Is gopost the future for rural America?

/in /by

At a recent PCC Day (Postal Customer Council) in Tampa, the USPS spent some time reviewing a pilot program called gopost.  Although designed for package delivery it does not take too much imagination to envision this expanding to mail delivery.

In a nutshell, the post office places automated secured parcel lockers in convenient locations. You register on-line to get your account number/access card and PIN. You have your package shipped to the gopost address, they notify you via email or text that your package has arrived and you simply go pick it up at your convenience. For more information go to gopost.com

There are approximately 3700 post offices in the United States that serve 100 or less residents. The cost, certainly needs to come into play. Would it make sense to expand gopost to gomail?

In an article written in July 2011 by theeagle.com, it talks about the idea of Village Post Offices and more interesting is the discussion on the social aspects of the post office in rural areas.

For many people, especially seniors, getting out, going to the bank, post office or barbershop is a social event. I remember cashing my check on Friday and having a beer with my friends. Lost its luster with auto deposit somehow, kind of took the celebration out of it.

History may repeat itself. Walk into the general store, which is also the post office, buy your supplies, get your mail and get back into the buckboard (wagon) and head home. (and no I don’t remember this).

Analogous to today: go to Walmart, buy your food, hardware, other sundries, pick up your mail jump in your gas guzzling SUV and go home. Could also be a bank, but they are trying to go tellerless. How about the barber? Not good for the follicle challenged.

So what do you think the evolution of the rural post office will represent?

Graph Expo … Three Don’t Miss Opportunities

/in /by

With Graph Expo just two weeks away I am amazed at the “buzz” being generated through the print, email and social media. Talking with Chris Price, VP of the Graphic Arts Show Company, he is anticipating a great show.

Here are three “don’t miss” opportunities:

  1. Xplor at Graph Expo: a half day seminar featuring industry and subject matter experts who will talk about best practices, case studies and trends within the document communications industry.

Complimentary session: Attend one of the nine Xplor conference sessions, listed below, as our guest. For additional information and to registration.

  • Monday, October 8, 2012 – 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM
  • Use registration discount code XSFREE to receive your complimentary session.

Sessions include:

  • Best Practices for Design and Color Quality
  • The Mail Truck vs. The Cloud: The Digital Mailbox Revolution
  • How to Integrate Scaling, Security & Compliance Into Your Document Workflow Strategy
  • Will It Mail? Design Considerations for Inkjet Transaction and Direct Mail
  • Mining and Using Social Media Data to Increase Customer Engagement and Relevant Multichannel Communication
  • Making it Relevant: An Introduction to Variable Data Printing
  • Color Theory Meets Document Design: How to Make Your Documents Sing in Color!
  • Linking Print and Mail: Transitioning to a White Paper Factory™ Workflow
  • One Algorithm Doesn’t Fit All

2.  Experience The Printerverse – Xplor partner Print Media Centr has created The Printerverse, an educational and networking haven for printers, integrated marketers, print and digital producers, print and media buyers, designers, creatives, agencies—and anyone interested in today’s evolution of print. Located on the Show floor, it will feature a variety of ways to interact with print, including the GRAPHitti Wall which you dont want to miss!

3.  Check out the new GASC Channel with all the latest and greatest news for the 2012 Graph Expo event.

See you in a couple weeks ….

The Typewriter Breathes New Life

/in /by

A couple weeks ago I read an article in our local newspaper, the Tampa Tribune that I thought would be fun to write about. The article talked about how consumers are “embracing the past” looking for old telephones, Airstream travel trailers and typewriters.

The article notes: “We see this as a manifestation of objectifying objects, the idea of replacing virtual worlds with physical counterparts, people fetishizing tactile things.”

I love technology and simply by my association with Xplor, I am certainly able to keep ahead of the average person (my age).  I have a PC, iPhone, iPad.  I Facetime, Skype, tweet, blog and post to Facebook.  All of which were not around 5-6 years ago. (with the exception of the PC)

I have embraced technology and leaving my virtual footprint.

But are we headed for a reversal? The article continues on to say: “The modern world is so full of perfect flat-screens and virtual, always-connected services from a digital “cloud,” Berelowitz said, that people feel drawn to a low-tech world with a human touch and feel. The imperfection and iron heft of a typewriter or orange glow of an old light bulb suddenly has strong emotional draw.”

I do enjoy new technology and new ways to communicate but I do sometimes long for “the good old days”, when things seemed to be simpler.

This new fascination of embracing the past does provide opportunity to have it both ways. The one product that caught my eye would marry my iPad with a typewriter. I do plan to order one, as soon as I find a typewriter.

