Recently, a Digimarc customer asked about layers and the fact that we recommend flattening files prior to watermarking.  She had been taking a creative PhotoShop class where she learned about layering files. Her instructor was really pushing the class to use layers for all edits so that the original image remained unedited. I told her that I was a big fan of non-volatile editing which led her to ask how I dealt with having to flatten files all the time for watermarking.

I explained that I was really lazy and hated to have a saved copy which I then had to reopen for digital watermarking. So I do the following...

I had a pretty cool experience while giving a LiveMeeting demonstration of digital watermarking. In this demonstration I was showing a prospective customer how robust the digital watermark really is and how we can make it work within a PDF document. The procedure started off with digitally watermarking an image and using it in the construction of a PDF. What I demonstrated next was how the watermark would persist if someone took a "screen grab" of the actual document. The PDF was open in Adobe Acrobat and I proceeded to use a third party utility to "screen capture" just the PDF document from the screen...

Flickr’s Nearby Photos service shows you all the photos taken in a particular location. A few days ago Flickr brought that ability to their smartphone mobile site.

From the Flickr blog: "For those devices that support it (currently Android and the iPhone with the new 3.0 software), the Mobile Nearby page will figure out where you are in the world and show you photos that have been taken in the same area."

The best way to get started is pull out your mobile device and dial in m.flickr.com where you'll see a new link: "Photos taken nearby."

I'm just back from New York and typing up my notes from the Advertising 2.0 conference in Queens. So for those who are interested in what’s going on with the advertising business, plus the impact on digital photography and watermarking, here is a quick high-level recap of my key takeaways...

There's a great story floating around that somewhat humorously shows how small our world has become:

"It's an international mystery: How did a Missouri family's Christmas card photo end up in the Czech Republic, splashed across a huge storefront advertisement? Danielle Smith said Wednesday that the photo taken of her family last year got sent to family and friends, and was posted on her blog and a few social networking sites. The photo showed her and her husband Jeff holding their two young children."

Apparently, the Smiths pass for a happy Czech family, willing to spend their koruna on Budvar at the Grazie store in Prague. ;-)

Ubiquitous computing, also known as pervasive computing or intuitive computing describes a shared vision where the power of computing becomes an integrated, seamless part of our everyday lives – simplifying the things we do each day and bringing new and enhanced experiences – without being tethered to a keyboard or mouse.

I may not be an expert, but I get excited thinking about the possibilities. Digital watermarking images is the first step to this futuristic vision...

On behalf of Digimarc, I attended the Henry Stewart Digital Asset Management (DAM) conference in New York this week. I gained a lot of valuable information during my time away and would like to share some of my key take-aways with you.

DAM is a Decision
First and foremost, DAM is not just a piece of software that you add to your business to house your assets. It’s truly a much larger business strategy that the enterprise needs to embrace. It’s all about process: How you use images, when you save them, how you save them, the metadata that you attach to them, how they leave your organization, and at what level of consistency this is done. It’s a project that involves many areas of the business and needs to be managed as such. If you think that simply buying a DAM and tossing it into your business will suddenly fix all of the issues you’re having around images, you are sadly, and monumentally, mistaken. It’s a business decision that everyone needs to get on board with.

The first of a series of video tutorials on some of the basics of watermark has just been posted. This kick-off episode is entitled "How to Digitally Watermark Digital Images for the Best Results" and it's a primer for our Digimarc for Images product. You'll can view our available episodes by clicking here.

We plan to publish new videos regularly on various digital watermarking topics. The next couple are already in production, but we welcome your ideas for future topics.

I'd like to thank Seth Wood for his hard work filming, editing and publishing the video.