Wednesday, October 15, 2008

On the road again..to NYC

The global Blurb tour is coming to a close so we can concentrate on making lots of folks happy this holiday season with custom on-demand books. Next week is the final stop of the Photography.Book.Now tour and PhotoPlus. If you are interested in coming to our PBN meet-up on Wednesday the 22nd you can RSVP here. If you are planning to go to PhotoPlus and don't have an expo pass yet I can help you out with that at no charge. Just head over here and you are on your way.

I'll be at the meet-up and the show pretty much full time. Be sure and stop by to chat.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Lulu effect?

I've gotten a lot of email the past 24 hours since Lulu announced their big layoff. As one of the first and an innovator in the self-publishing marketplace, the news from Lulu was a bit of a surprise. My boss and Founder/CEO of Blurb Eileen Gittiins gave an interview yesterday that gives a glimpse of our position and why we may be different from the competition.

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Good gauge of economy? SBUX and trade shows

It's raining here in Seattle, seems that fall is getting ready to settle in. With that the end of year trade show season for photography, digital lifestyle and printing is getting ready to hit high gear. But if I was in charge of PhotoPlus or GraphExpo I'd be a bit worried because when businesses get cold feet one of the first expenses to go are trade show exhibits and attendance.

Digital Life was cancelled this year in a harbinger of what is to come. I expect the exhibits floor at PhotoPlus and Graph to be significantly downsized, especially as we are in a "Euro-centric" year, with Drupa and Photokina as the major events for 2008.

The slowdowns at Starbucks during economic downturns are well known but I think we are all in for a jolt later this month when we attend two of the biggest shows for publishing and rich media. I expect this down trend will still be heavily felt when we get into 2009 with MacWorld and PMA. My suggestion if you are thinking about exhibiting; hold tight and take advantage of late exits with good locations and negotiate a better price.

If you are planning to head to NYC for PhotoPlus or if you live in the Gotham area be sure and stop by at Blurb's Photography.Book.Now meet-up. It's free and should be a great group of folks to mingle with.