At first, he appeared in the top corner of a multi-slide TikTok post. Then he was spotted demurely relaxing in a lawn chair on a livestream. Finally, on March 30, Apple’s new mascot, nicknamed “Finder Guy,” made his debut—and the internet has instantly become enamored with him. Finder Guy appeared as part of the rollout for Apple’s MacBook Neo, a colorful, affordable laptop marketed to younger consumers. For the Neo campaign, Apple introduced an entirely new TikTok brand persona on March 4, clearly making a play to capture Gen Z and Gen Alpha viewers by combining trending aesthetics with Apple’s…
Author: Staff Writer
We’re in the middle of the extended Easter holiday weekend, which usually sees millions of Americans taking long road trips to visit family or just get away. But this year, these trips will probably be more costly—at least at the pump. Still, there are steps you can take while driving to save fuel and reduce your overall gas bill. Why are gas prices rising? According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline passed the $4 threshold this week. That’s a price not seen since August 2022, and one that is more than…
One of the major changes unleashed by the pandemic—and the accompanying spread of remote work—was the large migration of employees from major urban areas. With many jobs no longer anchored to city-based offices, people were free to move to almost anywhere else they preferred to live—often at lower costs to boot. But now, new survey data indicates that exodus has reversed course, with grim labor markets and tightening return-to-office (RTO) mandates causing employment-focused workers to head back to metropolises again. That finding was one of many big changes noted in the State of Global Hiring study by payroll and human resources service company Deel. It said that while…
You have probably noticed that you have times during your day when you’re locked in and feel like you’re working at your peak and other times when your mind isn’t keeping up with everything that needs to be done. Some of that may reflect your circadian cycles. If you’re a morning person, you may arrive at work in the morning raring to go, but if you’re a night person, it may take you a while to get warmed up. A big influence on your cognitive effectiveness is fatigue that can build up over the course of the day. A lot…
Raising Cane’s CEO Todd Graves could go without veggies in his to-go box. More specifically, his go-to Cane’s order includes the box combo, extra toast and extra sauce—and no slaw, he said in a TikTok last month. The fast food executive admitted he’s not a fan of coleslaw, adding “that’s why you can trade it out,” in Joe Bonham’s “Financial Flex” social media series. His reasoning for including the shredded salad: “I wanted a vegetable component to the meal, and coleslaw is a Southern thing.” As the post went viral, one user asked the exec to swap the coleslaw for…
Earlier this year, rapper and recording executive Gucci Mane was reportedly held at gunpoint and robbed at a music studio in Dallas. Now, a motive for the crime (and the alleged culprits) has been revealed: A rapper signed to Gucci Mane’s label wanted out of his contract. Rapper Pooh Shiesty, whose real name is Lontrell Williams Jr., has been signed to Gucci Mane’s record label 1017 Records since 2020. According to a criminal affidavit written by FBI agent Brittany Garcia, Williams was unhappy with his record deal and invited Gucci Mane, whose legal name is Radric Davis, to a meeting…
Scientists may have overestimated the potential health risk of microplastics, according to a new study from the University of Michigan, which identified a major culprit that could have unintentionally skewed results over multiple previous studies. Researchers found that the nitrile and latex gloves that scientists wear while measuring microplastics may be leading to false positives of the tiny pollutants. That’s because the gloves are coated with nonplastic particles called stearates—soaplike particles that can rub off or shed onto lab equipment, “creating thousands of false positives per square millimeter (or about one-thousandth of a square inch).” However, the study’s senior author…
Innovation is important in every industry, whether creating and developing new products and services, or improving your workflow. There is no one right way to innovate, but there are wrong ways. It’s easy to get stuck in a line of thinking or trying to control the process, making it more complex than it needs to be. We asked our Fast Company Impact Council members what common mistakes companies make when trying to innovate, and an alternative way to think about innovation. Just like the creative process, our members had unique understandings of what not to do, and how to do…
With her first two albums, Olivia Rodrigo established a pattern. Her signature color? Purple—which served as the backdrop for both covers. Her naming convention? Four-letter words—stylized in all-capital letters: SOUR for her 2021 debut and GUTS for her 2023 follow-up. But on Thursday, April 2, Rodrigo shocked her fans with the announcement of her third album, titled you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love. The cover art, which features Rodrigo upside down on a swing and framed against a grayish-blue sky, has no shades of purple to be seen. The album’s title doesn’t just ditch her previous…
The battle for overhead bin space on flights is likely to intensify as United Airlines announced it will increase the checked bag fees starting Friday. It will now cost $10 more to check luggage for passengers traveling on flights in the U.S., Mexico, Canada, and Latin America. Since the airlines often move in tandem on ancillary fees like checked bags, this could mark the beginning of a trend ahead of the busy summer travel season. Earlier this week, JetBlue Airways raised its prices for checked bags by $4 to $9 per bag, depending on whether passengers are flying during peak…