Blog, YouTube & Content Monetization

AI can knock out an impressive amount of tedious, everyday busywork. It can take on creative tasks, too. But the fundamental question remains: should it? As AI use within organizations reaches new heights, companies are also recognizing its limitations—and, in some cases, pulling back. Consider Duolingo, the language-learning company that announced it would gradually eliminate freelance writers and translators, replacing them with AI-generated content. After public backlash and user reports that the AI-produced lessons felt formulaic and lacked cultural nuance, Duolingo clarified its position. “I do not see AI as replacing what our employees do . . . I see it as a tool …

Loyal customers of Buc-ee’s have made the store a fan favorite, but the nonprofit Better Business Bureau tells another story, recently slapping the popular Texas-based mega gas station chain with an “F” rating. Buc-ee’s is known for the sheer size of its convenience stores (a Luling, Texas, outpost spans 75,593 square feet) and numerous gas pumps (more than 100 at some locations), along with clean, private bathrooms and barbecue brisket sandwiches. In fact, Buc-ee’s, which has stores from Texas to South Carolina, is so popular it recently announced it’s expanding to Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, and Wisconsin. So why is …

With their drab gray suits and their Buddy Holly glasses, the so-called traitorous eight don’t look like revolutionaries. Given no context, you can imagine them occupying some kind of middle-management role at a small regional bank. And yet these are the people you can thank for the digital world. The eight—which included Intel cofounder Gordon Moore—had departed Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory to found Fairchild Semiconductor, which soon became the world’s biggest producer of electrical components for computers. Many of its founders would, in turn, leave again to launch their own ventures. Many of these companies coalesced in the same area—the place we now call Silic…

Meetings in corporate America are broken—and only breaking down more. Globally, people sit in three times as many meetings as they did before the pandemic, 60% of meetings are ad hoc, rather than scheduled, and 71% of people regularly multitask through them. When poorly-run meetings become the norm, people begin to see them as a time with little value. But meetings are an opportunity to shape organizational culture, and not enough leaders are taking advantage of it. Most high-performing teams build strong relationships, show care for the whole person, have open and honest communications, listen to each other, clarify processes, and collaborate. These are all beha…

At first glance, your Kindle might seem like a no-frills reading device: straightforward, minimal, and focused on the basics. Kind of like an actual book, huh? But beneath its simple exterior lies a surprising range of features, tools, and tricks designed to make reading smoother, smarter, and more enjoyable. So, whether you’re a seasoned reader or new to Kindle, here are five hidden gems to take your reading experience to the next level. Double-Tap to Turn PagesAmazon may have killed off physical buttons, there’s a new feature that might help ease the pain. If you’ve got the most recent Kindle Paperwhite or the new Kindle Colorsoft, you now have access to double-tap func…

For decades, the relationship between a fan and a content franchise was defined by scarcity: You watched a movie or binged a season, then had to wait months or years for the next installment. Fans were spectators, limited to going to the concert, game, or movie, buying merch, and tweeting about their favorite moments. Scarcity trained audiences to wait. Abundance taught them not to. The greatest challenge facing intellectual property (IP) owners today is staying connected and culturally relevant in a world where content is everywhere, all the time, and limitless. While these players historically have been limited by the time and budget required to create premium content…

While social media platforms have a habit of copying each other, there’s one area where TikTok is forging its own path. TikTok doesn’t use end-to-end encryption (E2EE) for direct messages, the BBC reports. In contrast, the security measure is used by Meta Platforms for services like Facebook and WhatsApp. It’s also integrated into Signal, Apple, and Google’s in-device messages, and Snapchat. End-to-end encryption means only those involved in a conversation can read those messages. These other platforms argue this is critical for users’ privacy as it means the companies and law enforcement are unable to see any of the content that users send. However, in its…

Gone are the days when marketers can think in five- or 10-year plans. These days, it’s about tomorrow, not the next 16 months, because culture and what captures consumers’ attention is changing faster than ever. Today, it’s Love Island and Traitors reality TV star Rob Rausch posing shirtless on a giant billboard in Times Square for MAC Cosmetics. And tomorrow, it’s Punch the Monkey holding on to his plush doll. (And if you know what we’re talking about, congrats, you are chronically online and in tune with the culture. If you don’t, you’ve got some work to do, but that’s why we’re here.) The state of brand building in 2026 looks vastly different than what any veteran—…

