<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0"
	xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/"
	xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/"
	xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/"
	xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom"
	xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/"
	xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/"
	>

<channel>
	<title>adopt &#8211; Our Story Insight</title>
	<atom:link href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/tag/adopt/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" />
	<link>https://www.ourstoryinsight.com</link>
	<description>Product that tells our story</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Sun, 13 Apr 2025 19:19:19 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<language>en-US</language>
	<sy:updatePeriod>
	hourly	</sy:updatePeriod>
	<sy:updateFrequency>
	1	</sy:updateFrequency>
	<generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4</generator>

<image>
	<url>https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Capture-removebg-preview-22-e1635416645194-150x150.png</url>
	<title>adopt &#8211; Our Story Insight</title>
	<link>https://www.ourstoryinsight.com</link>
	<width>32</width>
	<height>32</height>
</image> 
	<item>
		<title>Sports teams adopt tactile tech for blind and low-vision fans</title>
		<link>https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/sports-teams-adopt-tactile-tech-for-blind-and-low-vision-fans/</link>
					<comments>https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/sports-teams-adopt-tactile-tech-for-blind-and-low-vision-fans/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[admin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 13 Apr 2025 19:19:19 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[adopt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[blind]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[lowvision]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[sports]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tactile]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[teams]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[tech]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/?p=6420</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Jordan Moon (left) and Macaulay Beasley (right) use OneCourt tablets at the Phoenix Suns vs. Minnesota Timberwolves game in Phoenix on March 2. Courtesy: Phoenix Suns During a break at the March 2 game between the NBA&#8217;s Phoenix Suns and Minnesota Timberwolves, a player made a half-court shot that had the crowd buzzing at PHX [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/sports-teams-adopt-tactile-tech-for-blind-and-low-vision-fans/">Sports teams adopt tactile tech for blind and low-vision fans</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com">Our Story Insight</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span class="HighlightShare-hidden" style="top:0;left:0"/></p>
<p>Jordan Moon (left) and Macaulay Beasley (right) use OneCourt tablets at the Phoenix Suns vs. Minnesota Timberwolves game in Phoenix on March 2.</p>
<p>Courtesy: Phoenix Suns</p>
<p>During a break at the March 2 game between the NBA&#8217;s Phoenix Suns and Minnesota Timberwolves, a player made a half-court shot that had the crowd buzzing at PHX Arena. Normally, that&#8217;s something Jordan Moon would&#8217;ve missed; as a blind person, he&#8217;d have to ask somebody else what just happened.</p>
<p>But while he didn&#8217;t see the shot, he could feel it. Moon was part of a group from Saavi Services for the Blind that was testing devices designed to help blind and low-vision people follow the game at their fingertips. The tactile tablets, made by Seattle-based startup OneCourt, modeled the layout of the basketball court and vibrated wherever the ball moved or something happened. A free throw, for instance — or a half-court shot.</p>
<p>When the ball swished through the net, the tablet vibrated. Moon and the group cheered along with the rest of the crowd.</p>
<p>&#8220;That was really cool, actually, because that was just something that wasn&#8217;t even a part of the game,&#8221; Moon, Saavi&#8217;s Phoenix center director, told CNBC. &#8220;It was just a part of the fan experience.&#8221;</p>
<p>Enhancing the fan experience for blind and low-vision people is the mission of OneCourt and other accessible tech startups, which in the past few years have partnered with pro sports franchises to bring their technology to fans at live venues.</p>
<p>Rollouts of these devices are still in the early stages, but they&#8217;re gaining steam. The devices are typically available at no cost to visitors, with a limited number available at each game, and they&#8217;ve reached organizations like Major League Baseball, the Premier League and the Olympics.</p>
<h2 class="ArticleBody-subtitle">The technological landscape</h2>
<p>Tactile tablets are one of the most popular categories of live-sports tech for blind people. Broadly, the tablet is like a miniature field: Vibrations throughout the device communicate information such as the location of the ball, scoring attempts and fouls. Buttons and audio can provide details like the score and time left in the game.</p>
<p>OneCourt has the largest footprint in the U.S. The startup, founded in 2021, broke through in mid-2024 when it partnered with <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="SpecialReportArticle-QuoteInBody-1">T-Mobile<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span> and MLB to distribute its tablets at the All-Star Game.</p>
