The Energy Drink That Hooked Young Women — and Industry Giant Celsius
Sims, whose home survived the fires, wasn't a fan of caffeinated drinks until she first tried Alani Nu in 2022, four years after the brand's launch. 'I was hooked,' said Sims, a 27-year-old public relations specialist who counts almost 91,000 followers on TikTok. Sims has become a daily consumer of Alani Nu flavors like Watermelon Wave (describing it as ' elite ' in a January TikTok review) and Blue Slush (' pretty good,' she concluded in March).
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Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Inter Miami's Lionel Messi to star in MLS TikTok livestream during August Leagues Cup match
'Messi cam' will track the Argentine star throughout entire match Stream will feature mobile-friendly vertical format with custom graphics Previous Messi-focused stream in Oct. 2024 drew 6.4 million viewers WHAT HAPPENED Major League Soccer announced Thursday that Lionel Messi will be the focus of an exclusive TikTok livestream during Inter Miami's Aug. 2 Leagues Cup matchup with Necaxa. The special broadcast will feature a dedicated camera tracking the 38-year-old Argentine superstar throughout the entire game, presented in a mobile-friendly vertical format with custom graphics. MLS is calling the broadcast series "Player Spotlight: Messi" and plans to produce a total of four such streams during the 2025 season. THE BIGGER PICTURE This continues an approach MLS first tested in October 2024, when a similar Messi-focused stream during his playoff debut attracted 6.4 million viewers across the league and team's TikTok pages, making it the most widely viewed sporting event in Apple history according to the company. The match, Messi's playoff debut, saw the Herons defeat Atlanta United 2-1 in game one of their Best-of-3 series that eventually saw the South Beach club eliminated in the opening round of the postseason. MLS commissioner Don Garber spoke Wednesday ahead of the MLS All-Star Game, claiming the league is averaging 120,000 unique viewers per season pass stream in 2025. The number is an "almost 50 percent" increase from last year, per Garber. In April, MLS and TikTok announced a multi-year partnership to bring live match highlights and fan reactions to the platform. Now, come the Leagues Cup, a live match will be shown as the Herons clash with Necaxa - a club co-owned by a group of A-list celebrities including Ryan Reynolds, Rob McElhenney, Mesut Özil, Kate Upton, Odell Beckham Jr., Justin Verlander, Victor Oladipo, and Eva Longoria. WHAT SETH BACON SAID 'Everything we're doing is focused on fan growth,' MLS EVP of media Seth Bacon said in an interview via Sportico. 'We're a league that is going to put the content where the people is on Apple, but we're also going to find you in other ways, so that you can see it, experience it, and then you know that it's on Apple.' 'We have the ability to say, 'Hey, come this way, or come this way, or come this way,' Bacon added. 'We've got ways to entertain and engage people, no matter what level of interest they have.' WHAT'S NEXT? Messi and his teammate Jordi Alba could face a suspension for Inter Miami's game against FC Cincinnati on July 26 after failing to show up for the MLS All-Star game. The TikTok stream will be the first of four planned "Player Spotlight: Messi" broadcasts scheduled for the 2025 season, though MLS has not yet announced the dates for the remaining three streams. Inter Miami will face Atlas first in the Leagues Cup on July 30 and then Necaxa on Aug. 2 before their final group stage game against Pumas UNAM on Aug. 6.
Fast Company
an hour ago
- Fast Company
Elon Musk says he's bringing back Vine in AI form. Here's what that could mean
BY Good news: Vine might be coming back. Bad news: in AI form, courtesy of Elon Musk. 'We're bringing back Vine, but in AI form,' Musk announced on X on Thursday. He did not elaborate further on his plans. Others, however, were more open to the idea. 'Could be interesting to see what AI comes up with and evolves into,' one X user wrote. Before TikTok, there was Vine. At its peak, the app boasted 200 million active users and introduced the culture to classics like ' and they were roommates ' and ' hurricane tortilla.' Vine allowed users to upload only 6-second clips, laying the groundwork for TikTok's current short-form dominance. It launched the careers of many of today's biggest influencers and originated several of TikTok's most viral trends, including LeBron James and the ALS ice bucket challenge. X acquired Vine from its founders in 2012 for $30 million, but shut it down just five years later, citing commercial viability. The Vine archive remained available for another two years until it was officially discontinued in 2019. Musk, who bought Twitter in 2022 and renamed it X, has long been vocal about potentially reviving the platform. In 2022, he posted a poll: 'Bring back Vine?' with almost 70% voting in favor. Even MrBeast replied: 'If you did that and actually competed with tik tok that'd be hilarious.' Musk posted the same poll again last year, once more receiving an overwhelmingly positive response. YouTuber-turned-professional boxer Jake Paul, who got his first six seconds of fame on Vine, commented: 'Do it Elon I'll help however I can and round up all the og viners.' In January, Musk confirmed that his team was 'looking into it' at the same time TikTok was facing a potential ban in the United States. But now that fans have heard his plans, they might be reconsidering. What 'Vine, but in AI form' actually means is still unclear. Best case scenario: perhaps an AI-powered algorithm. Worst case: an endless scroll of AI-generated slop. For now, I'll stick with classic Vine compilations on YouTube. Sign up for our weekly tech digest. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Privacy Policy ABOUT THE AUTHOR Eve Upton-Clark is a writer at Fast Company who focuses on internet culture and trends, covering everything from politics to pop culture.. She has been a freelance features writer since 2020 and is a regular contributor to Business Insider, Telegraph, Dazed, and more More
