That's right, I'm a Coca-Cola guy! and you know who else was a Coca-Cola guy? A Monkey! And just like him, I'm sitting here drinking my Coca-Cola, working the 9 to 5 just like any one else in the world, with the exception that I'm doing it for my favorite beverage provider in the world.
There's a lot of shame to be associated with Coca-Cola apparently, I mean they make a sugar drink, and Sugar is horrible what with all those nasty preservatives and growing in the dirt, providing a quick boost of energy when you need it. But hey, Coca-Cola makes a mean nail polish apparently. And who cares about all those things done for the community? Like supporting the empowerment of women and providing drinking water for over 1 million people, improving access to safe water and sanitation, the protection of water sheds. All of that is just poppycock and you should feel ashamed to drink Coca-Cola. Or, if you're a proud Coca-Cola guy like me, check out this opinion piece on the future of Coca-Cola.
Or perhaps maybe you're interested in your favorite variant drink, because each week you may think back to how New Coke maybe tasted pretty good, in-spite of its underwhelming success, or as you can check out this week, the look at one of Coca-Colas most successful variants, Vanilla Coke. And don't forget to check out for more of these short blog-posts, where I'll be going over in brief, what's been written in the week.
About Aaron Mikheal
An Australian professional writing student at
Victoria University and a Freelance writer.
"The
Coca-Cola
Company (NYSE: KO) is the world’s largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands." Those words are written on the main Coca-Cola
Company website, they are a pure fact, a proof to the companies 128 years of existence.
And in those 128 years The
Coca-Cola
Company has done more than just produce fine drinks for all to enjoy. It has teamed up with the community to bring water, recycling, fashion, toys and more, and they aren't ready to stop rolling yet. The
Coca-Cola
Company are teaming up with Will.i.am for EKOCYCLE™. A recycling brand initiative to create products and fashion.
The Facts
The brands focus will be to inform customers about everyday recycling choices that can be done to better the environment, and to turn those recycled items into products for every day use. It also strives to make social change in the public mindset, and lead to a world with zero pollution.
"By making products that contain recycled materials more attractive to
both businesses and consumers, everyone can do their part to keep the
cycle going to turn discarded waste into cool, new items. The Coca-Cola
Company shares this vision and together working with local communities worldwide we will showcase the greater value of
recycling, as well as selecting products that feature recycled materials."
Said contributor and global music artist Will.i.am who is behind EKOCYCLE™. Music star Dr. Dre® and New Era® are but the first contributors to put in their efforts behind the recycling effort's mission to inspire communities to become more Eco-friendly and to create a sustainable ecosystem that betters communities and the world. Later this year even more EKOCYCLE collaborations will be announced.
The The
Coca-Cola
Company has always been a contributor to the community, in more than simply providing sugar drinks to the world. For 128 years they have been an ambitious entity, focused not only on giving the best drinks to the community, but in making the community a better place to live. There are many companies who claim to make the world a better place, to make themselves seem bigger. None of them are in as strong a position as coke is, with a share price of $40 and over a century of existence. And yet The Coca-Cola Companies big goal for 2020 was not to continue to dominate the market, it was to make the world a better place to live.
The The
Coca-Cola
Company isn't obligated to do anything outside of their business interests, which is primarily in the production of sugar drinks, but at the same time also has a dedicated food section and a music section for expanded business ventures. It owns the brands Coca-Cola, Fanta, Sprite and Dasani, and yet through it all, the decision it has chosen to follow for the next 6 years is helping the world be a better place.
The future is bright for The
Coca-Cola
Company, and the fact that the future most likely holds more refreshing drinks, recipes, music and community projects, there's never been a better time to support, invest in, and BE a Coca-Cola guy.
About Aaron Mikheal
An Australian professional writing student at
Victoria University and a Freelance writer.
If there is one thing that The Coca-Cola Companies has in its long history of soft-drinks, it's variants. Unlike say, Fanta, which is a refreshing orange crush drink, we're talking about things like Diet Coke®, which are a variant on an existing brand. The purpose of this series is to take a look into cokes past and find out some well known, beloved products, and some hidden gems that were passed by in time.
Vanilla Coke®
Of course, we should start with Vanilla Coke®, and as the commercials said, "Reward your curiosity." And that is what millions of people the world over did in 2002 when the drink was launched. They were immediately drawn to the simple packaging change, a twist of white through the usual red Coca-Cola® logo. The design was visually appealing, and to help matters, the drink itself was unique.
Taking the bubbling, refreshing taste of Coca-Cola®, it added a hint of vanilla smoothness that slides across the taste buds and down the throat with elegant ease. It was a taste unlike anything else at the time. And was unique enough to be The Coca-Cola Companies no.1 best product in 2002!
The Verdict
Vanilla Coke® was an amazing success for The Coca-Cola Company, both financially and when it comes to producing a smooth, refreshing drink. The packaging was simple and elegant for what it needed to be, immediately catching eyes. The drink itself tasted well, with the vanilla extract giving the drink a surprising kick that made it taste so different from regular coke, that was still muted however, so it didn't completely overwhelm the taste.
