Today...is a great day!

Today...I gave an interview to a reporter looking into the impact of digital scrapbooking (Renee Pearson calls it "digi"). She asked for numbers (we just know that the trend is growing) and what effects digital might have on traditional scrapbooking. She also was interested how scrapbookers are combining digital with traditional scrapbooking techniques.
Here are the thoughts I shared with her:
Digi is growing because:

• Software like PSE filters out the features superfluous to most scrapbookers and makes it easier to apply the effects they are looking for
• Digital photos are loaded to a computer, and scrapbookers find it easier to scrap them on the computer
• Many digi scrappers say it's about convenience and cost. No product to buy, organize, pull out, put away, etc.

Here's why some scrappers have not converted:

• They need a hands-on activity. The textures of paper and embellishments is a big part of the experience. Happiness is an inky, paint-stained hand.
• Like me, they may spend most of the work day at a computer. Traditional scrapbooking gets them away from the computer.
• Or they are not computer savvy, and they don't want to have to learn to scrap on a computer.

Needless to say, many scrapbookers use their computer for scrapbooking:

• Uploading, editing, and printing photos
• Journaling and titles
• Some design layouts on the computer, like a sketch, before assembling all the pieces
• There's a trend to do both: create a page with digital elements, print it, then add 3-D embellishments like ribbons and charms, to create a totally unique look. The Leeza Gibbons Scrapbooking Software software by Mountain Cow facilitates this approach.

And for the final bullet points, here are my thoughts about the impact of digi:

• Digi has the potential to bring more people into scrapbooking and to help more people to create more ways to preserve their memories.
• It has the potential to attract men to the hobby. Generally men buy the cameras, but it's the women who take the pictures. Showing men what they can do with the photos with their other "toys" may entice them to scrap.
• Digital scrapbookers should utilize services to print and bind their albums so they can to showcase and share their memories in book form

And finally, digital scrapbooking further proves the point that scrapbooking is for everyone, even the person who doesn't want to get ink on their hands.

ETP!