Monday, November 26, 2012

Why the Price of Coke Didn't Change for 70 years


 
COKE FOR A NICKEL!.
 
For more than 70 years, between 1886 to 1950 coke has only cost a nickel. This was an original way to attract several customers over the years. In 1899, two layers paid a visit to the president of Coca-Cola.
At the time, Coke was sold at soda fountains. However, the lawyers were interested in an innovative idea that required selling drinks in bottles. The lawyers wanted to buy the bottling rights for Coca -Cola in order to make a greater profit. Bottled drinks were a big hit and Coca-Cola was in a bind. If the bottlers or a store decided to raise the price of a bottle of Coke, Coca-Cola company would not get any extra money. The company couldn't actually put price tags on the bottles of Coke that said 5 Cents. However, the company was allowed to paint large ads on the side of building next to the store that advertised Coca-Cola for 5 Cents.
If Coke today still only cost a nickel I do not think the company would be as profitable and well known as they are. Coca-Cola is one of the most well-known brands around the globe.  Since their prices have increased Coca-Cola has been able to earn a larger profit, as well as, market and advertise their products. Coca-Cola's advertising and marketing campaigns has appealed to their customers in wanting more. I think it was an intelligent idea to up the price of Coca-Cola products because they are still cheap but also creates a higher demand and revenue for the company.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Manufacturing the Song of the Summer

 
How Much Does it Cost to Make a Hit Song??..
 
The fight to create the song of the summer is the music industry's biggest challenge. Rhianna's "Man Down" is struggling to become the song of the summer. Rhianna's label flies in songwriters and producers from around the company for a "writing camp", which is a pop-up version of the old hit factories that churned out pop tunes. Investing in the writing camp is expensive but the real money does not start flowing until after the song is done.

At a writing camp, a record label hires the best music writers in the country and drops them into the nicest recording studios in town for about two weeks. It's a temporary version of the old music-industry hit factories, where writers and producers cranked out pop songs. At the writing camp, the songwriters show up with no music, and producers toting music tracks with no words.
After $78,000 to make the song, and another $1 million to roll it out, Rhianna's "Man Down" gets added to radio play lists across the country, gets a banner ad on iTunes and may still not even be a hit.
Paying over $1 million dollars to make a song is ridiculously expensive. After spending all that money and not having your track be a hit could hit the business hard because the writers, producers, vocalists will not make as large of a profit of what they spent. I think it would be intelligent to first ask people what they thought of the song before actually recording it and wasting all that time and money and then not having your song a number one hit.

Saturday, October 20, 2012

The Economics of the Music Industry

Music is the Essence of Americaa!
 
 
America is still the world's biggest market when is comes to pop music. If you were to turn on a car radio in Italy, or walk into a store in Mazambique, there is a good chance you will hear an American pop tune on the radio. 

 Music is an export, just like anything else. For example, Taylor Swift a huge music artist that is another American product and export. With exports, Businesses in many countries are fighting for their share of the global market. They want people all around to world to be listening to their music. And they are figuring out how to make it happen.
 Gangman style is Korea's biggest hit that has 470 million views on you tube. Korea has spent the last 20 year waiting for there shining moment of producing a number one hit. It has taken America over 100 years to dominate the music industry and Korea figured it out in just 20 years.
Although America will always be the worlds biggest and best source of pop music,  I believe that every country deserves their moment in the light. The song Gangman Style, has surpassed the number of views that Justin Bieber received for his video "Baby" on YouTube. I  think Gangman Style has a catchy beat and watching the music video provides entertainment because of PSY's amusing dance moves. As the song continues to rapidly gain popularity and ubiquity, its signature dance moves are being performed all around the United States by children, adolescents and adults.
Katy Perry is one of America's biggest pop sensations and was the most played artist on the radio last year. She killed it on the pop charts and was number one 5 times last year. Over the past year Katy Perry made a fortune but its questionable whether her label did too. Katy Perry's success of 44 million is distributed between herself, the song writers, Apple and her label. Its a known fact that many music labels do not make as much money as they should with all their hard work they put in. There are only three major music labels that have not been shut down. I believe that music labels she be given more money because without them music artists would not be as successful or be played on the radio.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

An Economist Gets Stoned!


 
 
How Much Would Weed Cost If They Legalized It??...
 
Marijuana is a significant industry that continues to grow throughout the nation. All over the country states are trying to pass laws that will allow marijuana to be legalized. There have been disputes on whether or not the government should legalize weed and how it legalization could impact our country.
Many people want weed to remain illegal because they believe it will have a negative impact on the country and that more people will begin to take part in it. In the city of Los Angele's, many stores are being shut down that sell medical marijuana. However, if the government legalizes weed the prices will plunge and become cheaper which can significantly benefit the country by making more profits. Unfortunately for the drug dealers and trafficker, the legalization of weed will have a negative impact on their business because they will be making less money.
I believe that the government should legalize weed because it can have a significant impact on our country. Legalizing weed can help create more jobs for U.S citizens, as well as, accumulate more money that can help and benefit us during this economic crisis. For example, Legalizing pot in California alone and taxing it can substantially raise about 1.3 billion dollars which can greatly benefit the government and state. Legalizing marijuana through out the entire country can raise a significant amount of money and help get our country back on track. In addition, it would be idiotic not to legalize pot because most adolescents are smoking weed on a daily basis.






