What better issue to run a list than the first one of the new year. We had gotten quite a few e-mails when we ran our “10 Things I Hate About Digital” list a while back as several folks felt it spoke to some of the problems their customers were experiencing with digital. They asked if that is how I compiled the list in the first place and my response was, “No, these are actually things that I hate about digital.”
The list of things I love about digital is much longer and I’ll run that in an upcoming issue too, but the following list of ten things I hate is expressly my own. Perhaps these are things many consumers are struggling with and this list can serve as an “Industry To Do” list of ten things that need addressing in 2009.
10 Things I Hate About Digital
Putting the Me in Memories – far too often I am realizing that, after a particular family event is shot, I am only one that sees the images. They are uploaded off the card, organized on the hard drive, later burned to CD/DVD and weeks later my wife will ask, “whatever happened to the images from my mother’s birthday?”
Choice Overload – so many digicams from so many manufactures. It’s the kind of thing that can make you feel very alone.
Digital Anxiety – I spend more time worrying about what I’m going to do with the images I just shot then I do shooting/enjoying them.
Print Procrastination – Can’t the industry somehow let consumers know that you can get prints from your digital camera just as easily as you could from your 35mm camera. Way too many people I talk to still think you can’t.
Lots of Little Thingy’s – Tiny media cards, mini thumb drives, little card readers, compact hard drives, keychain digicams…sometimes I feel like I’ve woken up in Gulliver’s Travels and the Lilliputians have taken over.
At Arm’s Distance – I’ve never gotten used to seeing people take pictures with the camera held 3 feet from their face. Still looks odd to me – like there’s something wrong with the camera and they can’t quite figure it out
Digital Ubiquity – The technology is amazing, I know, but the fact that digicams have gotten so small and have even morphed themselves into cell phones means they are literally everywhere…not necessarily a good thing, ya know what I mean?
Compatibility Blues – This one is stupid but….everything should work with everything, all the time, no matter what I buy or where I buy it, period.
Danger Will Robinson! – The fact that my images are in danger from the minute I remove the card from the camera til they are “safely” backed-up somewhere is just silly. The fact it’s true is just wrong.
Crash & Burn – A computer hard drive, loaded with memories of your children’s precious first years, that suddenly crashes is a tragic event. Yeah, I know, I’m supposed to back everything up but sometimes you’re busy with the minor details in life like changing diapers, attending dance recitals and enjoying family and friends so you forget about all your digital duties and dump stuff on the hard drive. Of course, that’s when it crashes…not the day after you burn a few DVDs – it’s always the day before.
On that day in particular, I really hated digital.
