Yesterday I posted one of my best moon photos, in my opinion.I tagged it with multiple tags and it only had 5 views. When I started this project back in January 2010, that photo would have received much more views.
I am an ace member and will not renew my membership.
Is this typical for people to have decreasing number of views?
it goes up and down a lot, are you following new people all the time? because people leave, you need to replenish your followers and the best way to do that is engage in commenting yourself . not that i really care about how many views, its nice and all but its the interaction i enjoy..
i actually don't pay a huge amount of attention to views... i do find that when i am more active on the site, and leaving lots of comments, i am more likely to get more comments (and presumably views) in return... looking at your followers, many of them appeared to have been inactive for some time... and that can definitely make a difference to the number of views...
It is my rule of thumb (and the way I manage my time on here) to view and comment on every person who views and comments on my photo. That's what really gets the views I think. When someone takes the time to look at my picture and leaves a simple, "Great shot" or something like that I do appreciate it. So I do the same in turn. There have been times when there's been a lot of views on my pictures, and other times when it's low. I really don't put much stock in the numbers. For me, 365 is a creative outlet. Views, comments and favs are icing on the cake.
I agree with the comments above. I find that comments directly correlate to the comments I make. Many of the original group in my 'cohort' are no longer active. My views have been down in both Years 3 and 4 of my participation. And the number of views don't always relate to what I think is the quality of my post -- more likely to have views when I've commented, which to me, seems quite fair. It takes a lot of time for folks to view and comment, so easy to see why they may struggle to comment on more photos than with their followers and friends - especially for those who follow a lot of photographers on the site.
I actually had to search for the "views" tab. Never look at it. I do notice who comments and faves my photos, and it is much appreciated. Always wish I had more time to comment on others and personally thank each one, but time is short. I agree with the above posts, for the most part. :)
Agree with @homeschoolmom. sometimes I fall behind on commenting and I do notice less folks will comment on mine- seems fair. Eventually I catch up and that improves also.
@kali66 I have followed new people, commented on their work and have very few people comment on my photos. When I started this project in 2010 until I ended it 1000 day later, I had close to 150 followers with just about 50 regular commentators. @northy@homeschoolmom I do not do this project for comments. If I did, I would not be in my 7th year. @taffy I do not see any correlation, I made it a point to comment on all my followers photos and other photos at least 3 times a week with no comments in return. The friendships and encouragements that used to go with this project does not seem to be present anymore. Some very good photographers I know still follow me on FB and not with this project. I do have followers that do not post photos and they just view my photos. @lisainstpete Lisa I enjoy your photos and know that I do not comment on them as often as I would like to.
I've taken plenty of photos that I thought were great but no one else seemed to care for all that much and plenty of photos I thought were rubbish that somehow made it to the Popular Page with many comments/favs. That's just how it is.
I also highly disagree with friendships and encouragement being gone. Maybe there used to be more in the past but I've gotten so much encouragement here and made some friends. Any time I'm struggling or doubting I get sweet comments from my friends encouraging me and understanding the struggle. The community here is very much alive and quite wonderful.
Initially it took me some time to find my footing here but the amount of interaction I get has only gotten higher with time. For a long time I was too shy to comment so I simply followed anyone whose photos interested me and faved whatever I liked. The comments started to pour in very, very quickly. Nowadays things quiet down if my wrists are acting up so I can't browse/comment but they speed back up once I'm able to keep up with faving and commenting again.
Like Kali mentioned you have very few followers/following. 20 really isn't much and many of your followers are inactive. I think that's where your problem lies. You should find more people to follow and comment/fav their work.
Reading through the comments, I have nothing much to add and agree with it all. If you have active followers and you actively comment, you will get back what you put in. I also find that participating in some of the threads, challenges, and voting helps as people get to know you in a different way.
I have read through the comments and agree with most of what has been said. I noticed you said that you had tagged your shot with multiple tags, I have found that tags have less weight here than they do on other sites maybe it was different when you first started on the site.
@dibzgreasley@ukandie1@claycameras At the end of my 7th year on this project will most likely be my last. I take photos to take photos. I am close to 2500 days doing this project (day 2483 today) and most, if not all, of my previous followers, and the people that I have followed, are gone. The number of people I follow and to whom have followed my work is not this issue. I keep hearing that I should comment more and that comment more. I have and I have weeded out the people that are no longer with this project. When I restarted last year, my following and follower count grew to about 70 and then most of those people stopped posting. If I have a follower that has not posted in two to three months, I delete them.
I have meet a few people around the country that have followed me and that I have followed over the last 7 years. They were my encouragement and inspiration. I just do not have encouragement or inspiration doing this project anymore. Maybe it is burnout, maybe it is that I do not have many followers or follow many people now.
To the few that continue to follow my work, I thank you very much.
@ukandie1 I used tags because they worked previously on this site.
I will continue taking photos for the remainder of the year since I enjoy taking photos. Having follows and commenting on photos does not seem to work for me. Maybe people do not see improvement in my photos and stopped following me and stopped looking at my work. As many have said, this site is not about the number of followers or comments. It is about meeting people and seeing the world though the eyes of other photographers.
