Cyber Monday - Pictures say . . .
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Today is Cyber Monday which
immediately followings Black Friday, the ceremonial kick-off of the holiday
online shopping season in the United States between Thanksgiving and
Christmas.
While visiting a friend
recently, in her living room she pointed out a coffee table book of Paris.
She said "Here is
my trip to Paris". In my naiveté, I just assumed it was
the standard Paris-Coffee-Table- Book. It wasn't. It was one she
created with her photos from her own trip that spring and I was reminded how
pictures say a thousand words as I harkened back to my own trip. Two days
later, I saw a hardbound book of a young women's wedding that was wonderful
and far superior to the wedding books where the pictures are slide in the top
(like mine of years gone by). This, too was created by online software but
with the full support and assistance of the photographer. These were both hardbound
books with full color pages of pictures, text, and comments.
The creativity reminded me of some of the scrapbooking projects I've seen,
but again, these were books - not scrapbooks or photo albums - library quality books.
Now, I'm thinking about all the
photos I have on Flickr (500+) and my
IPhone (3,000+) and who knows how many are in boxes under the stairs! WOW, I could create my own books to have
around without having to leave my desk and have them delivered to me in
archival quality books - how things have changed, a
technology has made it happen!
Next, I envisioned business applications.
The obvious are the photographers of the world, but what about this as a unique way to present your designs,
or a thank you from a
landscaper with before, during and after pictures, restoration of a home or historic
vehicle, or maybe a way to document a project at a non-profit.
The affordability is there - all the sites I looked at had hardbound products
starting at around $12
USD. This is a thank you that is affordable!
Where to start?
I started first at Flickr where I've had
an account for 5 years. Their system sends you to Snapfish, one of the top
10 producers of photo books. Next, I asked around and several suggested Shutterfly. Janelle Marzullo of Greentree
Loan said, "I've used Shutterfly and the books turned
out great." Cheryl Hardy of the Hardy
Group has made over 30 books from Shutterfly and says the turnaround is
very fast. I also found both Shutterfly and Snapfish allow uploads from your
computer, Facebook and your own online sources.
As I searched, I found more and
more including tutorials and videos to help get that photo book complete. I
also found Smilebooks, Indubook, Picaboo to name just
a few. Then I found Jason Dunn at Digital Home Printing
who has done an exceptional job of reviewing the top 12 that were available a
year ago! Jason has done a superb job of reviewing these.
As you are thinking about Cyber
Monday, realize that technology is always changing and what can often set you
apart from your competition are the very small differences. Those
pictures not only speak but they also trigger the memories you want to keep
vivid in the minds of your prospects and customers.
Linda Fayerweather MBA EA
419.897.0528
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The Right Computer for the Job - Part 3
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Over the past few weeks I've
been sharing a story about a client of mine who's outdated and slow computers
for his front office staff were actually costing him over 25 hours a month of
lost work time. Last week we created a wish list for the two types of
computers my client will need. This week we will do a little research and
design a computer for the office staff.
Now before we proceed, I want to say a little disclaimer about the computer industry and this article. Technology is forever changing. What you buy today, there will be something better tomorrow. There are a ton of different options and specs for each and every piece of hardware inside a computer, it is beyond the scope of this article. If you want to know the finer details, do your research or ask a professional. In my opinion, you never want to buy the best of the current technology. You will be paying a premium for little return over the long run. On the flip side you don't want to buy on the low end either because it will become obsolete faster. With that in mind, its time to do some research and break down our wish lists. Lets break down the three data entry computers. We don't need power house computers but we want something that will last for a few years. Something that will be able to handle the latest software for a few years to come. In this case, something mid grade.
Now let's look at the wish list for the marketing computer.
Wow, what a list. So
for the three data entry computers we need to find an i5 with 4 gigs or ram,
Windows 7, 21" monitor (can buy separately). Pretty straight forward. For
the marketing computer we need an i7 with 8 gigs of ram, Windows 7 64 bit, 1
gig video card with dual DVI outputs or a single DVI and a DVI splitter, dual
21" monitors (can buy separately) and a second hard drive or an
eSata port for an external hard drive.
These specs give us a pretty wide range to work with. We could have a computer built for us or find a pre-built system from a major computer manufacturer. Next week lets explore our options.
Copyright 2011 Jeff Mendelsohn
Liquid Mechanix Studio, LLC www.liquidmechanix.com 419.297.3364 |
