I check the PP frequently.... so many good photos there! I have this goal I set for myself to get ONE picture on the popular page... just once. I have been doing this since January, and while I'll admit I am just a novice, some of my pics have gotten quite a few positive comments. what does it take to get on that page? I wonder if you need an Ace account????
I've made it to the popular page once that I know of and I don't have an ACE account so it is possible as far as I know. I'm pretty sure the fav's are what they go by for measuring the popularity.
I wouldn't get hung up on never being there. I would however suggest you try following more people and getting involved in "browse and pick", challenges, etc.... Put yourself out there. I checked out your photos. You don't suck. Just keep shooting what you like and be social on this site. It might help! Good luck!
Fallow more people, comment on others photos. The more people you get to fallow you and comment on your photos the faster you will make it to the popular page!
Not to brag but ive made the popular page 25+ times and a few times it was for photos i didnt think were that great but because i had so many comments they made it!
On the other hand, I made the popular page in my second week of the project, when I only had 4 followers/following. It was a nice picture, but not extra-special. Sometimes items are on the popular page for days, and sometimes for hours. You may well have been on the page and not seen it. I haven't been on it since, as far as I can tell.
So if I read this correctly, popular page means popularity? I am not trying to down anything, but I have seen so many really awesome pictures that do not make it to the popular page because they don't have the entourage of many following and commenting. That is a shame.. this has nothing to do with me, I don't get hung up on things like that.. (an old hippie here).. but it is beginning to sound like American Idol... LOL
@luvshorses@mebswartz LOL. its not about being 'popular' really.... i just wondered what the criteria is???? i think some of mine are really good.... and some on the PP, are just ok. wasn't making sense how it's all figured out :-)
@kimfaria I understand what you're saying, and I have also wondered how the PP works. I agree that some are "just ok" yet still manage to have staying power. I rarely look at the page anymore because, frankly, I'm not always impressed, and I tire of seeing the same ones. I enjoy looking at the beautiful work of those I follow, and sometimes I will look at the work of those they follow.
As far as I can tell it depends on how many favs you get & how many views but I have seen photos with only a few views and 3 or 4 favs make it. Maybe Ross can give a better explanation!?!
Also it doesn't really matter how many followers you have as I have seen quite a few new members make it to the Pop Page straight off the bat as members check out the latest photos and if they like what they see they'll comment!
It's best just to keep doing what you're doing & enjoy it, after all we're all just going around taking pics and having a good time :)
The basic concept of the popular page is that the algorithm takes the number of "Fav's" that your photo gets as a percentage of comments/views that it gets, and the number of comments as a percentage of how many followers you have.
So, if you have, say, 10 followers, 6 of whom view your photo, with 4 commenting and 2 Fav'ing, you'll get your shot on the PP every day... even if it is total rubbish. On the other hand, if you've got 250 followers and your photo gets 50 views, 30 comments and 5 Fav's, it doesn't stand a chance of making the PP no matter how good it is.
(Those figures are just guesstimates, but I hope they help you understand more or less how the PP works... it is not (necessarily) a matter of quality.)
I answered this a few weeks before. Popular page =/= Popularity.
Popular page = decisions by a certain group of individuals referred to as the Magic Monkeys.
They decide, not some random calculation.
I said it once and I'd say it again... Is it possible to separate "Popular Page" from "Favorites of the Magic Monkeys Page"?
Then, put a criteria on how to get to Popular Page with whatever factors you like (# of comments, views, faves, etc). So, if one reaches that criteria, he should at least expect his/her pic is on PP.
Right now, it's just the magic monkeys... (It's quite hard to please them... :D)
I agree with @yotan18 & @davidchrtrans ... when i joined the site in 2010 its was pretty easy to hit the PP page, as there were not as many people on the site, but as the site has become more popular, I have never hit the PP & looking back I have far better shots now than i had when i first started in 2010..
its all about how many followers you have, how many comments, fav's help but i don't think they are the key from my experience.. .. .. its all rather odd , but fun .. (o;
I was gobsmacked and delighted to get a pic on PP last month a few weeks into my second year on 365!!! Was definitely not expecting it............but VERY exciting!!!!!
