I try to follow a lot of the people that follow and comment on my photos. In my mind, if they take the time to follow,view, and comment then so should I! But the problem is I'm not able to catch up. I'm following I think around 180-190 people, and honestly I only comment on around 30 people, and it is usually the same batch of users that have shots that really stick out. So is it rude, if I go through and "unfollow" a huge group of people. I know a lot of people just love having a big number on their page, but would you rather have a big number of people that aren't commenting all the time, or a small group that always loves your shots and wants to take the time to comment? I don't want to be a jerk because I myself get so excited every time I get a new follower!! Help me, what should I do!
Be honest with yourself. This is your project and unless you know these people personally, do what works best for you. This is not MySpace or even Facebook. If people want to "collect friends" then let them. It should not impact you or your project in any way.
I have "cleaned out" my list a couple of times....really I just look at my "friends," and if they don't look/sound familiar, I unfollow. That is, unless I've just started following them, or if they only have a handful of followers and I enjoy their pics. :)
Dorrena said it very well but why do you want to unfollow people? Keep them if you like their pictures and may be once in a while you'll have time to look at them and comment. For my self I only unfollow if I realise I never look at the people's picture, but it doesn't really make sense because if I decieded to follow them it's because I like their work :-)
This has been a struggle for me as well!!! I feel the same way that you do; if I'm going to follow someone, I should take the time to really do it with my heart!! I did unfollow some people when I realized I was becoming overwhelmed, and I'm sure I hurt some feelings, because some people did unfollow me. Now I am really careful when I choose someone to follow... Unfortunately, I can't spend all day on this project, and somehow I have to limit my time. What I try to do is comment on each person who comments on one of my shots, whether I am following them or not. Then I also try to comment on the people I follow in a thoughtful way. It's a balancing act for sure!!! Good luck, Emily!!!
i totally agree with Dorrena and SPace...it becomes very overwhelming to follow many and try to keep up with the ones that you want to be thankful for commenting.
I keep wishing there was a "like" button, like Facebook. I really enjoy viewing the pictures of a growing number of people, but don't usually have the time to comment on them all. Would like to somehow communicate that I AM looking, even when they can't tell I am.
I agree with @parisouailleurs. It doesn't hurt to have them in your following list. If you delete them, you may miss out on a truly incredible or inspiring photo. It is difficult to keep up with so many, but we all do what we can. I'd like to think that people are pretty understanding on here and most don't think badly of you if you don't comment often.
I agree with @parisouailleurs. I completely understand that you get overwhelmed by commenting back as I have the same problem (also between 180-190 people I follow and a few more that follow me). I usually comment back on the people who always take the time to comment on my shots or whose shots I really, really like. But every once in a while a shot pops up on my dashboard of someone I haven't looked at for a while and I'm happy I'm still following. I did clear out my list a few times to clear out dead accounts though and if you want to unfollow people to feel a bit more relaxed about commenting it's absolutely ok, too. It's your project and your choice!
I make time very week or two to go look at all the people's projects/images who I follow. If I find I am not moved by their images anymore or they have stopped posting images, I unfollow. If I am moved to comment, I do - if not, I don't, but my eyeballs at least are on them all! I also wish we had a simple 'Like' button.
Personally I comment on photos I like when time allows and follow people whose photos have caught my attention but do not necessarily have time to look at let along comment every photo of everyone I follow and I'm not following loads of people
I usually unfollow people that have stopped putting up photos for a month or so. This is mainly because every once in a while, I try to go through my whole list, in case I've been missing something. I get disappointed if, when their project finally loads, it's unchanged for a long time. Also, when I was new, I automatically followed everyone that followed me. I know now that that isn't really expected, so I unfollowed some people whose photos didn't speak to me. Sometimes I go through my whole list of followers and look at their stuff too though, so they don't really lose me, I'm just not one of their numbers anymore.
I follow most people that follow me, but have not actively searched for new people to follow. Also it is okay to do a mass purging of people you follow if you are not interested in seeing their photos on a regular basis, those that have not posted anything recently or those that never comment on your photos. We live in a society that may be quickly becoming too sensitive. You are under no obligation to have to follow someone for any reason. You need to do what works for you and not worry about everyone else's feelings. Most likely you will never meet any of us. You cannot stop anyone from following you, but feel free to follow the photographers that make you happy or inspired.
I actually take time once a week to go through my followers (thank goodness it is under 100) and make it a point to comment positively on a photographic aspect of their photo.
I'm following over 200 (although last time I checked about 30 or so had stopped posting) and find it hard to keep up at the moment as I'm very busy with work right now but like Helene (@parisouailleurs) I started following them for a reason so I'll continue to do so and wait for the time I can spend more time viewing/commenting on their work. But obviously it's up to you how your run your project!
I follow loads and loads and loads of people. I couldn't possibly look at all their photos or comment on all of them.. but it does mean that I get to see lots of different people's photos and I do enjoy just looking even if I don't comment. (I don't have a lot of time to do that.)