<p>After running a pilot program with OneCourt in 2024, the Portland Trail Blazers in January announced they would be the first professional sports team to feature OneCourt devices at all home games through the end of the season. The Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Suns followed suit.</p>
<p>Jerred Mace, founder and CEO of OneCourt, said the company views itself as the first &#8220;tactile broadcaster,&#8221; emphasizing the level of detail provided by the tablet&#8217;s pixel-like surface. With that mission in mind, he wants to introduce OneCourt into users&#8217; homes in 2026.</p>
<p>&#8220;Our position as a broadcaster, I think it just broadens the view of accessible sports experiences,&#8221; Mace said. &#8220;No matter where you are, you want to be able to access the game.&#8221;</p>
<p>Other peers use a magnetic cursor on the tablet that moves as the ball does. Touch2see, based in Toulouse, France, has supplied its tactile tablets to Major League Soccer&#8217;s St. Louis City SC and the Rugby World Cup, among others.</p>
<p>Dublin&#8217;s Field of Vision, which also uses a magnetic ball, currently leases tablets to rugby and football stadiums in Dublin and Melbourne, Australia.</p>
<p>Field of Vision&#8217;s tactile tablet.</p>
<p>Courtesy: Field of Vision</p>
<h2 class="ArticleBody-subtitle">Fine-tuning the experience</h2>
<p>Companies said they&#8217;ve gone through many iterations of product design for their devices and that collaboration with blind and low-vision people has been integral.</p>
<p>Kunal Mehta, OneCourt&#8217;s user experience designer, said it&#8217;s been challenging yet rewarding to make the tablets accessible to blind people. Working on aspects like tutorial design, Mehta said he prioritizes minimizing the amount of effort required for users. </p>
<p>&#8220;Speaking with users in an environment where they are comfortable to share what they feel like and not necessarily what we want to hear, that&#8217;s definitely been an important piece,&#8221; Mehta said.</p>
<p>A key consideration for the tablets is how to make the experience as normal for users as possible. Most of these devices work throughout an arena, for instance, meaning users can sit with friends and family.</p>
<p>&#8220;We want to really open up the social aspect of live sports,&#8221; Touch2see sales director John Brimacombe told CNBC.</p>
<p>David Deneher, Field of Vision&#8217;s co-founder, told CNBC that discussions with blind fans led the company to prioritize portability for its tablets.</p>
<p>Given the fast pace of live sports, companies have emphasized rapid data transmission to the devices. OneCourt connects to the NBA&#8217;s real-time game data. Other companies use stadium cameras or install their own to communicate on-field action to users within milliseconds.</p>
<h2 class="ArticleBody-subtitle">The financial model</h2>
<p>Thus far, device activations in venues have been a mix of sponsorships and paid agreements.</p>
<p><span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="SpecialReportArticle-QuoteInBody-2">Live Nation<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span>-owned Ticketmaster backed all three NBA deals with OneCourt, drawing from its social impact funding to sponsor five devices each in Portland and Sacramento and 10 devices in Phoenix. The Phoenix Suns/Phoenix Mercury Foundation matched Ticketmaster&#8217;s financial contribution.</p>
<p>Scott Aller, Ticketmaster&#8217;s senior client development director for the NBA, told CNBC that the partnership aligns well with the company&#8217;s mission.</p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve realized there is a very large coalition of visually impaired fans that have been attending events historically,&#8221; Aller said. &#8220;Now they have a whole extra element to really feel closer to the game, and that&#8217;s ultimately what we dream about every day.&#8221;</p>
<p>Touch2see usually employs a business-to-business model where the team or league foots the bill, Brimacombe said. But it also partners with corporations for certain events.</p>
<p>Visitors use Touch2see tablets at the Africa Cup of Nations football competition in 2024.</p>
<p>Courtesy: Touch2see</p>
<h2 class="ArticleBody-subtitle">What users are saying</h2>
<p>Blind and low-vision people who have tested these devices at games told CNBC that the technologies are promising but have room for improvement.</p>
<p>Moon and Macaulay Beasley were among several Saavi members to test the devices at the Suns game on March 2. Initially skeptical, Beasley said he was impressed by how he could follow the game with his fingers.</p>
<p>&#8220;It felt like I was watching the game again, because I used to have vision. So I felt more engaged with the crowds and more engaged with the game,&#8221; Beasley, an orientation and mobility instructor at Saavi, told CNBC.</p>
<p>OneCourt&#8217;s device offers auto-generated audio commentary, but Moon and Beasley said it would be even better if it connected directly to the radio broadcast that fills in information gaps such as who&#8217;s controlling the ball.</p>
<p>&#8220;I would say that the radio provides context, but OneCourt gives it color,&#8221; Moon said.</p>
<p>Mehta said he believes the tablets especially aid users in gaining spatial awareness. He said he never really understood how large a soccer field was, for example, before walking across one during product development.</p>
<p>Daniele Cassioli, a blind Paralympic water skier, tested Touch2see&#8217;s device at a November soccer match between Italian soccer clubs Cagliari Calcio and Hellas Verona. He told CNBC that using the technology helped him better understand &#8220;the story of the game,&#8221; like the strategies each team was deploying on the field.</p>
