Category Archives: Industry Info

Will Amazon screw up Eero?

Posted on February 13, 2019 by Mark Mizen

I have previously written about Eero WiFi routers and how they resolved my WiFi problems. Eero eliminates WiFi dead zones and gives me control over who is using my WiFi network and when they are using it. This week Eero … Continue reading →

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Free Is Not Sustainable

Posted on August 15, 2018 by Mark Mizen

It’s not particularly surprising, but free online photo products do not appear to be a sustainable business model. See http://thedeadpixelssociety.com/the-shift-away-from-free-in-online-photo/?  

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Film and the Future of Kodak

Posted on June 15, 2018 by Mark Mizen

Get out the slide projectors! Kodak is bringing Ektachrome back. Kodak Alaris announced in 2017 that they were bringing back Ektachrome slide film, which was discontinued in 2012.  While I can debate the wisdom of their decision, I cannot make … Continue reading →

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How to recognize a pyramid scheme

Posted on November 9, 2016 by Mark Mizen

A bit harsh, but John Oliver raises some interesting points in his video on Multilevel Marketing. He point out correctly that if a company relies on recruiting and sales to distributors for the majority of its income, rather than sales … Continue reading →

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An Open Letter to Senator Franken and Senator Klobuchar

Posted on October 27, 2016 by Mark Mizen

Dear Senator: I am writing to you as a former employee of Creative Memories and as a former participant in Creative Memories ESOP retirement plan. Creative Memories was a scrapbooking company based out of St. Cloud, MN. Creative Memories went bankrupt … Continue reading →

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Advice to Political Candidates

Posted on August 11, 2016 by Mark Mizen

If you want to say something unbelievable, do it in print – at least that is the advice from an article titled “The Charm of Print” that appeared in the January/February issue of Ink World magazine. According to Ink World, … Continue reading →

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Poor Leadership Leads to Disaster

Posted on June 13, 2016 by Mark Mizen

“Within the company, there was widespread agreement that customers would always want hard copies of pictures, and key decision makers failed to question this assumption.” “They favored the comfort of consensus over the discomfort of dissent, which was precisely the … Continue reading →

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The Peter Principle and the Paternal Instep

Posted on May 9, 2016 by Mark Mizen

The Peter Principle characterizes corporate promotions in that competent employees are frequently promoted until they reach their level of incompetence. This Principle applies in all circumstances but is particularly relevant to family businesses, where the Paternal Instep allows family members … Continue reading →

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Could Creative Memories Press have saved Creative Memories?

Posted on April 28, 2016 by Mark Mizen

The last project I worked on at Creative Memories was a plan to manufacture digital photo products for other vendors, taking advantage of the Creative Memories Manufacturing and Distribution Center in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Creative Memories produced high quality photo books, … Continue reading →

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Why I write about Creative Memories

Posted on April 26, 2016 by Mark Mizen

Every time I write an article about Creative Memories, I get a few comments back along the lines of “The old CM is in the past….it’s history. Let it go and move on! There’s no need to keep digging up … Continue reading →

Posted in Industry Info, Scrapbooking | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments