It’s not everyday that print industry veteran and twitter personality X offers to represent you at an event and blog for you. I do admit, I was wondering if I would be liable for any potential international incidents, but it seems he kept on his best behavior and no Dscoopers were “harmed” during his visit. Since the US and Spain are still allies, it seems like the rest of his vacation went smoothly as well.
Now that we have had an incident free test run, I hope to be able to work with Michael more often. He is insightful, opinionated, and a true champion of ink on paper. I’d call that a triple threat when it comes to blogging, and Im honored to share this with you… Enjoy!
Sunday, November 11, 2012
On twitter some time last week:
(Michael Josefowicz) @toughLoveforx Hey @printpros Since I’m gonna be in Barcelona next week, you think a couple of posts about dscoop wud be cool for PMC ?
(Deborah Corn) @PrintPros @toughloveforx OMG you are leaving BKLYN!! Yes sure – love it!!!
Deborah has it pretty right. When I was still in game I was glad to travel. OnDemand, GraphExpo were always a very nice to have. Press checks in Milan, Iceland and Prague were all must haves. Since I’ve retired I’m happy to sit at my kitchen table in Brooklyn and depend on Twitter and Google to keep me up to date on my beloved Print Industry.
So why Barcelona?
To be honest I’ve always wanted to walk through Barcelona to experience Gaudi architecture first hand. Pictures are nice, but there is nothing to compare to experiencing the magnificent buildings in the context of “real life.” (For web 2.0+ Context is King. There is a plethora of content. But without context it’s noise. One reason Print rocks! . An article in a newsletter or magazine comes with it’s own context.)
In addition I’ve made a good friend in Barcelona. For over a year we have traded tweets and it seemed clear we share similar interests and viewpoints. Education, complexity theory, history and politics. The opportunity to spend some easy time in the widest band communication – sharing a meal – was good enuff to get me to “leave BKLYN”
Why DSCOOP?
I’ve been following DSCOOP since their first meetings in the States. I’ve seen it grow from 500 attendees to 2000 attendees. When Dscoop first came on the scene there was much conversation on the web on whether DSCOOP – and other meetings like them – are the future of “trade shows.” My opinion is that while there is still a place for the Big Shows, peer to peer collaboration is the growing trend.
The Big Shows business model was to aggregate customers and sell them to manufacturers. Similar to the advertising based model for magazines and newspapers. It’s been called a “Dog Food” business model. The user is not the one that pays the freight.
DSCOOP has a different model. The customer pays the freight with a little help from HP. The printers who own HP equipment, primarily Indigos pay for the opportunity to talk, share, create the trust that allows real collaboration.
The DSCOOP in Barcelona is the first in Europe. Like the earlier DSCOOPs in the States there were 500 attendees. One could feel the collaboration. There was no rushing. The venue was beautiful. More leisurely conversation and well attended education sessions. It felt much more like a conference than a show.
Unfortunately I only got my press pass ( that’s a story for another post ) on Friday around noon. Much thanks to Pat McGrew for her help. So I only attended one session. @Pvantees gave one of the best presentations I’ve seen so far explaining the challenges and opportunities of Social Media. It was worth the trip.
From 50,000 feet, it’s clear the globals understand the real growth markets are in Asia, the Middle East and Africa. What is often under appreciated by Printers on the ground, is that Asia, Middle East and Africa are the sources for innovations and insights that can help them understand how to thrive in the American market.
Unlike other many other parts of the industry, commercial print can not be outsourced. Time to Market and Agile Responses to quickly changing consumer demand is a recognized value for global brands, publishers and product companies. The faster time to market trumps lower production costs especially when shipping times are added to final delivery. Consider Toyota has built plants in the United States, not because it is cheaper but because it’s faster.
So my takeaway is that it’s time for the American industry to look to overseas Printers as collaborators not as competitors. With Twitter and other channels it is now easier than ever. I’ve seen that it’s much easier to get an answer to an @ than an email.
If I can do it from the kitchen table, every printer can do it while waiting for a potential client to return a phone call or email.
