A Delicious Heart Attack.

The most glorious thing you've ever seen or maybe something so vile, twisted and wrong that it makes you sick. Maybe a bit of both. We've all seen how the food craze has hit society but this is just crazy. Mind you i'm all for this abomination.

I've been on somewhat of a controlled eating scheme (diet if you will) and tend to let myself go once or twice a week. I try to spend those scarce moments enjoying something different from what i might have eaten 2 years ago on a crazy night like a bucket of chicken, 2 kebabs and maybe a couple packs of instant noodles. As soon as i saw this medley of meat, i was in awe. It was pure genius. Only an American could think of something like that (mind you, they're Canadian; something i learned afterwards).

Its times like this i really do appreciate the internet and sites like Youtube that let us share our experiences and thoughts with each other. Food porn available at the simple click of a mouse. Ah....... Now i'll proceed to fuel myself with a banana and natural peanut butter mash mixed with a serving of hydrolyzed whey protein and cry myself to sleep. 

A twisted playground.

Hahaha.

Toy Story will never be the same. 

Hohoho.

Funny. Funny. Twisted but Funny.

Sesame Street meets John Wayne Gacy

Supplements? Who to Trust?

In terms of fitness i'm sure that most people are aware of supplements in various forms ranging from liquids, tablets and powders. Some range from improving overall health benefits (fish oil, multivitamin) and others can be considered performance based (glutamine, protein powders). 

I've been a big time fan of protein powders for the last 5 years. They help in that a person is able to receive a portion of their daily protein intake precisely and easily. Probably the biggest thing that motivates me is the convenience factor. Being a uni student and rushing between classes and training, i'd be the one to slam down a protein shake whilst running around campus. 

One thing that really has taken its toll on me is the price of protein powders. Not only has the price jumped by over 50 dollars in the last 5 years (Optimum 100% was retailing at $120.00 for a 10 pound bag 5 years ago and is now pushing nearly $180.00 for the same product), but the lack of regulation and testing has, for lack of a better word, scared me. 

The 2008 documentary 'Bigger, Stronger, Faster' provided an in-depth and unbiased look into the bodybuilding industry. It showed how flawed the supplement industry was and that major players were failing to provide a top quality product. 

 

An article released in 2009 from major sports news site 'Sports Illustrated' released an article called "What You Don't Know Might Kill You". Basically a closer look at the supplement industry which really was an eye opener. I suggest anyone that takes supplements to read and watch both sources.

Why did these scare me so much? Because American products dominate majority of the market. This promptly motivated me to change my supplementation to an Australian product. 

Whilst looking for deals, i came across an Australian provider by the name of Bulk Powders. They provided a broad range of products and supplements at competitive prices. I promptly made an order (for shame) for a 5kg bag of Whey Protein Isolate, 500 capsules of ZMA (a natural sleep aid) and 1kg bag of LSA (a blend of almonds, linseed and sunflower seeds to provide fibre and good fats). 

I received the products within a day, and after reading the nutritional content of the protein supplement i was shocked. They state that a 40gram serving provides over 36grams of protein, yet also provides over 15grams of Essential Amino Acids. It didn't make sense. Was this another company trying to make a name for itself yet failing to provide an effective product?

Source: Bulk Powders 

Confused Consumer?

 

Moments before beginning this post, i sent them an email regarding this 'dilemma'. Hopefully they'll be able to provide some sort of concrete evidence that supports their claims. Otherwise they've lost a profitable customer and a consumer with a voice.
Who can consumers trust when the entire framework that dictates how businesses should operate is flawed? Evidently word-of-mouth comes to mind; friends, family members or key figures within the market whom we can trust. However with a relatively unknown brand such as Bulk Powders, its hard to accomplish.

I'm hoping for the best. 

Summer Schedule.

Well now that the exams are finished, what to do with nearly 4 months holiday. Personally, until the exam results come out i don't think i'll be able to fully relax. Wasn't the best semester, but i'm hoping i at least pulled through with all my subjects.

Until then i've planned a couple things out.
1. MKX3631
Its a internship program with Monash Uni and i'm hoping to find an internship somewhat related to social media, sports marketing or just something that might garner my interest. Need to get this completed asap.

2. Fitness
I don't know about anyone else, but exam period generally means a decline in fitness and increase in girth. So far this year has been decent. Starting out in Feb 2010 i weighed in at 90+ kgs. I managed to cut this down to around 82, but then i suffered a major back injury.
Rehab process took nearly 3 months but my fitness and strength is starting to come back. I've managed to cut myself down to 77kgs now (76kg prior to exams), but i've achieved one goal; completing 50 pull ups in less then 5 sets. First proper workout yesterday was just a light day but i managed to complete 20 pulls in the first set, 13 in the second, 11 in the third and 7 in the last.


Since ditching the bodybuilding program i feel a lot better. More fit, less pain in the joints and basically an improvement in overall fitness. Squats, Deadlifts, Power Cleans, Kettlebell exercises and a whole lot of body weight exercises and sled work.