<p>He said he&#8217;d love for the device to be more interactive and lightweight. But Cassioli put his suggestions in perspective, highlighting progress in making sports more accessible since he first began waterskiing in the 1990s.</p>
<p>&#8220;Right now, we realize that we can deserve more,&#8221; Cassioli said.</p>
<p>A person using a Touch2see device cheers at a French national football team match.</p>
<p>Courtesy: Touch2see</p>
<h2 class="ArticleBody-subtitle">Skepticism and the long-term view</h2>
<p>Some accessibility experts said live-game devices for blind fans risk becoming another highly publicized technology for disabled people that disappoints in practice and eventually descends into obscurity.</p>
<p>Liz Jackson, a disabled nonacademic scholar and writer, in 2019 coined the term &#8220;disability dongle,&#8221; which she defines as &#8220;a well-intended, elegant yet useless solution to a problem [disabled people] never knew [they] had.&#8221; She said buzzy technologies marketed to disabled people often follow a predictable &#8220;announcement-to-abandonment cycle&#8221; and that above all, she questions how long these devices will be maintained.</p>
<p>Rua Mae Williams, a disabled assistant professor in user experience design at Purdue University, said tech startups often fail to consider long-term sustainability when developing their products. The tendency of such devices to become obsolete disproportionately harms disabled people, Williams added.</p>
<p>&#8220;When you&#8217;re talking about disabled people being the users of your product, you&#8217;re often talking about making them reliant on a set of hardware and software for daily functions with the knowledge that you intend to basically disappear within five years. And so if there&#8217;s no clear statement of sustainability of how this product will continue to exist no matter what happens to this company, that&#8217;s a major red flag,&#8221; Williams told CNBC.</p>
<p>OneCourt&#8217;s Mace said the company views its plans to bring the tablets to homes as key to sustaining the business.</p>
<p>&#8220;At the end of the day, OneCourt only exists if we continue to drive value for our fans,&#8221; he said. &#8220;The technology at home is one avenue through which accessibility can be sustained over time and ultimately broadened.&#8221;</p>
<p>Many of the deals that sports teams have inked with device developers are on a short-term basis. OneCourt&#8217;s current NBA agreements only last through the end of this season, though the Kings, Suns and Trail Blazers all told CNBC that they want to continue making the fan experience more accessible.</p>
<p>There are still major obstacles that blind and low-vision fans confront in order to attend live games. Saavi&#8217;s Moon said although he appreciates how OneCourt encourages blind people to participate in sports, he hopes guest services staff receive training to assist visitors, since he often experiences difficulties receiving accommodations and audio equipment at live events.</p>
<p>The issues go beyond the venues. Beasley said the app for Ticketmaster, the NBA&#8217;s official ticketing partner, is inaccessible for blind people, from the login process to seat selection.</p>
<p>In a statement, a Ticketmaster spokesperson said, &#8220;The accessibility of our site and ensuring that fans have equal access to events is of the utmost importance to Ticketmaster. This is a big area of focus for the team, we are constantly reviewing our processes and we take on board all feedback to make improvements wherever we can.&#8221;</p>
<p>Technical difficulties are also inevitable. Some OneCourt devices didn&#8217;t connect for users for an entire half of a game.</p>
<p>Even with the challenges, NBA teams working with OneCourt said they&#8217;re always looking to make their home venues more accessible, citing initiatives such as sensory rooms and support for organizations like Saavi.</p>
<p>&#8220;Our fans are really at the center of our universe,&#8221; said Matthew Gardner, senior director of customer insights for the Trail Blazers. &#8220;They&#8217;re the ones who we&#8217;re doing this for at the end of the day.&#8221;</p>
<p>Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder to all Summer and Winter Games through 2036.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/sports-teams-adopt-tactile-tech-for-blind-and-low-vision-fans/">Sports teams adopt tactile tech for blind and low-vision fans</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com">Our Story Insight</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
					
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/sports-teams-adopt-tactile-tech-for-blind-and-low-vision-fans/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
			<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>More fast-food chains adopt fun, flavored drinks</title>
		<link>https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/more-fast-food-chains-adopt-fun-flavored-drinks/</link>