If this catches on, all those old, dusty typewriters sitting on shelves and antique shops will suddenly be breathing new life and increase in value.

The bigger questions to me are:  Will virtual peak?  Will we be drawn back to more human interaction?

Who gives a tweet

/in /by

At the recent XDU On the Road in Chicago I asked attendees a couple questions, which I often do, about twitter. I asked three questions:

1. Who has or has had a twitter account?

2. Who actively tweets?

3. Do you read the tweets you receive?

With the theme of the 2012 XDU On the Road program being “making it relevant”, and the 5 sessions focusing on relevant communications the subject of social media was certainly part of the discussion.

In Chicago, as in other cities the percentages were close. In Chicago approximate 70% said they had a twitter account at some time. About 20% said they actively tweeted and about the same percentage claimed to read some if not all of their tweets.

Many have told me that there are a lot of twitter accounts, with few people actually being engaged. So why should we give it a tweet?

The answer, yes you should give a tweet, especially if they are among the 20 or so percent who like to communicate via twitter. Right message, right time, right person using the right CHANNEL. That is what relevance is.

Do you give a tweet?

PS – 20% is huge compared to the 1-5% using other channels.

Neopost Purchases GMC Software

/in /by

There has been a lot of chatter the last couple weeks about the acquisition of GMC Software by Neopost. (The Xplor LinkedIn Group has certainly been a buzz) After receiving many calls and emails asking what my thoughts are on the subject, I figured I would chime in.

I certainly was not surprised that GMC was sold. GMC has grown and prospered over the years and like many companies was ripe to be acquired by any number of large suitors. What did surprise me initially was who the suitor ended up being, but when you step back, it makes way too much sense.

GMC – I have had the pleasure of working with GMC over the last 15 years. Their products are solid, innovative and highly regarded in the industry. Their people are top notch.

A big part of GMC’s success has been their culture of innovation and a large talented pool of people, both of which have been cultivated over the years by GMC Software Technology CEO René Müller. René has been at the helm for a while, has grown the company and as he has stated, “looking towards” retirement.

It is my belief that René sought out a company that would continue the legacy of product innovation and professional growth for his employees . A company that is a reflection of what GMC has become over the years. Culturally, Neopost seems to fit that bill.

Neopost – One can see from this transaction and other strategic moves that Neopost has made over the last 24 months that they continue to position themselves for growth.

With a large presence in the US (approx. 40% of revenue in 2010) Neopost is ranked as the number one company in Europe and second in the world in mailroom solutions, designed to optimize mail workflow. Neopost has 5,500 employees all over the world and markets products and services in 90 countries with subsidiaries in 18 countries.

Complimentary Culture – I think he Neopost Strategic Vision says it all in terms of Mr. Müller’s selection.

“….  engaging in constructive and mutually profitable working relationships with our partners, respecting environmental, quality-of-life and safety standards as well as supporting local communities.

We provide assistance to local communities where we have a business interest and support employees in their charitable work and actions. We call this being “Close to our customers, close to our communities”.

For a complete write up of Neopost’s Strategic Vision:
http://www.neopost.com/

Is the demise of QR greatly exaggerated or a lesson for marketers?

/in /by

RIP QR Codes????? ….. Really?????

One of the things I enjoy most about new technologies and processes is the ongoing debate of their validity, acceptance and predictions of their demise. QR codes are certainly not exempt from the discussion.

In an article sent to me by Mark Bonacorso of Media Ink (Xplor’s PR company) that was published in the Tucson Weekly they actually celebrate what they call the demise of the QR code.

“Due to the rapidly changing nature of information technology, it shouldn’t surprise anyone when a heavily lauded innovation winds up as a relative flop—and after the hype over QR codes, with claims that we’d spend hours each day scanning them to get information delivered to us on our phones, I’m actually sort of happy to watch the obituaries for them pile up.”

Their notable stat is that “Bloomberg News looked at the rapid demise of the QR code this week, and after all of that coverage of the technology, it’s estimated that only 5 percent of Americans scan one any given week—and that’s partially because most of these codes take us to destinations we don’t really like.”.

Conversely, I have just finished the latest InfoTrend report “How to Be Successful with QR Codes” and it is full of best practices, case studies, design tips and more.

What I surmised after reading the report that it is not necessarily the technology but the application of it.

Any thoughts?

++++++++++++++++++++++++++

If you are interested in ordering the InfoTrends Report, my blog readers receive 20% off the list price of $199 when you check out with coupon code XPLOR20.