You don't have to follow anyone/everyone, you don't have to look at people's photos if you follow them, you don't have to comment and you certainly don't have to follow someone just because they followed you first. As everyone on here said - it's up to you and you can do what you want. :)
Real answer: it's entirely up to you, and it's not actually rude at all. If seeing 180 new photos every day when you login is becoming annoying, then nobody can blame you for wanting to reduce it to a more manageable amount :)
I have a rotation I start on the top of my list and try to go as far down as I feel I can truly handle in terms of time management...I start with each latest photo and go back at least five photos...I comment only on the photo's that I feel for and if I fav a photo I go to the next person down unless I am really enjoying the album I am but if I get to three favs I figure I spread the love and move on lol
I keep a note of where I left off so next time I move down the line and repeat the process...sometimes I just click flashback to find things I am usually going to miss
another cool feature I am using more is the suggestions which is like the popular page but what it is it pools photo's from people that follow you and you can see a few photos at once and see what catches your eye and toggle it as long as you want for more selections
@emhoff A tough question for sure! Personally I don't unfollow soneone unless I realize they have stopped posting. On the other hand I couldn't possibly comment on every pic from everyone I follow (plus so many that I don't) every day. But I do peruse their albums fairly regularly even if I don't have time to comment each time. It's totally up to you how you handle it, folks will just have to understand--Good luck! :-)
i tried my best to comment back to those who made comments on my work-it's like
"you scratch mine,i'll scratch yours" kind of way !!haha...and if i really like the picture- i fave'd it or make comment too even 'tho s/he follows me or not.Just do whatever you can -don't stress yourself too much..your HEALTH is more important than this. project-haha-PEACE to all :)
A couple of months ago I was borderline quitting my project...I was having trouble keeping up with the daily picture and constantly falling behind on the commenting so I decided first I'd try to whittle down my list of people I was following. Well that stinks because then you miss out on all those great pictures on your dashboard so I've actually been gradually adding them back on because I really enjoy viewing all the new pictures even if I don't get a chance to comment on all of them. I'm still struggling to keep up on the viewing/commenting part of this project but I try to catch up every few days. I wish we could have a "like" button or rating system such as 5 stars or whatever so you could still let people know you are viewing and appreciate their work without always having to leave a comment though you could still leave a comment if you wanted to. Sometimes I feel like telling people NOT to comment on my pictures because I feel guilty if I'm not able to reciprocate on all the comments I receive. I think my poor husband is starting to feel like I've abandoned him since starting 365! :)
@eyebrows hahaha I'll keep that in mind if anyone gets in my way! lol @bluemoon@jodimuli@aikiuser I agree with you all, I could just be stresses over nothing. There isn't anything wrong I guess with keeping them on my list. I probably should go through and delete people that haven't posted for a long time. Other than that, there's no harm in keeping them there..
Thank you all so much for getting back to me. I logged on and had 30 notifications just from this thread! haha I think what I should do is go through my account now that I'm over half way done, and my views on photos have probably changed and still look and see if every one I follow still inspires me. if not, then I should unfollow, or if they have a dead account. And if they're still just as amazing as the first time I saw them, then I will definitely keep them!!!
I can tell you that exactly (roughly) with a quick search through my own photos; I took one of a fork stuck to my monitor as I was writing it... one second...
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I actually take time once a week to go through my followers (thank goodness it is under 100) and make it a point to comment positively on a photographic aspect of their photo.
You don't have to follow anyone/everyone, you don't have to look at people's photos if you follow them, you don't have to comment and you certainly don't have to follow someone just because they followed you first. As everyone on here said - it's up to you and you can do what you want. :)
I keep a note of where I left off so next time I move down the line and repeat the process...sometimes I just click flashback to find things I am usually going to miss
another cool feature I am using more is the suggestions which is like the popular page but what it is it pools photo's from people that follow you and you can see a few photos at once and see what catches your eye and toggle it as long as you want for more selections
"you scratch mine,i'll scratch yours" kind of way !!haha...and if i really like the picture- i fave'd it or make comment too even 'tho s/he follows me or not.Just do whatever you can -don't stress yourself too much..your HEALTH is more important than this. project-haha-PEACE to all :)
@bluemoon @jodimuli @aikiuser I agree with you all, I could just be stresses over nothing. There isn't anything wrong I guess with keeping them on my list. I probably should go through and delete people that haven't posted for a long time. Other than that, there's no harm in keeping them there..
Thank you all so much for getting back to me. I logged on and had 30 notifications just from this thread! haha I think what I should do is go through my account now that I'm over half way done, and my views on photos have probably changed and still look and see if every one I follow still inspires me. if not, then I should unfollow, or if they have a dead account. And if they're still just as amazing as the first time I saw them, then I will definitely keep them!!!