After a week in Orlando for the College Media Advisers Fall convention, I left energized by the fact that the yearbook world is recognizing that the time has come to move online. When Lifepages Started nearly 4 years ago, we had a vision of being the go to solution for online yearbooks. Online solutions had not yet worked their way into the strategies of the traditional print publishers and we saw an opportunity to bring positive change to a very traditional industry.
Our vision has always been defined by creating an online experience that meets the needs of our yearbook teams, protects the printed book and brings an enhanced 21st century yearbook experience to the students and school community. However, during those first two years, for every school that recognized the vast potential of an online edition of the yearbook, there were twenty schools that remained skeptical.
Towards the end of the 2009 – 2010 school year, it became evident that change was starting to set in. Schools and publishers began to soften. Though still skeptical, many recognized that an online book offered a new way to engage the student body with the yearbook by offering a variety of options to improve and enhance the publication.
Fast forward to today and Lifepages has added some of the top high school and university yearbook programs in the country. The reception for the online book is now overwhelmingly positive. In Orlando, Brad Arendt from Boise State University hosted a yearbook session on the growing need for online and tablet versions of the yearbook. This was one of the most heavily attended yearbook sessions and we were thrilled to participate. Better yet, the industry has taken notice and in the last two years almost all traditional publishers have started dipping their toes into the online world. This is great news for the yearbook industry!
The more companies that are innovating in this industry, the better. Lifepages continues to lead the charge by doing one thing and doing it exceptionally well – creating the online yearbook experience. We are constantly testing and iterating and over the next 12 months will be rolling out a host of new features for both yearbook teams and school students. Online yearbooks are beginning to make their mark on the industry and that mark will continue to grow. The ability to have yearbooks in print and on the web, as well as on tablets and smartphones, and the features that come along with these new technologies, makes yearbook an exciting place to be in the coming years!