@kimfaria it is very well possible you have already had one or even a handful of photo's featured on popular page...some photos seem to go up and not stay on for very long so if you didn't happen to be there to see them you just wouldn't know which is a shame...I would love for Ross to add a feature that would at least tag a line on our photo's saying "on popular page from such and such day and such and such stretch of time "
@kimfaria - Kim, I was really trying to get across exactly what frustrates you.. there are some on the popular page that are good .. and then I search others and see that they are really great and never really do make it there. I guess it is just the old hippie chick in me that screams.. "to hell with popular.. I just wanna be happy"! LOL.. make love, not war.. and the whole nine yards.. I wish you all well here.. I came not to offend, but to really just say: most of this world is based on the popular page philosophy.. if you have friends, who have friends, who have friends, who accept you.. then you are by the definition of such popular.. I do think some trickles down to this sort of venue too.. to each their own.. I just wanna smile and take pics of what does make me smile.. that is my only reason for being on this site. I have looked at some of yours since I found this post and they are extremely good.. I will comment when I can.. this farmette keeps me way busy...may you have a great day one and all.
@steveh I hear what you say about when we first began....but I thought you had plenty on the pop page?? Maybe its just because I fave your pictures! lol
Everyone here is wondering who are the magic monkeys who choose the pictures on the Popular Page... Well I can tell you they're 3. One doesn't look at the photos, the other one doesn't listen to his buddy's comments and the last one doesn't say what he thinks about the pictures. So this is the reason why we'll never understand how photos pops on the PP!
ps: of course @davidchrtrans gave you the answer, it's an algorithm!
@parisouailleurs You and that photo are a classic! Every time the question about the PP comes up, you just need to drop this in there again! That, AND your explanatory caption! I'll bet even Ross is laughing!
I don't think anyone knows do they? I think I've had two appearances on there in the while I've been doing it. I think it's really unfair sometimes, I've seen some truly PP worthy photographs that have never made it to the popular page. I wouldn't worry about it at all, no biggy!
Kim, it was a big deal for me at first. But I agree with others - getting a photo FAV'd is pretty cool. Don't worry about, really. I know it added extra pressure on me, and self-criticizing, which I didn't need.
BTW, I just looked at your portfolio. You have some great images in there. I don't think there's any rhyme or reason how PP photos are picked - so enjoy the project and the encouraging responses from others on here. Good luck.
@parisouailleurs Sorry Helene but I don't believe it's algorithm... But that's just me. :) I like to imagine, like your picture, that there are indeed monkeys who believe their favorites should be deemed popular. :)
I have made the popular page twice. Once early on in my project and once recently. I don't know how I got there either time. Yes, it was exciting and a huge boost to my ego. But am I banking on it? No. I'm not on 365 to see how many times I can make it on the PP. I'm here because I want to be creative and grow in my observational skills as a photographer. I want to see what I can learn from other amazing talents and learn more about the world through their eyes. The PP is an occaisional bonus, but trying to figure out how to get on there, or why anything ends up on there is impossible. I agree with Marlene- I'm even more excited when someone gives one of my photos a fav. It's such an honor, because that person has consistently looked at all my pictures. Not just one or two. Don't let this take away the joy of shooting and posting for 365. Enjoy the people you follow as well as those who follow you!
It seems to take a tremendous amount of commenting on others as well as getting them, but really I've no idea what the formula is. Not all of us have the time to dedicate to such involvment, just try not to make it a goal--lots of fantastic images never make it and often times the ones that do aren't necessarily the best either. :-)
I'm not as discouraged about only getting on the PP like twice since I started as I am about minimal views of my work. Perhaps it is because I have been short on time to do a lot of close up viewing myself recently, but it really makes it challenging to not just "throw in the towel' and stick to posting my work on Facebook.
thanks everyone for your comments! I didn't mean to start a debate.... I just don't know how it all works... and i have this small goal for myself to make it there just once! LOL
Some photogs are on the popular page all the time for not the best photos because of popularity, having friends following them, etc. It is not necessarily your work that gets you on there (although many on there if not most are deserving). There are many unknown photogs on here that do not have time to comment everyone that may not get the PP recognition. This is a personal venture...so try not to get caught up in it all.
When you started 365 did you know about the PP? Did it matter on this venture? It shouldn't matter now. I don't know the formula or why the monkeys like what they do, but this project is about one year of your life. Hang in there. Popular does not mean good, but I'm not saying that those on there aren't good either.... Art is subjective
I know I've been on the PP a lot lately. I think it has to do with getting the followers by commenting on other peoples pictures. and then it's something magical with monkey's...
It has something to do with the view/comment/ fav-ratio, but not only that, it's also magical! I really like that about the whole thing!
But first and foremost it has A LOT to do with having fun, experimenting and making beautiful photo's that you really like yourself! enjoy the project for yourself and the rest is bonus.
I've never commented on one of these PP threads before, but having read previous threads (eg http://365project.org/discuss/general/3740/how-are-your-photos-rated) and having been on the PP myself a number of times I have picked up a few things. There are sooo many things as far as I can tell that go into this algorithm, it's not simply a matter of adding up comments, favs and views. It is also definitely an algorithm, rather than an actual person.
