AI Everywhere, But Not All the Time Every October in San Francisco, where robot taxis are busily roaming the streets, something peculiar happens. The photography industry’s old guard—print manufacturers, stock agencies, software makers—sits down with its new blood: the brilliant engineers building AI-powered photo services, mobile apps, editing tools, andContinue Reading
When MANGO launched its first fully AI-generated ad campaign last year, it made headlines: one of the first major fashion brands to swap models and sets for pixels and prompts. But now it’s gone a step further. This time, it’s not just campaign visuals or aspirational lookbooks. MANGO has begunContinue Reading
For those with little or no memory, there was a time not so long ago when every mention of photography was preceded or followed by these three letters: NFT. Since generative AI burst onto the scene, mentions, as well as the value of these three letters, have plummeted. The frenzyContinue Reading
The question often comes up at our Visual 1st conference and in our strategic client workshops: What criteria to apply when selecting potential targets for strategic acquisition? And, from the standpoint of startups seeking an exit, how to choose suitable potential acquirers? Examining recent trends can provide helpful insights onContinue Reading
A deep dive into SensorTower’s US app store data for H1 this year The US photo & video app market is alive and well. It did not only boom during the COVID heydays last year with many consumers spending more time at home, but it has also shown continued growthContinue Reading
Unlike the Hype Cycle, the areas of disillusionment haven’t stopped developers from making tremendous progress creating and implementing real-life AI-based imaging solutions that enable users to more easily and more creatively capture, enhance, manage, share or print their visual content.Continue Reading
Remember Framen? This German startup’s CEO, Dimitri Gärtner, did a Show & Tell presentation at Visual 1st two years ago, showing his company’s digital frame photo viewing solutions. To my surprise, I learned a few days before Christmas that a company no less than Axel Springer had just acquired theContinue Reading
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 withContinue Reading
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 optimizeContinue Reading
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”Continue Reading