What's notable is that Vanilla Coke® has lasted all the way to 2014, it is produced, and sold, all over the world. It is one of cokes most enduring products and a testament to how something so subtle can lead to something so good. It has lasted where imitators have disappeared, and has persevered where other variants have flashed in the pan.
About Aaron Mikheal
An Australian professional writing student at Victoria University and
a Freelance writer.
On-Demand streaming is the future wave of television sweeping the world
Image courtesy of Techchunks.com
It's the digital craze sweeping the
world, the new form of visual media distribution, the On-Demand
Streaming service. While streaming began with roots in radio, when
ESPNSportsZone streamed broadcasts live to thousands of subscribers,
the current era of streaming is more seen on websites such as Twitch,
Ustream or Livestream. But what's On-Demand Streaming? Well it's not
your grandpa's TV.
The WWE Network is the brain child of Vince McMahon Jr. the
self-made billionaire in charge of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc.
which deals primarily in the production of Professional Wrestling, a
niche product that yet stands upon the precipice of determining the
fate of television and Pay-Per-View (PPV). "What makes WWE Network so groundbreaking is that we are
literally going over the top, WWE Network will be the first network
ever to launch with a 24/7 streaming service with scheduled programs,
exclusive live content and an On Demand library that our fans can
access everywhere on any device directly from WWE." Said
Michelle Wilson at the press conference on January 8th when the
Network was announced. On the WWE's
website is a helpful list of all devices that
the network can be run on and how to run it on them.
In this Video, WWE Superstar Kofi Kingston explains how to sign up
and use the network as well.
What this has to do with the future of streaming media
The WWE Network features an On-Demand library as well as a 24/7 stream of
content making it part television, part on-demand library. (VIA WWE.com)
What the WWE Network represents is the ability for niche products
to find a successful platform for themselves to launch. The WWE holds
PPVs which served as a main method of revenue. However with the
launch of the network, the PPVs have been redubbed "Special
Events" and the focus changed away but not completely removed
from the PPV market. While Wrestlemania XXX may have been $60 to
purchase, the WWE was receiving less than half of that amount. With
their own Streaming Network, the WWE is earning a flat $10 monthly
fee with 6 month commitment that goes directly into their pocket.
Theoretically, this $60 per half year is much less money than that
made through one PPV.
But on average, 100,000-200,000 viewers will buy in to a PPV.
According to the Wrestling Observer Newsletter for 2013, the two
highest brought PPVs were Wrestlemania (662,000 domestic) and the
Royal Rumble (364,000 domestic) Meanwhile, Night of Champions did a
paltry 92,000 Domestic. Assume that Night of Champions was $40 US and
that the WWE makes about $15 of that. That means that domestically
the WWE made $1.44M off of Night of Champions for the PPV Audience.
The WWE Network as- of this post- has 667,287 paying customers,
each paying $10/month. So for Night of Champions 2013, streamed
simultaneously with the PPV version, the WWE made $6,672,870, an
almost 5-time increase over PPV profits. On top of that, the WWE made
additional money on the PPV buys. The network is therefore more
profitable than the PPV industry was to the WWE.
If the WWE network continues its growth and replaces the PPV
industry for the company, it provides a growth for the company, and
shows that even a niche product like the WWE can do well.
Unfortunately the Honeymoon is over
NXT Takeover is a live special that will air exclusively on
The WWE Network (Via WWE.com)
While 667,287 subscribers in a manner of 2 months makes the
network the fastest growing On-Demand streaming industry, the WWE
still has a major problem. Wrestlemania XXX, which aired in April,
has passed, and with the biggest event of the year gone the stream of
subscribers it would bring are also gone. The WWE's seeks to
have 1,000,000 subscribers by 01/01/2015 in America alone. That means
332,713 people need to sign up for a network devoted to a niche
industry like the WWE, without the presence of the latest
Wrestlemania to attract them. That's just not very likely to happen.
At the same time the 1,000,000 number was meant to be supplemented
with PPV buys, and companies such as Dish and DirectTV have decided
to not carry PPVs. This inflates the number needed to succeed, still
without much to entice new subscribers. Meanwhile the WWE is running
new promotions to entice subscribers with merchandise
which shows the desperation of needing to hit that 1 Million by the
end of the year.
In the end though, this would never kill normal television. Niche
products are best promoted by being available on free TV where
everyone can see them, when you lock content behind a paywall the
only fans you'll have are the fans you've always had, creating an
insular market. So is the future of streaming media the death of
television? Not yet, but in the future, it very well could be, and
the Network will show us, for better or worse, if a niche product can
survive off a subscriber base.
Aaron Mikheal is an amateur reporter and writer, when he isn't working on a novel of video game, he writes articles for Reflections. 5/9/14
Vince McMahon is insane. This isn't slander pretty much everyone knows that Vince McMahon with his mood swings, personality shifts and killing dracula in his sons closet, it's a well known fact that Vince has brain issues.
