Blog, YouTube & Content Monetization

Whatever happens next at Starbucks will be studied for decades to come. The world’s largest coffee chain has faced six quarters of declining same-store sales. But for the last year, its new chairman and CEO, Brian Niccol—the surest bet in the restaurant industry—has been architecting a turnaround. Hot off turnarounds at Yum Brands with Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, which he followed up by modernizing burrito building at Chipotle, Niccol has proven himself to be both a master marketer and operations expert. Which is why, when he announced that his strategy for Starbucks was to revive the third place, even some of Niccol’s fans were skeptical he could pull it off. Earlier th…

Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep. Short screech. Long screech. Static. More beeps. On September 30, one of the most memorable—if not infuriating—waiting experiences since the dawn of the internet went the way of the dodo. AOL finally discontinued its dial-up service. If you grew up in the ’90s, you knew that sound by heart. Some of you also knew to bring a newspaper while waiting for a single web page to load. AOL’s iconic 30-second symphony of screeches and static wasn’t just the sound of connection. It was the sound of anticipation, of mandatory patience in an increasingly impatient world. Today, that pause is all but extinct. Pages load more or less…

Uncertainty is the defining condition of our time. The pandemic reminded us how quickly our systems can fracture. Today, with political shifts, economic instability, and technological disruption intersecting, leaders are preparing for more turbulence ahead. From where I sit, however, there are nearly 2 million reasons to be optimistic. America’s 1.9 million nonprofits make up a fiercely resilient force for scaling impact to our toughest challenges. They deliver food and housing, safeguard youth wellbeing, respond to natural disasters, and fight for fairness and opportunity. They are trusted by millions of people across many topic areas—and they are built to move fast, a…

Anyone who’s visited a contemporary art museum in the past 75 years has almost certainly encountered the artwork of Alexander Calder. His delicately balanced mobiles and swooping steel sculptures are mainstays of American abstract art. But in most of those museums, from the Whitney to Pompidou Centre to the Reina Sofia, Calder’s pieces haven’t had their intended presentation. For artworks that are meant to move or be moved through, Calder’s kinetic works and supersized sculptures are often given the default museum treatment of being static, separate from visitors, or both. A new art space in Calder’s birth city of Philadelphia aims to correct that. Calder Gardens…

Social Security Administration Commissioner Frank Bisignano was named to the newly created position of CEO of the IRS on Monday, making him the latest member of the The President administration to be put in charge of multiple federal agencies. As IRS CEO, Bisignano will report to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who currently serves as acting commissioner of the IRS, the Treasury Department says. It is unclear whether Bisignano’s newly created role at the IRS will require Senate confirmation. The Treasury Department said in a statement that Bisignano will be responsible for overseeing all day-to-day IRS operations while also continuing to serve in his role as commissio…

Amazon is rolling out kiosks that let patients get their prescriptions while they are still at the doctor’s office. Starting in December 2025, the tech behemoth will be stepping up its efforts to become a bigger presence in the pharmaceutical market by launching in-office pharmaceutical kiosks stocked with medicine. The kiosks will initially be launched at certain One Medical locations (which Amazon acquired in 2023 for $3.9 billion), including in Downtown Los Angeles, West Los Angeles, Beverly Hills, Long Beach, and West Hollywood. The company claims that the kiosks will help combat pharmacy deserts across the U.S., and help patients who don’t or can’t fil…

For the first time in nearly half a century, the city of Detroit has a major new addition to its skyline. Hudson’s is a $1.4 billion ground-up downtown development of two buildings covering more than 1.5 million square feet, including residential, office, hotel, retail and event space. It’s a large-scale argument that for all of the city’s troubles—from its precipitous population decline to its high poverty levels to its rock bottom 2013 municipal bankruptcy—the city has brighter days ahead. This assertion comes from Bedrock, the real estate arm of billionaire Dan Gilbert, who has almost single handedly breathed life into the city’s downtown core through a decade and a…

Microsoft just redesigned all of its Office icons to embrace the AI era, and, according to the company, that means ditching solid shapes for all things “fluid and vibrant.” The 12 new icons, which began rolling out on October 1, encompass all of Microsoft’s platforms from Outlook to Word Documents and Teams. This is the first time that Microsoft has updated the icons’ aesthetics in seven years, and the company’s designers have reworked every logo to be curvier, brighter, and more colorful. “Today, as we roll out refreshed icons for Microsoft 365 apps, small but significant design changes are a reflection and a signal,” a Microsoft blog post, published on October 1…

