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Anyone wanting to get their TikTok fix in the United States recently had a rough time. The app went haywire, kicking off early on the morning of January 25, due to a power outage at a key data center that knocked out services nationwide. Users reported the app crashing, with videos getting stuck and refusing to play, upload, or even hit a single view. The apps vaunted For You page turned into a glitchy mess, looping stale old clips and throwing out thoroughly non-personalized recommendations, while some users struggled to log in or comment on and repost videos. People searching for the latest videos about ICE raids and murders in Minnesota were shown zero results. Ditto if they sought out information on Jeffrey Epstein through TikToks search bar. Something was up, users felt. The reason behind the issues is prosaic: A power outage, likely caused by weather, knocked the app offline for a while. With the horrible winter storm in the U.S. this weekend, it wouldnt surprise me if that was the cause of some of these data outages, says Jessica Maddox, an associate professor of media studies at the University of Georgia. TikTok clarified in a public statement that it faced outages. Since yesterday weve been working to restore our services following a power outage at a U.S. data center impacting TikTok and other apps we operate, the TikTok USDS Joint Venture, which was established this month to oversee the U.S. arm of TikTok following the deal to onshore ownership of U.S. user data, posted on X. Were working with our data center partner to stabilize our service. Were sorry for this disruption and hope to resolve it soon. The company declined to comment on the record about the issue. Fast Company understands the outage was at an Oracle data centerthe company that now oversees the apps data on U.S. users after the deal earlier this month to establish the joint venture. That joint venture, which has American firms owning around 45% of the newly formed company, was pushed through after political pressure from Donald Trump. Oracle declined to comment. So far, so simple. And yet, when faced with a malfunctioning feed, users didnt chalk it up to the snowstorm or inclement weather. They pinpointed the apps recent divestment to a U.S.-centered coalition of investorswhich has been seen as a way for Donald Trump to try and allow U.S. companies to muscle in on the first major social media success story outside the United Statesas evidence that something more malign was going on. I knew they were gonna nuke tiktok but I didnt think it would be this quick. jesus christ, posted one user. Another said that the apps inability to serve views to videos, including those criticizing ICE activity in Minnesota, was down to a tone shift brought about by new ownership rather than a run-of-the-mill outage issue. What was striking about this TikTok outage was that users didnt experience it as a technical failure at all, says Tom Divon, a digital culture researcher and TikTok expert at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Many were carrying the political event narrative around it. That fear isnt entirely unfounded, reckon the experts. The U.S. president has previously said that he distrusts traditional media, and even set up his own platform, Truth Social, in response to issues that he perceived with existing social media. I think the reason people are so upset and thinking this could be a large-scale suppression is because its not out of the realm of possibility, UGA’s Maddox says. We know for a fact that platforms do suppress certain topics from time to time. She points out that the political backdrop, coupled with the conspiratorial nature of trying to unpick the whims of social media algorithms, makes it easy to indulge in the idea that something more deliberate is going on with TikToks performance. Social media activity is often thought of as conspiracythinking that blocking certain accounts changes your algorithm, or that theres an invisible hand controlling what we do or do not see at any given time, Maddox says. Because people dont fully understand how social media works, theres a turn toward conspiratorial thinking. That conspiratorial thinking isnt entirely unfounded, Divon says. That reaction did not come out of nowhere. Because just months earlier, TikTok went dark for around 14 hours during the temporary ban scarean episode that already taught users that access to the platform could be switched off by political decision, he says. Theres also a sense of inevitability, says Catalina Goanta, associate professor in private law and technology at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. The U.S. takeover of TikTok has been received with a lot of pragmatism by many of its users, who had already collectively anticipated that algorithmic changes were to be expected.” Goanta believes that users expect meddling in the algorithm, so they see it even if its not actually happenedyet, or ever. Theres another reason why people are worried: It could affect their livelihoods. Given the massive change in ownership of the platform in recent weeks, people are on edge about the impact it could have on them. TikToks own lobbying against its attempted ban by the Trump administration in recent years suggested that the app supports 4.7 million U.S. jobs and contributes $24 billion annually to the U.S. GDP. The notion that might go away, or be materially changed under a new owner, makes people panic. Trust has to be earned, not freely given, Maddox says. And the new TikTok joint venture has not yet given us a reason to trust them.