For more information, or to order the report please visit: http://store.infotrendsresearch.com/

Thanks for stopping by!

The Cloud Turns 50

/in /by

Read a brief but interesting article this morning by Denise Miano entitled, “Computing in the Cloud is Trendy — but is it really the next new thing?”

Denise brought up some great points and did a great job defining some of the attributes, benefits and definitions of the cloud.

As she pointed out the fundamental concept of the cloud was derived from “timesharing”, conceptually introduced in 1957 and first suggested in 1961 by Stamford Professor, John McCarthy.

The Auerbach Guide to Timesharing 1973 edition lists 125 different timesharing services using equipment from Burroughs, CDC, DEC, HP, Honeywell, IBM, RCA, Univac and XDS. Think about how many of these computer companies are no longer in business.

So it appears we have gone full circle. Timesharing (the cloud), to centralized with everything on your laptop or desktop and now we are heading back to the cloud. (Ross Perot would be proud).

Of concern is what I call “all your eggs in one basket”. If your laptop fails, and you have not backed it up, the loss can be devastating. But you control whether you do back-ups and the frequency.

It may be because I was young when timesharing was in its heyday but I don’t remember the term computer virus. What could a lethal virus do?

I do remember computer bug however, but not virus. For those of you under 40 a little about the first computer bug, which in fact was a real bug.

In a pure cloud environment, what control do you have? What is your cloud providers strategy for disaster recovery? What are your liabilities?

Certainly questions you should ask.  Are our heads in the cloud on this?

Tweeted Autographs – The New Digital Souvenir

/in /by

The other day I read ashort article titled: “Retweets becoming digital version of autographs”. Being a collector for years of sports memorabilia (hopefully to put in my sports bar one day), I was trying to figure out how the new “digital autographs” will work and what their value is.

The article

Forget standing in line for hours, hoping for a scribbled, barely legible autograph on a wrinkled piece of paper. Or jockeying for spots behind the dugout on the off chance a signed ball or batting glove gets tossed your way.

When it comes to souvenirs from your favorite athlete, the retweet is where it’s at these days.

Fans have turned Twitter into a digital version of the autograph session, asking — sometimes begging or pleading — stars from every sport for a shoutout. Social media experts say the retweet allows fans to feel a “connection’’ to their favorite athletes, erasing the traditional barrier between superstars and the ordinary folks who adore them. Read article here: http://tinyurl.com/6n667yy

Great memories are attached to many of the autographs I acquired over the years, mostly at games with my Dad, my kids or charity events. None of those I would give up for a re-tweet.

I am sure some entrepreneurial person will come up with a way to catalogue and preserve the re-tweets but so what. Can’t look at them, nor display them.

Same holds true for e-books I have found out. My 9 year old daughter published a great hardback book that she wrote and illustrated, autographing it and giving it to me for Christmas.  This is certainly one of my most prized possessions.  On the other hand she recently found a kids program called Storybird, wrote another book and sent me the link. (Great program for kids)  http://tinyurl.com/6t6z52g

I of course loved it, but it can’t replace the autographed hardback in my office.

There is a time and place for digital. But retweets, don’t think so.

Xplor International Welcomes 2012 Board Of Directors

/in /by

The old and the new….

Associations are driven by leadership with Xplor being no different. At this years conference the International Board of Directors voted to add three directors with the sole purpose of bringing in “new blood”, particularly “new YOUNG blood”.

I certainly applaud the decision. Our Board is made up of volunteers, who willingly give of their time. There are no perks for being on the Board as we hold (12) meetings a year, (11) via the web and one face to face meeting during our annual conference. This is a group of people that really and truly want to give back.

The Board has remained fairly “consistent” over the last several years so a bit of out of the box thinking is exactly what we needed.

Our young blood comes from the end user, service bureau and vendor community, and consist of Manish Kapoor of FedEx, Roger Chamberlain of Cincinnati Financial and Scott Draeger of HP/Exstream.

I personally want to thank Mark Bonacorso, who was last years Chair for his support and I welcome our new Chair, Paul Abdool and look forward to working with him and the rest of the 2012 Board.

As such, I would like to share our recent press release.

Xplor International Names New Association Board of Directors for 2012

Lutz, FL— May 15, 2012– Xplor International, the worldwide electronic document systems association, today announced that at the annual Conference and Vendor Forum in Tampa Bay, Florida, the organization named their Association Board of Directors for 2012. In addition to returning directors and officers, Xplor added three new members, including Roger Chamberlain of Cincinnati Financial, Scott Draeger of HP and Manish Kapoor of FedEx.

