Wednesday, June 14, 2006
Changing for the better
CrafTrends announced that Primedia has entered into an agreement to sell substantially all of the assets of its Crafts Group to Enthusiast Media LLC, an entity controlled by affiliates of Sandler Capital Management, in an all-cash transaction valued at $132 million, subject to audit adjustments.
So you can imagine the premature reactions, suppositions and conclusions posted on the various message boards. (Primedia's Crafts Group has been on the table for some time.)
So what's my reaction? Too soon to tell. The optimistic Ali Edwards says "It's all good," but that has been the catch phrase since CHA-S 2005.
So the change management consultant in me says the easy and the obvious: "If it's change for the better, then the change is good." But will this and the other recent changes really be good for scrapbooking?
If there is a place for the beginner and a place for the obsessed addict, then yes.
If there is a level playing field for all members of the scrapbooking community, then yes.
I don't see either of the two mega players offering what's needed...yet. Only the NSA can provide the solutions to manage the impending changes.
Primedia's Creating Keepsakes has a lock on the artistic scrapbooker. But the magazine is not forthcoming about its focus for the advanced scrapoboker. CK tends to lure the novice in the short term and alienate them in the long term. Primedia's Simple Scrapbooks tries to target beginners, but with professional quality photos in every layout, it alientates the beginner who happens to have a shoebox of more-than-average snapshots.
F & W's only consumer scrapbooking magazine, Memory Makers, claims to have something for everyone, as does the newcomer, Scrapbook Answers from Future Networks USA. Both publish nine times per year and neither has a consistent way to communicate what level scrapbooker their particular content is for.
No wonder non-scrapbookers find the hobby intimidating, overwheming and downright scary. It's not so fun to play.
One solution is a system to communicate clearly and effectively the ability level of a particular project, class, make & take or technique. The NSA is developing a standard that all members of the scrapbooking community can adopt, without having to side with one magazine, publisher, "side" or camp. It will be a way to tell beginners, "Hey, you can do this, no matter how artsy it looks," and it will let the advanced scrapper know that they will be challenged.
When the NSA makes this service available, it will be free and open for anyone to use. I hope all the players do, because that would be change for the better.
ETP!
So you can imagine the premature reactions, suppositions and conclusions posted on the various message boards. (Primedia's Crafts Group has been on the table for some time.)
So what's my reaction? Too soon to tell. The optimistic Ali Edwards says "It's all good," but that has been the catch phrase since CHA-S 2005.
So the change management consultant in me says the easy and the obvious: "If it's change for the better, then the change is good." But will this and the other recent changes really be good for scrapbooking?
If there is a place for the beginner and a place for the obsessed addict, then yes.
If there is a level playing field for all members of the scrapbooking community, then yes.
I don't see either of the two mega players offering what's needed...yet. Only the NSA can provide the solutions to manage the impending changes.
Primedia's Creating Keepsakes has a lock on the artistic scrapbooker. But the magazine is not forthcoming about its focus for the advanced scrapoboker. CK tends to lure the novice in the short term and alienate them in the long term. Primedia's Simple Scrapbooks tries to target beginners, but with professional quality photos in every layout, it alientates the beginner who happens to have a shoebox of more-than-average snapshots.
F & W's only consumer scrapbooking magazine, Memory Makers, claims to have something for everyone, as does the newcomer, Scrapbook Answers from Future Networks USA. Both publish nine times per year and neither has a consistent way to communicate what level scrapbooker their particular content is for.
No wonder non-scrapbookers find the hobby intimidating, overwheming and downright scary. It's not so fun to play.
One solution is a system to communicate clearly and effectively the ability level of a particular project, class, make & take or technique. The NSA is developing a standard that all members of the scrapbooking community can adopt, without having to side with one magazine, publisher, "side" or camp. It will be a way to tell beginners, "Hey, you can do this, no matter how artsy it looks," and it will let the advanced scrapper know that they will be challenged.
When the NSA makes this service available, it will be free and open for anyone to use. I hope all the players do, because that would be change for the better.
ETP!