Forbes
2 hours ago
- Forbes
How TikTok Is Powering The Next Wave Of Global Anime Fandom
Inside TikTok's Anime Industry Meetup: How Publishers, Studios, and Creators Are Shaping the Future of Fandom On the eve of the 2025 Los Angeles Anime Expo, TikTok's Publisher team hosted an evening of conversation and connection at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. The guest list brought together anime publishers, studios, streaming platforms, and creators from across the globe. The focus of the evening was clear. Anime fandom is more global than it has ever been, and TikTok is a driving force behind this passionate community sharing these stories that they love. Over the past year, anime-related content has ranked among the most viewed and reshared genres on TikTok. Hashtags like #AnimeTok, #MangaTok, and #Cosplay have generated more than 51 million posts. But what matters most is how fans are engaging. Viewers are turning into active participants. They remix trailers, stitch reactions, share scene-by-scene commentary, and build entire narratives around their favorite characters. This behavior turns casual interest into lasting fandom and gives publishers a new way to seed stories and test creative concepts long before a global release. Anime is evolving through this kind of fan-driven sharing and as a result, new titles are reaching audiences around the world, including many who are discovering anime for the first time. TikTok has become a bridge that connects stories across cultures and communities. It's not just fueling growth; it's changing how anime travels and takes root with global audiences. The meetup opened with a keynote that challenged publishers to think about how their strategies could evolve alongside the platform. At the center of the conversation was a timely question: Can anime catch up to Hollywood? The short answer, according to the speakers, is yes. In many ways, it already has. The data supports it, but so does the energy of the community. Anime-related content is not only keeping pace with film and television topics on the platform, it's driving high levels of engagement, discussion, and creativity. This keynote emphasized the importance of testing content, exploring new formats, and giving creators the flexibility to interpret IP in ways that resonate with their audiences. It provides a real-time view into what fans care about, from the characters they connect with to the moments that spark conversation. Clips resurface months after a show premieres. Audio trends evolve alongside fan interpretations. This kind of environment gives publishers a unique opportunity to build momentum, long after the initial launch. The key takeaway: That means testing early, listening closely, and embracing a landscape where content is meant to be engaged with. TikTok isn't just where anime fandom lives, but it has helped scale it, diversify it, and accelerate the way stories travel. Entire series are now discovered through fan edits. Legacy franchises find new life when a stitched clip lands in the right feed. A single creator's reaction can spark global demand. What's especially exciting is that this momentum isn't confined to one region or demographic. The event's creator panels made that clear, showcasing voices from both Japan and the United States who are helping anime reach new audiences through creative, community-driven content. The first panel featured a bilingual conversation between Straw Hat Goofy, a U.S.-based anime creator known for his charismatic anime commentary and film reviews, and Shinnosuke, a creator from Japan known for introducing films, television dramas, and anime. Together, they reflected on how TikTok has helped shift the perception of anime in their respective countries. He also noted how celebrities like Michael B. Jordan and Megan Thee Stallion have shown their enthusiasm about anime publicly, helping to normalize and elevate the genre in pop culture. Shinnosuke shared a similar evolution in Japan. The second panel brought together Satoyu, a creator from Japan widely recognized for his popular content that creatively blends anime with his own original character, and the California-based collective TheAnimeMen, a group of diverse best friends who share their love for anime, and their goal is to normalize anime across the world. They spoke about the role creators play in cross-cultural exchange. 'TikTok and our content bridge the gap for users overseas who haven't seen anime,' Satoyu explained. He described how he uses character-driven content and interactions in the comments to help new viewers understand and fall in love with anime. 'I am able to portray stories through IP content and relay them for those who don't know about it, which has helped bring anime to different audiences.' AnimeMen built on that idea, saying, 'People didn't know a lot of anime titles before TikTok came around. TikTok is bridging the gap for more niche anime in the U.S.' They emphasized that partnerships with creators are key to anime's future abroad. TikTok has become a platform where creators can both express their fandom and actively expand it. For anime companies, the potential to grow through authentic collaboration is stronger than ever. Anime fans are already showing up. The opportunity now lies in how industry players choose to show up in return. That means testing early, listening closely, and embracing a landscape where content is meant to be engaged with, not just consumed. Anime is evolving in real time, and this week's event made it clear that TikTok is one of the platforms where that evolution is being shaped, shared, and celebrated the loudest.