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E-Commerce
More than 11.5 million fans signed up for presale tickets to Harry Styles’s upcoming Madison Square Garden residency for the Together, Together tour. But when tickets went on sale January 26, amid the excitement, many fans were left frustrated by lengthy virtual queue waits. For those who made it through, the relief proved fleeting when they encountered ticket prices exceeding $1,000. Many turned to social media to direct their ire at both Ticketmaster and Styles himself. “$1000 for lower bowl at msg is genuinely the most insulting thing ive ever seen. that’s one months rent,” one person posted on X. “Its getting to the point where I feel like im being forced to outgrow concerts because of how inaccessible they are,” another fan wrote on X. Yet another added: “The thing that sucks the most about this is that nothing will be done to hold artists accountable for pricing their tickets this way.” Tickets for the Together, Together tour were reportedly priced between $50 and $1,182.40, including Ticketmaster service fees. Ticketmaster does not determine pricing, nor use surge pricing or dynamic algorithms to adjust ticket prices. On resale platforms like StubHub, a single ticket for the pit area surrounding the stage currently runs over $3,000. “Queue All The Time. Tickets, Occasionally,” one disappointed fan quipped on X, riffing on Styles’s recently announced album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally. “Together together but only if you have a lot of money money,” another joked, playing off the tour title. Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher even weighed in, posting HOW MUCH? after presales opened, and noting his ticket prices are reasonable looking back at it now. (Oasis also faced backlash for the band’s reunion tour when some U.K. fans were charged more than 350, or $482, for tickets with an initial face value of 150, or $206, due to dynamic pricing). Fast Company has reached out to Styles for comment. This tour marks the first time Styles will be returning to the stage since his Love on Tour run concluded in 2023, having grossed over $600 million, with an average ticket price of $115, according to Pollstar. The online backlash taps into a wider conversation about soaring resale prices and limited tour dates colliding with a cost-of-living crisis that has left live music feeling increasingly unattainable for modern concertgoers. Last fall, singer Olivia Dean spoke out against exploitative resale prices at her shows. You are providing a disgusting service, Dean wrote on her Instagram story. The prices at which youre allowing tickets to be resold is vile and completely against our wishes. Live music should be affordable and accessible, and we need to find a new way of making that possible. BE BETTER. Ticketmaster backed the singer by capping future ticket resale prices for Deans The Art of Loving Live tour on its platform and refunding fans for any markup they already paid to resellers. The fact Dean was able to get this result by speaking up only adds to fans’ frustrations when it comes to other big name artists and their unwillingness to stand up for their fans. The backlash hasnt seemed to curb Styless ticket sales, however. Styles is also donating 1 from every ticket sold from his U.K. stadium shows to small music venues around the country. For many fans, that’s poor consolation. As one suggested: Harry Styles, i want you to stand in the pit and not let anyone walk in unless they hand you $1200 in cash. look every fan in the eye and ask them for $1200.
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E-Commerce
For many people, the word sabbatical conjures a very specific image: a long break from work, perhaps time spent on a beautiful beach, maybe a few weeks of rest before returning recharged. Its often perceived as indulgent, impractical, or reserved for academics and executives with generous benefits. That image misses the point. A sabbatical isnt a more extended vacation. It isnt an escape from responsibility. And paradoxically, it isnt even primarily about rest. When well executed, a sabbatical is a deliberate interruption that creates the conditions for identity discovery, integration, and renewal. When done poorly, it can leave people just as disoriented as when they left, only with some good photos. Theres growing evidence that intentional time away can meaningfully change how people think, work, and relate to their lives. Research published in Harvard Business Review shows that extended breaks can improve creativity, strategic thinking, and long-term performance when paired with reflection and learning, rather than pure disengagement. Neuroscience research on insight and learning also suggests that novelty, reflection, and reduced cognitive load are essential for sustainable change, not merely rest alone. Weve seen this firsthand, not only in our own travels and explorations, but in the leaders, founders, and creatives we work with. The difference between a sabbatical that changes someones trajectory and one that simply delays burnout has little to do with duration and everything to do with intention. The Sabbatical Paradox Theres a paradox at the heart of meaningful sabbaticals: sometimes we have to step away from our lives to find ourselves inside them. Modern professional life has a quiet way of narrowing identity to fit a job description. Over time, we become knownand rewardedfor our role, capabilities, or reputation. What begins as focus slowly becomes constraint. The narrowing works, until one day it doesnt. Most people dont notice whats been edited out along the way. Not because it disappeared, but because