					<comments>https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/more-fast-food-chains-adopt-fun-flavored-drinks/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[admin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Sun, 23 Mar 2025 15:56:43 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Business]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[adopt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chains]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drinks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fastfood]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[flavored]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fun]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/?p=6008</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Chick-fil-A pineapple dragonfruit beverages. Courtesy: Chick-fil-A Fast-food chains are going all in on fun beverages to attract younger consumers. Chick-fil-A, known for its straightforward menu of fried chicken and waffle fries, is selling seasonal Pineapple Dragonfruit drinks. Yum Brands&#8217; Taco Bell installed a beverage concept called Live Mas Café inside one of its California locations. [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/more-fast-food-chains-adopt-fun-flavored-drinks/">More fast-food chains adopt fun, flavored drinks</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com">Our Story Insight</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span class="HighlightShare-hidden" style="top:0;left:0"/></p>
<p>Chick-fil-A pineapple dragonfruit beverages.</p>
<p>Courtesy: Chick-fil-A</p>
<p>Fast-food chains are going all in on fun beverages to attract younger consumers.</p>
<p>Chick-fil-A, known for its straightforward menu of fried chicken and waffle fries, is selling seasonal Pineapple Dragonfruit drinks. <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-1">Yum Brands&#8217;<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span> Taco Bell installed a beverage concept called Live Mas Café inside one of its California locations. <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-2">McDonald&#8217;s<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span> is in its second year of testing its drinks-focused spinoff, CosMc&#8217;s.</p>
<p>Restaurant operators are betting that drinks with exotic flavors, bright colors and high caffeine and sugar counts will mean higher sales — and better margins.</p>
<p>Fast-food chains are increasingly adding beverage options and widening the number of items within that segment. Refreshers and agua frescas are increasingly showing up on menus, while fast-food chains expand their specialty iced coffee, hot chocolate and energy drink options, according to market research firm Datassential.</p>
<p>Fast-food chains&#8217; recent focus on drinks mirrors the broader restaurant industry as the number of beverage-focused concepts climbs. More regional coffee shops are coming for <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-3">Starbucks&#8217;<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span> crown. Plus, consumers have embraced buying drinks beyond coffee, such as bubble tea and &#8220;dirty soda,&#8221; the Utah trend of adding syrups, creamers and juice to soda that has spread nationwide.</p>
<p>More and more full-scale establishments are basing their entire businesses on the growing segment. Beverage chains Swig, 7 Brew Drive Thru Coffee and Gong Cha are among the 10 fastest-growing quick-service restaurant chains by sales, according to restaurant market research firm Technomic.</p>
<p>The trend also follows the decadeslong decline in soda consumption since its peak in 2000.</p>
<p>&#8220;As the consumer moves away from the traditional soda, there&#8217;s an opportunity for operators and different brands to bring something signature to the table that is more in line with their brand in certain instances, but also an opportunity to potentially charge a little more,&#8221; said Michael Parlapiano, managing director of the Culinary Edge, a consulting firm that has helped <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-4">Noodles &#038; Company<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span>, McDonald&#8217;s and <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-5">First Watch<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span> on menu offerings.</p>
<h2 class="ArticleBody-subtitle">Attracting Gen Z</h2>
<p>Restaurants are hoping hot chocolate and flavored lemonades can help build loyalty with Gen Z consumers.</p>
<p>Compared to previous generations, Gen Z is the most open to new flavors and comes from the most diverse backgrounds. Gen Z&#8217;s openness gives fast-food chains more latitude to explore more unusual offerings, such as butterfly pea or ube, according to Parlapiano. Monin, a French company best known for its flavored syrups, tapped yuzu, an East Asian citrus fruit, as its flavor of the year for 2025.</p>
<p>Traditionally, large fast-food chains are less likely to experiment with such audacious flavors, but even they have stepped outside of their comfort zones. For example, <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-6">Wendy&#8217;s<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span> current lemonade lineup includes blueberry pomegranate and pineapple mango — two choices that have paid off for the burger giant.</p>
<p>&#8220;Our premium craft lemonades are also incredibly loved by our customers, and this product over-indexes with Hispanic consumers and Gen Z,&#8221; Wendy&#8217;s U.S. Chief Marketing Officer Lindsay Radkoski said at a recent investor event.</p>
<p>An exterior view of a Wendy&#8217;s fast-food restaurant in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, on May 19, 2024.</p>
<p>Paul Weaver | SOPA Images | Getty Images</p>
<p>Restaurants have also been inspired to mix different drink trends favored by Gen Z, hoping that the unique mashups will attract adventurous consumers.</p>
