5G is upon us. What now?

AR, Augmented reality, computational imaging, computer vision, content, depth imaging, imaging, mobile, photo organizing, PhotoTech, prosumer, Social Media, UGC, video, Visual 1st, VR January 23, 2019 Hans Hartman Leave a comment

If CES was any indication, 5G is supposed to change the world as we know it. And after all the noise we’ll no doubt hear next month at Mobile World Congress, even my 96-year-old mother-in-law will demand 5G on her phone. Before we look into how 5G might impact the world of consumer imaging, let’s first explore what it is and review the most discussed use cases in the consumer tech world at large. In simple terms, 5G is a cellular communications protocol that uses higher radio frequencies…

What to expect in 2019 (and beyond)

3D, advertising, Artificial Intelligence, Brands, computational imaging, computer vision, content, Content Recognition, e-commerce, Emotion analysis, Facebook, Facial recognition, google, imaging, in-image, Instagram, mobile, Pinterest, Snapchat, Social Media, Twitter, video, visual recognition December 26, 2018 Paul Melcher Leave a comment

As the year comes to a close, it is an excellent time to review the emerging visual tech trends ( and failures) and predict those that will have a significant impact in 2019 and beyond. Without further notice and in no particular order, here they are: Eyes in your house : There is a race, right now, to get cameras in your homes. Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant voice search are getting eyes, to serve you better. As they insert more deeply into our lives, they…

The six consumer imaging trends that stood out in 2018

Artificial Intelligence, computational imaging, content, editing, imaging, mobile, photo organizing, photo sharing, PhotoTech, Snapchat, technology, Visual 1st December 19, 2018 Hans Hartman 1 Comment

I’m a sucker for year-in-reviews, especially if they’re about soccer or speedskating (yes, really). So, with things slowing down before the holidays and a soon forthcoming CES that will bring us right back to the future, here are the six consumer imaging trends that I feel stood out this year. 1. AI is becoming ubiquitous. AI has moved way beyond its initial imaging use case of classifying objects portrayed in photos (“show me all photos with a cat in it”). For each of the phases of the…

Google, Images and rights

content, google, in-image, keyword, mobile, photo organizing, Search, Social Media, visual recognition October 16, 2018 Paul Melcher 1 Comment

Ever since its inception, in 2001, Google Image Search did not show much love to those who create photographs. In fact, when subsequently sued for recreating and publishing thumbnails of images on its result page, it fought back and won. A victory that forever helped devalue pictures thereafter. A reversal of policy Google considered photos as freely available assets to classify and display and by result, helped comfort this illusion to its users. They hugely benefited from the complete absence of a central organization (unlike the music, TV…

New study analyzes what’s driving the explosion in user-generated videos and hybrid photo-videos

imaging, mobile, Mobile Photo Connect, phablet, photo organizing, photo sharing, prosumer, Social Media, study, tablet, technology, video September 5, 2018 Paul Melcher Leave a comment

Videos and phodeos surge into the Mainstream Consumer video sure ain’t what it used to be. The category now includes numerous variations, ranging from full-length to short-form narratives, plus what could be called “phodeos”: hybrids of photos and videos such as Boomerang clips, Instagram Stories, and even the (now venerable) GIF animations. Due in large part to these new options that free consumers from the “one (huge) size fits all” straightjacket of the past, motion imaging is more popular now than ever. Are we witnessing a bubble? Or…

Pursuing low hanging fruit or the long tail?

computer vision, content, editing, imaging, mobile, Mobile Photo Connect, photo merchandise, prosumer, Social Media, technology, Visual 1st August 29, 2018 Hans Hartman Leave a comment

The proliferation of cameras, visual formats, and monetization methods are transforming the consumer imaging industry It’s not really new: consumers want – and are getting – more and more finite choices for buying exactly the types of products they need. Specialty retail stores are making a comeback, SMBs with niche products can now easily get nationwide (and to some extent overseas) distribution through Amazon, and big brand vendors keep adding collections of boutique brands that address specific use cases and consumer segments. What is new…

Visual 1st 2018 update: Announcing 35 speakers, 13 sponsoring vendors, 7 sponsoring media/associations

AR, Augmented reality, computer vision, content, depth imaging, Facial recognition, imaging, Marketplace, mobile, Mobile Photo Connect, phablet, photo merchandise, photo organizing, photo sharing, PhotoTech, Social Media, tablet, technology, video, Visual 1st August 15, 2018 Hans Hartman Leave a comment

Greetings! I hope the summer is treating you well. My co-host Alexis Gerard and I are very pleased with how our Visual 1st 2018 conference is shaping up and we’d like you to be part of it! With 68 days to go until Visual 1st (formerly Mobile Photo Connect), buying your ticket now will optimize your pre-conference exposure through a listing on our Attendees-to-date and our Attendee app trailer pages. It will also give you a 15% chance of winning an Insta360 Nano S camera ($239 value). Courtesy of our partner Insta360, we’ll raffle 15 of these…

Visual apps: Photo, Video, Photo + Video?

Augmented reality, computer vision, content, Content Recognition, editing, imaging, Marketplace, mobile, photo merchandise, photo sharing, PhotoTech, research, Snapchat, study, video July 11, 2018 Hans Hartman Leave a comment

Last year we changed the name of our conference, from Mobile Photo Connect to Visual 1st. Besides wanting to affirm our focus that visuals are increasingly at the core of how people communicate and retain their memories, we also felt we needed to let go of the words “mobile” and “photo” in the event name. Why? As was the case in the early 2000s when having a website and internet strategy became common practice and companies, therefore, stopped calling themselves “internet companies,” we felt that “mobile” is…

Article 13 : What does it mean for photos ?

analytic, commercial stock, content, editing, Facebook, filter, flickr, getty, Instagram, news, photo sharing, photojournalism, Pinterest, research, Social Media, technology, UGC June 22, 2018 Paul Melcher 1 Comment

Just this past week, the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs approved amendments to EU’s Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market. Among which is included the infamous Article 13 which ” creates an obligation on information society service providers storing and giving access to large amounts of works and other subject-matter uploaded by their users to take appropriate and proportionate measures to ensure the functioning of agreements concluded with rightsholders and to prevent the availability on their services of content identified by rightsholders in cooperation with the…

Announcing The 2018 Photo Print Buying Survey study

analytic, big data, content, editing, mobile, Mobile Photo Connect, photo merchandise, research, Social Media, study, transaction June 8, 2018 Hans Hartman 1 Comment

The photo print products use case: A relic of the past? Or teeming with new opportunities? It’s been four years since we conducted our last photo print product survey. Given how dramatically the world of photo taking, enhancing and sharing has changed since, we decided to measure today’s consumers’ behavior and opinions regarding buying photo print products, resulting in The 2018 Photo Print Buying Survey study, announced today. What are the dramatic changes that could very well have changed consumers’ photo print product buying behavior? Not only are consumers taking…