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Kodak signs licensing deal with Vivitar, new Kodak-branded 35mm SLR on the horizon

Eastman Kodak Co., Rochester, N.Y., will continue making film cameras for least another 2 years, reports Amateur Photographer. Kodak recently signed a new licensing deal with Vivitar, who is planning to manufacture a Kodak-branded 35mm SLR camera.

“Vivitar has plans to develop a Kodak SLR camera similar to the Vivitar V3000s,” said Vivitar UK CEO Abbas Bhanji. “The planned KV100 is, at the moment, at the development stages and once released will be aimed at educational institutes who specialize in traditional photography.”

Initial predictions of the death of film have been somewhat premature, according to Joel Proegler, general manager of Film Capture at Eastman Kodak. Proegler tells Amateur Photographer that “Kodak has focused on the digital message for the past four years. As we come out of that transition, one thing is very clear: film is a very profitable part of the business.”

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Photobucket launches image editing powered by FotoFlexer

Photobucket, Palo Alto, Calif., a site for managing personal media, launched built-in image editing powered by FotoFlexer. The image editor enables Photobucket users to edit and add effects to their photos. The photo editing feature set is free to all Photobucket users. FotoFlexer’s features are seamlessly integrated with Photobucket, enabling all users to edit their images online, within their existing Photobucket albums. Photobucket users can share images and videos via e-mail, IM, or mobile phone, as well as post them on their blog or social network profile.

The integration between Photobucket and FotoFlexer includes editing features customized and designed specifically for the Photobucket community such as basic image editing and color effect options. It also allows fix blemishes and wrinkles, distort photos through stretching or bulging and cut an object out from its background. After completing edits, users can either create a new copy or replace the existing photo. Users can then order custom photo prints, T-shirts, calendars, or other products from the Photobucket site. Available online are samples of photos, which have been customized by the image editor on Photobucket.

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Google executives address decrease in paid-clicks on search advertisements

Google Inc., Mountain View, Calif., executives addressed recent data showing a slowdown in the number of paid clicks on the company’s search advertisements, presenting the phenomenon as part of a move toward higher-quality service, reports MarketWatch.

Recent comScore Inc. data showed a decrease in January of Google’s paid clicks — the number of times Web users clicked on its sponsored search links and generated revenue from advertisers. That stirred speculation about the impact of the U.S. economic slowdown on Google, says the article. Google shares have fallen roughly 15 percent since the comScore data was released, with shares closing down more than 4 percent yesterday.

Tim Armstrong, Google president of North America advertising and commerce, said that the recent slowing in paid clicks “was intentional on our part” and will result in “a long-term benefit for our business.”

Recent initiatives at the company have resulted in fewer unintentional clicks and a higher number of “conversions,” or revenue generated by intentional clicks, according to Armstrong.

David Eun, Google vice president of content partnerships, addressed the issue of attaching advertisements to the company’s YouTube video-sharing service. Eun said that while Google has “purposely not taken the easy money” by loading users down with advertisements, he commented that “over the course of the next year, we’re going to turn up the dial a bit” in terms of serving video advertisements on YouTube, reports MarketWatch.

In other news, Google gained approval from the European Commission (EU) to buy rival Web advertiser DoubleClick for $3.1 billion, reports Reuters. The EU released a statement saying its market investigation found the companies exerted no major competitive constraints on each other, so currently could not be considered competitors.

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Internet search engine Ask.com refocuses on women users

Ask.com, Oakland, Calif., is abandoning efforts to outshine Internet search leader Google Inc., reports The Associated Press, and will instead focus on a narrower market consisting of married women looking for help managing their lives. As part of the new direction, Ask.com will lay off about 40 employees, or 8 percent of its work force.

With the shift, the company will return to its roots by concentrating on finding answers to basic questions about recipes, hobbies, children’s homework, entertainment, and health. The decision to cater to married women primarily living in the southern and midwestern United States comes after Ask spent years trying to build a better all-purpose search engine than Google. The quest intensified after Internet conglomerate InterActiveCorp bought Ask.com and its affiliated websites for $2.3 billion in 2005, says the AP.

Through January, Ask.com ran the Internet’s fifth largest search engine in the United States with a 4.5 percent market share, according to comScore Media Metrix. Google dominates the industry with a 58.5 percent share.