<p>For example, the soaring popularity of bubble tea, with its chewy tapioca balls, has inspired restaurant chains to add their own boba-inspired touches to drinks beyond tea. CosMc&#8217;s, the McDonald&#8217;s spinoff, offers dried blueberries and fruity popping boba as customizations for some of its drinks. Shake Shack&#8217;s tropical kiwi lemonade includes tiny pieces of kiwi inside the drink, adding a new texture and evoking the chewiness of boba pearls, Parlapiano said.</p>
<p>While different than a traditional soda, restaurants&#8217; foray into drink innovation often means just as much sugar, if not more, depending on the syrups and add-ons. But that doesn&#8217;t change Gen Z&#8217;s appetite for them.</p>
<p>&#8220;We think of it as &#8216;little treat&#8217; culture. What I can spend is in the grand scheme of things, not a huge sum of money, and yes, I can splurge on this big sugary drink,&#8221; said Claire Conaghan, trendologist and associate director for Datassential. &#8220;I think the younger consumer is pretty aware that they&#8217;re full of sugar, but they&#8217;re OK with that as their preference for where they get their sweet treat.&#8221;</p>
<p>The Sour Cherry Energy Burst drink at CosMc&#8217;s has fruity boba.</p>
<p>Stacey Wescott | Tribune News Service | Getty Images</p>
<h2 class="ArticleBody-subtitle">Beyond the soda fountain</h2>
<p>For some chains, beverages have taken center stage as an area for improvement — and future sales growth.</p>
<p>&#8220;We recognize that it&#8217;s not just about carbonated sodas anymore,&#8221; <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-7">El Pollo Loco<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span> CEO Liz Williams told CNBC. &#8220;So we did a deep dive in beverage innovation this year.&#8221;</p>
<p>El Pollo Loco&#8217;s expanded drink offerings now include more flavors of its Aguas Frescas, which are fruit-infused waters. Future drink innovation could mean following the mashup trend, such as selling horchata coffee, Williams said.</p>
<p>Wendy&#8217;s also wants more of its customers to order drinks. Roughly 30% of Wendy&#8217;s customers do not add a beverage to their order, according to a recent investor presentation.</p>
<p>&#8220;This is an opportunity for growth when these are highly profitable,&#8221; Wendy&#8217;s U.S. President Abigail Pringle told analysts.</p>
<p>In many cases, beverages generate higher profits and are easier to add to menus than a new food item. While a customer sees a new flavor, for the workers making the drinks, it&#8217;s just swapping out a syrup flavor or adding a new drizzle on top. With just a little more labor, restaurants can charge a lot more. Plus, syrups also usually have longer expiration dates than food items and are easier to store, according to Datassential&#8217;s Conaghan.</p>
<p>Wendy&#8217;s new focus on beverages dovetails with its strategy to keep growing its breakfast sales. When the chain launched its breakfast menu nationwide for the first time in early 2020, the early morning menu featured only a few coffee options, such as its Frosty-ccino, which has since been replaced by the Frosty Cream Cold Brew.   </p>
<p>&#8220;Our next horizon of growth at breakfast is in beverages,&#8221; Radkoski said.</p>
<p>Taco Bell Chief Marketing Officer Taylor Montgomery reveals the second location of the Live Más Café.</p>
<p>Courtesy: Taco Bell</p>
<p>Likewise, Taco Bell focused on the future opportunity presented by beverages during its investor presentation earlier this month.</p>
<p>&#8220;We believe that beverages can be a new core craving for Taco Bell, and we see a line of sight to building a $5 billion beverage business by 2030,&#8221; Taylor Montgomery, Taco Bell&#8217;s North American chief marketing officer, said in an investor presentation earlier this month ahead of the brand&#8217;s Live Mas Live event.</p>
<p>Taco Bell is looking to its new Live Mas Café concept to inform future drink innovation. In December, the chain opened the first location inside an existing store in Chula Vista, California. So far, it has helped the restaurant achieve double-digit transaction and sales growth, according to Taco Bell executives.</p>
<p>The Live Mas menu features more than 30 drinks, spanning different day parts. Highlights include refrescas that are caffeinated with green tea or Rockstar energy drinks; Churro Chillers; and a &#8220;Dirty Baja,&#8221; made by adding cream to its signature Baja Blast Mountain Dew.</p>
<p>&#8220;Things that we&#8217;re learning within the Live Mas Café concept, we&#8217;re pulling out and trying to scale across all of our units in the U.S.,&#8221; Montgomery said, adding that the company wants to aggressively expand the Live Mas Café this year.</p>
<p>Later this year, Taco Bell plans to bring its Dragonfruit Refresca to all U.S. restaurants.</p>
<h2 class="RelatedContent-header">Don’t miss these insights from CNBC PRO</h2>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/more-fast-food-chains-adopt-fun-flavored-drinks/">More fast-food chains adopt fun, flavored drinks</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com">Our Story Insight</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
					
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/more-fast-food-chains-adopt-fun-flavored-drinks/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
			<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>Microsoft is retiring Skype in May, encouraging people to adopt Teams</title>
		<link>https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/microsoft-is-retiring-skype-in-may-encouraging-people-to-adopt-teams/</link>
