I have been using the 365 for a number of months now and have been intrigued by to follow or not to follow. I believe that all people who take the time to post their photos and (of course you have a choice) you like them then I would like to follow them. However the issue I have found it that if you are lucky enough to have someone see your work (Popular page discussion aside) and they kindly want to follow you, why would you not reciprocate the follow. I appreciate that your home page will fill with all the people’s work however that is a small price to pay. I am concerned that this would be taken negatively however it does seem that there is a small minority that are happy to take, or not even bother to comment even when questions asked about their work.
I absolutely love this site as a person who is understating nervousness posting his first photo and having such kind words said about my work and some constructive criticism I cannot ask for more.
I would appreciate other peoples thoughts on this as I may be the only one.
I follow most people that follow me if I also like their work. I'm already following nearly 200 people so I'm trying to get more selective now with who I follow since I like to go over every shot in my dashboard since I posted my picture. It takes a long time on dialup :P
I follow those that follow me and also when I see one that catches my eye, especially if they have quite a few in their project I like. I also use the discussion questions to find people and check out their work. ( Wow,.. that sounds sort of stalkerish.)
I try to reply when people comment on mine but often it is many days later. ( 1 husband, 4 kids, 3 pets, 1 ft job, church, baseball, cheerleading and actually taking pictures eats into my computer time. hahaha)
Initially I only followed existing IRL/OTI friends but as people started commenting/following I started following those I built little comment-rapports with and those I liked the postings of. Every so often I'll also go on a big "followee scout" and scour the site for new people taking interesting stuff to follow.
Personal opinion only; I only follow those whose work I am interested in either for subject, creativity, editing, or if I feel I can learn something from them. I am here to learn and further my love for photography while sharing with others who feel the same way. I do not follow everyone who follows me.
I cannot possibly comment on every picture that comes up and especially on the weekends I don't get on here much and miss a lot of posts. However when I do see something that catches my attention I make a comment. If I feel I don't have anything to say I do consider removing myself as a follower just because I don't feel it''s right to be a lookyloo only. I want the interaction and I'm pretty sure they want it too otherwise they wouldn't be here sharing their work. Although there are people who really don't care one way or the other but I think most people do care and do want to better their skills. I do feel if a specific question is asked then it is polite to respond.
Steve and Dorrena raise a similar point and I totally agree if you see something you like why not, or you think you can learn that is what this is all about.
We follow people whose work has touched us in some way, but don't always comment. We do if we have something to say, and often there are already many comments per picture, so we would only be parroting someone else's words. Didn't know there were rules, sorry if we've offended anyone.
simon, i have wondered the same thing as a fairly new person on this site. as most things go, there seems to be somewhat of a caste system (tried to think of a word that doesn't sound as harsh, but couldn't), even with this wonderful, creative project. the popularity of certain people is apparent sometimes while others seem to be overlooked, and that just seems to be the way of the world. :) also, it seems as though there are unsaid rules about how one should do this project, but i believe this is a personal project to work on however you choose. that is my humble opinion, as a sometimes overly-analytical person. :) so, really i just decided to not get offended if someone does not respond or reciprocate a follow, because that is not why i signed up. i am only doing this to improve myself, and have a whole year's worth of memories to look back on. it is nice getting feedback, of course, but i say follow who you want and don't fret over any of it, it's supposed to be fun! i have met some really interesting people on here already that i feel a bond with even though i haven't met them, so i'm doing just fine!
