It doesn't matter what coke tastes like right now.

It's all about marketing and feeding people the stories that make them fuzzy and warm inside, knowing every time they drink a coke they are that much closer to the gates of heaven.

The taste of the actual beverage may have been a factor in the early days, not now. not with mass acceptance and a giant marketing push that has been engraved into the product/company.

For every Coca-Cola, there has to be a Pepsi to supplement the non-believers. Same is true in every business, and in case of Gowalla and Foursquare.

There is room for both of the companies to be thriving side by side.