When I was young and the world was still flat, you had to go to an actual store and look for greeting cards. Most stores had half an aisle to two aisles of cards from which to choose; a fair selection of birthday cards, a handful of seasonally appropriate cards, a dozen or so anniversary cards, a scattering of get well cards, one or two thank you cards, and one encouragement card showing a (probably long dead) cat clinging to a tree telling you to "hang in there, baby!" There was very little choice available to the consumer. This was before the age of the prosumer.
Now you can buy customized greeting cards here , here , here, or a dozen other places. You can also buy software to make your own such as this, this, or these. There are even free versions such as this one or this one . You can even make your own musical greeting card as shown in this video.
Prosumers can completely control the content and form of greeting cards now. They can choose to send a paper card through the mail, without ever touching the card through websites like this one. They can print out a card from their own computer using card stock. They can even choose to forgo paper and send e-greetings. Sites like Evite allows them to send invitations electronically and receive RSVPs electronically. Even with all these choices and the content control they offer, the card aisle is not going away. In fact, I have seen it grow bigger as the greeting companies expand their lines to include things like offbeat humor and less "mainstream" holidays such as Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and Bastille Day. It's also a heck of a lot easier to stop at the store and grab a card when you realize that you forgot to pick one up for your third cousin's sixth birthday today.
Great example this week. I am seeing those someecards.com images on Facebook a lot lately. Or at least I'm noticing them lately. Anyway, they remind me of the line of cards (and products) that have vintage illustrations with funny sayings on them.
ReplyDeleteMaking cards on the computer with a program is cheaper than buying cards in any store. I used to make greeting cards on the computer because it was easier, but now I buy my cards usually from the grocery store because it’s easier and I don’t have to worry about thinking of what to say to certain people. I think know the easiest way to say Happy Birthday to someone or wish them Happy Holidays is Facebook. Otherwise I would go with e-cards because people probably check their email more than they check their mail. I’m glad you brought this topic to light because I’ve never thought about us being a prosumer with greeting cards.
ReplyDeleteFirst I'd like to commend you on your clever use and incorporation of links in your writing with witty syntax to support them. Before I reads your posting and even before I considered what it would be that I would write of, I could honestly and sadly say I never would have considered this, but am glad you did.
ReplyDeleteWhere as I chose a topic that seemed to favor a bias, I feel that this one about greeting cards has no bias. What I mean by that is I don't feel like having the Internet introduce "e-Cards" would or could ever cause a decline in retail store sales like the invention of the MP3 has to the Music business. To explain in more dept, many people, whether it be that they can't, don't know how or just simple won't write a card, will leave it up to professional prose/poets to write that into words which they "truly" feel for another.
I can imagine that you as one of the people that can and enjoy writing personal cards; I experience the same value. Though many feel writing has become a lost art, I feel hopeful with the invention of "e-Cards" that we might get a small sense of that joy back into our lives. And, for those whom do have great feelings for another but don't exactly know how to express those feelings in their own words, Hallmark's will always welcome them back.