A Whole New Image

The life cycle of information and technology is moving faster than anytime in history, from inception, to development, early adopters, and general acceptance to obsolescence (food for thought on how quickly information is turning over, look at Shift Happens. Is this shortened life because development of technology is faster or new information is more reliable or that consumer demands drive the quickened cycle?

This past spring a small article appeared in my local newspaper from news service reports. Had the title not caught my eye, I would likely have passed it over. “Polaroid cutting instant photos,” I read in amazement. Who cares, you might ask? This is the digital age. Who wants to use a camera that needs film, even if the picture appears in 60 seconds? When I worked for Polaroid, during its boom years of employing 21,000, consumers considered Polaroid technology and products “bleeding edge,” although, that wasn’t the term then and likely, there’s a new term now. The news of the factory closings and abandonment of one of its core technologies of instant photography, leaving them with a mere 150 employees in Concord, MA, left me wondering, what went wrong?

Maybe, “what went wrong” isn’t the right question to ask. There are many “bleeding edge” technologies available to consumers today that we can’t imagine living without, cell phones, internet access and all associated web technology and services, high definition TV, DVR recorders, satellite radio, global positioning tools, satellite photos and much more. How many of these will be obsolete or abandoned within thirty or twenty years or sooner? What will replace them? What’s next?

Polaroid’s new image from their website includes HD TVs, digital cameras, mobile printers, digital ID systems, GPS, and personal media players. It is their move into today’s market place without instant (non-digital) photography. As a comeback mom, what’s your image? Don’t wait to modernize until someone scans a ten year old (or older) Polaroid photograph onto a Social Network with you wearing the same style in clothes, hair and makeup today. Take the time to get to know the market in which you’re competing and bring your image up to date. After all, Shift Happens, and they aren’t talking about one of your old comfy dresses.