Blog, YouTube & Content Monetization

Michael Long is not the typical neuroscience guy. He was trained as a physicist, but is primarily a writer. He coauthored the international bestseller The Molecule of More. As a speechwriter, he has written for members of Congress, cabinet secretaries, presidential candidates, and Fortune 10 CEOs. His screenplays have been performed on most New York stages. He teaches writing at Georgetown University. What’s the big idea? Dopamine is to blame for a lot of your misery. It compels us to endlessly chase more, better, and greater—even when our dreams have come true. Thanks to dopamine, we often feel restless and hopeless. So no, maybe it’s not quite accurate to call it…

The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more. For years, banks have known their customer experience needs to catch up to the digital expectations set by tech and retail giants. Now, with AI dominating the boardroom agenda, the temptation is to bolt on yet another tool and call it transformation. But real progress doesn’t come from piling on more tools—it comes from using AI to intelligently orchestrate smarter, more connected customer journ…

Big Bear’s internet-famous bald eagles—Jackie, Shadow, and their three chicks—have been a source of joy for millions of people during these unprecedented times. Unfortunately, that did not protect our feathered friends from tragedy. During a harsh late winter storm, the eldest chick died after the couple worked so hard to nurture it. This heartbreaking loss was a reminder of nature’s brutality and the ability to persevere. Let’s take a look at the timeline of this tragic event, the internet’s reaction to it, and how fans are moving forward, including with a chance to give names to the two surviving chicks: What happened to the baby chick? The week of…

Booking travel has become a bit of a game—especially if you want to get the best possible prices and avoid getting ripped off. That’s because hotels and airlines have developed the lovely habit of futzing around endlessly with their rates. Depending on when, exactly, you go to book the room or flight you want, you might end up being charged way more than if you waited a few days or even hours for prices to drop. The problem is that it’s damn-near impossible to figure out the logic behind it and know the right time to buy. And who among us has the time or energy to stay on top of that and keep checking back at all hours with the hope of magically stumbling onto a m…

Microsoft’s cloud computing and artificial intelligence business helped deliver $70.1 billion in sales and boosted profits by 18% for the January-March quarter, a dose of relief for investors during a turbulent time for the tech sector and U.S. economy. The company reported quarterly net income of $25.8 billion, or $3.46 per share, beating Wall Street expectations for earnings of $3.22 a share. The Redmond, Washington-based software maker posted revenue of $70.1 billion in the period, its third fiscal quarter, up 13% from the same period a year ago and also beating Wall Street expectations. Analysts polled by FactSet expected Microsoft to post revenue of $68.44 billion …

The commercial jingle will never die. The classic advertising device’s longevity is as impressive as it is surprising. Despite just about everything else in the advertising industry changing over the past two decades, it remains one of the few core tools many marketers still rely on. It’s why when you read, “Liberty, Liberty, Liberty” you’ll be singing the Liberty Mutual tune in your head. Kraft Heinz CMO Todd Kaplan knows this. He also knows that in order to really make a jingle stick, it helps if you enlist legendary artists to sing it. Which is why this week, the company’s Lunchables brand dropped its reimagined version of the 2002 Buckwheat Boyz brainworm “Peanut…

A new study paints a promising picture for the ways that digital technology use affects the aging brain. Published in Nature Human Behavior last month, neuroscientists at Baylor University and the University of Texas at Austin conducted a meta-analysis drawing on 57 different studies and data from more than 400,000 participants over the age of 50. A digital brain boost The new study found that across the board, the use of everyday digital technology like computers, smartphones, and the internet is associated with lower measures of cognitive decline in middle-aged and older adults. The strength of that positive association was comparable to established protect…

Instagram has begun testing AI-powered technology designed to proactively identify accounts it suspects belong to teens—even if the user has listed an adult birthdate—and place them under special “Teen Account” settings. This move is part of Meta’s broader effort to strengthen parental controls following criticism over the impact its platforms have on young users. “The digital world continues to evolve and we have to evolve with it,” Instagram said in a press release. “That’s why it’s important that we work together with parents to make sure as many teens as possible have the protective settings that come with Teen Account.” Instagram will also begin sending n…

When the email came from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Jacques Agbobly at first didn’t quite believe it. The Brooklyn-based fashion designer had only been in the business for five years. Now, one of the world’s top museums was asking for two of his designs to be shown in “Superfine: Tailoring Black Style,” the exhibit launched by the starry Met Gala. “I was just floored with excitement,” Agbobly said in an interview. “I had to check to make sure it was from an official email. And then the excitement came, and I was like . . . am I allowed to say anything to anyone about it?” Agbobly grew up in Togo, watching seamstresses and tailors create beautiful garments…

Most F1 cars can reach speeds of well over 200 mph, but the newest automobiles in the F1 stable go much much slow. Built from 400,000 Lego pieces, the life-size Lego cars can drive 12 mph—not bad for a bunch of plastic bricks. To mark the start of a multiyear partnership, the Danish toy maker created 10 drivable, full-scale Formula 1 cars that debuted at the Miami Grand Prix. The racing series’ 20 competitors, including speed demons Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc, drove the Lego cars at Sunday’s prerace Drivers’ Parade for millions of fans watching from the grandstands and on television. The “big build” cars took Lego builders a collective 22,000 hours ove…