With Vikdaddy...I usually follow people who comment frequently on my work...or whose pictures I like!! ooorrr occasionally if they are new or have a bunch of photos but no followers I'll follow them... I know it sucks to not have many followers and EVERYBODY deserves followers. I want people to know I appreciate their work... and to just give them support. That's how people treated me when I entered this site and now I treat others the same in return. I am not judgemental... but I follow so many people now that I generally only add those who I really like their photos now. ...if that makes sense :)
I try to follow anyone who follows me, but some slip through the cracks. I suggested to Ross that it would be great to see on my followers list if I was in turn following them. I get why people don't take this approach though since I have way too many photos to comb thru and often can't see them all. All this said though, I've been thinking about changing my approach and dropping everyone and starting fresh. At that time I would be totally fine (and would expect) the same drop in followers. Personally, a manageable follow/followers list for me would be no more than 100 so that I could keep focused while still retaining some life outside of 365. :)
I follow everyone that follows me, but I've gotten to the point where I only comment on people's photos that take the time to comment on mine. Reciprocal site, you know!
I try to follow everyone that follows me. It is getting very hard though to go through each picture and comment on each and everyone I follow but I do try hard to do so. If I find myself getting behind then I usually just comment on the people that comment on mine.
I don't really have a pattern I follow as far as following people goes. I follow several people who have probably never seen my album and that doesn't bother me because I like THEIR work.
every day when i get on 365 i scroll down my home page and look at others' work. The people i follow are people who i like to see's work. if somebody has multiple good pictures i follow them.
I don't do 'ill follow you, you follow me'. If someone follows me I always take a look at their work and decide if I like it before following back :) x
A point to add - I also like to see a little bit about the person on their profile, at least where they are from.It makes following a bit more personal :-)
I follow people if their work captures my eye and inspires me. I would love to follow more people, but the fact of the matter is, there isn't enough time in the day to follow everyone. To explain that - I'm the kind of person who takes a 'follow' seriously - if I follow someone I will try my very best to comment, and following too many people just takes away from that.
Great tread mate. I try and comment on as much work as possible regardless if they've commented on mine. In regards to followers having been on here all year i have a few ground rules of my own; if you post pictures of ur kids/family all the time i prob wont follow you purely as i think its bit weird and to be honest boring if i dont know you personally. Im more in to buildings , landscapes, london and other random crap. Likes wise if you ve been doing the project for a few days i wont follow too soon as most give up after month. May sound a bit snobish but its not meant to be be just my opinion, but of course i appreciate all followers and comments.
I'm with Teresa - the people I follow I try to comment on regularly.
Aaron, I'm with you too; I'm not into lots of photos of the family - save that for the personal photo album! And yes, I don't follow many people who aren't as committed as I am.
the option to follow, and the privilege of being followed, here on 365 is certainly a nice benefit of the site. i find it helps me to be accountable to post my photos, where if it was something only i would see it could easily fall to the wayside. it is icing on the cake! that being said, my main motive for participating here is to document my year. for ME. and as a permanent record for my family (i also upload each shot to a book-in-progress on shutterfly). so it IS my 'personal photo album'! (: so, while i very much understand anyone like vikdaddy or aaron above not wanting to follow or view the photos of someone who has an abundance of family shots, please remember that everyone has different reasons for and benefits they derive from participating in this site.
Simon, I think everyone needs to ask themselves why they are doing this in the first place. Everyon ehas their own motive. I personally think it's an awesome opportunity to display and share your own photographs, and to see what others are doing. It can be a great learning experience if you look at all the various styles and then go out and experiment with your camera. The only way you are going to improve is to take photos, and what better way than to see what others are doing. I think the goal of this project is to document your year in photos. It's a personal thing, but yet others can share in the experience. You have to decide who you will follow and how many. I am following a large group. Many do not consistently post photos, but then they catch up, and some just stop posting all together. I do take a few minutes several times a day to look through the posted photos and I try to comment on them. That's me. It does take time. You are the only one who knows how much time you can spare each day. I don't think anyone is going to criticize you if you are too busy to comment on every photo. There are those who do not generally comment on your photos even though you comment on theirs, and there are those who do not answer questions. If you are following a large group, or you have a large number of followers, it's easy to miss a question posted withyour photo. I try to respond to all questions, but as Matt said earlier, it can be difficult. Even if people do not respond or comment on mine, I still enjoy looking and getting something from their work. This project is so individualized.