Current goals are to achieve a bw of 75kgs, deadlift and squat 210 or more.

3. Maintain blog
I basically ditched this blog because i chose to switch assessment schemes, but i think it'll be a good way of documenting my 'journey'. I'll try and follow up with a few marketing issues here and there.

Brands, Sports and Ignorant Behaviour.

In a world where we idolise superstars, rockstars and athletes, we've effectively cast them upon a pedestal. Envious of their accomplishments, of their clothes, wealth or lifestyle, we try to imitate them either consciously or subconsciously. An example of this could be your everyday magazine such as GQ or something more casual such as Womans Weekly. They give diet advice and fashion advice; basically meeting consumer demands who strive to liken themselves to these celebrities. 

Essentially, these people themselves have become brands and products. However, it is interesting to see how some of these products will develop and in some cases breakdown. Let's take a look at Floyd Mayweather Jr. 

One of the world's greatest boxers sporting a record of 41 wins and 0 losses, he had established himself as a great commodity. Sponsorships, endorsements and advertisements filled his fortune, with two Fortune 500 businesses such as AT & T and Reebok supporting the superstar. 

However, his recent video which used an free streaming service called UStream caused irreparable damage to his name, reputation and brand. Launching a tirade of racist and discriminatory epithets towards a rival, it seems he had forgotten his role as essentially a spokesperson for his sponsors.

Action might be taken to try and minimize the damage and reduce footage being circulated, but considering the media channel he used (a video stream open to the public), i doubt so. Also considering the nature of the internet, a full recovery is impossible. The internet is a source of information thats open to everyone. Users have the freedom to access, manipulate and store content. Basically, whats been uploaded once will remain floating in the abyss of electronic data and coding for all time. No matter how much a user may attempt to erase embarrassing photos or videos, someone on the other side of the world most likely had saved them to their hard drive.

It'd be interesting to see which companies would be brave enough support him. Tiger Woods was involved in a lengthy ordeal due to his 'sex addiction', yet he remained composed and apologised and remains backed by some of the worlds largest companies i.e. Nike. I don't see how Floyd will be able to recover from his antics. If his management or sponsors are inactive in face of this outrageous ordeal, they would only be condoning his ignorant behaviour. 

Sadly, the man continues to draw an audience in boxing. Whether the audience strives to see him battered, bruised and demolished or held high in victory wouldn't concern promoters. An audience equals profit and that seems the be the bottom line case for many.

*WARNING - offensive language*

Lords of the Domain; Companies or the Consumers?

During todays lecture, Peter talked about the control of social media. Basically, is in the hands of companies or consumers. I'd have to say that i agree with Peter in recognising consumers as being in control. Yes, companies do pump out the content and essentially create the framework which either pushes content to us or attract us to it, but we're the ones who provide value or worth. We have the power to accept/reject and initiate change.

An example would be battle.net.

The wikipedia definition can be read here but its basically an online gaming service that was the strong point of one of the worlds leading developers Blizzard. They've created more then a dozen games, where nearly all of them have been international hits. Recent examples would bethe World of Warcraft, Starcraft and Starcraft 2.

Most recently, Blizzard announced that users would not be able to remain anonymous in using the online service battle.net and would have to use their real names in order to continue using the service. Blizzard received backlash from users who feared for their safety and after responding to users threats to stop using the service.

For the time being, plans to initiate real identification have been put aside but i believe this is an example of just how much power consumers have. Companies work for profit, no matter what their vision statement is and if consumers aren't satisfied with the product/service, its up to the companies to respond to the feedback and change accordingly if they want to continue to earn profit.

Money = Power

Consumers = Money = Power

Does this mean since we pay for those products and services, are we essentially giving companies power? I like to think so.

Some articles regarding the situation can be read here:
Introduction of Real ID rule

Blizzard Entertainment's response to backlash

ABC and the Campaign.

It really is amazing how social media is growing as the choice medium for communication. We've seen the recent surge of videos being uploaded onto Youtube with the upcoming election; short clips released by the parties in order to gain some sort of edge over each other.

Its also interesting to see how the ABC has pursued the popular iPhone application ability to create their own app, which follows the election and provides users with continuous updates.
 
The ABC have also created a website in face of the upcoming election which provides users with an array of content ranging from topics, statistics and polls. What caught my attention on their site were 2 main topics which were Twitter Trends and Hot or Not.

Twitter Trends basically provided a visual representation of election topics being talked about on Twitter whereas Hot or Not was a compilation of information from a variety of social media channels such as Facebook or blogs and displayed the sentiments of users on Gillard, Abbott and Brown.

Personally i don't think these websites or apps will affect my decision on the election but it'd be interesting to see how they'll develop and affect the younger generation, with them being more tech-savvy and aware. In 2-5 years, how much of an impact would applications and social media have in the election? Would there be a time where they'd be placed higher in preference over the traditional print media, especially considering the growth of e-books?