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The class of 2025 have now graduated from Kai Cenats Streamer University.” Last week, 120 studentshandpicked from more than a million applicantsattended the University of Akron for a four-day live-in boot camp. Of course, the whole thing was streamed by Cenat as well as attendees. Cenat, who has 17.3 million Twitch followers and ranked No. 24 on Forbess list of the top-earning creators in 2024, with estimated earnings of $8.5 million, first announced his plans in February, explaining how he wants to help streamers both big and small learn from his success. Cenat introduced each of the inaugural class from behind his principals desk during an hour-long meet-and-greet video, available to watch on YouTube. Enrollment was free, with food and accommodations on the college campus covered. Each student was also given a T-Mobile phone to livestream the entire experience. They did not disappoint. Content was streamed across nearly 1,000 different Twitch channels with over 719,000 peak concurrent viewers and over 27 million total hours of watch time, per Twitch Tracker. In addition to snippets from inside the classrooms, other viral clips show students skipping class, trashing dorm rooms, and fighting with water guns (which ended with one student being hospitalized). Follower boosts for grads Despite some bad behavior, many students reported major follower growth from attending the university. Before and after streamer uni, one participant posted on X. According to screenshots, her average number of views rose from below 100 to nearing 10,000. I still think Im dreaming, she wrote. While livestreaming their experiences, students were also enrolled in lessons taught by professors, aka popular influencers. The curriculum covered “Defense Against Hating” and “Internet Beef,” among other subjects. During the grand finale awards ceremony, rapper Drake made a surprise appearance with a virtual message for both students and faculty. Year one is officially in the books. Congratulations, Drake said from behind a desk. To be able to organize this incredible academia event . . . is something that has never been done before. Show love to your dean, the one and only Kai Cenat. Cenats success has apparently not gone unnoticed by other streaming giants. During a recent Twitch stream filmed from his office, Cenat hinted that major streaming services had all expressed an interest in bringing “Streamer University” to their platforms. However, the 23-year-old emphasized the importance of maintaining creative autonomy. “With an idea like this so original, you gotta keep it where it’s at,” he said. “I want y’all to learn something, bro. Y’all channels, and who you are as a person. This y’all idea, this is your guy’s stuff. Treat your platform as you would treat other platforms.
Category:
E-Commerce
Elon Musk has a long history of overpromising and underdelivering. In the past decade, his sky-high predictions around everything from full self-driving Teslas to high-speed tunnels and manned missions to Mars have reliably failed to defy gravity. So, it should come as no surprise that Musks just-announced departure from the Trump administration finds his DOGE project having saved a mere $175 billion of the $2 trillion in government spending he set his sights on. Musks exit from DOGE seems like its meant to signal another big promise, one loaded with similarly inflated expectations: a hard reset for Tesla. The companys shares rose 1.3% on the Musk news Thursday morning, but theyre still down 25% from a December high. And those hoping public opinion on Tesla will swiftly revert all the way back to pre-2025 levels are bound to be just as disappointed as anyone who thinks an Optimus robot from Tesla will be mowing their lawn and babysitting their kids anytime soon. From trillion-dollar promises to a $175 billion retreat Whether he is actually leaving his position remains in dispute, but Musks tenure in Washington DC was turbulent by any measure. The, uh, Roman salute he made during Trumps inauguration was like a starter pistol kicking off a campaign of controversy and chaos. In short order, his DOGE team laid off thousands of government workers, sometimes indiscriminately, shuttered whole agencies, and decimated the amount of crucial medical aid the U.S. provides around the world. As he tormented remaining government workers and jeopardized all Americans personal data, Musk seemed to further enrich himself and thwart his competitors through government channels. Meanwhile, his outsize political influence, odd personal conduct, and tendency to make himself the main character of everything had the effect of taking a chainsaw to Teslas sales figures. Within a month of inauguration, the grassroots Tesla Takedown movement channeled public hostility toward Musk into his electric vehicle brand, and kept his rising global unpopularity in the headlines. When an April earnings call revealed Teslas profits had dropped a whopping 71% in the first quarter of 2025, it was obvious that something had to give. Now, it finally has. Clashing with Trump over Medicaid Though Musk had multiple public clashes with other high-ranking officials during his time as a special government employee, what appears to have expedited his exit is a conflict with Trumps agenda. Musk had always claimed he didnt plan to stay in the role all four years, but his exit announcement abruptly followed an interview he gave CBS earlier this week, during which he threw cold water on Trumps big tax bill. Republicans recently pushed the legislation through