Personal choice for me is to follow based on my enjoyment of their work.
Simple enough. I don't follow simply because I have been followed (haven't been here long anyway), because I do it for photographers hose work I want to see as soon as it comes up.
Edited for this:
I follow also for inspiration as well. Either inspiration in photography or any other way.
Most of the time I follow people who follow me. Not just because they follow me, but I usually like what they are doing. It's not always about whether or not their photos are amazing or eye catching. Sometimes, it's a personal touch or that something they write in the caption that makes me think or smile.
Although this project is primarily to document a year in your life, however you want it to be, it's nice to be recognized too. I look at all the photos on my homepage, even if I don't necessarily comment. Follow, be followed, have fun, take photos. That's what I think anyway.
I follow people whose work I like. If someone follows me, I'll look through some of their photos and if I like them, I'll follow them back. I also go through the people I follow every so often and stop following anyone who hasn't posted for a few months, which helps me to feel like I'm not following so many people that I can't keep up with commenting.
I agree with Brett Currie, at the end of the day, the project is a personal journey. I would love to follow more people, but i get so overwhelmed with the amount of new photos when i log in, especially as there are a lot of people who upload when i'm asleep due to time differences!
I agree with Matt Murata who said about getting the right balance. I try not to spend all my free time on 365!
I also think that i wouldn't want somebody following or leaving comments on my photos just for the sake of it because i followed them. I follow or comment on somebodies photo if i like it or like what they have written about.
Its a difficult one, because i want to show how much i appreciate the feedback by letting everyone know, but there aren't enough hours in the day to tell everybody!
Good points made here about following some people for inspiration.There's a few people on here that I follow because their work is something I aspire to.
I follow for many reasons stated above, but I also will find that if someone has young children that they photograph, as I do, I'll often follow them because we have something already in common. And having kids is a huge part of your life. :-)
When I follow someone it is because I like their work or perhaps I can help someone find their way and give voice to their 365 day journey. I think one of the unwritten rules is "thou should never say anything negative in the comments section". So I really don't know if someone wants a critique or reassurance about their work. If I don't have anything useful to contribute to a member, I would rather be silent than make a comment. I wonder if the comments section works much more like a social network?
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I try to reply when people comment on mine but often it is many days later. ( 1 husband, 4 kids, 3 pets, 1 ft job, church, baseball, cheerleading and actually taking pictures eats into my computer time. hahaha)
I cannot possibly comment on every picture that comes up and especially on the weekends I don't get on here much and miss a lot of posts. However when I do see something that catches my attention I make a comment. If I feel I don't have anything to say I do consider removing myself as a follower just because I don't feel it''s right to be a lookyloo only. I want the interaction and I'm pretty sure they want it too otherwise they wouldn't be here sharing their work. Although there are people who really don't care one way or the other but I think most people do care and do want to better their skills. I do feel if a specific question is asked then it is polite to respond.
quote "stalkerish" great word.
Aaron, I'm with you too; I'm not into lots of photos of the family - save that for the personal photo album! And yes, I don't follow many people who aren't as committed as I am.
Simple enough. I don't follow simply because I have been followed (haven't been here long anyway), because I do it for photographers hose work I want to see as soon as it comes up.
Edited for this:
I follow also for inspiration as well. Either inspiration in photography or any other way.
Although this project is primarily to document a year in your life, however you want it to be, it's nice to be recognized too. I look at all the photos on my homepage, even if I don't necessarily comment. Follow, be followed, have fun, take photos. That's what I think anyway.
I agree with Matt Murata who said about getting the right balance. I try not to spend all my free time on 365!
I also think that i wouldn't want somebody following or leaving comments on my photos just for the sake of it because i followed them. I follow or comment on somebodies photo if i like it or like what they have written about.
Its a difficult one, because i want to show how much i appreciate the feedback by letting everyone know, but there aren't enough hours in the day to tell everybody!