For a while, the comforting narrative went like this: AI won’t take your job. But someone using AI will. So, all you had to do was to use AI, and even if you lost your job you could take someone else’s? The idea that you only needed to worry about AI secondhand—via another human—is in fact somewhat naive. AI is coming for your job directly. Not with fanfare or grand announcements, but through silent, pervasive creep: software agents booking meetings, writing reports, sending personalized emails, making decisions. There are even tools to send your digital clone to videoconference meetings, without people even noticing it’s not the real you—yes, an AI deepfake of your p…

The streaming service branding game of musical chairs continued this week when Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) announced the streaming platform Max would once again be called HBO Max, starting this summer. It’s a complete brand reversal from a switch the company made back in 2023, when it ditched the “HBO” in its name for a head scratching “Max.” It immediately brought to mind this joke from 2024: “It’s on Tubu. It’s literally on Heebee. It’s on Poodee with ads. It’s literally on Dippy. You can probably find it on Weeno. Dude it’s on Gumpy. It’s a Pheebo original. It’s on Poob. You can watch it on Poob. You can go to Poob and watch it. Log onto Poob right now.” https…

At a recent fundraising event, I stood backstage with a young woman waiting to give a speech in front of 550 people to honor her alma mater. She was visibly nervous; I watched as she paced, taking deep breaths to calm the adrenaline that was flooding her body, twisting her hands, and looking toward the stage door as if she might try to make a run for it. As a charity auctioneer who has spent more than two decades on stages around the world commanding rooms filled with thousands of people, I know that feeling. There were so many nights in the beginning of my career when I felt the same way. But spending 1,000-plus nights onstage has given me plenty of practice to learn…

DNA testing firm 23andMe has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The once high-flying San Francisco company—which provides DNA analysis to offer insights into ancestry, health traits, and genetic risks—is aiming to sell itself after facing significant challenges, including rejected acquisition offers and declining market value in the wake of a 2023 data breach that impacted millions of users. In addition, CEO Anne Wojcicki has stepped down, and CFO Joe Selsavage will serve as interim CEO during the restructuring process, 23andMe said on Sunday. The company plans to continue operating as it seeks a buyer. The bankruptcy filing punctuates a stunning dow…

Last week, Apple announced it would cancel one of the first shows that it had ever green lit for its Apple TV Plus streaming service: Mythic Quest, a show that first launched on the tech giant’s then-fledgling streaming service in February 2020. The show, which followed the escapades of an MMORPG video game developer, was axed after the last episode of its fourth season, which aired on March 26. Like many season finales, the last episode of Mythic Quest ended on a cliffhanger, so when viewers learned of its cancellation, they assumed that they would never get any resolution to the storyline and characters that they had followed for four seasons. Yet then Apple d…

The Fast Company Impact Council is an invitation-only membership community of leaders, experts, executives, and entrepreneurs who share their insights with our audience. Members pay annual dues for access to peer learning, thought leadership opportunities, events and more. Late for a meeting across town, you check a map app for the fastest route, toggle to the city’s transit site for schedules, and work out options for traveling the “last mile” from the train station to your destination. You think through the logistics—metro card, e-tickets, scanning app, method of payment—for each leg of the trip. Then you open a ride-hailing app as backup. MaaS: Cities slic…

Americans’ electricity bills tend to tick up each year in line with inflation. But upgrades to electric wires, reinforcing and protecting power lines from severe weather, and changing fuel costs – among other factors – are sending rates soaring. High electricity consumption from data centers and other sources of rising demand will likely cause further increases in the near future. The impact on consumers is particularly dramatic in Pennsylvania, where rate hikes are widespread. For example, the monthly bill for a PECO residential customer who uses 700 kilowatt hours of electricity monthly increased 10% – or US$13.58 – in 2025. These bills will go up anothe…

In my twenties, I was the kind of employee managers loved and therapists worried about. I worked late without being asked. I answered emails during vacation and treated 11 p.m. messages like asteroid-headed-for-Earth emergencies. My identity was stitched to my output, and I wore burnout like a badge of honor. Somewhere along the way, many of us signed this invisible contract stating that success demands sacrifice. For us, time, health, and relationships were all fair game in the pursuit of professional validation. But now, more people are realizing it’s a contract they want to break: According to Gallup’s most recent global report, employee engagement is down two …

Billionaire businessman, investor, former shark, and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban knows a bit about running a company and leading employees. The serial entrepreneur has founded and invested in successful businesses from food brands to tech startups and pretty much everything in between. Cuban often shares his insights about sweat equity and staying involved in running one’s own business. Here are three of the most actionable pearls of leadership wisdom from Mark Cuban—and how you can put these quotes into action in your own leadership. 1. Embrace Sweat Equity “Sweat equity is the most valuable equity there is.” Put simply, “sweat equity” is the val…

The Supreme Court’s conservative majority on Tuesday signaled support for the religious rights of parents in Maryland who want to remove their children from elementary school classes using storybooks with LGBTQ characters. The court seemed likely to find that the Montgomery County school system, in suburban Washington, could not require elementary school children to sit through lessons involving the books if parents expressed religious objections to the material. The case is the latest dispute involving religion to come before the court. The justices have repeatedly endorsed claims of religious discrimination in recent years. “I’m surprised this is the hill to…