Official Statement from SendOutCards Founder & CEO, Kody Bateman, On the New Card Editor

SOC is excited to be introducing the new card editor. The project to build this system started two-and-a-half years ago. A migration plan was put into works around convention time, August of 2008. The migration efforts from the old card editor to the new one have proven to be the most challenging part of the project. The biggest part of this challenge is that, to our knowledge, there have been no internet-based companies that have conducted a migration that includes stored text and data that is attached to a daily printing functionality.

What makes this unique is that we have over 150,000 users on the old card editor. Most of those users have stored data in text and image formats. This data includes user’s contact managers, handwriting fonts, saved campaigns, action logs, favorites, and custom cards. This accumulates to thousands of gigabytes of information.

We now have a new card editor that works under a different format, and all of this information is being transferred to the new system. We also have a new gift account walkthrough with a video version of Kody Bateman walking you through sending that first card. Some have wondered why we turned on the new version without keeping the old one optional. Walkthroughs are pointed to your personal banner pages (www.sendoutcards.com/1000). They are also interactive, so they are run by the use of the live card editor. For these reasons, it would have been confusing to have two walkthroughs running.

We also have a new format that the software uses to send your greeting card data to our iGen printers. This format allows us to do amazing things with your greeting cards. Full-bleed images (i.e. you can have an image completely cover the inside of a 2 panel or 3 panel card), multi, color, size and style fonts within sentences and paragraphs, multi-placement of signatures and P.S. lines, etc, etc. This kind of enhancement puts SOC in a whole new league with digital printing technology. Nobody in the printing or greeting card industries even comes close to delivering the kind of technology that we now have at SOC.

This is called progress. Our offerings have evolved and we have stayed on the cutting edge with our technologies. You have heard it said that if you want big muscles you have to lift weights. Progress requires work and even a bit of pain along the way. We are currently in the middle of a one-of-a-kind migration process. Those who might speak out as critics to our efforts might be feeling some of that pain along with us. We encourage you to gain an understanding of the massive and unique undertaking that we are succeeding at. We have had our challenges and a few glitches along the way. We may even experience a few more. The good news is that we are doing it, and we will succeed. This is how companies progress. This is how we grow. This is how we become a billion-dollar Greeting Card and Gift enterprise.

Our plan is to phase out the old editor by the end of January. We need to have the majority of data shifted to the new editor and the majority of users comfortable with the new system. We will be working closely with the Eagle’s Nest and our staff to assess when we are ready to turn the old system off. We encourage you to use the new system along with the new gift account walkthrough. We also encourage you to train your teams on the new system and be excited about this revolutionary progress.

This will be our best year ever in SOC. You will experience massive growth and exciting change. Please, don’t get discouraged. We are building for a better future. Don’t quit when you feel the pain. The times of pain prepare you for the times of prosperity. The new card editor and printing system will catapult us into a whole new league. Stay on for the ride.

Your friend,

Kody Bateman