					<comments>https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/microsoft-is-retiring-skype-in-may-encouraging-people-to-adopt-teams/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[admin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 28 Feb 2025 15:21:22 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[adopt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[encouraging]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Microsoft]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[people]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[retiring]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Skype]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[teams]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/?p=5563</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Kelly Harris of San Jose, leans over to kiss the web cam as she says her goodbye to Brian Johnson, her brother stationed in Japan, at the end of their video phone call via Skype in San Jose, Calif. on Nov. 25, 2009. Lea Suzuki &#124; San Francisco Chronicle &#124; Hearst Newspapers &#124; Getty Images [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/microsoft-is-retiring-skype-in-may-encouraging-people-to-adopt-teams/">Microsoft is retiring Skype in May, encouraging people to adopt Teams</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com">Our Story Insight</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span class="HighlightShare-hidden" style="top:0;left:0"/></p>
<p>Kelly Harris of San Jose, leans over to kiss the web cam as she says her goodbye to Brian Johnson, her brother stationed in Japan, at the end of their video phone call via Skype in San Jose, Calif. on Nov. 25, 2009.</p>
<p>Lea Suzuki | San Francisco Chronicle | Hearst Newspapers | Getty Images</p>
<p>Skype is logging off.</p>
<p>On Friday, <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-1">Microsoft<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span> announced that the 21-year-old calling and messaging service will shut down May 5. The software company is encouraging Skype users to migrate to its free Teams app.</p>
<p>Skype won attention in the 2000s for giving people a way to talk without paying the phone company, but stumbled in the mobile era and didn&#8217;t enjoy a major resurgence during the pandemic. Some people have forgotten that it&#8217;s still available, given the many other options for chatting and calling.</p>
<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve learned a lot from Skype over the years that we&#8217;ve put into Teams as we&#8217;ve evolved teams over the last seven to eight years,&#8221; Jeff Teper, president of Microsoft 365 collaborative apps and platforms, said in an interview with CNBC. &#8220;But we felt like now is the time because we can be simpler for the market, for our customer base, and we can deliver more innovation faster just by being focused on Teams.&#8221;</p>
<p>Over the next few days, Microsoft will start allowing people to sign in to Teams with Skype credentials, and Skype contacts and chats will transfer over, according to a blog post. People can also export their Skype data. The company will stop selling monthly Skype subscriptions, and users with credits can keep using them in Teams.</p>
<p>&#8220;This is obviously a big, big moment for us, and we&#8217;re certainly very grateful in many ways,&#8221; Teper said. &#8220;Skype pioneered audio and video calling on the web for many, many people.&#8221;</p>
<p>It&#8217;s one of the most enduring digital brands.</p>
<p>In 2003, Janus Friis and Niklas Zennström, who previously co-founded peer-to-peer file-sharing program Kazaa, launched Skype in Estonia with help from a band of former classmates with zero experience in telecommunications. Originally, Skype was a tool for people to call one another online for free. The quirky name stood for &#8220;sky peer to peer,&#8221; a reference to the service&#8217;s underlying Voice over Internet Protocol, or VoIP, architecture.</p>
<p>Skype caught on quickly. By 2004, there were 11 million registered users. By the time <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-3">eBay<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span> announced a plan to buy Skype Technologies SA for $2.6 billion in 2005, the user count had reached 54 million, and Skype was anticipating $60 million in annual revenue, thanks to payments from those who wished to call mobile phones and landlines.</p>
<p>Meg Whitman, eBay&#8217;s CEO at the time, envisioned that Skype would help people more quickly complete sales of products, especially costly ones, by connecting buyers and sellers. And eBay could charge extra for such calls. Skype users across the world could discover eBay and <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-5">PayPal<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span>, too. The deal was completed 29 days later.</p>
<p>In this handout image provided by eBay, the company&#8217;s president and CEO, Meg Whitman, left, poses with Niklas Zennstrom, co-founder and CEO of Skype, the global Internet communications company, in London on Sept. 12, 2005. Internet company eBay today announced its intention to acquire Skype, a voice over internet company, for about $2.6 billion.</p>
<p>Sergio Dionisio | eBay | Getty Images</p>
<p>Under eBay, Skype&#8217;s user number grew, crossing 405 million by 2008, and communications revenue rose. But then Whitman stepped down as CEO, making way for former Bain executive John Donahoe, who didn&#8217;t think eBay&#8217;s core businesses were benefiting from the Skype transaction.</p>
