It seems like people continue to write about the fact that film cameras are history. The AP ran a story this week about the sharp decline in film manufacturing at Kodak. Staff writer Ben Dobbin reports, "At the turn of the 21st century, American shutterbugs were buying close to a billion rolls of film per year. This year, they might buy a mere 20 million, plus 31 million single-use cameras." Photo trend watchers predict film camera will be gone by the end of the decade.The unfortunate consequence of digital photography is that it displaces older technologies; and, along with this trend comes the loss of thousands of jobs.
Now that the obvious is out the way, let's move on to the bizarre.
According to a press release from PhotoScribe, a diamond and gemstone laser marking systems makers, the company is introducing something they call "social media jewelery." Here's how it works. When someone goes to a bar or any other pick up spot they can now wear laser inscribed jewelry, which then can be scanned by a suitor's smart phone. Information such as the user's Facebook profile is inscribed into the ring or pendant and store. Instead of passing around business cards or writing a phone number on a napkin, a quick scan is all that is needed. Now there is nothing really wrong with the concept, but it would just look a little awkward asking someone if it would be okay to scan them on first sight.