the environments we move through every day no longer reflect it back to us. A sabbatical introduces distance from those mirrors. Stepping away from job titles, expectations, and familiar routines creates a kind of productive disorientation. Without constant reinforcement of who we are supposed to be, something else begins to surface: questions we didnt have time to ask, interests we parked years ago, capacities that never quite fit our professional containers but never stopped calling for expression. This is why sabbaticals often feel unsettling before they feel liberating. They interrupt identity before they clarify it. The discomfort isnt a sign that something is wrong; its evidence that something deeper is loosening. Integration comes later, but only after we allow the disruption to do its work. Why So Many Sabbaticals Fail The most common sabbatical myth is that time alone does the work. It doesnt. Weve met people who took months off only to return unchanged; rested, perhaps, but no clearer about what they wanted next. One senior leader I worked with stepped away for nearly a year, spending the time traveling and in downtime, assuming clarity would eventually arrive. Instead, the absence of structure amplified anxiety. By the time he returned, he felt disconnected from his previous role but equally unprepared to move forward. Yes, you can fail a sabbatical. Failure usually happens when the pause is treated as an absence rather than a practice; when theres no intention beyond getting away, when reflection is optional, when the use of time is accidental rather than designed, or when people expect certainty to arrive without first sitting with uncertainty. A meaningful sabbatical asks something of you. It requires participation, not just permission. Designing a Sabbatical That Actually Matters A powerful sabbatical, whether its three months or three intentional weeks, has a shape to it. It begins with a question, not a destination. Not Where should I go? but What part of myself needs space right now? Sometimes the answer is exhaustion. Sometimes its curiosity. Sometimes its a quiet knowing that the way youve been operating is no longer sustainable. From there, exposure matters. New cultures, unfamiliar languages, and different rhythms of life interrupt habitual thinking. Travel isnt essential, but dislocation often is. Being outside your comfort zone has a way of revealing whats essential and whats been propping you up. Equally important is capture. Insight has a short half-life. Without practices for noticing and recording what youre learningthrough writing, sketching, voice notes, or conversationmuch of the value evaporates on reentry. The sabbatical becomes a memory instead of a resource. And then theres skill-building. The most impactful sabbaticals dont just create space; they develop new muscles. Learning a language, navigating unfamiliar systems, volunteering, or studying a craft can rewire confidence and expand identity in ways rest alone never will. Annettes experience reflects this clearly. During her second sabbatical, focused on purpose-seeking both personally and professionally, she adopted a simple daily practice: creating one sketch each day alongside her morning journaling. The practice slowed her thinking, surfaced patterns, and helped her make sense of complexity beyond words alone. What began as a sabbatical experiment became a lasting integration practice she continues to use to capture insight, navigate uncertainty, and connect more deeply with others. When You Cant Take a Sabbatical, Design a Powerful Pause Not everyone can step away for months, and thats understandable. But skipping the process entirely comes at a cost. A powerful pause can be designed within real constraints: a few weeks between roles, a recurring solo day each month, or even a temporary relocation layered inside your current workflow. What matters isnt the length of time away, but the quality of separation and reflection. We have seen leaders design micro-sabbaticals that changed everything, not because they escaped their lives, but because they stopped rushing through them. They created containers for asking better questions, experimenting with new rhythms, and noticing who they were becoming when performance pressure loosened its grip. The same principles apply: intention, exposure, capture, and learning. The Role of Uncertainty Another common misconception is that a sabbatical should always provide clarity upon completion. Sometimes it does. Often, it delivers something more valuable first: disruption. Plans unravel. New paths appear. Identities loosen before they reassemble. This isnt failure; its the work. A sabbatical creates a liminal space where old narratives lose authority, and new ones havent fully formed. Being open to that uncertainty is part of designing a successful pause. The goal isnt to come back with all the answers. Its to return more integrated, more honest, and more attuned to what matters. At their best, sabbaticals deepen connection to ourselves, to others, and to purpose. They remind us that we are larger than our rols and more capable than our routines suggest. They create space for identity integration rather than identity performance. In a culture obsessed with acceleration, choosing to pauseintentionally, courageously, and with curiosityis a radical act. Whether you call it a sabbatical or a powerful pause, the invitation is the same: step far enough away from your life to see it clearly, and long enough into yourself to decide how you want to return. Because the most meaningful journeys dont just take us somewhere new, they bring us back to ourselves, changed.
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