Consumer Show & Tell
Rethinking DI strategy in the era of online
photo galleries
November 2007
By Natalie Hope McDonald
J. Adelaide Fuller, 31, goes by “Miss Plum” on Flickr.com. The Philadelphia-based photographer’s been sharing her digital photos using the online gallery since it launched in Vancouver, B.C., in 2004 as a beta site for aspiring and professional picture takers. “I came across Flickr on the Web site of an artist friend who was using it,” says Fuller, who tested out other sites like Fotoamigo.com and Fotolog.com before becoming a registered Flickr member at $24.95 a year.
“Flickr is the sole reason that I ever even started selling and showing my work,” Fuller says, “thanks to good feedback from other photographers, and family and friends who were able to see my work and send encouragement.” With her Canon Rebel XT in tow, Fuller posts new shots to her site several times a week.
And she’s not alone.
Fuller is now one of more than 11 million members belonging to the online photo community. In 2005, the start-up caught the attention of Sunnyvale, Calif., giant Yahoo!, which purchased Flickr for an undisclosed amount estimated to be as much as $30 million. According to a Comscore report from July of this year, Yahoo!-owned Flickr now entertains at least 35 million visitors worldwide. Non-members visit the site to browse photos, post pictures (there’s a limited membership available at no cost) and comment on photo blogs (or “phlogs”) from around the world. The question for many within the photo and imaging industries, particularly retailers, is just how much of an impact online photo galleries have on the way people share and store pictures.
“Photographers love to share their images with the world,” admits Megan Busath, senior PR manager for Flickr. “Whether keeping in touch with friends and family, building communities around peoples’ interests, or capturing breaking news, Flickr enables people around the world to connect and communicate.” The site also offers multilingual support so members and visitors alike can access a growing number of images from anywhere they have Internet access. The site also lets members upload photos from cell phones.
Flickr is just one of dozens of online sites that offer galleries, blogging and imaging opportunities to photographers and their friends. And while the photography industry has certainly changed with less people printing photos in favor of sharing them online, several manufacturers are introducing even newer ways to bridge this gap.
Prints Still at the Heart
“The shift to digital is enabling customers to express themselves in ways that were not possible before,” says Eric Kintz, vice president of marketing, digital photography and entertainment at HP in Palo Alto, Calif. He says longtime companies like HP have had to completely rethink the way they do business with a customer base that increasingly wants access to multimedia products. For example, HP recently allowed customers to access pop vocalist Gwen Stefani’s tour photos to combine, store or print with their own shots (www.hp.tabblo.com/gwen).
“Flickr is the sole reason that I ever even started selling and showing my work,” Fuller says, “thanks to good feedback from other photographers, and family and friends who were able to see my work and send encouragement.” With her Canon Rebel XT in tow, Fuller posts new shots to her site several times a week.
And she’s not alone.
Fuller is now one of more than 11 million members belonging to the online photo community. In 2005, the start-up caught the attention of Sunnyvale, Calif., giant Yahoo!, which purchased Flickr for an undisclosed amount estimated to be as much as $30 million. According to a Comscore report from July of this year, Yahoo!-owned Flickr now entertains at least 35 million visitors worldwide. Non-members visit the site to browse photos, post pictures (there’s a limited membership available at no cost) and comment on photo blogs (or “phlogs”) from around the world. The question for many within the photo and imaging industries, particularly retailers, is just how much of an impact online photo galleries have on the way people share and store pictures.
“Photographers love to share their images with the world,” admits Megan Busath, senior PR manager for Flickr. “Whether keeping in touch with friends and family, building communities around peoples’ interests, or capturing breaking news, Flickr enables people around the world to connect and communicate.” The site also offers multilingual support so members and visitors alike can access a growing number of images from anywhere they have Internet access. The site also lets members upload photos from cell phones.
Flickr is just one of dozens of online sites that offer galleries, blogging and imaging opportunities to photographers and their friends. And while the photography industry has certainly changed with less people printing photos in favor of sharing them online, several manufacturers are introducing even newer ways to bridge this gap.
Prints Still at the Heart
“The shift to digital is enabling customers to express themselves in ways that were not possible before,” says Eric Kintz, vice president of marketing, digital photography and entertainment at HP in Palo Alto, Calif. He says longtime companies like HP have had to completely rethink the way they do business with a customer base that increasingly wants access to multimedia products. For example, HP recently allowed customers to access pop vocalist Gwen Stefani’s tour photos to combine, store or print with their own shots (www.hp.tabblo.com/gwen).
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