the House, despite its controversial proposed cuts to Medicaid, only for Musk to denounce it as a massive spending bill during that CBS interview. Less than a day later, amid a string of subtweets from top Trump advisor Stephen Miller, Musks White House off-boarding began. If the former first buddy thinks the global car-buying community will simply forget the past four months ever happened, though, hes in for a rude awakening. At some point after the White Houses bizarre Toyotathon for Tesla event and that disastrous earnings call in April, Musk seemed to stop spreading the conspiracy theory that paid protesters were fueling Tesla Takedown. Its an indication Musk either recognizes that the backlash is legitimate, or, more likely, that his defensive denials of its authenticity were doing him no favors. In any case, Tesla Takedown events are still on the books, including a #MuskMustFall Global Day of Celebration scheduled for his June 28 birthday. Reading between the lines, it seems like some of Tesla Takedowns proponents have moved on from the goal of pushing Musk out of politics to punishing him for what hedid while in politics. (Elon Musk is done at DOGE, but we’re just getting started, reads a headline on the dedicated website for that protest.) Even if all the protesters around the world were to stop putting up anti-Musk stickers tomorrow, however, Tesla has other challenges ahead. “Musk’s departure from DOGE will improve market sentiment, but I see no real change for Tesla,” Morningstar analyst Seth Goldstein told Reuters on Thursday. “Tesla’s deliveries decline shows its current product lineup is at market saturation and facing strong competition in all three key markets of the U.S., China and Europe.” Market confidence may rise, but Teslas problems persist Tesla is going to have a harder time innovating its way out of these challenges as long as its yoked to Musk, who is inextricably associated with the companys recent flop, the Cybertruck. The kind of reputational damage Musk has sustained in 2025 is not the kind that is easily laundered or naturally fades. By applying his trollish social media persona to a government role that had a devastating impact on countless lives, he has lost something he can never recover: the ability to be received as a neutral tech CEO. No matter how much he curbs his aggressive political posting online, he will never be able to un-ring the DOGE bell for the rest of his career. Musk may hope to revitalize his reputation in much the same way Trump has done since January 6, 2021, but he is ill-equipped for the task. Trumps supporters are singularly willing to forgive and forget. Some of them may occasionally get upset by, say, his memecoin, or his pardoning of violent January 6 offenders, but they always tend to boomerang back in droves. It makes sense that someone who has spent as much time working to elect Trump as Musk, and then working with him, would assume some of that invulnerability and public amnesia would rub off on him. But Trumps reputational resilience is neither contagious nor duplicable Without it, Musk is about to find out the hard way how little overlap there is between the MAGA superfans he cavorts with on X and the worldwide electric car-buying community.
Category:
E-Commerce
In between AI slop and viral dance trends, blacksmithing is quietly drawing audiences of millions on TikTok. One of the platform’s most popular farriers, Samuel Wolfenden, has gained over a million followers on Instagram and 700,000 followers on TikTok since he posted his first video two years ago. I woke up the next day and had millions of millions of views; I had one hundred thousand followers, Wolfenden told the New York Times in a recent interview. His oddly satisfying videos of hammering shoes on horse hooves have garnered Wolfenden a devoted following. Lucky horse, one user commented beneath one of his videos. The attention has since landed Wolfenden sponsorship deals, modeling gigs, and a publicist, according to the Times. Wolfendens not the only one cashing in on the demand. Farrier Sam Dracotts top three pinned videos on TikTok have a combined view count of over 630 million. Its so satisfying to watch, one user commented beneath one of his videos. Dracott, who has four million followers on YouTube and TikTok, now employs an entourage, which includes a videographer, a social media manager, and a publicist. Due to his online presence, his income has doubled. TikTok leans into trades As well as pulling in millions of views, TikTok creators in the trades are also influencing career choices. This month, Skilled Careers Coalition (SCC) and SkillsUSA announced a partnership with TikTok to tap into the momentum, enlisting creators to produce exclusive content on trade careers like carpentry, construction, and HVAC contracting. This comes as 42% of Gen Z college grads now work in or are pursuing a blue-collar or skilled trade job, including 37% of those with a bachelors degree, according to a survey published this month by Resume Builder. The main motivators: flexibility and a preference for hands-on work over desk jobs. When it comes to horseshoeing, having no prior experience with horses is simply a minor detail for eager students, lead instructor at the Pacific Coast Horseshoeing School in Plymouth, Calif., Amanda Smith, told the Times. It makes me wonder: How did you think of this? Because you never put a halter on a horse, and now you are thinking of putting shoes on their feet? Smith said. I will have to admit, every time they come, my first thought is: Did you see one of those videos?
