Happy birthday to Coke Conversations!

One year ago today, we launched our new blog, Coca-Cola Conversations.

At the time, I didn’t know much about doing a blog. I didn’t know if anyone would read it -- or like it. And I didn’t know if any of you would take the time to interact with me.

A year later, I’m happy to see how far we’ve come.

In the past year:

• I've added more than 200 posts to the blog.
• You and I have chatted more than 2,000 times in the comments section.

I’d said from my very first day that I wanted this blog to be a two-way dialogue. I knew without that, we wouldn’t succeed.

It’s been great to hear from you on everything ranging from Coca-Cola beach pants to your Coke collections at home to different ways to cook with our drinks. I’ve heard from loyal TaB drinkers about the lengths they’ll go to to find their favorite drink. You’ve written me about the different songs used in our ads and the special Coke cans and bottles made for the Beijing Olympics.

One thing I did not anticipate was the number of individuals who used the blog to ask questions about the value of their memorabilia. It took a lot of time to provide personal responses to all those inquiries -- including a number that took place through email.

Moving forward, I won’t be able to answer individual questions about collectibles. Instead, I’ll be able to spend the time focusing on other areas of the rich heritage of Coca-Cola.

Over the past year, I’ve done several posts on the value of collectibles in the Memorabilia area. Between those and the comments (on a very wide variety of posts -- many outside of the Memorabilia and Coke Collectors sections), you can find information on collectibles such as bottles, signs, clocks, syrup jugs, trays, glasses and far more. For example, you’ll find more than 250 comments and appraisals in the Welcome to My Blog post alone.

Just search the site for the item you have, and you’ll probably turn up a post or comment about it! Other useful references for memorabilia are Allan Petretti’s book Coca-Cola Collectibles Price Guide and the online auction house eBay.

I’ll still do posts relating to specific pieces of Coca-Cola advertising and marketing. And you’re certainly welcome to post comments regarding those specific items, but I won’t be able to give individual evaluations of collectibles.

I’m looking forward to 2009. In the coming months, you’ll see more video on the blog -- some of it taken from resources we have in the Coke archives, but much of it will be newly created content that will only be available on this blog.

Some favorites from 2008 will remain, too. I want to continue to involve you with Friday Fun contests that challenge your creativity and allow you (and me!) to have some fun as you experience this site.

And I have a few surprises in the works that I think you will enjoy! I hope you will continue to read the blog and to participate in the conversation.

Welcome to my blog

I'm Phil Mooney, director of the Archives at The Coca-Cola Company for the last 30 years. If you're not familiar with the term Archives, you could say I'm the Company's chief historian.

Over the last three decades, I have documented the history of the Company and its impact on commercial, social and cultural history. This blog gives me an opportunity to share some of those stories with you.

This is our first Company blog – but definitely not our last. We're starting with the Company's heritage – not just the history, but the love people have for Coke. We'll talk about people who collect Coke memorabilia, the items they collect and the stories they tell. We'll talk about recipes made using Coca-Cola and our other drinks. We'll talk about what's happening today with Coke – and how it relates to things from our past. And we'll talk about the new World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, which just opened last summer.

We hope to give you a look into the Secret Formula of Coca-Cola – but not literally! While we can't show you the actual formula famously in an Atlanta vault, we can give you an insider's look into the world of Coca-Cola.

You can comment on what I say and send me questions – and I hope you do! You can even email a photo of a Coke piece you have and wonder about. We'll do an appraisal on this site and I'll tell you what I know.

Because I focus on Coke's history and heritage in my work, please limit your questions and comments on those themes.

So please talk to me and let me know what's on your mind. Thanks!