<p>In 2009, the economy was in recession, eBay&#8217;s sales growth had turned negative, and the stock price was lower than it had been since 2001. In a statement that touted the release of a Skype app for <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-7">Apple&#8217;s<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span> iPhone, Donahoe announced that eBay would launch a Skype initial public offering as part of a separation.</p>
<p>But eBay never filed for a Skype IPO. Four and a half months after declaring the IPO strategy, eBay said it had reached an agreement to sell Skype to an investor group led by Silver Lake in a deal worth $2.75 billion. The online auction operator received a 30% stake in Skype&#8217;s buyer. Under the investor group, Skype filed for an IPO, but that didn&#8217;t come to pass, either. Microsoft wound up acquiring Skype in 2011 for $8.5 billion, with eBay receiving over $2 billion.</p>
<p>&#8220;Microsoft and Skype together will bring together hundreds of millions or, as Tony said, billions of consumers and empower them to communicate in new and interesting ways,&#8221; Microsoft&#8217;s CEO at the time, Steve Ballmer, said at a press conference, referring to comments earlier at the event from Skype&#8217;s leader, Tony Bates. By that point, 170 million people were using Skype each month. Ballmer aimed to integrate Skype with several Microsoft products, including Lync, Windows Live Messenger, Windows Phone and Xbox video game consoles. Microsoft also got Skype running on its Azure cloud infrastructure.</p>
<p>Skype did not manage to accumulate a billion active users, though.</p>
<p>Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, left, shakes hands with Skype CEO Tony Bates during a news conference on May 10, 2011 in San Francisco, California.  Microsoft has agreed to buy Skype for $8.5 billion.</p>
<p>Justin Sullivan | Getty Images</p>
<p><span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-11">Apple&#8217;s<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span> native iMessage and FaceTime were picking up traction on iOS devices. In 2014, <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-12">Facebook<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span> bought WhatsApp, a mobile messaging app, and months later, users gained the ability to place calls across borders. WhatsApp took off globally. So did Tencent&#8217;s WeChat.</p>
<p>Skype, meanwhile, implemented multiple redesigns and faced criticism from devotees. In 2016, Microsoft introduced Teams as a distinct &#8220;chat-based workspace&#8221; for organizations with Office productivity software subscriptions that would compete with Slack, which was then an emerging startup.</p>
<p>When Covid came and pushed people to work and study from home, <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-15">Zoom<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span>, originally conceived for business use, became a consumer favorite for holding video calls. People could also connect on video through services from <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-17">Cisco<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span>, Facebook and <span class="QuoteInBody-quoteNameContainer" data-test="QuoteInBody" id="RegularArticle-QuoteInBody-18">Google<span class="QuoteInBody-inlineButton"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-watchlistContainer" id="-WatchlistDropdown" data-analytics-id="-WatchlistDropdown"><span class="AddToWatchlistButton-addWatchListFromTag"/></span></span></span>. Skype did see a usage bump, but Microsoft put major engineering resources behind Teams for companies, governments and schools, and the investment paid off. Analysts began concentrating on the number of Teams users that Microsoft would disclose, with the figure exceeding 320 million in 2023.</p>
<p>As for Skype, Microsoft&#8217;s current CEO, Satya Nadella, hasn&#8217;t mentioned it on an earnings call since 2017.</p>
<p>In 2023, Microsoft said Skype had 36 million daily active users. That was down from 40 million in March 2020. Teper declined to talk about how many people use the service today, but did say the number of minutes consumers have spent on Teams calls increased four-fold in the past two years.</p>
<p>&#8220;I think a good write-up of the history of the thing would mark the shift to mobile and cloud as a significant change in the communications category,&#8221; Teper said.</p>
<h2 class="RelatedContent-header">Don’t miss these insights from CNBC PRO</h2>
<p><span class="InlineVideo-videoButton"/><span/></p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/microsoft-is-retiring-skype-in-may-encouraging-people-to-adopt-teams/">Microsoft is retiring Skype in May, encouraging people to adopt Teams</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com">Our Story Insight</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
					
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/microsoft-is-retiring-skype-in-may-encouraging-people-to-adopt-teams/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
			<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		
		
			</item>
		<item>
		<title>U.S. can adopt crypto regulation &#8216;quickly&#8217; now</title>
		<link>https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/u-s-can-adopt-crypto-regulation-quickly-now/</link>
