Revolution and evolution
Last night I watched the first episode of highly acclaimed BBC documentary about Web & how it has reshaped our lives. It was definitely thought provoking, and it got me thinking how even stamp collecting is shaping itself with the online revolution.
Traditional stamp shops (and other collectible shops) are these days almost extinct species. Instead the business has moved online – being available globally and 24/7. Especially as stamp business has been traditionally run by small mom and pop shops, they have benefited largely from hub-like sites such as eBay, DelCampe and StampWants where they can reach thousands of stamp hungry collectors. Of course the competition has also gotten much more fierce, but in my opinion it’s a natural part of the evolution.
Stamp publishing is about to merge itself to online world. All the major stamp publishers have already at least some digital products, and several new ones are being prepared. In my opinion it’s just a matter of time, when publishers will start breaking apart from print world, and make the bold move to place digital as their primary focus.
Stamp clubs and societies are deep troubles with rapidly aging memberships. New generations of stamp collectors dwell online. I’m a prime example of this generation myself. I write this blog to share my views and practices with other stamp collectors. I use social media (such as FaceBook Twitter, and StampBoards) to reach out with other collectors worldwide. My stamp club is open 24/7, and it’s accessible worldwide.
Going online is not all rosy though.
Anyone who lives ‘outside’ of major countries knows what a pain international postage costs can be if buying anything online. The postage can easily exceed the price of bought item; and acquiring heavy items such as books or larger lots is close to “economical suicide” as the postage fees can easily add up 50-100$/€ to total.
Though there are over quarter of million pages of stamp & philately related information online, how much of it is easy-to-find, accurate and useful? I fear that traditional media still has a cutting edge with this, as a properly edited stamp magazine or book is still much more “engaging” reading experience than Googling hours for small bits and pieces of information. Possibly some day we’ll see the dawn of “hybrid” services, where collectors and traditional media work more tightly for common goal. For example the fact that both SG and Michel do have online catalogs, but neither of them allow regular users to “expand” the catalog with new information real time/online does not make sense. Sigh.
One of the key questions of the web has been the debate between free and paid. Personally I have no objections on paying for good quality service, but… Right now I can think only of few stamp related products / services that are worthy of their price. Sadly. But I’m confident that the future will provide better tools and services for collectors. There is no other alternative. It’s part of the evolution game: adapt or die.
PS. A bit of evolution (and why not revolution too) on the blog as well… Earlier this week I spent some time tweaking the code powering the blog, and as a result the the blog should be now more mobile friendly than ever. Especially those using iPhone to surf these pages should notice a very distinct difference. Hope you’ll like it.
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Another very provocative article, Keijo. My philatelic education was revolutionized by the internet. I belong to a local stamp club where most of the members are between 70-100 years old. There are a few of us a bit younger, but it’s so frustrating.
I have faith that stamp collecting and the mail system will not die, but I can’t wait for more people in your generation (and YOUNGER!) to restructure the “philatelic societies”. (That name sounds so stuffy and archaic.) As wonderful as the internet is, it will never be as much of a friend as having a real person touch my skin as they hand me a little glassine with a stamp or two inside.
“Though there are over quarter of million pages of stamp & philately related information online, how much of it is easy-to-find, accurate and useful?”
I have been compiling links and online philatelic articles, etc., for years. My database is a mess, but it’s a loving work in process. I’m sure others with more expertise than I are doing the same. It’s just a matter of time before it all comes together. Sharing is what it’s all about. Viva the virtual philatelic society!
@Carol Ligda-Wong
Agree that Internet can’t be instead of F2F communcation, however nobody said that only over network communication will be in the future. Internet and etc. just extend our possibilities for the communication and education. That’s all.
@Keijo
Mainly agree with you. BTW – currently I’m trying to find some common web service that can provide centralized information about stamps, some kind of SAAS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Software_as_a_service). Hate spending a huge amount of time in googling.
Do you know any kind of saas for philately?
Hi Maridena,
I fear there are not much SaaS in stamp world. Online catalogs could fall into this category as they provide some features/tools (with pre-entered data). But otherwise it’s a pretty dead country unless you begin using Google Docs, Office Live etc. “common SaaS apps”, and create your own personal enviroment with data.
