Blog, YouTube & Content Monetization

Remember the Flip video recorder? In 2009, it was a sensation—a dead-simple, pocket-size recorder that let ordinary people capture and share moments without lugging around a camcorder or figuring out complicated settings. Cisco acquired Flip’s maker, Pure Digital Technologies, for $590 million in stock. Two years later, Cisco shut Flip down entirely. The Flip wasn’t a failure. It solved a real problem elegantly. But it was what I call a “gateway product”—an innovation that reveals what customers want but that gets supplanted by something that delivers the same outcome more simply, cheaply, or conveniently. In this case, the rise of smartphones made a dedicated device …

Users of several trendy AI tools will now be able to demonstrate their proficiency with the software directly in their LinkedIn profile. On January 28, the company announced partnerships with three vibe coding platforms—Lovable, Relay.app, and Replit—that will allow qualified users to link their accounts on those apps to their accounts on LinkedIn, adding certificates based on their proficiency with the tools. The level of certification can increase over time as people continue to use a tool and demonstrate their sophistication with it, says Pat Whelan, head of career products at LinkedIn. While the details of the certification process are up to the individual partner c…

Virtues such as compassion, patience, and self-control may be beneficial not only for others but also for oneself, according to new research my team and I published in the Journal of Personality in December 2025. Philosophers from Aristotle to al-Fārābī, a 10th-century scholar in what is now Iraq, have argued that virtue is vital for well-being. Yet others, such as Thomas Hobbes and Friedrich Nietzsche, have argued the opposite: Virtue offers no benefit to oneself and is good only for others. This second theory has inspired a lot of research in contemporary psychology, which often sees morality and self-interest as fundamentally opposed. Many studies have found th…

Allbirds shoe brand announced on Wednesday that it will close almost all of its U.S. stores by the end of February (except for two outlets) and go online, turning to e-commerce instead. It will continue to operate two London-based brick-and-mortar locations as well. Fast Company has reached out to Allbirds for more details about the locations that will be closing. “This is an important step for Allbirds, as we drive toward profitable growth under our turnaround strategy,” Allbirds CEO Joe Vernachio said in a statement. “We have been opportunistically reducing our brick-and-mortar portfolio over the past two years. By exiting these remaining unprofitable doors, we …

For years, the customer experience playbook has been treated like a technology problem. Add another tool. Deploy another bot. Automate another workflow. And yet here we are, heading into 2026 with customer satisfaction in freefall. Forrester’s 2025 CX Index shows scores hitting a new low for the fourth consecutive year. This isn’t a failure of ambition or innovation. It’s a failure of how we define success. Leaders have been optimizing for activity instead of outcomes. In the rush to scale digital engagement, many organizations fell into a bit of a containment trap, measuring success by how many customer interactions never reach a human. On paper, it looks efficie…

In 2010, clinical psychiatrist Dale Archer published the New York Times best seller Better Than Normal, a book that highlighted the often-underappreciated benefits of various psychiatric diagnoses. The book looked at strengths associated with conditions like bipolar disorder, OCD and schizophrenia. But there was one chapter that hit a little too close to home. After publishing it, Archer asked a colleague to conduct a psychiatric diagnostic on him. “She said, ‘you’re off the charts for ADHD,’ and I go, ‘Yeah, I know, I just wanted validation’,” he says. In 2015, Archer published a follow-up book, The ADHD Advantage, focusing on some of the more positive a…

Senate Democrats are threatening to block legislation that would fund the Department of Homeland Security and several other agencies Thursday, potentially bringing the government a step closer to a partial shutdown if Republicans and the White House do not agree to new restrictions on President Donald The President’s surge of immigration enforcement. As the country reels from the deaths of two protesters at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis, irate Senate Democrats laid out a list of demands ahead of a Thursday morning test vote, including that officers take off their masks and identify themselves and obtain warrants for arrest. If those are not met, Democrats sa…