When it first started out in 1996, Ask.com positioned itself as a search engine that could spit out answers to requests that were posed as natural-language questions instead of being entered as a string of loosely related words. But the search engine, then known as AskJeeves, frequently misinterpreted requests and produced nonsensical answers that triggered widespread ridicule.

After investing in more sophisticated technology, Ask.com tried to reposition itself as a cutting-edge alternative to Google and even dropped its butler named Jeeves in an effort to be taken more seriously. Even after adding more features, Ask.com still primarily appealed to women who used the search engine mostly to get simple answers. Women are also a familiar demographic for Ask.com CEO Jim Safka, who was chief executive of InterActiveCorp’s online dating site, Match.com, before taking the reins at Ask.com.

Forrester Research analyst Charlene Li said Ask.com’s new strategy could help boost the company’s profits because married women — particularly mothers — dictate many household spending decisions, making them a prime advertising target, reports the AP.

Li predicted many married women and mothers will be thrilled to have a search engine focusing on their interests. “It’s not so much that these women have simple questions,” she said. “It’s just that they are so busy that they need fast answers.”

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People on the move

· Motorola Inc., Schaumburg, Ill., announced Stu Reed, formerly the president of Motorola’s Mobile Devices business, has decided to leave the company, effective immediately. Reed and his team launched a number of initiatives important to the Mobile Devices business that the company will continue to drive and expand upon, says Motorola. Prior to Reed’s role as Mobile Devices president, he led the transformation of Motorola’s supply chain organization, which encompasses the global operations associated with procurement, new product introduction, manufacturing and customer fulfillment.

· Longs Drug Stores Corp., Walnut Creek, Calif., named Todd J. Vasos executive vice president and chief operating officer, effective immediately, reports The Associated Press. Vasos succeeds Karen Stout, who has left the company. Vasos, previously Longs’ senior vice president and chief merchandising officer, will oversee store operations, marketing, merchandising, construction, and loss prevention. Larry Gatta, group vice president of marketing, has been promoted to senior vice president and chief merchandising officer.

· Circuit City Stores Inc., Richmond, Va., announces two executives have lost their jobs as part of organizational changes to turn around the company’s struggling financial situation, reports The Associated Press. Chief Marketing Officer Peter Weedfald and Steven P. Pappas, president of the company’s small stores, recently left, spokesman Jim Babb said. Both joined Circuit City in the summer of 2006. In December, Circuit City announced millions in cash incentives to retain its top employees following the departure of several executives over the past year. Executive vice presidents could claim retention awards of $1 million each and senior vice presidents could get $600,000, provided they stay with the company until 2011, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Under the terms, neither Weedfald nor Pappas are eligible for any portion of the award, says the AP.

· Shutterfly Inc., Redwood City, Calif., an Internet-based social expression and personal publishing service, appointed Peter Navin vice president of Human Resources. Navin will be responsible for all facets of the company’s human resources functions, including recruitment of new employees, compensation, benefits, organizational design, learning and development, and workplace culture. Most recently, Navin was vice president of Human Resources at Electronic Arts Inc.

· Unisource Worldwide Inc., Norcross, Ga., distributor of paper, packaging and facility supplies in North America, named Nancy C. Geisler corporate vice president of Sustainability for all operations. This new position will now increase the company’s internal focus on environmental responsibility. Geisler, most recently Senior Director of Marketing for Packaging and Facility Supplies, has more than 25 years of marketing and consulting experience, including product and business management, communications, business development, strategic sourcing, business planning, sales and market research.

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Industry notes

· The Eye-Fi Card is the world’s first wireless SD memory card for digital cameras. It uses home Wi-Fi networks to allow users to send photographs directly from digital cameras to PCs, Macs and websites. In a recent DIMAcast, PMA Senior Editor Jennifer Kruger interviews Jef Holove, president and CEO of Eye-Fi Inc., about how his company’s product promises to help solve what may be the biggest problem in digital imaging — getting consumers to move their images out of the camera.

· The Antioch Co., Yellow Springs, Ohio, recently sold the Antioch Publishing Co. to Trends International LLC, Indianapolis, Ind., according to the Yellow Springs News. Antioch Publishing comprises about 5 percent of the Antioch Co.’s total business, according to company President Lee Morgan. In the 1990s, Creative Memories, the Antioch Co.’s photo album business, expanded and now comprises nearly all of the company’s business worldwide. Morgan says the Antioch Co. can now focus on Creative Memories’ most rapidly growing business, custom framing and digital scrapbooking. The company currently employs 850 people in the United States and eight other countries and reports annual revenues of $250 million.

