When repurposing a clip to TikTok or Insta from YouTube or any video filmed in landscape, do you notice a video performs better if it’s zoomed to 16x9 or it’s kept it in landscape with a blur/ solid color added to the background (the open space in the top and bottom)? I’ve seen and tried both but haven’t done so consistently enough to notice a solid difference. If I’m honest, I prefer the latter, but want to do whichever one is more polished looking and performs better.

Hey friends! Here are 3 different thumbnails I designed for my upcoming YouTube video. Notice how they're each different but still part of the same family? Which one is speaking to you? I'm very curious to see how these will test!

Hey Franchesca and TBIS fam - any recommendations for sites that will crosspost your short form content to multiple platforms so you don't have to spend a disproportionate amount of time going from app to app to post? There's one I used a few years ago but it's not coming to me at the moment. Thank you!

"Do "mean girls" get better men?" This could either be topical since dating is a serious social issue/ concern at the moment but at the same time it could fall into evergreen so curious to see people's thoughts on the bucket it falls into! Script: Mean girls don’t get better men, mean people get everything because what we described as mean are actually are assertive, who are direct, who had boundaries, who have high standards for themselves and others therefore they not going to tolerate certain things they know what they want out of life, they not afraid to want better and go get better regardless of what it may mean or who it may mean leaving behind, and they will not tolerate anything less because they know what they want and deserve. They’re already willing, unable to cut off anything in their life that is not getting them closer to their goals Hopes dreams aspirations and have a certain standards for what they want out of life which extends to their relationship with people be they platonic or professional and onvioualt their romantic relationships with men. They have a lower threshold for BS and so it’s not that they get better than so much as they have found someone who is likely also has high standards for themselves or at the very last is performing very low on the bs scale so obviously if someone is sticking around, they’re meeting that woman’s high standards. It’s just that simple, you don’t have to be “mean”, you just have to have a firm set standards for yourself and know what you will and won’t tolerate in all areas of life. Video posted to TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thesashawhitney/video/7698062769697951007 Filmed on CapCut using the teleprompter feature and also edited on CapCut. Apologies for my croaky voice; I lost my voice the day before and was in the process of getting it back. Dating content typically isn't my bag but it's something that tends to trend with my audience so I wanted to approach it from the perspective of two of my brand pillars, smart and intentional, while infusing a touch of makeup since I also post beauty & hair content.

This piece in NPR: https://www.npr.org/2026/10/14/nx-s1-5550974/skincare-scheme-mazal-group-investigation has the beauty industry... riveted. As someone who spends a lot of time with her grandmother (shoutout Mamie), it's gut-wrenching to see elderly people taken advantage of... but this NPR piece is just one example I've seen of a new generation of grifters that see our parents and grandparents as financial fodder. Probably going to post tomorrow as I need to ride the trend wave (NPR posted this last night). Normally don't spend this much time thinking through a piece of content but going back to my pillars of making people think, learn and feel empowered think it's a good piece to touch on.