Do we REALLY know what we want enough to go get it?

We've all heard the cries of discontent, if not having uttered them ourselves:

• Too many single photo, ambiguously titled layouts that leave viewers wondering if there is indeed a story behind the picture.
• Layouts with too many pictures.
• Layouts so cramped with product that they quite clearly force viewer focus away from the picture and towards the "latest & greatest" product offerings.
• Layouts that redefine the minimalists' creed while taking "sparse" to a whole different level.
• Layouts that flaunt a disregard for design principles and balance.
• Layouts that follow design principles and balance a tad bit too closely.
• Manufacturer's over saturating the market with their "hot" releases.
• Manufacturer's who take a break to space out their product releases.
  
• Magazines being inundated with an abundance of offerings from the more "known" scrapbooker while the "true" fresh faces are hardly recognized.
• Magazines (the white elephant of the bunch) that give face to so many unknowns that advanced scrappers find them uninspiring.
• Magazines that come affordably priced with tons of advertisement.
• Magazines that fall just short of *what the hell!* expensive, but feature significantly less advertising.
• Magazines that that only use in-house design teams.
• Magazines that call for reader submissions...but fail to pickup layouts from very many of them.
• People getting blasted for bringing to attention complaints/gripes about much loved products.
• People sitting on their hands and accepting inferior product just because of the name stamped on it.
  
• Contests that seem to cater to the over exposed contestant.
• Contests that that turn a blind eye to the "known" scrappers preferring instead to lend spotlight to some of the newer talent...all at the risk of having their lesser known choices scrutinized.
• People who are on too many Design Teams.
• People who want to be on a Design Team, period.
• People who don't leave praise on gallery layouts.
• People who leave too much praise on gallery layouts.
• People who leave generic praise on gallery layouts.
• People who leave sappy praise on gallery layouts (some times called sucking-up)
• People who scrap too linear.
• People who scrap too non-linear
• Design Team members who try to remain integral parts of the message boards that they represent despite being labeled "know it alls" by some.
• Design Team members who shy away from having a continued presence on message boards that they represent.
  
• Design Teams members that don't inspire or produce layouts that are different/better than the status quo.
• Design Team members who think so far outside the box that the viewers sometimes feels compelled to toss them a map back to it.

Even a blind man can see that there is a lot of contradicting complaint bases here. So can there be any way to make the everyone happy? Quite honestly, No. Is there even a way to make the majority happy? Uh, no.
So, is it any real wonder that there is so little response to the rumbling of discontent? Is there any wonder why the wheel of change is turning so slowly? They're damned if they do...and their damned if they don't. We as scrappers are damned if we do, and yes, damned if we don't.

Perfect case in point:
Nothing torques my screw more than hearing derogatory comments being made about the "caliber" of gallery offerings or the worthiness of a contest winner's layout. The voice of support and unity is being drowned out by what some would be brazen enough to call "sour grapes", and it's not going to get any better.

In my honest opinion, it won't matter how carefully a site engineers its contests, there will always be someone (or a bunch of someones) who will be torqued by any winners that THEY deem unworthy of a win. There will always be someone to question how the judges could've possibly found anything inspiring about the winning layout. This will happen even if the winner isn't a "known" or "over exposed" scrapper. Even the people who congratulate the winner(s) will be accused of having questionable motives.

The negative attitudes towards contests, while often stemming from past impropriety on the part of the sponsors, judges, or site, have certainly been on a downward descent. But they are only the tip of the disgruntled iceberg. People who've been granted a glimpse into the "dark" side of online scrapbooking often can't help but cast invalidating judgment on anyone who willing partakes in the hobby on any level. I honestly can't blame them; it's ugly to an embarrassing degree. The day that a scrapbooker makes headlines in a homicide investigation will be the day that I will start to distance myself by introducing myself as the family archivist. I pray that it never comes to that, but given all of the negativity that is stewing and brewing unchecked, I wouldn't be surprised if things didn't escalate. It is in this instance that the critic blogs, though a double edged sword of sorts, serve as a useful release valve.

Does anyone wonder if there is anyone in the industry who is actually concerned about the current destructive path that online scrapbooking is on? Have they seen any impact from the 2007 trend of spending less and using more? Do they see a tie-in between that trend and the current negativity quotient? Have they given any consideration towards trying to figure out why things are the way they are, what they can do to fix it and whether it is in their best interests to try to do so? Do they too see any attempts to change the current course as an exercise in futility? Common sense would dictate that in the face of all of this tourmoil, any manufacturer/retailer/magazine with a sense of self preservation would be walking on eggshells. Unfortunately, there aren't very many who value longevity because, for them, the scrapbooking "phenomenom" is a "money wave" that will eventually crest and fall. For them, it's best to get as much as they can while they can and get out with their pockets full.

What does that mean to the scrapbooker?

It means that we have to fix the fractured community of scrapbookers. We have to get to the root of the problem and force change by our actions. We have to redirect the current with our wallets and voices. The problem is a multi-faceted one that will need an equally multi-faceted solution. However, the community can't begin to fix itself until it becomes honest about the reason behind the fracture. This will require that we (as a community) ask the hard questions (of ourselves) and be honest enough (with ourselves) to delve deep enough to get (and own) the honest answers. This will require that we once and for all embrace the spirit of acceptance and celebrate our differences instead of using them as spears onto which to impale each other. We need to see the value in not seeing what is different as a threat and to find value in every nuance. We need to reject the stereotypes instead of using them to sucker punch each other. We need to tap back into the original spirit of scrapbooking and take it from there. Call me pretentious. Accuse me of humming 'kumbaya'. But if the way that things are going isn't working, how can I be roasted for suggesting an alternative?

We are the ones that are being hurt by the industry's practices and by our own indecisiveness, and yes, there is currently a rising voice of rebellion, but the battle drums of change need to beat louder and the tactics need to be less emotional and more effective. This is our hobby...and they are the proverbial squirrels on a nut hunt.

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So, why, does someone who has been so vocal about getting away from the online community care about all of this? Isn't it obvious? I'm a lone scrapper, correction, I'm a lonely scrapper. I like viewing online galleries for ideas on how to use some of the product that I really shouldn't have bought without a firm knowledge of how I would use them in the first place. I don't have anyone to bounce creative ideas off of... I've tried to get my husband to help me, but he seems to be under the impression that I would poison his food as payment for a "wrong" response. I miss sharing my ideas and asking for help. I miss the sense of community. I miss a lot of things...but one thing I don't miss is shopping, oddly enough. I probably won't buy anything other than adhesives and albums for the next 1 or 2 years, ... as a matter of fact, I'm coming up on my 1 year anniversary of my last real scrapping purchase. I honestly miss having people that share my love of my crafting and after being asked if I "Pea" at the local LSS (and being subsequently snubbed for telling the Pea-er that that her question very personal), I have concluded that I won't find it my small town. Now that I've regain my focus on why I began scrapbooking, I've remembered why I came to the online community in the first place, plain and simple. The need has not evaporated, the means by which to meet the need has just become a lot more treacherous.

Blast me if you like, but I am only human and I'm just trying to be honest.

Flying off my soapbox now...and I'm donning my raincoat.