Attention! There is now just one day left until the deadline for this year’s tax filing. And the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has already reminded taxpayers to “act now” to pay whatever they owe on their 2024 taxes, or request an extension, before April 15. Fewer Americans have filed their federal taxes, and more have requested extensions, compared with the same period last year, according to CNN, which reviewed the IRS data. According to those numbers, as of March 21, the IRS had received nearly one million fewer tax returns, or 1.1% less, than it received in the same point in the filing cycle last year. While experts told CNN this was not a reason for concern,…

As a home business owner, understanding the trend of parallel work can open new avenues for revenue generation. How do you see this trend impacting your content creation strategy? Definition: Parallel work refers to the practice of managing multiple jobs or projects simultaneously, which has become more accepted in today's gig economy.Opportunity: For content creators, this means the potential to diversify income streams by engaging in blogging, YouTube, and other monetization avenues concurrently.Flexibility: This approach allows for greater flexibility in scheduling and project management, enabling creators to pivot quickly based on market demands.Networking: Juggling …

On a hot April night, Bodyarmor, the sports drink company that Coca-Cola acquired in 2021 in a $5.6 billion deal, was throwing a huge party in downtown Manhattan to celebrate its relaunch. Plenty of MBA types in brown lace-ups and untucked shirts clutched vodka sodas in Hall des Lumières, the cavernous bank-turned-event-space across from City Hall. They were eyeing the young women in short skirts and high heels who—along with star-studded guest lists and goodie bags so heavy they threaten to break—are the lifeblood of these corporate soirees. By the dance floor, where an energetic DJ pumped his fist in the air playing remixes of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Some…

When I was in high school in the 1990s, my physics teacher pulled me aside with a question he couldn’t shake: “How do they get every computer in the world to talk to every other computer?” He’d seen how hard it was to agree on basics like electrical outlets or phone dialing standards. Yet suddenly we had this internet thing where a machine in Thunder Bay could talk to one in Tokyo in milliseconds. No central planner. No global treaty. Somehow it just worked. The real answer is less magic and more mindset: a systems principle called Postel’s Law. In plain language: Be strict in what you send; be generous in what you accept. When I talk to you, I should do my best to …

Utah-based outdoor retailer Sportsman’s Warehouse may be closing some of its stores in the near future. “As part of the Company’s review of its stores, we have identified about five stores for potential closure due to underperformance and lack of profitability,” Sportsman’s Warehouse wrote in its Fiscal Year 2025 financial results press release. Sportsman’s Warehouse did not respond to Fast Company’s request for comment on which stores it identified at the time of publication. Sportsman’s Warehouse has 148 locations spread across 32 different states. The brand is mostly centered around western states, with 17 stores in California, 14 in Washington, and 13 in U…

Feeld markets itself as “the dating app for the curious.” For most of its users, that means curiosity about kink and casual sex—but its newest tool asks you to be curious about yourself. As a favorite platform for the kink, fetish, and non-mongamous communities, Feeld is a place where taboos are the norm. But a new survey from the app suggests that kink is more mainstream than dominant culture would have you believe. And Feeld’s new tool, Reflections, accompanies the data by letting anyone, Feeld users and otherwise, assess their own relationship with nontraditional sex. Feeld surveyed thousands of both its own users and external respondents for opinions on the pe…

Nokia Bell Labs has a long, storied history of producing Nobel Prize winners, creating innovative new technologies, and bolstering critical infrastructure that underlies most of the devices we all use every day. This week, it held a special event at its Murray Hill, New Jersey campus to celebrate its 100th anniversary, featuring appearances by politicians like New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, business leaders, and even a robot named “Porcupine.” Fast Company was able to get a behind-the-scenes tour of the complex, and several of the projects and laboratories that are working on new and advancing technologies—labs that are typically shut away from the public eye. Nokia a…

Last week, Block CEO Jack Dorsey shared that his fintech company would be cutting 40% of its workforce, arguing that AI would allow them to do more with smaller teams. Many observers wondered if the large-scale layoffs reflected the new reality amid rapid AI adoption, and whether it was just a matter of time before other companies followed suit. But not everyone is buying it. In a post on X, Whoop CEO Will Ahmed shared that his company—which makes health and fitness wearables—would be nearly doubling its 800-employee headcount this year, drawing a contrast with employers that have been slashing jobs over the last year. He then weighed in on the growing trend of companie…