Blog, YouTube & Content Monetization

2025 was unquestionably the year of the AI boom at work. When generative AI like ChatGPT entered the scene a few years ago, it started as a novelty. Early adapters saw its potential to change the way we work, but for most people it was a way to rewrite Keats’s poetry in pirate speak, or remix their favorite memes. But in 2025 AI rolled into offices everywhere, taking up residence as the boss who set performance goals, the on-call therapist-cum-coach, and the silent brainstorm partner. A McKinsey study found that 33% of organizations used genAI at work in 2023, and 55% used AI. This year, that leapt to 79% and 88% respectively. Here are five ways AI changed work in 20…

Hello and welcome to Modern CEO! I’m Stephanie Mehta, CEO and chief content officer of Mansueto Ventures. Each week this newsletter explores inclusive approaches to leadership drawn from conversations with executives and entrepreneurs, and from the pages of Inc. and Fast Company. If you received this newsletter from a friend, you can sign up to get it yourself every Monday morning. Glenn Fogel joined dot-com darling Priceline in early 2000, a year after the “name your price” travel site’s blockbuster initial public offering (IPO). “I joined one week before the Nasdaq peaked,” Fogel recalls. Within a year of his arrival, the stock had cratered to $6 a share. By March 2…

Last week, Disney briefed the press on how it’s bringing the entire Hulu catalog into its Disney+ app, with a dedicated tab for accessing Hulu’s more adult-oriented fare. But despite all the headlines you might’ve seen about the Hulu app shutting down, Disney says it’s not happening anytime soon, if at all. According to Disney, the company has no timeline for getting rid of the dedicated Hulu app, and will continue to sell stand-alone Hulu subscriptions. The company still sees Hulu as an important part of its streaming strategy, serving as a catchall for content that doesn’t fall under tentpole Disney brands such as Star Wars and Marvel. Outside of the United States, …

What’s one thing most Americans likely don’t know? Demand for donor sperm is increasing. Initially established in the 1970s to help men undergoing vasectomies and facing cancer treatments, sperm banks today support people facing a wide range of challenges on their path to pregnancy. Alongside heterosexual couples dealing with infertility issues like azoospermia and young men facing cancer diagnosis, single mothers by choice, and same-sex couples are frequently turning to sperm banks in hopes of building their family. With approximately 1,500 sperm donors serving the entire United States, a new sperm bank, Premier Sperm Bank, is venturing to address modern family build…

As 2025 comes to a close, business leaders are inevitably already planning how 2026 will shape up, particularly as the last year proved to be a tumultuous one. The so-called AI boom is still booming, corporate DEI initiatives have shrunk or disappeared altogether, and return-to-office mandates have tightened. No one has a crystal ball to predict emerging technologies, financial headwinds, political hurdles, and market trends for the next year. But that doesn’t mean that companies can sit back—there are steps to take now to help insulate your company against potential turbulence in the coming year, while simultaneously fostering success by focusing on the human aspects…

From the outside looking in, the life of a content creator is enviable. Shopping, jet-setting, star-studded events, all documented for their audience of thousands. But new research tells a different story. A study by Creators 4 Mental Health, conducted in partnership with Lupiani Insights & Strategies and sponsored by Opus, BeReal, Social Currant, Statusphere, and the nonprofit AAKOMA Project, spoke to more than 500 full- and part-time creators across North America about their work, mental health, and well-being. One in ten creators reported having suicidal thoughts tied to their work. That rate is nearly double the national average of 5.5%, according to the…

It’s long been the uniform of management consultants and finance bros, but now the humble quarter zip is being embraced by a rather unexpected demographic. ​​Over the past few weeks, FYPs have become dominated by the workwear staple. Young men who previously might’ve been seen exclusively in Nike Tech, have now traded them in for quarter zip sweaters. Across social media, they are sharing styling tips and hosting meetups at malls, all clad in business-casual. The trend gained widespread attention when, in early November, TikToker @whois.jason shared a video of himself sipping a matcha (the beverage of choice for the ‘performative male’) with a friend. Both are we…

Last year, travel group AAA estimated about 80 million Americans traveled over the Thanksgiving holidays. It was the busiest Thanksgiving ever at airports across the country, and some reports are saying those records could be shattered this year. A lot of that traveling will be done by young adults making their way home from school or new cities to see family and reconnect with old friends. That last part is the crux of Facebook’s first brand campaign in four years. In a new ad called “Home For The Holidays,” we see people making their way back home and various get-togethers being organized on Facebook. Created by agency Droga5 and set to Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash…

China will impose tariffs of up to 19.8% on pork imports from the European Union, a drastic drop from preliminary tariffs of up to 62.4%, its Commerce Ministry said Tuesday. The ministry’s announcement followed an investigation the Chinese side launched into imports of pork from the trading bloc after the EU imposed provisional tariffs on China-made electric vehicles. Beijing also levied anti-dumping duties on European brandy, most notably cognac produced in France, though major brandy producers received exemptions. Imports of dairy products from the EU likewise were subject to anti-dumping probes. The EU runs a massive trade deficit with China: over 300 billi…

Vega Farms, a California-based food producer, has voluntarily recalled Vega Farms-branded in-shell eggs due to a Salmonella outbreak that has sickened more than 60 people and led to more than a dozen hospitalizations. Here’s what you need to know about the outbreak, impacted products and retailers, and what to do if you have the recalled eggs in your possession: How many people got sick? In a notice posted on Friday, December 12, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) warns businesses and consumers to avoid eating, serving, or selling recalled in-shell Vega Farms eggs. According to the agency, 63 California residents have reported illnesses lin…