From my experience, other factors include:
- The "popularity" of a picture is judged by *comparing* it to other photos that are uploaded that day, for example how many comments and favs others' photos receive at around the same time - i.e. my picture might get 50 views, 20 comments and 4 favs, but I might not make it to the PP if other people have posted pics that receive a higher number/proportion of favs etc at the same time. Conversely, if it's a bit of a quiet day, my picture with 4 favs can be enough to get it onto the PP.
- How quickly you receive comments and favs after posting - if you get 4 favs within the first 30 mins of posting, you're far more likely to make it to PP than if you get 4 favs over several hours.
- How long you sustain comments and favs - pictures will stay on the PP longer if they continue to receive comments and favs for a long time after they were posted. I had a shot on the PP this morning, but it disappeared quite quickly because commenting activity dried up and therefore other people's shots "overtook" me. On the other hand I have had some shots that have stayed up for 3 days or so, because people keep on commenting and faving. I think shots only stay up for a maximum of 3 days though.
There is a way to see the relative "popularity" of pictures (as defined by this crazy algorithm) by seeing how the order of pictures changes on the "browse by day" - the picture in the top left hand corner is the most popular picture of that day and that time, and it changes as new pictures get uploaded. It seems that pictures on this page are ordered according to popularity, and this order is continually (and automatically) updated.
So basically, it's pretty arbitrary, and it's not personal. It's based on ratio, which means someone with very few followers has an equal chance at making it than someone with hundreds of followers. Essentially it is a very clever algorithm that picks out "popularity" based on a number of different factors, but it's not a personal judgement about the quality of a photo.
Enjoy the project, enjoy the community, and do it for the love of documenting your year creatively rather than any high-school type contest! And you've got a new follower now too :)
Sorry, that ended up being quite an essay in the end :P
You definitely need a lot of views, comments, and fav's. The best way to do that is to get more followers. I started to get on the PP aver about 6 months and 80 or so followers. To increase the number of followers, follow other people, and about 50% of the time, they will follow you back, especially if you comment on their pictures. Just my $0.02.
"Popularity is the crown of laurel which the world puts on bad art. Whatever is popular is wrong." ~~ Oscar Wilde
The Pop Page is NOT an algorithm, I've seen photos' with less than 50 views and under 5 faves make PP & ones with 100+ views & over a dozen faves not. Most importantly, it is NOT a reflection of the quality of your work... it is someone's personal opinion (totally subjective). Save yourself the frustration and do NOT make it a goal, delight your followers and satisfy your inner critic.... Flock the monkey's, what do they know anyhow?!?
When I started this project in Jan 2010 I would get a photo on the PP once a month, on average during that year. Now it has been a while since I have been on the PP and it was with a photo that I considered a throw away photo that I posted for that day just to post a photo. The pictures have gotten so much better on this site. I am at the point that I am seriously thinking about stopping at the end of this year because the comments on my photos have almost been none existent and I feel that they are not very high quality shots. My goal was not to have my photos on the PP but to improve myself as a photographer.
Not that I have been on a whole lot of times, but lets say eight or nine times for the conversation. One has been the "stop gun violence" reflection photo, one abstract and one building shot. The rest have been flowers, so I always wonder if people connect more with my flowers or that is just the formula.
I've been lucky to have a few pictures hit the PP but they are few and far between. Now, I rarely look at the PP becuase it just makes me feel bad about my pictures. First because it makes me think that my pictures aren't good. I like my pictures so to me they are good. Second, I don't have loads and loads of followers. I've seen pictures on the PP that make me think, "how in the world is this so much better than anything I've done?". That's why I don't look. I like to look at the latest page to see what's going up right now. I click on a few and see if I can find someone else to follow.
@msk1p2 I think you're on the right track with your comment. Better to look at the pictures as they're being uploaded, perhaps welcoming someone new, and spreading the love and appreciation through comments rather than worrying about your own self-focused popularity. (IMHO)
@cirasj Well Joe, you echo my thoughts entirely. I'm wondering if I've reached my plateau now, and not wanting to progress in my camera equipment I wonder if I want to continue. It certainly takes a lot of time if you want to do the job properly and although i love the community here and the 'friends', thats not really what its about. I shall decide on the 31st december! LOL
@Weezilou wow. I just asked a question about how it worked, and set up a little goal w/ myself to some day get there. I don't think I'm worried about my self-focused popularity....