					<comments>https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/u-s-can-adopt-crypto-regulation-quickly-now/#respond</comments>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[admin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 02 Dec 2024 09:33:08 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Technology]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[adopt]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[crypto]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[quickly]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[regulation]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/?p=3851</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>Faryar Shirzad, chief policy officer at Coinbase, speaking onstage during the 2024 Concordia Annual Summit at Sheraton New York Times Square on Sep. 24, 2024 in New York City. John Lamparski &#124; Getty Images for Concordia Summit LONDON — Coinbase&#8217;s top policy executive expects the United States to rapidly regulate the cryptocurrency industry once Donald Trump [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/u-s-can-adopt-crypto-regulation-quickly-now/">U.S. can adopt crypto regulation &#8216;quickly&#8217; now</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com">Our Story Insight</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span class="HighlightShare-hidden" style="top:0;left:0"/></p>
<p>Faryar Shirzad, chief policy officer at Coinbase, speaking onstage during the 2024 Concordia Annual Summit at Sheraton New York Times Square on Sep. 24, 2024 in New York City.</p>
<p>John Lamparski | Getty Images for Concordia Summit</p>
<p>LONDON — Coinbase&#8217;s top policy executive expects the United States to rapidly regulate the cryptocurrency industry once Donald Trump becomes president.</p>
<p>Faryar Shirzad, chief policy officer at Coinbase, told CNBC he sees crypto legislation making its way through Congress &#8220;fairly quickly&#8221; after the Republican president-elect — who ran on a notoriously pro-crypto policy platform — enters the White House.</p>
<p>The Republican Party also secured a governing trifecta, gaining control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate. This, Shirzad suggested, should make the process of approving crypto laws even smoother.</p>
<p>&#8220;We have the most pro-crypto Congress ever [in] history, we have an extraordinarily pro-crypto president coming into office,&#8221; Shirzad told CNBC last week at an event organized by the U.K. division of Coinbase-backed advocacy group Stand With Crypto.</p>
<p>&#8220;I think the combination should finally allow the 50 million Americans who own crypto to have their interests and voice heard in policy.&#8221;</p>
<p><span class="InlineVideo-videoButton"/><span/></p>
<p>His comments come as two key pieces of crypto-related legislation make their way through Congress.</p>
<p>One is the Republican-sponsored Financial Innovation and Technology for the 21st Century Act, which aims to establish a legal framework for digital assets. That bill passed in the House of Representatives earlier this year.</p>
<p>The other is the Clarity for Payment Stablecoins Act, a bill that seeks to establish a regulatory regime to license issuers of stablecoins — tokens that are pegged to the value of fiat currencies like the dollar. The stablecoin bill has not yet passed a House vote.</p>
<p>Shirzad told CNBC he&#8217;s &#8220;optimistic&#8221; the legislation will get passed, but noted there&#8217;s only a &#8220;small&#8221; chance the crypto legislation is considered in the so-called &#8220;lame duck&#8221; post-election period.</p>
<p>Even if Congress doesn&#8217;t give the crypto laws a green light this year, Shirzad expects &#8220;significant movement and hopefully passage of both market structure legislation and stablecoin legislation&#8221; in 2025.</p>
<h2 class="ArticleBody-subtitle">Crypto&#8217;s lobbying power</h2>
<p>Trump&#8217;s election win marked a major victory for the crypto industry — but it also highlighted the power of the crypto lobbying machine.</p>
<p>Crypto-related political action committees (PACs) — organizations that pool together donations from members to fund campaigns — and other groups tied to the industry raised more than $245 million, according to Federal Election Commission data.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, the Coinbase-backed Stand With Crypto Alliance developed a grading system to determine how for or against crypto House and Senate candidates were. Almost 300 pro-crypto lawmakers will take seats in the House and Senate, according to Stand With Crypto.</p>
<p>Last month, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler announced that he will step down on Jan. 20, the date of Trump&#8217;s inauguration. Trump had long promised to replace Gensler, who has taken an aggressive approach to crypto oversight in his time as SEC chair.</p>
<p>Shirzad said he can&#8217;t predict who Trump&#8217;s SEC pick will be, but said the president-elect is &#8220;very good in picking people who share his vision, and he had a very comprehensive platform on crypto.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;I think as long as he picks somebody who&#8217;s a change agent and who shares his shares his vision, I think it&#8217;ll be good for the U.S., good for society, good for the people that own crypto,&#8221; he added.</p>
<p>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/u-s-can-adopt-crypto-regulation-quickly-now/">U.S. can adopt crypto regulation &#8216;quickly&#8217; now</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://www.ourstoryinsight.com">Our Story Insight</a>.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
					
					<wfw:commentRss>https://www.ourstoryinsight.com/u-s-can-adopt-crypto-regulation-quickly-now/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
			<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
		
		
			</item>
	</channel>
</rss>