I don’t care about the future of stamp collecting really…I enjoy the time I spend digging on it and that’s it…Keijo, you have had (and you will) an enormous task keeping us happy with this popular blog and the obligations this commitment has…we all know how you enjoy these moments and how (probably)you sacrifice other familiar chores to give us the pleasure of this hobby otherwise boring to death…we all appreciate such monumental effort and therefore we are grateful to you…Keijo enjoy a lot your summer leave, and don’t forget the missus and kids!!! L O L!!!
@Fred… That’s the good part of the this hobby of ours. Any approach / view is equally fine (though some might disagree – but it’s their right). Personally I hope to live & collect at least another 30-50 years, so “caring” for future / common good is about as important as looking after myself. We have just one world, and we all live under the same sun.
I will definitely enjoy my summer holidays… Still got 4 weeks of work, then hopefully 8 weeks of sunshine & warm weathers.
Maridena, please forgive my ignorance. I wish I could read your blog, but I don’t know how to translate it. I’m guessing you’re Russian?
@Carol… Google Translate to rescue.
WOW!!! That’s magic! – lol
Thanks, Keijo!
@Carol Ligda-Wong
it’s not a blog actually, but just a site with re-print of news from some foreign philtely-sites. Key problem for “philately” guys in Russia and East Europe countries that many of them do not know English, or know it not very well. So I’m trying to help them as I can.
If you want to read or discuss something with RU/exUSSR philatelists – you can do it here: http://rusforum.mystampworld.com/ . But again we use Russian language there.
@Keijo – sorry – this is not a PR, but just explanation.
@Maridena… No problem.
The internet has not only brought the world community closer together but its also made it more isolated. While information is easy to find, the validity of that information is often in question. While stamps are more easily purchased online the risk of receiving a forgery instead has increased and the social interaction that used to be available by going to a local stamp dealer has all but vanished.
Too many people and business (especially publishers) just treat the internet as a place to make money, rather than a place to share knowledge. For example, some stamp magazines make their back issues freely available online while others make them available to purchase at extortionate rates.
As postal authorities remove the requirement for stamps to have a water soluble adhesive layer we see progressively more stamps that are really just stickers and require chemicals to “soak” them off envelopes…water just isn’t enough. More often stamps are being issued only in sticker form and less in traditional sheet form. So for children to take an interest is just more difficult and hazardous to get into (not to mention the world offers a far wider range of interesting things to attract childrens attention these days).
There is also the consideration of stamps themselves. They are merely bits of paper. They are fragile to the environment and even with care they still are prone to the signs of age. As collectors age too and depart this life, what happens to their stamp collection? So many just get thrown out by relatives who don’t know anything about stamps or because there are no more dealers near by to purchase them. How about when natural disasters strike an area? How much of the worlds stamps, artwork, etc get lost from the world each time. Stamps were issued in finite numbers but bit by bit the old stamps are going to vanish from the world.
Perhaps the large publishers of the world need to get over themselves and their copyright squabbles and create a stampipedia online as a museum of all the stamps and all the knowledge their self interests have locked away.
Eventually all we will have are digital memories once all the paper stamps have passed on.
Amen.
As it is…amen… per secula seculourum!
This is a very interesting theme; books, mags, catalogues, all printed matter, photos, stamps…what’s the point to keep for next generations?…Music is the only thing that will survive, is that the answer for big brother pelmen…? Io ti saluto!!!
Museums try to preserve items for future generations, collectors on the other hand should collect for personal pleasure IMHO.
Even digital information is not forever. I recall reading somewhere that the average lifespan of digital information is around 20 years. After that it will become unreadable (because technology has changed), or is otherwise lost to bytespace.
But what’s permanent… Language, music, dance. The rest will vanish some day.
Regarding forgeries, I think the digital quality of individually scanned stamps (both front and back), coupled with acquiring them from reputable dealers, goes a long way towards minimizing the risk of being duped or ignorantly funding an unwanted war.
Recommended reading: “The Stamp Art & Postal History of Michael Thompson and Michael Hernandez de Luna,” Badpress Books, Chicago.
It is no good to put ephemera in museums without the personnel to bring it to life through activities and demonstrations. Who knows what treasures are locked away and forgotten in vaults?