Category:
E-Commerce
The FDA recalled a series of non-organic cucumbers grown by Bedner Growers, Inc. that are currently under investigation for a salmonella outbreak. And now, Target is included in the fallout. At this point, the outbreak has affected 45 people in 18 states, and has almost doubled since three days ago. Target initially announced a recall of cucumbers and items containing the cucumbers on May 19, though Target specifically was mentioned in the FDA update on May 30. Compared to other companies that have recalled just one cucumber product, like Walmart, Targets recall list contains over 40 different products purchased between May 7 and May 21. Two of them are regular cucumbers, two are chicken salad products, and a whopping 38 of the recalled products are a sushi variety. The outbreak has resulted in 16 hospitalizations and zero deaths. This recall comes in the wake of a particularly terrible year for Target, as the mega-corporation faces boycotts and tariffs set by the Trump Administration. Targets stock plunged 40% over the last year, and operating income was down 38% last year from its 2021 high. Furthermore, this isnt the first cucumber recall Target customers have weathered. The FDA also announced another cucumber recall in November 2024 due to an investigation of a salmonella outbreak. These cucumbers were linked to a farm in Mexico, and were distributed by SunFed Produce, LLC, which initiated a voluntary recall. Target sent out automated warning calls to buyers in December, weeks after many customers had originally bought the cucumbers. The calls warned that consumers should immediately stop using the products, and to contact Target for next steps.
Category:
E-Commerce
Joann fabrics, the beloved fabrics, arts, and crafts retailer, is finally shutting its doors for good after a long, slow goodbye. While many of its 800 stores have already been shuttered since the company filed for bankruptcy (yet again) in January, the last 444 Joann stores (yes, you read that right) will finally shut their doors on Friday, May 30, according to Joann’s website. What happened? As Fast Company previously reported, the popular fabrics and crafts supplier announced earlier this year that it would close all its U.S. locations after it filed for bankruptcy in January 2025, marking the second time Joann declared bankruptcy in less than a year. It also laid off all 19,000 workers, including more than 15,000 part-time store associates. Like many brick-and-mortar retailers that have filed for bankruptcy, including Party City and Forever 21, Joann faced declining sales and foot traffic since the COVID-19 pandemic, as more Americans shop online and curb spending due to higher prices, the soaring cost of living, inflation, and President Donald Trump’s on-again, off-again tariff wars. Customers take to social media to lament the store’s demise From TikTok and Reddit to Instagram and Facebook, customers have been taking to social media, posting tearfully and nostalgically about time they spent in the store. Some even shared last haul videos of what they bought in the store’s final days. On Reddit, nostalgic customers and workers posted multiple threads saying “goodbye” to individual stores. Some featured photos of the shuttered front door, like this one, which read, “RIP Joann 1943-2025: Died due to private equity and corporate greed,” lamenting the end of 80 years in business. (More on the private equity aspect below.) Meanwhile, on TikTok, one woman with tears in her eyes posted, “Y’all I really can’t believe but I just really had a moment, Joann is fing closing . . . It’s so unfortunate.” Joann’s final years By the 1990s, Joann became the largest fabric and crafts retail superstore in the U.S., and was taken private in 2011 by Leonard Green & Partners, a private equity firm, for around $1.6 billion. Then, a decade later, it went public again as the COVID-19 pandemic fueled an uptick in crafting, Fast Company previously reported. However, like for many brick-and-mortar retailers, profits began to decline after the pandemic, leaving the company with $616 million in reported debt obligations when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January. Some critics and customers blame Joann’s demise on private equity, which has increasingly been at the helm of large-scale business restructurings and closings, and been accused of stripping companies for parts instead of bringing them back to profitability. However, many experts have said it’s not that simple, and Joann’s failure is based on a mix of factors that go into the current economics of U.S. retail conditions. A look at the numbers shows Joann fabrics’ last reported revenue of $539.80 million for its third quarter of fiscal year 2024 ending October 28, 2023, which was a decrease of 4.09%. That brought revenue in the last twelve months up to that date to $2.16 billion, down 4.20% year-over-year. In the fiscal year ending January 28, 2023, Joann had an annual revenue of $2.22 billion. Its last reported market cap was $3.20 million.
Category:
E-Commerce
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