Improvements in photo taking with smart phones are fueling the newsworld. Uncontrolled, uncensored, irreverent and totally suited for Web and TV publications, these fast growing devices, now often with 3 megapixels, are giving an all new perspective to the notion of free press.
Their success comes from the immediacy and the ease of basic photo manipulation and editing. But the primary key is in their ability to connect seamlessly online, as remote controls, image/sound capture and transmission devices.
Connect, interface, exchange, these are the rules of the game. We do not expect anymore to be served a fancy lunch onboard a plane, nor to carry extra baggage in the belly of it. But one thing is sure, we are demanding to be connected online all the time, all the way. Removing the right to use a smart phone, even for a brief airborne moment, is viewed with great resistance (the adult equivalent of what amounts to a teenage hissy fit).
Perhaps it is altogether only pointing out that anything that works must work with the Internet. Simply put, that is why smart phones are smart. As professional photo capture devices they are, without a doubt, a compromise, but whoever uses them to get the news out is definitely reaching a happy media.
Posted by nelsonvigneault 
Not that I am in the habit of drooling over photo gadgets, but I must say, when my partner Inese Birstins give me the BBC link below, I was truly dazzled. Our previous entry was all about archiving and the issue of storing/archiving files, ever-increasing in number and size. This new panoramic photo system is breaking all records in this regard: it is about to deliver a gargantuan appetite for storage but, nevertheless, an amazing visual and affordable way to create such files. This is all too dangerous. It works, it costs around $350-$500 (including a low-end digital camera), and it’s fun. The truth is there have been less than practical attempts to replace the legendary Swiss-made Alpa ROTO 360 panoramic camera that cost, in the eighties, a mere $25K. This just does it… I need one.
Posted by nelsonvigneault 
From time to time at CleanPix we get this question, or perhaps it takes the form of: Are the SD flash memory disks that are used with my digital camera a reliable way to keep my photo collection forever? Is there, in fact, a true way to preserve a digital file? The more we dig for a definite answer, the more we get: NO, there is not. Are my files at risk of evaporation… Remember the Alexandria library where the plans of the pyramids were kept? Or do we just assume they were there? YES, digital evaporation or, for that matter, failed retrieval, taking the form of the unfriendly “unreadable data”, is quite possible.
We are getting our telescope ready and are hoping for a clear view of the sky. The CleanPix team is happily switching off all lights on the inside and outside of our headquarters building for Earth Hour. In addition we will be unplugging all non-essential computers during this time. We’ll be enjoying the calm in concert with the millions of others who are joining in on this notable gesture. We are aware that living on Earth is a privilege.
Posted by cleanpix 
That was today’s headline for The Huffington Post at around 8:30 MST this morning. The headline changed over every 5 minutes to create, I guess, an entertainment appeal to the story. This headline linked to a web video interview with Obama that happened solely on the web as opposed to simultaneously directed to traditional newsprint/TV media. Under the headline, a collage of traditional forms of media (still shots of TV casts and newspaper front pages) frames a YouTube video screenshot. I think that was the point of that headline… A sort of virtual Harakiri directed to traditional media. In reality, this is all more about the vehicle of news rather than the Media itself and it is certainty not about the content of the news. Of course, the surrounding advertisements are the same, cars cars, cars and expensive gadgets destined to lure our CEOs from their cherished bonuses (Sorry, I digress).
The experts agree it’s time to get your marketing/pr running full spin and this despite budget cuts and market slow down. These times have happened in the past; the clear winners have emerged in the end from those that have demonstrated leadership by endorsing a simple but winning strategy. This strategy is: raising awareness of their products or destinations with unwavering energy. Showing some panache is not for the faint of heart, but when you think about it, any sign of bright and bushy tail vigor goes a long way when the competition is busy being sorry for itself or is waiting for a handout that is likely not going to happen.
This feedback from Tourism Squamish , a new member of CleanPix, delighted us.
Finally… and we have updated pressuite.com to emphasize our invitation to writers as well as bloggers to join a pool of hundreds of other active Pressuite guests. The call for action is simple; get creative and busy posting fresh pressbriefs and engage the media. Get your story broadcasted on print as well as on-line and use pressuite.com as your tool. Again, what works best is short, paragraph or two long, briefs with some great pictures to match. Don’t forget to ensure your captions are all in place! To know more on the best ways to brief an eager media blogger or writer you can 
Back from a conference in San Francisco dedicated to Social Media where, I must say, I learned a few things, or perhaps, I learned new questions? Here was a group of 200 or so participants that for the most part remained wired to their laptops as they followed the guest speakers. Many were blogging or twittering (tweeting) live at the conference proceedings. Twittering during a presentation is a good thing.
Sunshine on “cloud computing”
May 22, 2009