Blog, YouTube & Content Monetization

Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. During its earnings call on Wednesday, executives at Lennar—a giant homebuilder with a market capitalization of $27 billion—said the federal government is working on a plan to help alleviate strained housing affordability. Lennar executives said federal officials are actively engaging with homebuilders and industry groups to better understand constraints—and to avoid policies that could unintentionally damage supply. While no specific program was outlined, management suggested it would be “surprising” if no meaningful action emerged in 2026, given cu…

There’s something incredibly compelling about a brand-new year. A fresh start beckons, with each day untroubled by your past decisions. Whatever mistakes you made in 2025 are old news. They were sooo last year. You’re a new person now with new priorities, new habits, and new strategies. It’s in this spirit of new-leaf-turning-over that nearly a third of American adults—and almost half of 18- to 29-year-olds—decide to make New Year’s resolutions for the coming year. Unfortunately, making resolutions doesn’t work. Baylor College of Medicine reported in January 2024 that 88% of people who make resolutions abandon them within two weeks. That doesn’t mean change or imp…

Never before has the CMO position been more complex—or more essential to driving business results. The mark of success for any chief marketing officer is their impact on the long-term trajectory of a beloved brand. So, what does that look like in a year as chaotic as 2025, where there’s been on-again, off-again tariffs, massive holding company mergers, and the continued rise of AI across the board? I reached out to CMOs from Hinge, McDonald’s, Crayola, State Farm, and Kraft Heinz, five marketing leaders operating at the top of their game, navigating the chaos, and getting results. We talked about what lessons they’ve learned from the past year, issues they’ll be facin…

Planning to hit the road this holiday season? Or maybe just thinking about an extended drive of some sort for sometime in the new year? The next time you’ve got a driving adventure ahead of you, today’s Cool Tools discovery is exactly the new virtual companion you need. It’s a truly cool app I encountered recently that enhances your standard navigation setup and offers some really smart extras that’ll make whatever trip you’re taking infinitely more interesting—and enjoyable. Lemme show ya what it’s all about. This tip originally appeared in the free Cool Tools newsletter from The Intelligence. Get the next issue in your inbox and get ready to discover all sor…

Have you ever tried quickly looking something up on Wikipedia—just because you’re curious or maybe for work—only to, a half an hour later, wonder why you’re reading about the history of the European Space Agency? In my opinion, Wikipedia is one of the last good websites on the internet. Outside of the occasional fundraiser, there are no ads, no dark patterns, and no clickbait—it’s just information. Which leaves no doubt in my mind that falling into a Wikipedia rabbit hole is healthier than scrolling on social media. Even so, it can be addictive, and links are the reason why. Every Wikipedia article is jam packed with links to other Wikipedia articles, which is exa…

The tech industry has endured another turbulent year, buffeted by the continued rise of artificial intelligence and the economic threats posed by President Donald The President’s tariffs. Even the most prominent companies encountered challenges they never imagined they’d have to face. As 2025 comes to a close, here are Apple’s biggest wins and greatest failures of the year. Apple’s biggest wins of 2025 iPhone 17 series Without a doubt, Apple’s biggest win of 2025 is the iPhone 17 series, which includes the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max. Myriad reports suggest that iPhone 17 series sales have exceeded both Apple’s and investors’ expectations. …

In the Star Trek universe, the audience occasionally gets a glimpse inside schools on the planet Vulcan. Young children stand alone in pods surrounded by 360-degree digital screens. Adults wander among the pods but do not talk to the students. Instead, each child interacts only with a sophisticated artificial intelligence, which peppers them with questions about everything from mathematics to philosophy. This is not the reality in today’s classrooms on Earth. For many technology leaders building modern AI, however, a vision of AI-driven personalized learning holds considerable appeal. Outspoken venture capitalist Marc Andreessen, for example, imagines that “the AI tut…

In today’s corporate landscape, optics often precede outcomes, especially in technology-led transformations. Announcements of new platforms, AI-powered strategies, or “digital-first” pledges frequently come long before the underlying infrastructure to support them. That was Ted’s reality as the chief growth officer at a global bank when his CEO unveiled a high-profile “AI-Powered Growth Strategy” positioned as a bold leap forward. The announcement made headlines and thrilled investors, but behind the scenes, the organization wasn’t prepared. Ted was given a skeletal team of two direct reports, a patchwork of third-party tools, and the mandate to partner with five global…

UnitedHealth Group has laid off dozens of remote employees in healthcare technology and services marketing from its Optum unit, who were given two weeks notice in November, sources told Health Payer Specialist. Fast Company has reached out to UnitedHealth for confirmation. Those employees were based in “multiple states on the East coast and in the Midwest,” according to that report, and are among UnitedHealth’s roughly 400,000 employees across the U.S. (It is the parent company of UnitedHealthcare, the nation’s largest healthcare insurer.) The healthcare giant is just the latest company in a string of industries to announce layoffs, which have hit almost ever…

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas for the stock market, which may be headed for a “Santa Claus Rally,” according to analysts, including those at Goldman Sachs and Citadel Securities. “Barring any major shocks, it will be hard to fight the overwhelmingly positive seasonal period we are entering and the cleaner positioning set-up,” Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s trading desk team said in a client note, as reported by Bloomberg. “While we don’t necessarily see a dramatic rally, we do think there is room to go up from here into year end.” Scott Rubner of Citadel Securities agreed, noting: “Following a year of strong portfolio returns and record household wealth,…

