Laura Ries: Kodak Olympic withdrawal "sad tragedy"

[Keith]

I found this commentary interesting

http://www.marketwatch.com/tvradio/player.asp?guid=%7B11875C02-7C52-4FE8-B8EE-8F9093575E8E%7D


Basically Laura Ries is a marketing strategist talking about Kodak pulling out of the Olympic sponsorships and how it is a sign that the company is not a strong player that they use to be. The history of Kodak is that they were "anti digital" and did not see the vision of the industry. They wanted to stay in film market. As we know the digital market soared and left them behind and struggling to keep up.

If you look at their stock prices since 1999 they have really suffered where competitive companies have done really well.

Moral of the story. If companies don't follow the trends and keep up they will be hurt in the long run. Anyone see digital scrapbooking being a trend? :D Great stuff huh?

[Jill]

I just learned that Kodak bought out Kiddie Kandids. Maybe they are trying to head another route to make up for things. Nothing says money like baby pictures!

[digiferfer]

I've heard a lot of traditional scrapbookers say that digital is just a trend. But I think they are so wrong. Everything about digital just makes so much more sense. I love it anyway, so I know that this is how I will always scrapbook.

[Alishaw]

Extremely interesting! Scrappers will always occupy the traditional way, but digital is catching on as fast as scrapping did the last 10 years. EVERYTHING is going digital so those who think it's a short trend will be left behind. Kinda like my grandma who just learned to fax & thinks she is the ultimate techy! It's cute!!

[Keith]

I've heard a lot of traditional scrapbookers say that digital is just a trend....


I think that anyone who says that is very short sited. Has there been any industry that has ever moved digital and had it fade away??? I only see the digital betting cheaper, better quality, easier, faster, etc. I think that 10 years from now we will look at what digital is now and laugh that it was that hard and cumbersom. The best is yet to come for sure.

But there is an aspect of the paper scrapbooking and crafts that will always be there. People like the cut and paste and piece together, the touchy-feely part of it as well. The card left on the door tied with ribbon, and so forth. Much of that can be done with digital, or enhanced with digital. And on the flip side many of the digital creations can be enhanced with the physical embelishments as well.

I will guess that the bulk of scrapbookers will become hybrid scrapbookers where they use a blend of both. Really they are doing that now with their digital cameras. Wait until they learn they can use photo shop to enlarge / crop / clean up the photos before they scrapbook them in.

And I look at what my kids do with a computer, how comfortable they are, and how fast they pick it up. And my guess is that generation will do more digital crafts than physical crafts.

[Charm Lady]

Thanks for the link to this article.

A few weeks before I found out about April's products, my sister and I had a conversation about scrapbookers. She said, "Have you noticed that more and more scrapbook stores are going out of business?" We talked about the change in scrapbooking, and I was thinking it was more because people didn't have time. It takes time to pull out all of the supplies, then time to work, and then the clean up afterwards....well, you all know.

A week later, I asked a neighbor if she scrapbooked and she said that she used to, but hadn't done much for 2 years. I realized it had been that long since I had really sat down to scrapbook, too. It was that day that I stopped calling myself a scrapbooker.

Then, the next week, I found the DSM products, and I was sold within 10 minutes of the gal explaining it to me. It just made sense.

Thanks April for your fun products and this great website that we can find hints and tips on how to use the products!

[Alyson]

I've heard a lot of traditional scrapbookers say that digital is just a trend.

I remember people saying the same thing about digital cameras. There are definitely still people who use film, but the majority of people use digital cameras these days.

Now that I think about it, I think people said that about DVD players as well. I don't even use a VCR anymore. The last thing they were good for was recording TV, but now that's not even necessary because of TIVO/DVRs.

[LucyLu]

I have been digi scrapping for a little over a year. It took me a while to get started after I ran into April at the Expo, (I really cant remember when it was)... but my point really is ... I never paper scrapped... and now people that I know that paper scrap are tired of it.... they are tired of all the supplies and the mess.... they like the flat pages that are still embellished. No I dont beleive that digital is a fad or a phase, but I do think the competition will become greater, and I think DSM is ahead of the game.