Join "Corel Fan Fridays" & Share w/ the PSP Community

[Alex Brazeau]

Hi PaintShop Pro community:

Just stopping by today to invite you to take part in a new feature we're launching on our social pages next week. It's called "Corel Fan Friday" and I hope you'll join us by submitting your PaintShop Pro images and edited photos to showoff your PSP-talents as well as your creative and fun creations--if it's made in PSP, we want to see it! Starting next week, and then happening every 2nd Friday after that, we'll take a selection of photos we've received, then share them through our social channels--and you could be featured!

I hope you'll all join us as we kick off this fun new feature and submit some of your own photos to share with the community. This will be an ongoing feature, so there is no crazy rush or immediate deadline. You are welcome to submit new photos or images each week, but we ask that you please limit your submissions to no more than 3 entries per week. Images may be submitted via email to: FanFridays@corel.com or you can tweet us by using the hashtag #CorelFanFriday.

Let me know if you have any questions. And, if you're not already connected with us on social media, you can find us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/corelpaintshop) & Twitter (@CPaintShopPro).

Thanks and have a great weekend everyone!

Cheers,
Alex

[Joelle]

Hi Alex,
Can you tell me what this will do that doesn't already happen in the Corel PaintShop Pro Photography newsgroup?

I am sure you won't answer this question, but why is it that Corel is sooo anti the above newsgroup. Please don't say newsgroups are old hat, they're friendly, relaxed and creative. Forums are nowhere near in the same league.
I have, for years, tried to get Corel to reinstate the links to the (very lively) group on the Corel website, but to no avail.
A lot of "we will look into it", emailing to and fro with more promises and then nothing.

To keep a community, ie, the above newsgroup, going, is easy, to start a new one is not.

I for one am VERY disappointed at years of broken promises.
Yes, I know, it's none of your doing, but the company you work for seem to have some odd ways of appreciating their customers.

After the excellent Jasc, Corel took over the Jasc forum, closed it and started the newsgroups, which are all but dead, bar a few. No-one knows they exist
Then we had the Corel PaintShop Pro Magazine with it's forum, doing very much what you are proposing now.
That died a death. I still have the magazines, to which I subscribed. the magazines died and then the forum.
Then Flickr, Facebook et all.
I don't do either.
A great shame that continuity is something that Corel has not quite got to grips with.

Rant over

Joëlle

[Kathy_9]

Not a Facebook Fan/Participant.

[Forriner]

No Facebook, no Twitter so no go.

For those who do participate, what part of the photographer's / artist's / creator's rights end up with Corel?

[brucet]

No my computers never go near Facebook or tweeter either. Sorry.

regards

[LeviFiction]

Will they be presented to Google+?

I too would like a full explanation, what Corel will do beyond sharing them with everyone. Rights, considerations, etc. If this information is only shared via Facebook and Twitter like the others I won't be able to see it.

Not that that really matters as I doubt I'll have anything to submit.

[trueblue]

Why FB? Why not keep Corel Your Way open. I has everything there. Or, incorporate something here on the User web board. Why keep opening new groups only to shut them down later down the track. A lot of people will not do social media, openly anyway. I have FB for my family but that's all. Corel already have a PSP group in FB which to me isn't really very good.
I'm sorry to pour cold water on this but it doesn't seem a very good idea!

[LeviFiction]

Well, as far as this particular "Fan Fridays" thing goes Social media makes a lot of sense by comparison to corel your way.

Corel Your Way is pretty exclusive in some ways. It's not as big as these boards. And while a lot of us here don't have or use Social Media accounts for frivelous things like following a company, still many modern business practices suggest an improved active social media presence will help a company. Of course only if it's handled correctly.

The Corel your Way thing is a completely different subject to what this topic is about. I agree they shouldn't keep shutting things down especially if it only leads to more fragmentation, Corel can't make up its mind about how it wants to operate and keeps shuffling. It was practically a new person at the PSP helm each year or two. This leads to instability, lack of faith in the company by the consumers, and a lot of dead ends. Not to mention more confusion.

Facebook and Twitter are two of the biggest names in social media so it does make sense that they would want to focus on those two to start out with. Especially if it attracts new customers in a way their current group isn't doing.

In spite of all of my "understanding" of what they're doing. I'm not sure it's the best way. And I'm cautious that they might not have put as much thought into it as they think they have. A single fairly informal and uninformative post here on the forums shouts lack of thoughtfulness. No offense meant Alex, I'm not suggesting it wasn't thought out. Just that the presentation doesn't offer the impression that it actually was.

[hartpaul]

The push towards Facebook loading and compatibility was evident in X4. Perhaps Corel sees marketing on Facebook as being the future of their user base.
I have Facebook but rarely post there now and usually only to complain, so I hope that Corel realises that by opening that avenue up they also open themselves up to critique and criticism. So if this involves getting all features of PSP working properly as a response then I am all for it.
There are already a number of other forums where people are encouraged to show their work Pirc forum (Show and Tell), Michelles Paintshop - (Digital Brag Book). So Corel is starting behind the 8 ball . Perhaps if they run some competitions with some good prizes there might be more interest.
Bit like the Canon Photography competitions ( do a google search on Canon Competitions) of which there seem to be quite a few with prizes pools up to $150 000.

But just for exposure on Facebook ?? --Naaah , there are plenty of other sites including Flickr that allow that in PSP groups or generalist groups.

[pdxrjt]

Like others, I also have no Facebook account. Social media makes no sense to me, no one wants to see a selfie of me eating a sandwich!

[Zantara]

I too am worried about where the copyright goes, once it's shared on Facebook, as you agree to hand over your (copy)right to FB, once you sign up.
One of the reasons I closed my account and will not open one for anything or anyone.
I think more and more people are closing their account or not open one in the first place.
So is FB really the way forward for Corel?

[MarkZ]

I'm not interested in using Facebook or Twitter and will not go near them. Will "Corel Fan Fridays" endear current users to PSP? I doubt it. I wonder what Corel expects to get out of this - more customers, more "faithful" users, enticement for new versions? I think getting rid of bugs would go further.

[Cassel]

Maybe those who frequent forums are not as much on Facebook, but considering that over 91K users have "liked" the Corel page and close to 25K have "liked" the Corel Paintshop Pro page, I can see that it is a way to reach a good number of members, casual or professional users. Why not? They will never find ONE platform for everyone (by the way, did you know there is a section in this forum called Member's samples, and it is not very busy!) Those on forums might not be on FB and those on FB might not be on forums.

[MarkZ]

Cassel - you're right. What does not appeal to one person may be just the cat's meow for someone else. I have read many comments here that Facebook is the way to get in touch with of to get Corel's attention. Let's hope this initiative bears fruit and that would be a benefit for all.

[hartpaul]

Regarding worries that facebook is taking your copyright:
1. Most images placed on facebook are so reduced in quality that they would not be good for use in any quality marketing.
2. I believe facebook and other similar sites are just covering themselves by having a licence to display your images anywhere in the world which must happen when anyone looks at your facebook paged or website images. If you were not to allow them to show those images when someone else uses face book to observe your images then they would have to be made totally private so that no one, not even friends can see them.
This covers facebook if someone were to take your images and do something with it, it means that you cannot sue facebook for displaying your images in a way that others can view an appropriate. I doubt that Facebook or other sites are claiming exclusive ownership of the images as does happen in some photo competitions. (read the fine print).