Around 70,000 Discord users may have had images of their government IDs stolen, according to an update from the company. Last week, the popular chat platform notified users that the third-party vendor the platform uses for customer service was hacked, affecting Discord users who had interacted with the app’s customer support or trust and safety teams. Discord initially announced last week that an unauthorized group gained access to a “small number” of government ID images. That includes images of sensitive documents like driver’s licenses, passports and potentially even selfies of people holding those documents – a common way to verify identity for online accounts. …

Artificial intelligence is transforming how we cure disease, defend nations, and deliver goods. But the same technology driving this surge of innovation is also testing the limits of the system that supports it. Innovation is moving faster than infrastructure, and our energy strategy has to catch up. It’s time to manage energy as a strategic asset. While AI is fueling demand at historic levels, it also gives us the tools to use power more intelligently, stabilize the grid, and unlock capacity we already have. If we work together, AI can turn today’s energy challenge into tomorrow’s competitive advantage. INNOVATION IS OUTPACING THE GRID AI is reshaping the global …

As cases of a new, highly contagious “super flu’” surge across the nation this holiday season, more and more Americans are looking for ways to treat the symptoms, which include everything from fever and chills, to headaches and vomiting. A variant of influenza A H3N2, called subclade K, which is being blamed for an early and severe flu season in the United Kingdom, has hit residents in New York, Rhode Island, Colorado and Louisiana the hardest, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While flu vaccines usually have an efficacy rate of 40% to 60% an early report from the U.K. estimates this “super flu” strain has an efficacy rate of 32% …

Peloton is pushing off with a new strategy for making workouts personal and more useful. The at-home fitness company today unveiled a turnaround strategy that it says will overhaul and improve its offerings by relying on AI-powered features. The company’s ultimate goal? Leveraging technology to increase personalization and create a more sticky workout experience and prevent churn, create communities between members that will bind them to the program. The new strategy comes after a rocky few years for the company. Peloton went public in 2019 at a price of $27 per share, but is now trading at $9 after incorrectly predicting demand for its products after a…

Fans of the Outback Steakhouse chain will be disappointed to learn that its parent company, Bloomin’ Brands, has recently closed a number of locations. The closures are yet another sign that major restaurant chains are facing significant headwinds as costs increase and consumers grow increasingly cautious of how they spend their discretionary dollars. Here’s what you need to know. What’s happened? Recently, Bloomin’ Brands, owner of Outback Steakhouse, closed a handful of chain’s locations. Many of these closures were first reported on social media and by local news outlets. Outback Steakhouse is an Australian-themed casual dining chain that was first fou…

It’s certainly been a spooky week for the Walt Disney Co. and Google. The two corporations are in the midst of a carriage dispute that has resulted in a blackout of Disney’s networks on Google-owned YouTube TV, leaving viewers unable to access popular channels including ESPN and ABC. Disney began notifying viewers on October 23 about the dispute and warning that its networks could be removed from the pay-TV streaming platform. All of that came to a head in the last 48 hours as the two parties failed to come to an agreement on a new deal, and YouTube TV began removing Disney’s networks about 30 minutes before the previous carriage deal expired at midnight Eastern t…

Want more housing market stories from Lance Lambert’s ResiClub in your inbox? Subscribe to the ResiClub newsletter. After announcing another 25-basis-point cut to the Federal Reserve’s short-term rate, Fed Chair Jerome Powell—whose term ends on May 15, 2026—was asked about the U.S. housing market. Powell acknowledged that recent rate cuts won’t restore affordability to the U.S. housing market. He suggested that the country needs to build more housing units—and noted that central bankers “don’t really have the tools to address” it. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told reporters on December 10, 2025: “So the housing market faces some really significant challenges, …

If it seems like Black Friday deals, and holiday shopping in general, is starting earlier and earlier, you’re right. Just in time for, um, Halloween, both Walmart and Best Buy have announced plans for their 2025 Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales. Black Friday, always the day after Thanksgiving, falls on Friday, November 28 this year. Deals generally continue through that weekend into Cyber Monday, which falls on December 1. However, in recent years, many retailers have jump-started the sales some two, or even three weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. And this year is no different. Here’s what to know. When do Walmart’s Black Friday deals start? The …

The FBI dropped a bombshell indictment on Thursday, announcing arrests and criminal charges against dozens of people allegedly involved with gambling and rigging NBA games. The whole thing involved not only some of basketball’s biggest names, but also the mob. At a press conference in New York, FBI Director Kash Patel announced “a historic arrest across a wide-sweeping criminal enterprise that envelopes both the NBA and “La Cosa Nostra,” more commonly known as the Sicilian Mob or Mafia. Among some of the high-profile individuals indicted are Chauncey Billups, an NBA hall-of-fame player and current head coach of the Portland Trailblazers, and Terry Rozier, who current…

In a year defined by companies pouring shocking sums of money into AI, one more deal squeaked in just before 2026. Meta just made a play on Manus, the buzzy Singapore-based company with Chinese roots that turned heads earlier this year when it showed its AI agents executing complex tasks, like hunting for real estate and sorting through resumes. The deal is sure to turn heads too. Manus and its parent company Butterfly Effect are now based in Singapore but were founded in China – a country with a fraught relationship to the U.S tech industry – and maintain operations there. Facebook’s parent company will reportedly pay more than $2 billion to acquire the startup,…