To me, the last two years have not been that way for me. Call it burnout or what you would like. My project will end at the end of this year. I will be sorry to go.
Honestly, its very natural for people to eventually move on from websites, projects, forums, hobbies, or even friend groups/clubs/etc out in "real life". Over time all sorts of things change. Motivation, circumstances, priorities. And with a project of this magnitude its natural for there to be a looot more turnover than you'd see on a less intense photo site, like Flickr/Instagram/Facebook. Most people who start a 365 project never finish, even if they sign up here. And as unfortunate as it is people are going to appear and leave all the time. I'm sure tons of the people I follow have left the project by now.
If you're burned out or miss your old friends that's understandable. 7 years is a very long time! I wouldn't blame you for taking a break after that long. But that doesn't mean the site doesn't have an encouraging community, active commentors, or people looking at photos and doesn't have friendships forming.
Joe, I understand what you are saying perfectly. I too have days where I wonder if people see my work or progress and wonder if the hours I spend commenting are worth it. I comment on each and every photo of each and every person I follow which makes me very choosy on the number of members I will follow.
I have a core group of people, like me, who comment on the majority of my photos in return but they are few and far between.
I think with most people it is a matter of time management and I probably spend far too much of my precious time on 365 either taking photos, commenting, or participating/ voting on challenges.
There are those with tons of followers but limited time who will spend that time improving their craft and regularly turn out works of art rather than commenting. They get tons of comments/favs because they take awesome shots more often than not.
The challenge is to get to that stage of getting noticed because of superior work. And that is a challenge and I will probably never get there for numerous reasons.
But, in the meantime, I do participate through all the ups and downs. I have taken a break from 365 when necessary but usually get back in when I get my mojo back. I accept that I do 365 for my pleasure and growth and any feedback I get is gravy. (though I sure would like a plate overflowing with gravy at times!)
So, we will miss you but please remember that 365 is here for you when you decide to return. In the meantime, I will add you as a follower because anyone who is as passionate about photography as you obviously are has my support!
I bowed out of the 'comment cycle' a couple of years ago, so probably don't have much to add, but it might be worth noting a lot of the discussion and 'sense of community' comes from the blurb accompanying a picture and that day-to-day window into another photographer's life. Maybe it's worth adding more than a title to your shots so new followers can get a chance to know you better? I find a lot of discussions in the comments stem from things people have noted in their photo description (something they like/don't like about their shot; a problem encountered when taking it etc).
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I also highly disagree with friendships and encouragement being gone. Maybe there used to be more in the past but I've gotten so much encouragement here and made some friends. Any time I'm struggling or doubting I get sweet comments from my friends encouraging me and understanding the struggle. The community here is very much alive and quite wonderful.
Initially it took me some time to find my footing here but the amount of interaction I get has only gotten higher with time. For a long time I was too shy to comment so I simply followed anyone whose photos interested me and faved whatever I liked. The comments started to pour in very, very quickly. Nowadays things quiet down if my wrists are acting up so I can't browse/comment but they speed back up once I'm able to keep up with faving and commenting again.
Like Kali mentioned you have very few followers/following. 20 really isn't much and many of your followers are inactive. I think that's where your problem lies. You should find more people to follow and comment/fav their work.
I have meet a few people around the country that have followed me and that I have followed over the last 7 years. They were my encouragement and inspiration. I just do not have encouragement or inspiration doing this project anymore. Maybe it is burnout, maybe it is that I do not have many followers or follow many people now.
To the few that continue to follow my work, I thank you very much.
@ukandie1 I used tags because they worked previously on this site.
I will continue taking photos for the remainder of the year since I enjoy taking photos. Having follows and commenting on photos does not seem to work for me. Maybe people do not see improvement in my photos and stopped following me and stopped looking at my work. As many have said, this site is not about the number of followers or comments. It is about meeting people and seeing the world though the eyes of other photographers.
To me, the last two years have not been that way for me. Call it burnout or what you would like. My project will end at the end of this year. I will be sorry to go.
If you're burned out or miss your old friends that's understandable. 7 years is a very long time! I wouldn't blame you for taking a break after that long. But that doesn't mean the site doesn't have an encouraging community, active commentors, or people looking at photos and doesn't have friendships forming.
I have a core group of people, like me, who comment on the majority of my photos in return but they are few and far between.
I think with most people it is a matter of time management and I probably spend far too much of my precious time on 365 either taking photos, commenting, or participating/ voting on challenges.
There are those with tons of followers but limited time who will spend that time improving their craft and regularly turn out works of art rather than commenting. They get tons of comments/favs because they take awesome shots more often than not.
The challenge is to get to that stage of getting noticed because of superior work. And that is a challenge and I will probably never get there for numerous reasons.
But, in the meantime, I do participate through all the ups and downs. I have taken a break from 365 when necessary but usually get back in when I get my mojo back. I accept that I do 365 for my pleasure and growth and any feedback I get is gravy. (though I sure would like a plate overflowing with gravy at times!)
So, we will miss you but please remember that 365 is here for you when you decide to return. In the meantime, I will add you as a follower because anyone who is as passionate about photography as you obviously are has my support!