PowerfulPixel, Fla., is attempting to set a world record, and offering anyone the chance to take part. On Dec, 9, 2006, PowerfulPixel Founder Todd Bradford captured an image of the N.A.S.A Discovery space shuttle's first night launch in approximately 4 years. The image gained popularity, and an idea intended to unite people from all across the nation, while breaking a world record, was born.

 The photo will be used to set a new world record as the world's largest photo mosaic. If completed, the project will break the current world record set in Spain on Oct. 31, 2006 by more than 43 times. The image will be almost 5 acres in size and visible from satellites orbiting miles above the earth.

  PowerfulPixel will be printing out each and every pixel in the shuttle picture as a 4-inch square of color which will then be affixed to pieces of plywood. Over 6,650 pieces of 4-by-8-foot plywood will then be laid out on the ground to recreate the original picture. Once the project has been certified as a new world record, the project will be dismantled, and all the plywood will be used to build new homes for fellow Americans.

  The pixels in the photo and all are available for a sponsorship fee of $12. Once all the pixels have been sponsored, the project will be built, displayed and certified. If someone sponsors a pixel, that person will receive a certificate of authenticity, their name will be displayed on the PowerfulPixel website, and once the goal is reached, every sponsor will be known as a world record holder.

  Pixels can be sponsored to honor or memorialize a friend or family member as a unique gift. Schools can participate in the fundraising program, which uses the world record breaking project as a unique fundraising activity. If sponsors want to support a featured school or organization, 25 percent of the $12 pixel sponsorship fee will go toward their fundraising efforts. Sponsors may also earn rewards including mp3 players, digital cameras, trips to Florida, and rides on G-Force One airplane, where you can experience weightless flight just like the astronauts on the space shuttle.

  PowerfulPixel believes that if individuals can pull together to do something as insignificant as set a new world record, everyone can pull together to do things that can the country better. Based on that, PowerfulPixel encourages everyone involved to do something selfless for someone they know and for someone they have never even met. Stories are features on the "You did what?" section of the PowerfulPixel website.

ScanMyPhotos.com, Irvine, Calif., is participating in the Photo Preservation Center's "Great American Photo Scanning Project," beginning today. Created by the Photo Preservation Center, an educational division of ScanMyPhotos.com, and sponsored by ScanMyPhotos.com, "The Great American Photo Scanning Project" aims to promote scanning services and inspire people to have their shoeboxes of analog photo snapshots digitally scanned.

  Throughout April, ScanMyPhotos.com is providing up to 1,000 free photo scans to members of Flickr, MySpace, Blogger or Facebook, they will get up to 1,000 4-by-6-inch photos scanned to DVD, only paying $19.95 for return shipping and handling.

  The Photo Preservation Center features a national network of service providers, as well as links to photo scanning service providers who are current members of PMA, and a local listing of photo scanning service providers who are current members of the Independent Photo Imagers.

  In related news, the Photo Preservation Center announced the 2008 Artistry of Genealogy Awards (AGA), sponsored by ScanMyPhotos.com, which aims to help consumers preserve and record family history through genealogy. The categories and genealogy website winners during a telephone survey of 945 ScanMyPhotos.com customers across the nation during Jan. 12-March 24, who identified their favorite websites for the several categories. A list of categories and website winners is available on the AGA awards website.