Much like how the character Jack Dawson proudly proclaims to be king of the world after boarding the Titanic, film director James Cameron could claim to be king of the box office. Cameron chooses to take a mellower approach, letting the numbers do the talking. His latest film, Avatar: Fire and Ash, hits theaters this Friday and is primed to break even more box office records. Let’s take a look at the history of this franchise before we discuss industry projections. A brief history of the ‘Avatar’ films The first Avatar film came out in 2009 and received generally positive reviews. “Cameron and his artists have so lovingly imagined the moon of Pandora that…

The discovery of the body of Claudio Manuel Neves Valente, a Portuguese national who studied physics at Brown University, earlier this week in a New Hampshire storage facility brought closure to two alarming cases. Authorities say they believe Valente, a 48-year-old who recently arrived in Boston, was behind the December 13 mass shooting at Brown University, and the December 16 murder of MIT professor Nuno Loureiro. The identification of Valente brings calm to communities worried about a mass killer on the loose. But it also puts the lie to theories floated by right-wing influencers, including Sequoia Capital partner Shaun Maguire. In recent days, Maguire, acting as a s…

Happiness is taking control of a beloved comic strip. Sony is buying a 41% stake in the Charles M. Schulz comic “Peanuts” and its characters including Snoopy and Charlie Brown from Canada’s WildBrain in a $457 million deal, the two companies said Friday. The deal adds to Sony’s existing 39% stake, bringing its shareholding to 80%, according to a joint statement. The Schulz family will continue to own the remaining 20%. “With this additional ownership stake, we are thrilled to be able to further elevate the value of the ‘Peanuts’ brand by drawing on the Sony Groupʼs extensive global network and collective expertise,” Sony Music Entertainment President Shunsuke …

First there was Spotify Wrapped. Then came Snapchat Wrapped, YouTube Wrapped, and even Uber Eats Wrapped—shortly after, SNL parodied the idea. If you thought you were officially wrapped up for the year, LinkedIn had other plans. The platform just dropped its inaugural Year in Review—essentially, LinkedIn Wrapped. LinkedIn’s Year in Review recaps your activity on the platform, from how often you logged on and when you were most active to how many posts you shared. It tallies your comments, new connections, and total profile impressions, then assigns you a personality type based on how you used LinkedIn. The feature also taps into the platform nostalgia trend, w…

Most businesses start with a spark, an idea fueled by hunger, resilience, or grit. But sustaining that energy through scale is the real challenge. Founders and leaders play a defining role in that journey. The same values, authenticity, and style that ignite early momentum can easily crush it. That’s why builders and entrepreneurs are essential to a new business. Think Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, or Sara Blakely. But that style is NOT for everyone, especially those who prefer less “out-front” leaders. These founders are visionary, pushing their teams to act in the way they want every employee to show up. But leaders at successful companies realize that business and talent…

Ford is recalling more than 270,000 electric and hybrid vehicles in the U.S. because of a parking function problem that could lead to them rolling away. The Detroit automaker said that the recall includes certain 2022-2026 F-150 Lightning BEV, 2024-2026 Mustang Mach-E, and 2025-2026 Maverick vehicles. At issue is the integrated park module, which may fail to lock into the park position when the driver shifts into park. Ford said that it will implement a park module software update for free. Vehicle owners may contact Ford customer service at 1-866-436-7332 for additional information. View the full article

Visa and Mastercard have agreed to pay $167.5 million to settle a long-running class action lawsuit. The suit, which was first filed back in Oct. 2011, accused the two major credit card companies of conspiring to keep ATM fees artificially high. The proposed settlement, filed on Thursday in Washington, if approved, it will mean an end to “almost fourteen years of vigorously contested litigation.” The lawsuit alleged that both companies “participated in an unlawful conspiracy” involving Visa and Mastercard blocking independent ATM operators from offering lower prices. If approved, the settlement will have Visa and Mastercard pay millions to ATM users who say the…

Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes rose in November from the previous month, but slowed compared to a year earlier for the first time since May despite average long-term mortgage rates holding near their low point for the year. Existing home sales rose 0.5% in last month from October to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.13 million units, the National Association of Realtors said Friday. Sales fell 1% compared with November last year. The latest sales figure came in slightly below the 4.14 million pace economists were expecting, according to FactSet. Through the first 11 months of this year, home sales are down 0.5% compared to the same period last ye…

It’s been nearly a decade since Netflix introduced fans to the fictional town of Hawkins, Ind., the Upside Down, Demogorgons, and the Stranger Things universe. Since 2016, the sci-fi series has become a massive hit for Netflix making it one of the streaming service’s most-watched shows with the fourth season alone amassing over 140.7 million views globally, according to the company. The series has earned 12 Primetime Emmy Awards over the course of the last several years, has pushed its young cast into superstardom, and has become a global phenomenon inspiring several live events and pop-up stores in various cities. And its fifth and final season, which is premiering in …

The seven states that rely on the Colorado River to supply farms and cities across the U.S. West appear no closer to reaching a consensus on a long-term plan for sharing the dwindling resource. The river’s future was the center of discussions this week at the annual Colorado River Water Users Association conference in Las Vegas, where water leaders from California, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming gathered alongside federal and tribal officials. It comes after the states blew past a November deadline for a new plan to deal with drought and water shortages after 2026, when current guidelines expire. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation has set a n…

A reader asks: I run a small business that supplies a product to major companies. To keep the details anonymous, let’s say that we supply garments to a few mid-tier clothing retailers that you can buy in the mall. The problem is that one of my employees two levels down (he reports to someone who reports to me), Dave, behaves as though we’re making clothing for Gucci or Prada. This causes enormous production headaches. It means everything moves much more slowly through his department, because he is extremely conscientious about quality. That is admirable, but it results in things like being short with our subcontractors because they have not produced the products to his …