@Cherrill I kind of think it is about the community and "friends" you know. That's something I never imagined myself saying/writing/typing as this is the first time I've ever engaged in a social networky type thing. I definitely have people on here I look to as regularly as I can and it's not based on being the best photographer. Haha, don't get me wrong, i'm not saying those people aren't taking great shots ever but I'd rather they continued posting even if it's just pictures of their feet! (I did that for about a week recently when I was short on time/ideas). Oh just realised this is nothing to do with the thread, anyway I'll get it in early and say please go for year 3 in Jan!
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Not to brag but ive made the popular page 25+ times and a few times it was for photos i didnt think were that great but because i had so many comments they made it!
Also it doesn't really matter how many followers you have as I have seen quite a few new members make it to the Pop Page straight off the bat as members check out the latest photos and if they like what they see they'll comment!
It's best just to keep doing what you're doing & enjoy it, after all we're all just going around taking pics and having a good time :)
So, if you have, say, 10 followers, 6 of whom view your photo, with 4 commenting and 2 Fav'ing, you'll get your shot on the PP every day... even if it is total rubbish. On the other hand, if you've got 250 followers and your photo gets 50 views, 30 comments and 5 Fav's, it doesn't stand a chance of making the PP no matter how good it is.
(Those figures are just guesstimates, but I hope they help you understand more or less how the PP works... it is not (necessarily) a matter of quality.)
Popular page = decisions by a certain group of individuals referred to as the Magic Monkeys.
They decide, not some random calculation.
I said it once and I'd say it again... Is it possible to separate "Popular Page" from "Favorites of the Magic Monkeys Page"?
Then, put a criteria on how to get to Popular Page with whatever factors you like (# of comments, views, faves, etc). So, if one reaches that criteria, he should at least expect his/her pic is on PP.
Right now, it's just the magic monkeys... (It's quite hard to please them... :D)
its all about how many followers you have, how many comments, fav's help but i don't think they are the key from my experience.. .. .. its all rather odd , but fun .. (o;
Everyone here is wondering who are the magic monkeys who choose the pictures on the Popular Page... Well I can tell you they're 3. One doesn't look at the photos, the other one doesn't listen to his buddy's comments and the last one doesn't say what he thinks about the pictures. So this is the reason why we'll never understand how photos pops on the PP!
ps: of course @davidchrtrans gave you the answer, it's an algorithm!
It has something to do with the view/comment/ fav-ratio, but not only that, it's also magical! I really like that about the whole thing!
But first and foremost it has A LOT to do with having fun, experimenting and making beautiful photo's that you really like yourself! enjoy the project for yourself and the rest is bonus.
From my experience, other factors include:
- The "popularity" of a picture is judged by *comparing* it to other photos that are uploaded that day, for example how many comments and favs others' photos receive at around the same time - i.e. my picture might get 50 views, 20 comments and 4 favs, but I might not make it to the PP if other people have posted pics that receive a higher number/proportion of favs etc at the same time. Conversely, if it's a bit of a quiet day, my picture with 4 favs can be enough to get it onto the PP.
- How quickly you receive comments and favs after posting - if you get 4 favs within the first 30 mins of posting, you're far more likely to make it to PP than if you get 4 favs over several hours.
- How long you sustain comments and favs - pictures will stay on the PP longer if they continue to receive comments and favs for a long time after they were posted. I had a shot on the PP this morning, but it disappeared quite quickly because commenting activity dried up and therefore other people's shots "overtook" me. On the other hand I have had some shots that have stayed up for 3 days or so, because people keep on commenting and faving. I think shots only stay up for a maximum of 3 days though.
There is a way to see the relative "popularity" of pictures (as defined by this crazy algorithm) by seeing how the order of pictures changes on the "browse by day" - the picture in the top left hand corner is the most popular picture of that day and that time, and it changes as new pictures get uploaded. It seems that pictures on this page are ordered according to popularity, and this order is continually (and automatically) updated.
So basically, it's pretty arbitrary, and it's not personal. It's based on ratio, which means someone with very few followers has an equal chance at making it than someone with hundreds of followers. Essentially it is a very clever algorithm that picks out "popularity" based on a number of different factors, but it's not a personal judgement about the quality of a photo.
Enjoy the project, enjoy the community, and do it for the love of documenting your year creatively rather than any high-school type contest! And you've got a new follower now too :)
Sorry, that ended up being quite an essay in the end :P
The Pop Page is NOT an algorithm, I've seen photos' with less than 50 views and under 5 faves make PP & ones with 100+ views & over a dozen faves not. Most importantly, it is NOT a reflection of the quality of your work... it is someone's personal opinion (totally subjective). Save yourself the frustration and do NOT make it a goal, delight your followers and satisfy your inner critic.... Flock the monkey's, what do they know anyhow?!?