Not that we needed another reason to buy a GoPro, but it looks as though the camera could be the new form of time capsules sans extreme sports. Two brothers snorkeling found Kyle Puelston’s GoPro after spending one year drifting in the Temperance River, located on the North Shore of Lake Superior in Minnesota. While cliff diving, Puelston’s GoPro and head strap fell off into the river’s abyss, never to be found again (or so he thought). When Chris Flores and his brother found the GoPro, it was still intact and working after remaining in its waterproof case.
After finding the GoPro, the brothers checked out the camera’s media card and discovered more than Puelston’s cliff diving experience, but rather, footage of his family and some work excursions. The brother’s were able to make out his work’s location and, surprisingly, returned it to Puelston. “If I had one picture, one video, and I would have lost that – that would have been rough,” says Flores, who immediately thought of his own daughter that recently had a heart attack caused by a tumor, after seeing Puelston’s family videos. Although Puelston is grateful to have his video back, he gave the camera back to Flores since he already purchased another GoPro, not expecting to see it ever again.
Even though the GoPro brand has aligned itself with extreme sports and professional athletes, it has also found a place among those who enjoy an adrenaline-free lifestyle. Yes, you could say the smartphone could suffice, but the GoPro’s durability is unmatchable. If it can handle being under water for almost a year, it can handle children on sugar-highs and a lot of dog slobber.
This is the kind of missed opportunity that can easily be capitalized on by GoPro. By focusing on another emotional trigger and personalizing the GoPro experience, GoPro can capture a larger audience and benefit from both a profit and a legacy standpoint. A legacy means carrying on family tradition for future generations. Capturing special moments in your family’s lives doesn’t have to be a burden. The process of gathering photos and organizing them into a book, or taking your video and sending it out for professional editing, is eliminated. Not only can you create these videos in seconds, you can share them in seconds, and organize them across a handful of platforms of your choice. In a little over three months (by January 2016), you’ll even have the option to use a drone to capture these special moments via GoPro.
Given GoPro’s stock volatility in the market, and the rise of competition, this could be a good angle to work with. Increased competition for action cameras from Sony, Alcatel OneTouch, and more is closing the gap for GoPro’s competitive advantage. As history has shown us, one-product wonders like Blackberry for Smartphones and Palm for digital organizers, we hope it won’t be the same for GoPro. Come on GoPro, become a time capsule for all nostalgia seekers out there.