A potentially worrisome trend is emerging among young adults. Instead of landing a job and moving to the big city after graduation, many are moving back into their childhood homes instead. About 1.5 million more adults under 35 live with their parents today than a decade ago. That’s a 6.3% jump, more than double the rate of growth for the young adult population overall. The issue is affordability. Over the past decade, urban rents have climbed about 4% per year, while wages for full-time workers have increased by only 0.6% annually. That means it’s harder than ever to live in a big city on the typical salary—especially if you’re a new graduate without much work experi…

Customer experience is entering the sci-fi age: knowing and understanding customers on an individual level, providing personalized service, and dedicated moments. All of this is becoming possible thanks to technological innovation. And as it shifts, we’re moving beyond the age of reactive service, where customer satisfaction was measured by stale, bi-annual surveys. We’re entering an era of proactive, predictive customer care. Companies’ missions today should be to transform every interaction into a moment of loyalty and growth, a goal we are working to achieve through our latest in-house innovation: the Customer Experience Index, or CXI. While many companies talk about…

After a number of big announcements this week, it’s hip to be Square. Square announced several upgrades and features to its platform this week, including an expansion of tools for restaurant owners and operators, new intelligence capabilities under its Square AI suite, the unveiling of Square Bitcoin, allowing platform users to conduct transactions in Bitcoin. As a cherry on top, Cash App, a sister company to Square under its parent firm, Block, also announced Neighborhoods, a feature that connects customers with local businesses, creating local networks in which customers can place orders and accumulate rewards points to spend with nearby businesses, and helps t…

Want a reason to be optimistic? The global food system is showing some green shoots that suggest more sustainable farming practices are on the way. But consumers play an integral role in making that a reality, and the choices they make every time they shop at the grocery store matter more than we may realize. That’s because farmers, companies, and consumers must all work together to create a more sustainable food system, according to Paul Rice, founder of Fair Trade USA, which certifies products to meet standards around fair pricing, safe working conditions, and sustainable farming practices. “We have the ability to vote with our dollars . . . to choose produ…

Elon Musk‘s lawyers will urge the Delaware Supreme Court on Wednesday to restore his $56 billion pay package from Tesla, as one of the biggest corporate legal battles enters its final stage nearly two years after a lower court judge rescinded the Tesla CEO’s record compensation. The outcome could have substantial consequences for the state of Delaware, its widely used corporate law, and its Court of Chancery, a once-favored venue for business disputes that has recently been accused of hostility towards powerful entrepreneurs. The January 2024 Court of Chancery ruling striking down Musk’s pay has become a rallying cry for Delaware critics. Chancellor Kathaleen McCo…

Logan Ivey has tried everything to cut down on his screen time. He bought a modern “dumbphone” that’s designed to be used as little as possible, tried a device called a Brick that removes distracting apps and notifications from a smartphone, and even resorted to a classic flip phone when all else failed. Still, nothing was working. So he turned his iPhone into a 6-pound weight. The 6 Pound Phone Case is a bulky, stainless steel contraption designed to make your smartphone extremely annoying to use. Inspired by the aesthetics of an ’80s brick phone, the case transforms a typical, ultra-portable iPhone into a cumbersome eyesore—and that’s the whole point. Ivey, who has bee…

Your pantry, your portfolio, even your flight plans all made headlines this week. The FDA turned everyone’s favorite spice into a hazard warning, while the world’s wealthiest got a new credit card that skips the whole Social Security number thing. Washington’s still stuck in neutral—though a few lucky borrowers are finally seeing their student loans disappear—and airports are feeling the fallout. Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s on a downward spiral, gold’s having a moment, and the housing market’s math still doesn’t add up no matter how many times you punch the calculator. Retailers, at least, seem to be thriving in chaos. Walmart doubled down on AI, cutting a deal with Open…

While most teams have managers and team leads, many also have something less official, but just as recognizable: the “workplace parent.” They’re the go-to for advice . . . even for things that may not even be related to work. They remember birthdays, organize celebrations, and somehow have everything you might need. Paper clip? No problem. Jumper cables? Of course. The phone number for the receptionist you’re too scared to call—don’t worry, they did it for you. But what does it really mean to be the caretaker of your workplace? And can that caring nature sometimes hold you back professionally? Here are four signs that you’re the workplace parent, plus the r…