· Framing Success, Virginia Beach, Va., has become an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “Waste Wise” partner. The EPA program focuses on three key elements of waste reduction: waste prevention, recycling, and purchasing recycled content products. The “Green Team” at Framing Success is comprised of employee volunteers. Team committees are led by five captains who monitor program goals, track results, and share accomplishments. A recent green initiative at the company involved the selection of new 100 percent recyclable frame boxes.

· Founded in 2006, HarmonyWishes, an online electronic greeting card company offering an alternative to the traditional e-cards, is now opening its platform to selected member artists. A call for submissions recently has been added as an ongoing feature that comes with the annual $19.95 membership fee. As a community member, artists and fine art photographers can submit up to six images per calendar quarter for consideration. If selected, the image becomes integrated into the HarmonyWishes card sending protocol, which is enhanced with music, personalized quotes, font choices and border designs.

· Roland DGA Corp., Irvine, Calif., said Fernando Catania, product manager for the company’s training programs and sublimation printer line, will host an educational SGIA Webinar March 12 at 2:000 p.m. EST. The one-hour Webinar is open to all professionals across the digital and screen printing industries and will focus on the topic: “Making the Choice: What Kind of Printer and Print Technology is Right for Your Business?” The Roland SGIA Webinar will present an in-depth analysis of the solvent, eco-solvent, bio and UV printers on the market. The presentation will discuss the applications, capabilities, limitations and environmental considerations for each. Visit SGIA.org, Keyword: Webinar, for more information and to register.

· Nikon Inc., Melville, N.Y., unveiled a redesigned website at www.nikonusa.com with a new visual user interface that focuses on images to display information about Nikon’s products and services. Visitors to the site can offer feedback and suggestions about the site’s content and usability through comments in a new blog called “Your Shot.” The new site features a “Find your Nikon” drop down box listing all of Nikon’s product catergories, as well as a “Learn & Explore” area leading to the Nikon School and Nikon World educational areas.

· CreativePro.com, Livingston, Mon., launched a new community at www.creativepro.com. The redesigned site gives print and Web designers, photographers, and other creative professionals free access to each other and how-to’s, reviews, news, products, and services.

· Six Apart Ltd., San Francisco, Calif., a blogging software and services company, and Eye-Fi, makers of the wireless memory card for digital cameras, announced that bloggers who use one of Six Apart’s blogging platforms — including Movable Type, TypePad, and Vox — can now upload photos directly from their digital camera to their blog using the Eye-Fi Card. Bloggers on Movable Type, TypePad, and Vox can upload images directly to their blogs via their Wi-Fi network, even when their computer is turned off. The Eye-Fi Card also supports more than 20 other photo sharing and printing sites like Shutterfly, Kodak Gallery, Facebook, and Photobucket .

· Eastman Kodak Co., based in Rochester , N.Y., is adding a 16,000-square-foot facility to an exiting building in Columbus, Ga., according to a WTVM report. Company officials say consumer demand has forced them to expand. The expansion will enable the company to more efficiently produce current and future generation digital plates. The increased plate production will create an addition 30 to 50 jobs to the already 250 employees on staff. Company officials say construction on the new facility will be complete by second quarter of 2009, reports WTVM.

· ePHOTOzine recently launched ephotozine.tv, offering several stations of photography-related video content. The site has five channels that guide the user through everything from tutorials and reviews to interviews with professionals, says the company. Consumers have the opportunity to shop for photography-related products as well. Each channel will contain videos that are either produced by ePHOTOzine or selected from the quality photographic-related content available on the Internet. Upon completion of the free site registration, users can upload content, select favorite videos, and create a personal profile.

· Quik Pod, a handheld extendable tripod from Fromm Works Inc., was invented by Wayne Fromm to solve the problem of having to ask strangers to take his family photos while traveling. He will be demonstrating the Quik Pod on QVC March 12, “Electronics Today” segment. The device is a fully extendable handheld tripod that is designed for self-portraits or for overhead shots. The Quik Pod is portable and fits into a purse or small bag. The device fits all cameras and camcorders up to one pound, that feature a standard tripod fitting.

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