Sunday, September 30, 2012

Ted Talks

 

"SCHOOL KILLS CREATIVITY"
 
Creativity is one of the most essential aspects in a person's life. I believe that without creativity a person will never get to live life to their full potential. I agree with the lecture Sir Ken Robinson gave, especially about the part he said "Creativity now is as important in education as literacy and we should treat it with the same status."
In today's society creativity is not nurtured for and as Sir Robinson said it is being killed by education. Education is very important in today's society because without education there are only a few opportunities available for a person to earn a living.

In today's society, what people desire the most are jobs they enjoy and makiing a lot of money. For example,  if you tell parents you want to be an art major, they think you are just wasting  money on something that is irrelevant and not as useful. The opinions of individuals around you can influence a person to do something they do not want to do.  Sir Ken Robinson told a story about the ballet dancer who had ADHD but the doctor said let her dance instead of giving her some pills to calm her down. I feel like she is the lucky one because most people will end up taking the pill rather than see their dreams come to pass.
Today's education system is designed to ruin the creativity of children because it involves following rules and doing well in school. Today nobody wants to be wrong but if we are not prepared to be wrong, we will never come up with something original

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Fear Thy Nature

 In this article they talk about two experiments:
Zambardo's Stanford prison experiment & The play "Sleep no more".
 
 
Zambardo's prison experiment was designed to last for 2 weeks dividing 24 male college students into either a prisoner or a guard. The prisoners were arrested at home and brought to a fake prison. They were told to dress in the jail jumpsuits while the guards were dressed as cops and were given sunglasses to wear at all times. The point of this experiment was to see how a person's behavior can change in different situations.
This experiment was clearly a bad idea because the prisoners really believed that they were in a real jail and completely forgot it was an experiment. The prison guards ended up becoming vicious and taunted the prisoners by making them clean the toilets and other vulgar tasks. I think this was a stupid experiment because it got way out of hand and made people question zambardo's humanism. In addition, he harmed individuals by manipulating their minds and behaviors because of the situation they were put in.
 
The play "Sleep no more" is designed to throw individuals off balance by manipulating their minds with control and context. I personally would have not participated or have went to this play because it seems too violent and aggressive to enjoy the actual meaning. In addition, i feel like the play would frighten majority of the people because people do not like to follow instructions but figure certain things out on their own.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

No Free Lunch


Maastricht, Marijuana and the European Dream

 

The City of Maastricht is located in the Netherlands and is known as the home of the Euro.  Every backpacker and college student are familiar with Holland's laws on Marijuana.  People are allowed to smoke any place desirable and are usually able to buy the drug from coffee shops. However, the Major of the city decided to ban foreigners from smoking marijuana because he claims that pot smokers make for "lousy tourists". In addition, he further says that "tourists just sit in their cars and smoke, litter, park illegally and do not appreciate the architecture or art of the city". The issue of Marijuana being sold to foreigners and tourists relates to the guidepost that states Economic actions often generate secondary effects in addition to their immediate effects.  
This guidepost relates to the clip because since the Mayor banned foreigners from smoking marijuana, several businesses in the drug industry have been shut down due to the lack of customers. Many coffee shops are going out of business and only a few still exist.  In addition, the locals that live in the city of Maastricht do not approve with the mayor's decision and have grown to dislike him. In order for the locals to continue smoking they need to sign an agreement with the coffee shops which unfortunately is sent to the government.  
"Either everyone smokes everywhere or no one does"

Thursday, September 6, 2012

RS1 - How To Be A Genius


 

This Blog post expresses my opinions about the article “How to be a Genius”, By David Dobbs. This article emerged in the September 2006 edition of the “New Scientist”. The main point of this article focuses on the aspects that guide an individual to become a genius. The article allows us to comprehend that in order to be recognized as a genius, people need to endow many hours to their work and studies.

 This is a key factor of the article because it describes how no person is born a genius but has the opportunity to be made into one. People have to work hard if they want to succeed over their competitors, as well as, being acknowledged for their accomplishments. Many individuals have the prospective to become a genius at an early age by exemplifying advanced learning abilities. However, even if an individual is born with a higher IQ or other beneficial qualities, they will not be able to achieve more without hard work and dedication.  Dobbs explains that if you want achieve success and greatness in life, individuals need to apply time and effort to reach their goals. 


Dobbs uses Tiger Woods as an example by exclaiming that “he seems magical on the golf course, but he was swinging a golf club before he could walk, got great instruction and practiced constantly from boyhood, and even today outworks all his rivals.” He further says that “his genius has been laboriously constructed”. Dobbs implements that Tiger Woods was born with a natural talent and that he became successful because of the dedication and effort he has displayed over the years in his career. In my personal experience, I have also realized that time and dedication is key factors in achieving any goal. I have been playing tennis since I was 8 years old. When I reached Middle school I tried out for the tennis team and made it but only as an alternate. My couch gave us the opportunity to be able move up in our playing positions if we improved. It was with a lot of practice and devotion that I soon became a better player and held one of the best positions on the team.