Vince McMahon is also really rich, as in, Billionaire rich, This is a man who took the World Wide Wrestling Federation, then World Wrestling Federation, now World Wrestling Entertainment, from a regional promotion to a global entertainment phenomenon. With the Launch of a streaming service with the WWE network, containing both archival content for any wrestling fan and new programs which have been described as very fun to watch by those I've talked to.
Vince McMahon (Right) talks with Daniel Bryan (Left) on Monday Night Raw
Vince McMahon hates rich people, which could be talking about all the self loathing he probably has, but he also doesn't consider himself a rich man. He does not see himself as rich or indulge in his money, he has a fast car and a fast motorbike, and his son-in-law got him a T-Rex head for his office, but like that T-Rex he'll never stop feeding and growing.
Maybe that's because Vince came up from an abused family in a trailer park, maybe it's because all that money doesn't mean anything to him, maybe it's because Vince is fucking insane. I'll go with the last one personally.
Vince McMahon is probably an amazing case study for a psychologist, and that simple statement of "I do not consider myself Rich" is probably another layer on the already multi-layered psychosis of the Billionaire corporate boss.
In other news, Wrestlemania 30 is a coming, the Grandest Stage of them All, the Showcase of the Immortals, that thing that two weeks ago looked like complete trash, and in two weeks, and really only 6 hours of shows, is now boiling blood.
At the Show of Shows, the Deadman, body decaying with his immortal streak of 21 straight wins with no losses, will fight against The Beast Incarnate, Brock Lesnar, the only man to be both WWE Champion and UFC World Heavyweight Champion, Who in 2012, busted open the face of the WWE John Cena, and licked his blood from his gloves.
John Cena himself, the face, the hero of children and the downtrodden, will be fighting the malicious, vile and degenerate Bray Wyatt. A cult leader who doesn't just claim to represent the devil, but the actual lord of darkness possessing the body of Husky Harris. Wyatt does not care about beating Cena, he wants to break his legacy, he wants to kill hope, and everything he's built.
And in the match that has been in the making for 6 months, Daniel Bryan, the American Dragon, will fight against Triple H, the COO of the WWE, a principal owner, who 6 months prior had stolen the WWE championship from Bryan after he won it, clean, from John Cena at Summerslam, and placed it upon his paper champion, Randy Orton. For 6 months Bryan has fought to regain HIS title, and Hunter Herset Helmsley had screwed him at every conceivable turn.
The moment that shocked the world, Daniel Bryan hit his Busaiku Knee and pinned John Cena clean for the WWE Championship, launching the storyline that would change the company
As Triple H intended for his champion for face his old friend, Batista, Bryan took his place in history by occupying Monday Night Raw, demanding his match with the man who had tried his best to bury him for 6 months. And if he wins, Bryan will be added to the championship match, a shot at victory, after struggling and being beaten, and cheated for half a year!
In less than two weeks, on Sunday, we could see a Dragon become a god, we could see an immortal streak die, we could see the superman break. And those fans, behind the scenes know that this is all fake...
But what if they don't?
Triple H is notorious in real life for wanting to put himself over, and if he wins, HE gets added to the match, in fact, Bryan and Himself being in a match was never the plan, the sheer negativity towards the return of Batista, raking the spot away from the peoples champion Bryan, along with the real life departure of CM Punk for reasons no one knows because no one is saying anything, caused this.
Will an old plot-line have the same ending? Will Hunters ego put himself over?
And what of Wyatt and Cena? Wyatt is a fresh face for the audience, and Cena is the highest drawing person in the WWE, he is literally 1/5th of their quarterly revenue. On the biggest show of the year will Cena go over the young Wyatt? And if he does, will the storyline conclude in a way that puts Wyatt over?
And the Undertaker? he never loses at Wrestlemania! He can't lose! But... look at him! He looks like an old man, a greying 49 year old who's gone bald. How long can this go on? will the streak end when his career does? will the legitimate monster of Brock Lesnar end up hurting him and ending his career by accident?
The Undertaker(Right) looking very old and white for a 49 year old man.
With such dual-storyline drama, the WWE is realer than any sport, sure the outcomes are pre-determined, but there's no less drama in knowing that a writing team controls them all. And that writing team is controlled by Vince McMahon, a 70 year old man who, to this day, sits in the Gorilla Position constantly talking into the ears of the commentators. This same control freak who never misses a show, never knew that a wrestler currently visiting back stage had been unemployed, wondering why he wasn't in ring gear.
Of course the WWE has it's Dual-storyline drama, it's own owner, Vince McMahon, is a duality of personality. And who can determine what parts of his psyche are real, and what parts he projects as part of that larger than life character?
Hey publishing something here for a class so I don't have to write a new one.
I've been reading a lot on something awful particularly the Let's Play forum and the Punchsport Pagoda because I got really into Wrestling over the years, I've been playing Agarest Zero
Which has been pretty fun the more I learn about it, but is crippled by a few design choices. I've been working on my hacks, moving very slowly even with the help of Temp the animator. I've been listening to the Bryan and Vinny show whenever I can because damn those guys have wonderful voices
And hey, check out this cool shit!
BAM! Awesome that this is coming out. And if you haven't checked out One Punch Man
