End of an Era 2.0
Goodbye Mr. Eastman
The Eastman Kodak Company announced today that it will enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Too bad… I can’t think of a company that has tried as hard to adapt and change with the market and developing technologies.
Just as Thomas Edison didn’t invent the light bulb, George Eastman didn’t invent the camera. What he brought us was an interface to a wonderful new technology. He made it easy for us to capture those “Kodak Moments” without all the messy details.
“You push the button, we do the rest.”
George Eastman
The Kodak technologies touch all of our lives from simple film to digital cameras and motion picture film. This is my Kodak Brownie 2, Model D. It was produced around 1912. The first model was produced in 1901. The original patents go back to 1897. It’s worth about $12 today… the original price was $2. It took 120 size film, still available, at least for a while anyway.
I remember: Kodachrome, Ektachrome, Eastmancolor, Panatomic-X, Tri-X Pan, 120, 126, 127, 135, 220, 4 x 5, Dektol Developer, Photo-flo, Indicator Stop Bath, Kodafix, Variable Contrast Papers, C-41, E-6, D-76, Microdol-X, Film Changing Bags, Kodak Projection Print Scales, Dry Mounting Tissue, Rapid Mounting Cement, Carousel Projectors, Boring Slide Shows, Exciting Slide Shows, “Expose for the shadows and develop for the highlights,” Ekankar Lenses, The Boy Scout Brownie Camera, Flash Bulbs, Flash Cubes, The Instamatic… the list could go on forever.
What do we have now? Photoshop, Aperture, Digital Cameras, Kodak iPhone Gallery App.
It’s not our government’s job to keep companies like Kodak in business… but it is their job to help create an environment that will allow innovation to flourish. They’re not doing that… doing that doesn’t even seem to be on their radar. How will we find, encourage and mentor the George Eastmans, the Steve Jobs and the Thomas Edisons of the future?