For 2012, Xplor’s Association Board of Directors includes:

Officers/Directors:
Paul Abdool Chair and Director RICOH
Randy Hardy Vice Chair and Director Randy Hardy Associates
Harold (Skip) E. Henk, Jr. President, CEO and Director Xplor International
David Day Treasurer and Director Crawford Technologies
Rob Williams Secretary and Director Continuum Worldwide Solutions
Additional Directors:
Mark Bonacorso (Retiring Chair) Media Ink
Roger Chamberlain Cincinnati Financial
Scott Draeger HP
Sandi Gilbert Crystaldox Document Management
Manish Kapoor FedEx
Scott Kelly US Lynx, Inc
James Shand Tripartum, LTD
Diana Snably Xerox Corp.

“We are honored to have our 2012 association board of director in place, with representation from the end-user, vendor and service bureau communities,” said Skip Henk, EDP, President and CEO of Xplor International. “I want to thank outgoing chair Mark Bonacorso, for his leadership and welcome the new members of the board. I look forward to working with the 2012 Association Board in growing the association and to an excellent year of educational programming and products.”

# # #

About Xplor International

Xplor International is a worldwide, not-for-profit professional association that consists of thousands of users and suppliers of the products and services that create, modify and deliver customized information using a wide variety of document technologies. The association provides educational products and programs for its members and the industry at large through conferences, meetings and annual events. Xplor International has its worldwide headquarters in Lutz, Florida with affiliated offices around the world. Further information is available at www.xplor.org.

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/XplorInternational

Twitter: @Xplor_Int

Media Contacts:

Mark Bonacorso
Media Ink.
520-825-0217
markb@mediaink.biz

Skip Henk
Xplor International
(813) 948-3038
skip@xplor.org

Lunch and Learn, information at its best!

/in /by

Yesterday was the April edition of the monthly “Lunch and Learn” program entitled More QR/AR Fun. Moderator, and industry veteran, Pat McGrew, was her brilliant and charismatic self and once again assembled a great panel of industry experts.

The program, entering its 4th year continues to gain momentum and expand. What is unique about the Lunch and Learn is that it is completely vendor neutral no matter who is on the panel, Pat sees to it. It is 100% information.

The webinars are free and run from April through October 2012 very third Thursday of each month at 1:00 pm EST.

If you have a topic you would like us to discuss let us know. Also, if after reviewing upcoming events you would like to be a member of a panel. Contact me at skip@xplor.org or via phone at 813-949-6170.

Upcoming webinars include:

  • May 17: Back to Basics – AFP, PDF and Transforms! No matter how much you work with AFP. PDF, metacode, PCL and the other print languages of the business world, there is always more to learn and a lot to share. In this edition of the Lunch & Learn’s we’ll talk about what’s new in AFP (yes, there are still updates!), and what’s new in PDF. It’s always lively when talk turns to print streams and transforms
  • June 21: Technology Basics: Designing for Print and Pixel. Last year’s design webinar resulted in a record turnout, so it’s back. Come hear from design professionals as they help us understand how technology impacts your selection of fonts, colors and design techniques. We’ll take questions in advance.
  • July 19: Back to Basics – Workflow (More than just a controller!) When we say “workflow” what do you think of? For some it’s Automated Document Factory, for some it’s the Digital Front End and for still others it’s everything from job creation to insertion into the mail stream. No matter where you are in the mix, we’ll be talking about something that will be relevant to you!
  • August 16: Educating your Team: What do they need to know and how do you educate them? Each year new people come in to the industry and often they have a limited understanding of creating work that will go in to the mail stream, delivered via secure email or digital post services. In this webinar we’ll talk about the basic needs for education and what type of mentoring plan can work to ensure that your team up-to-date and on board with technology changes!
  • September 20: Multi-channel Delivery Alternatives – What should you be thinking about? digital mail boxes, augmented reality, intelligent/smart print, email, web services, SMS and a host of other technologies are available to deliver information to our customers. We’re gathering experts to help sort out the options and help point you to where the best practices are emerging today.
  •  October 18: Fall Wrap Up: What’s New, What’s Emerging. It’s a drupa year, and that always means announcements that get us thinking about the future. For this wrap up we’ll look at the most interesting announcements of the year and talk about how they impact the world that Xplorers live in.

The Lunch and Learn webinars are being produced by the Xplor Document University, the educational arm of Xplor International and sponsored by HP. All of the webinars are complimentary and open to anyone interested in participating. For more information visit www.xplor.org.

Hope you join us.