SIMONE DEL ROSARIO:
ARE YOU EVER SHOCKED TO FIND A COMPANY IS STILL IN BUSINESS? I JUST GOT A SHUTTERFLY EMAIL TO UPDATE MY ACCOUNT OR LOSE IT FOREVER, I HAD NO IDEA IT STILL EXISTED. SO WE’RE TAKING A LOOK AT SOME COMPANIES YOU MAY NOT REALIZE ARE STILL HANGIN’ ON IN THIS WEEK’S FIVE FOR FRIDAY.
DESPITE FILING CHAPTER 11 A DECADE AGO, KODAK IS STILL KICKING. CELL PHONES OBVIOUSLY THREATENED TO PUT THEM OUT, BUT AT LEAST THEY HAVE POLAROID-ESQUE INSTANT PRINT CAMERAS, WHICH I HEAR ARE MAKING A COMEBACK. KODAK’S ALSO WORKING WITH IMAX TO DEVELOP THE “NEXT GENERATION OF FILM CAMERAS.” AND I BET YOU DIDN’T KNOW THEY’RE IN THE PHARMA BUSINESS, BUT SO FAR THAT HASN’T TURNED OUT SO GREAT.
RADIOSHACK’S BEEN AROUND FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY, AND SHOCKINGLY IT’S STILL AROUND, JUST NO LONGER RELEVANT. THE COMPANY FILED FOR BANKRUPTCY TWICE IN TWO YEARS {2015 AND 2017}. AND NOW IT’S A CRYPTO EXCHANGE THAT LAUNCHED ITS OWN TOKEN WITH A STRING OF VULGAR TWEETS FOR SOME REASON. BEST THING THEY SELL NOW IS NOSTALGIA-LACED MERCH.
RINGLING BROTHERS AND BARNUM & BAILEY’S DOMINANCE IN THE CIRCUS WORLD DATES BACK TO THE 1800S. AND WHILE FOR WELL OVER A CENTURY IT WAS THE PLACE TO BRING THE FAM, THE NEW MILLENNIUM BROUGHT ON ITS SLOW DEATH WITH LOW ATTENDANCE AND PROTESTS OVER ANIMAL RIGHTS. IN 2017 THEY DREW THE FINAL CURTAIN, OR SO WE THOUGHT. THIS YEAR FELD ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCED IT’S MAKING A COMEBACK IN 2023, BUT THIS TIME ONLY HUMANS COULD BE HARMED IN THE MAKING.
ATARI WAS A PIONEER OF THE VIDEO GAME INDUSTRY IN THE 70S, UHH JUST TRUST ME. THE ATARI 2600 IS A CLASSIC, BUT ATARI HASN’T BEEN A PLAYER IN THE CONSOLE BUSINESS FOR DECADES. AFTER FILING FOR BANKRUPTCY IN 2013 ATARI SOLD OFF ITS BIGGEST IP. BUT LIKE THE SHACK, ATARI IS NOW IN THE BLOCKCHAIN GAME AND ENTERED A PARTNERSHIP TO DEVELOP A GROUP OF ATARI BRANDED GAMING HOTELS.
AOL IS MORE THAN JUST A COMPANY THAT PROVIDES EMAIL TO OLDTIMERS. IT WAS ESSENTIALLY THE INTERNET IN THE 90S. AOL WAS SO SUCCESSFUL IN 2000 IT BOUGHT TIME WARNER FOR $182 BILLION, THE LARGEST MERGER IN AMERICAN HISTORY. FAST FORWARD 15 YEARS AND VERIZON BUYS AOL FOR JUST $4.4 BILL. THAT’S BROADBAND FOR YOU. SURPRISINGLY, AS OF 2021, THERE WERE STILL 1.5 MILLION PEOPLE PAYING FOR AOL SERVICE.
THE YOUNGINS WILL NEVER KNOW THE SOUND OF A MODEM CONNECTING OR THIS ALERT OOOOR THE STACKS OF AOL E WASTE GETTING SENT TO YOUR HOME. THAT’S FIVE FOR FRIDAY. I’M SIMONE DEL ROSARIO. IT’S JUST BUSINESS.