HP & Kodak Blog

HP Blog? Well not exactly .......

Hewlett-Packard Co., Palo Alto, Calif., launched a major advertising blitz Oct.
1 to promote its digital photography line and improve the computer maker's
stodgy image, The Associated Press reported. The ad campaign debuted with a
24-page insert in USA Today and it includes a Web log, or blog, where people can
submit photo collages for online publication. Photo Marketing Newsline (October 08, 2003)

HP's new site for promoting digital imaging - you may have seen the commercials "you are the photo lab" - provides a place for users to upload their photos and tell their story. You know the blog phenomenon is peaking when everyone wants to say they have one -

From the HP Press Release = "HP has created an online "YOUstories" photo gallery blog (short for "Web log") and invites consumers to submit and share online photo
essays". These YOUstories are then displayed in a "gallery" that has a Flash
UI that personally I find very confusing and hard to navigate.

From ECommerceTimes article: "The digital photography movement is on the verge of becoming the newest, hippest form of self-expression and communication," Allison Johnson, senior vice president at HP, said in a statement. According to HP, the main message is that high-quality photography need no longer be complex, thanks to advancements in technology."
This is a very true statement! It is too bad when technology gets in the way of the message! Once you get to the user-submitted pictures, there are some very nice shots. The YOUStories are more "multimedia slide show" than a blog. This site is part of a high profile $300 million ad and branding campaign, "You + HP", that is sure to raise the stakes in the consumer digital imaging market. This should be an interesting holiday season!

Kodak does blog.....

Smallville's Allison Mack is getting into her Kodak-sponsored blog & photo galleries on the WB site.

Publishing User-submitted Photos -

There is an increasing trend towards the publishing of user-submitted photos on a variety of web sites. These include public group blogs from events like the Blackout of 2003 (TextAmerica moblog) to sites publishing a "photo of the day". Kodak has used "photo quilts" in a similar way to promote the power of pictures and digital imaging with user-submitted photos. The Tribute to American Spirit Photo Quilt is quite moving and the National Park Photo Quilt has some great photos. All of these are great ways to get users more "photo engaged" and will have a positive impact on the sales of digital imaging devices, software and services. The more people feel that they have viewers for their photos (it could be a small group of firends or the whole World Wide Web) the more excited they are about taking photos. This is a major shift for an industry where the % of the population that has been "photo engaged" has stayed somewhat stagnant for decades.

Shameless promotion: these topics of how photoblogs, online photo journals and user-submitted photos are impacting the photo market are covered more thoroughly in the Future Image Market Study titled: Photoblogs - The New Paradigm for Photo Sharing.