Thankful on Thanksgiving

by Graham McFarland - President & CEO of ExpressDigital

There is a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving even in these tough economic times and uncertainty that makes life a bit more difficult to navigate. I wanted to write today and share with you my thoughts on why I am thankful on this Thanksgiving Day.

I am thankful for my family. My beautiful wife and four children are the centerpiece of my world and the table wouldn't be complete without each and every one of them present. They make me forget the worries of the day and a reminder of what is really important in life each time I see their smiling faces. My extended family full of relatives from near and far provide a limitless support structure and an unwavering sense of invincibility.

I am thankful for ExpressDigital and all of our 30,000+ customers that use our products and services to help grow their photography businesses. We take pride in serving our customers and do our best treat them as members of our own families.

I am thankful for our employees at ExpressDigital who work tirelessly each day to provide the best products and services to our customers. These are the men and women of my extended family that share the passion and drive to help each one of our customers succeed and grow.

I am thankful for the men and women serving in the military who, everyday, protect our freedoms that make our country the envy of the world. Especially those who give the ultimate sacrifice of their lives for our country and our way of life. I recommend watching a powerful movie called "Taking Chance" sometime over this holiday season. It is a true account that stars Kevin Bacon as an USMC colonel who volunteers as a military escort for one of our heroes killed in action in Iraq. It recounts the entire trip as seen through the eyes of Kevin Bacon's character and provides a dignified and ceremonial behind the scenes look at laying to rest one of our own. It is a film that will make you proud to be an American and show the sacrifices that our men and women in uniform make everyday to keep us safe and secure. You can see a trailer for this movie below:



I am thankful for my faith. It acts as my compass during good times and not so good times. With faith you are never alone.

Have a very Happy Thanksgiving and I wish you great cheer during this holiday season. We all at ExpressDigital thank you for your business and hope that the new year brings joy, happiness and prosperity.

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FREE passes to ImagingUSA 2010 and WPPI

Don’t pay for exhibitor passes to these two exciting events.

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Professional Photographers of America presents…
Imaging USA 2010
Nashville, TN
January 10-12, 2010
http://www.imagingusa.org/

To get a free exhibition pass, click this link and follow the instructions.

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The Wedding Photographers Association / Rangefinder Magazine present…
WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International) 2010
Las Vegas, NV
March 4-11, 2010
http://www.wppionline.com/storage/lasvegas/home.html

To get a free exhibition pass, click this link and follow the instructions.

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Nostalgia is just as warm as hot cocoa

Photography News that's Fit to Blog (This Week)
by Kerry Raminiak

20 years ago today the Berlin Wall came down and so today we lead off with this great photo story by the New York Times. More impressive is this interactive gallery. I cannot endorse these articles any higher nor can I remark on how more and more impressed I have become with the NYT’s commitment to quality presentation of their photojournalism online.

Industry news recap. Everybody is talking about selling online.
Two articles came out within the past seven days articulating up-to-date analysis on the strongest sectors going into the upcoming holiday season. Both unabashedly explain that if you are not selling online “you’re out.”

From this article by PMANewsline:
“Despite the lingering effects of the recession, the online space remains the retail industry’s growth engine,” said Sucharita Mulpuru, Forrester Research vice president and principal analyst. “What’s different this holiday from past years is that online retailers will manage to the bottom line, which will change some of the tactics they have employed in the past.”

And for those number crunchers:
iPerceptions has released a report explaining the online sales process by surveying 360,000 visitors about how they are strategizing their holiday spending. Download the report (registration required) here. Our take-away was that it is pretty prevalent that online shoppers (representing the significant majority of the surveyees) will make two trips to an online shopping location: (1st) to learn more about prices and options, and (2nd) to make the purchase.

With that said, if you are not selling your photography online with PhotoReflect and are not opted-in to photo gifts and greeting cards right now, you are missing out every day, because people that are on your site today are seeking out what they will buy within the next three weeks.

Need to learn more about what I am talking about? Join us for one of our webinars found here.

Fun fun fun stuff.
Two of my favorite things to fall on my lap last week are listed below. But first, before you go any further, will you take this one-click survey? Do You Print? The results interest me and should interest you if you are thinking about how your photography products are going to be managed in the next couple of years.

My Parents Were Awesome.This collaborative photo blog is getting some attention, well, because it is simply so endearing. I bookmarked it as a favorite (and not in my “work favorites” folder, but, in my “real favorites” folder.) (Very few sites receive such an honor.) We’re your parents awesome? Did you publish to the site? Let us know in the comments!

iCaughtSanta is a cute way to kick off the season.
Take a look at this concept that allows you to put Santa (or the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy or Cupid, for that matter) in your living room. Pretty cute, I think.

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