Tesla, a brand once synonymous with consumer electric vehicles, is ditching some of the cars that brought its success. CEO Elon Musk has announced that the Model S and X vehicles are getting an “honorable discharge,” with production of them ending sometime next quarter. Instead, the company will use some of its factory space to build its humanoid Optimus robots. The news, shared during Tesla’s quarter-four earnings call on Wednesday, January 28, comes as Tesla expands manufacturing of its Optimus robots, full self-driving vehicles, and robotaxis. In fact, Tesla used its quarterly earnings report to describe itself as a “physical AI company.” That report…

Some blind and low-vision fans will have unprecedented access to the Super Bowl thanks to a tactile device that tracks the ball, vibrates on key plays and provides real-time audio. The NFL teamed up with OneCourt and Ticketmaster to pilot the game-enhancing experience 15 times during the regular-season during games hosted by the Seattle Seahawks, Jacksonville Jaguars, San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons and Minnesota Vikings. About 10 blind and low-vision fans will have an opportunity to use the same technology at the Super Bowl in Santa Clara, California, where Seattle will play the New England Patriots on Feb. 8. With hands on the device, they will feel the location …

In its latest round of mass layoffs, Amazon is eliminating 16,000 jobs—following a round of 14,000 cuts back in the fall. The tech giant did not cite artificial intelligence in a memo to employees, and Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has previously denied that the company is slashing headcount due to AI. But there’s no denying AI plays a role, whether or not these layoffs can actually be attributed to it. Jassy has explicitly said that adopting AI across Amazon “will reduce our total corporate workforce as we get efficiency gains.” Even though there is limited data to suggest AI is directly responsible for the scourge of layoffs across corporate America, plenty of CEOs have ma…

U.S. life expectancy rose to 79 years in 2024 — the highest mark in American history. It’s the result of not only the dissipation of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also waning death rates from all the nation’s top killers, including heart disease, cancer and drug overdoses. What’s more, preliminary statistics suggest a continued improvement in 2025. “It’s pretty much good news all the way around,” said Robert Anderson, of the National Center for Health Statistics at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which released the 2024 data on Thursday. Life expectancy, a fundamental measure of a population’s health, is an estimate of the average number of years a baby b…

After years of studying leaders across industries and cultures, I’ve noticed something fascinating. The truly great ones, the ones who lead with clarity, curiosity, and imagination, all share the same rhythm. It’s not a checklist or an app that beeps with notifications. It is something quieter and something more human. Great leadership is less about managing time and more about mastering rhythm. And every day, without fail, these leaders do five things that keep that rhythm alive. 1. They honor their body as the first classroom Before they answer an email or step into a meeting, great leaders move. They understand that motion fuels meaning and ideas: a walk, a …

Virginia-based Gerber Products Company is voluntarily recalling limited batches of Gerber Arrowroot Biscuits, a cookie-like snack meant for children 10 months or older. On January 26, the baby food and snack producer issued the voluntary recall due to the potential presence of soft plastic and paper pieces that “should not be consumed,” the company said this week. The material comes from a supplier of arrowroot flour that initiated its own recall, Gerber said. The company said it was no longer working with the supplier, though it did not name the supplier in its recall notice on Monday. No illnesses or injuries have been reported. Gerber says it is issuing t…

Coffee giant Starbucks just announced its rewards program is about to get a major overhaul. On Thursday, the chain said its newly revamped rewards program will make its debut on March 10. According to Starbucks, it will feature a new, three-tier membership structure that will allow for “greater earning power” for its 35.5 million active North American members. The new program will allow consumers to move through three tiers: green (the starter level), followed by gold, and finally, its reserve membership tier. To achieve gold status, 500 stars are required. To become a reserve member, you’ll need to accumulate 2,500 stars within a 12-month period. The higher the …

Tax filing season is underway, and the IRS expects 164 million people will file returns by April 15. The average refund last year was $3,167. This year, analysts have projected it could be $1,000 higher, thanks to changes in tax law. More than 165 million individual income tax returns were processed last year, with 94% submitted electronically. People with straightforward returns should not encounter delays, but because of an exodus of IRS workers since the start of the The President administration, the national taxpayer advocate has cautioned that the 2026 tax filing season is likely to present challenges for those who run into problems filing. While last yea…