chatbots Amazon led the way by rolling out its Rufus chatbot in 2024. Other ecommerc…

What if I told you the single most important tool for growing your business is free? It doesn’t require fancy business cards, a corner office, or the latest app that tracks every data point in real time. It’s networking. Networking fuels growth, builds relationships, and keeps your business thriving. We live in a world moving at the speed of AI, where everything is changing all at once. As we streamline every aspect of life to be faster and more efficient, it only makes sense to modernize how we network. Before you overhaul your networking style, it’s important to remember the fundamentals, then build on them with new skills. Networking is everywhere, all th…

Nintendo’s hard-line approach to piracy has shut down a streamer who seemingly specialized in unauthorized content. Jesse Keighin has been ordered to pay Nintendo $17,500 in damages after livestreaming gameplay footage of at least 10 different games on at least 50 occasions before the games were released to the public. Included among those were Super Mario Party Jamboree, Mario & Luigi: Brothership, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, and Pikmin 4. Keighin was served with takedown notices by Nintendo dozens of times for those streams. Yet he continued to air himself playing the games, encouraging viewers to support him on loco.gg, an Indian live-streaming a…

Nothing is certain, least of all employment. It might be more traditional and financially responsible (initially) to be hired on as a full-time employee. But don’t be fooled into believing that it’s more secure. Most U.S. employment is “at-will,” and given the waves of return-to-office mandates and layoffs over the last year-and-a-half, the longstanding perception that employees are safer if they’re directly employed isn’t really justified. It may be easier, but it certainly isn’t more stable. And so it’s no secret that there are talented individuals seeking to break away from that merry-go-round. (I was one of them, a decade-plus ago.) That’s why we’ve seen a huge up…

Your paycheck could be a little bigger in 2026, even if you didn’t get a New Year’s raise. That’s because, in order to adjust for inflation, the IRS made some major changes to the tax code last year. In case you missed it, the changes were announced back in October. Notably, the standard deduction for 2026 (to be filed in 2027) — which reduces the amount of your income you will be taxed on — will rise. “For tax year 2026, the standard deduction increases to $32,200 for married couples filing jointly,” the October announcement explains. “For single taxpayers and married individuals filing separately, the standard deduction rises to $16,100 for tax year 2026, and for he…

A few blocks from my home sits a small Japanese grocery store that has been in the neighborhood for years. It’s the kind of place that once felt irreplaceable—carefully sourced ingredients, shelves stocked with items I couldn’t find in mainstream supermarkets, and an owner who knows her regulars. But much as I love this store, it has been in steady decline for a few years now. Whole Foods opened up nearby and it now stocks all the basics—miso paste, kombu, dashi packets, nori—that I, or anyone else, could want for weeknight Japanese cooking. Suddenly, the extra trip to the specialty shop felt unnecessary most of the time. The big chain became “good enough,” and in a w…

In a sign of the times, Boy Scouts can now earn badges in artificial intelligence (AI) and cybersecurity as they learn tech survival skills. The Boy Scouts of America, which rebranded as Scouting America after 115 years back in February, counts about 1 million scouts in its ranks, and has traditionally offered badges to encourage kids to learn outdoor survival skills like first aid, hiking, and cooking, or soft skills like public speaking, communication, and citizenship in the world. (Here’s a look at all the 141 badges.) “The artificial intelligence (AI) merit badge introduces Scouts to the fundamentals of AI and automation through hands-on activities and real-wo…

Researchers are only just beginning to piece together the complex ways that technology affects young minds, but a new study raises some serious concerns. A paper published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, better known as JAMA, explored the relationship between social media use and cognitive performance in kids starting at age 9. The new research drew on data collected from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, a massive, long-term study on adolescent health and brain development being conducted in the U.S. The ABCD study is currently following almost 12,000 children from age 9 to 10 as they age, with a particular foc…

Below, Ranjay Gulati shares five key insights from his new book, How to Be Bold: The Surprising Science of Everyday Courage. Gulati is a professor of business administration at Harvard Business School. He is a leading expert on purpose-driven leadership and helps organizations unlock growth and meaning. What’s the big idea? Courage is essential in the uncertain world we live in. It allows us to expand our horizons, grow in unexpected ways, and reach our fullest potential by taking bold action. How to Be Bold provides a road map for understanding what courage really is, explains why it’s important in our personal and professional lives, and offers a set of pract…

Flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility, the Federal Aviation Administration said Sunday, when the agency also reported staffing-related delays in Chicago, Washington and Newark, New Jersey. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed and canceled in the coming days as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. During an appearance on the Fox News program “Sunday Morning Fu…

Barack Obama helped Marc Maron lock the gates on his podcast Monday, returning to the show for the final episode after 16 years and more than 1,600 episodes. The former president gave new status to “WTF With Marc Maron” and to podcasts in general when he visited Maron’s Los Angeles garage studio while still in office a decade ago. Obama brought the 62-year-old host, stand-up comic and actor to his Washington office for the last interview. Obama asked the initial questions. “How are you feeling about this whole thing?,” he said, “transition, moving on from this thing that has been one of the defining parts of your career and your life?” “I feel OK,” Maron answered. “I …

It looks like nothing more than a bedside fan. To program it, you hit the “on” button once. But what happens next could improve your memory by 226%. This is Memory Air, a new product born from decades of science charting the relationship between our nose and our brain. Each night, Memory Air cycles through 40 different, undisclosed scents, twice. As you sleep—even though you don’t consciously smell these scents—research suggests that it can measurably improve your memory within weeks. How is that possible? As the company’s founder—UC Davis professor emeritus Michael Leon—explains, “We are functionally odor deprived.” Whereas humans evolved in a scent-…

It’s been an unprecedented and brutal week for the advertising industry. The finalization of Omnicom Group’s $13 billion acquisition of Interpublic Group (IPG) (the biggest takeover in advertising history) is affecting tens of thousands of workers—most immediately the 4,000 expected to be laid off by the end of the year. Both Omnicom and IPG own many different ad agency brands, all of which will be profoundly impacted by the merger. Omnicom is retaining only McCann from the IPG roster of agency networks, while folding FCB into BBDO, and both DDB and MullenLowe into TBWA, in order to achieve Omnicom Chairman and CEO John Wren’s goal of $750 million in synergies. Th…

Leaders are praised for “seeing around corners” and told to “skate to where the puck is going.” But what if you can’t even see your own feet, let alone a puck or a distant corner? Today’s volatility and uncertainty obscure any clear path to the future, and the forecast isn’t improving any time soon. In a recent World Economic Forum survey, 52% of experts expect an unsettled two-year horizon, 31% anticipate turbulence, and 5% foresee storms. Even if the weather were clear, setting a direction of travel is increasingly difficult as leaders face more complex problems with no obvious or easy solution. Close to 60% of business executives admit that they are missing opp…

It’s not always fun to look your finances in the eye, but it can unlock a rewarding path forward. These five books make tackling personal finance approachable, clear, and—dare we say it—an enjoyable journey. Rule Breaker Investing: How to Pick the Best Stocks of the Future and Build Lasting Wealth By David Gardner The real secret to building lasting wealth on the stock market is breaking the old investing rules. In Rule Breaker Investing, Motley Fool cofounder David Gardner teaches how to craft a purpose-driven portfolio, manage investments, and even master time management for a smarter, happier, richer investment journey. Listen to our Book Bite summary, r…