Ella Publishing

Social Media and its Impact on the Scrapbooking Industry

Today Lain Ehmann joins Scrapbook Update as our guest blogger.

Lain Ehmann is CEO and co-founder of Ella Publishing Co. A former “Simple Scrapbooks” contributing editor, she is the author of “Snippets: Mostly True Tales from the Lighter Side of Scrapbooking.” She blogs at Five Things.

Why can’t we all get along?

American Crafts buys Pebbles, Inc. Rhonna Farrer, Heidi Swapp, and Janet Hopkins band together to create House of Three. Colorbok buys Heidi Grace from Fiskars. In addition to creating an entertaining game of corporate musical chairs to observe, mergers and partnerships like these say that the time of cooperation is at hand for the scrapbooking industry.

Social media is ushering in a new era of interactivity between companies, even those who appear to be at odds with each other. The Internet is such big property that one company or entity can’t cover it all, and the only way to make an impact is to team up. A great example of this is our very own Nancy Nally working with Noell Hyman of Paperclipping. Instead of viewing each other as competitors, they’ve teamed up to bring a very valuable – and fun! – resource to the scrapbooking community via Paperclipping News Break.

An area where I’ve seen rampant and impressive RAKs (random acts of kindness, for the uninitiated) is in the digital scrapbooking arena. In my experience, digital designers go above and beyond to promote other digital designers. For example, in a recent article for Ella Publishing Co.’s Scrapbook Ellaments eZine, digital designer Jodie McNally sang the praises of Paislee Press. “When I’m in need of a perfectly precise, quirky quote… I go straight to Paislee Press,” she writes. It reminds me of the scene in “Miracle on 34^thStreet” when Macy’s gained tons of great press when their Santa Claus forwarded children on to competitors when the toy they wanted couldn’t be had in-store. Not to call “Scrooge,” but when’s the last time you heard Stampin’ Up! sending people over to Close to My Heart?

Speaking of good ole’ Stampin’ Up!, they’ve been taking quite a beating lately. When they mandated that their demonstrators sever Internet ties with non-SU entities, the backlash was swift and immediate, with many demonstrators choosing to lay down their Stampin’ Up! aprons rather than forsake their friendships. The statement was clear: Consumers, employees, and industry bystanders have seen the power of connection and aren’t willing to relinquish their personal or professional networks in favor of corporate short-sightedness. And they shouldn’t have to.

Despite the economic realities of our times, the scrapbooking pie is a large one. Rare is the consumer who uses exclusively one product line; most have scrap rooms where Fiskars punches are used on Bazzill cardstock, and Fancy Pants patterned paper co-exists peacefully on the shelf next to Piggy Tales. It’s time for the manufacturers to realize the next generation is about interaction and support, not exclusivity and isolationism.

For manufacturers and designers who want to make their way in today’s social media but don’t know how, here are a few starting points:

Twitter. Open a Twitter account and freely offer your expertise and support to those around you – yes, even to your competitors! If that’s too big a step, start with companies or designers who sell complementary products rather than competing ones.

Facebook. Become a Facebook fan of a competitor. When you do so, the news is relayed to your entire network – what a powerful statement of solidarity!

Blogs. Mention a cool product you saw from a competitor on your blog. Go over to their blog and leave a supportive comment. Or in your next tutorial, use products from a competitor and give them credit. Instant karma boost!

To me, the future is clear: Those who pair up and work together will prosper, while those who insist on going it alone will suffer and eventually die off. Survival for all of us in this global economy, in this recession, depends on partnerships. After all, if you Tweet in the forest and there’s no one around to hear it, does it make any noise?

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Instamatic Gratification

Today’s Scrapbook Update guest blogger is Tami Morrison.

Tami is a mom of four and a sucker for great color combos, fun containers, clever packaging, and stationery products of pretty much any kind. She’s one of the REAL housewives of Orange County where she stays chronically busy and one step behind the housekeeping at all times. She believes that scrapbooking helps her keep the focus on the fun; she only wishes it also helped keep the kitchen floor from being sticky. Visit her blog, follow her on Twitter, or take a class from her at Big Picture Scrapbooking.

The Polaroid camera is a photography icon synonymous with fun. I vividly remember snapping photos with my mid-1970s version and excitedly waiting for the picture to appear. Something about that instant gratification factor turned mediocre photo quality into a magical experience.

When Polaroid announced in early 2008 that it would cease production, it was the instamatic shot heard round the world. Photography enthusiasts clamored to hoard the last of the film, and SavePolaroid.com was born to, well, save Polaroid.

Fortunately, the crusade was relatively short-lived. On October 13 of this year it was announced that Polaroid cameras and film will be revived in 2010, in a collaboration between Polaroid and The Impossible Project, the company who bought the original Holland manufacturing plant.

This is great news for Polaroid fans. But if you’re itching to hold some grainy nostalgia in the palm of your hand right now, you do have a few other immediate options.

The new Fujiilm Instax MINI 7 was released in October in the US, after being well received in Europe and Asia. The prints are similar in size to a credit card, and the look is described by Photojojo http://photojojo.com/ as that “classic instant film look that everyone loves”. The Instax features four different exposure settings for indoor/outdoor photography, a built-in flash, and a wide angle lens…attributes that give the photographer more control than with its Polaroid cousin.

Shaking an instant photo while it develops seems to be a universal habit, even though experts say it’s no longer necessary. There was a time when shaking helped dry the chemicals more quickly, but the modern version dries behind a clear plastic coating.

Still, if you just can’t resist the urge to “shake it like a Polaroid picture” (in the immortal words of that 1990s Outkast song), maybe the Shake It iPhone app is for you. For 99 cents, you can download an entertaining Polaroid experience on your iPhone. Snap a photo, shake the phone to help it develop faster, and presto! The square shape, color saturation, and white borders make it look just like a Polaroid. (Hint: this is a great app to keep the kids busy at the mall, and you will wind up with all kinds of interesting kids-eye-view pictures of mall life — and if you’re lucky, a pair of jeans that fits).

Want that “fauxlaroid” look on a scrapbook page? The iPhone photo quality is not great for printing, but with the Retro Digital Frames from Ella Publishing, any photo on your computer can have a cool Polaroid vibe. Simply download the digital elements and follow the included instructions to give any photo in your library that retro Polaroid charm.