I’m curious, I try stuff out all the time. Web services, gizmos, apps. I have beta accounts on the go all the time. But I had a reminder a couple of weeks ago that it’s easy to get into fixed thinking without realising and that’s not so good in the fluid space of digital.
I’ve been using Flickr for a few years and have ‘invested’ a lot in to adding photos commenting on others, making new contacts, learning to be not so rubbish with a camera, even setting up a group for my home town. Happy times.
But having just been onto Flickr for the first time in a long while, it seems the birds have flown, the wagons have left town. That started a while back with the pull of Facebook and some of my earlier contacts heading over there to share any and all photos that way. I did the same with some photos but my ‘proper’ photos (those I though had artistic merit) – I reserved for Flickr. And because Facebook is a limited network and Flickr was pretty enormous.
Not so now – Flickr still has a ‘pull’ for me but for various reasons the community / interaction element has dwindled (see posts here about why Flickr has slowly atrophied : http://gizmodo.com/5910223/how-yahoo-killed-flickr-and-lost-the-internet and http://www.neilturner.me.uk/2012/05/16/is-flickr-dying.html).
So much so that I haven’t renewed my pro membership for the first time in years.. which is a real shame.
Some of my Instagram photos as seen on my Instacanvas page
Enter Instagram. Lots of users, lots of social built in. But (aside from it being initially just for iOS) I ignored it. I kept away from Instagram when the Android version launched because I didn’t think it was ‘me’. Too simplistic and easy to ‘snap’ (derogatory term intentional) any old thing. As well as my DSLR, I did use my phone but had Vignette (which is a great App) and loaded photos into Facebook (and still occasionally into Flickr).
Yep, I was being snobbish in my avoidance of Instagram, without actually checking it out.
Vignette has way better filters / options but it doesn’t have the massive user base (and therefore potential audience / engagement) of Instagram.
So in not being curious enough about Instagram, I was missing out on a lots of ‘exposure’ as well as the gratification and fun of comments and feedback.
Which as a punter maybe isn’t an issue, but look at that as a business (which I am in my consultant role) and I was being daft in my incurious view of Instagram. I don’t take photos to get traffic, I take them because I like photography / art BUT an added benefit is potential traffic for my website and I was missing out on that.
So I had a word with myself and signed up. And I’ve had more interactions there in 3 weeks than in 6 months on Flickr.
Why am I telling you this?
Because it’s a reminder for me and for businesses (in the context of this post) that being comfortable in one arena / social space / network is kind of nice but if you’re not careful, you look up and everyone has gone. And if you’re a brand that’s your customers.
So keep looking at other platforms and try out what’s new even if the essential ‘service’ offered (in this case ‘sharing photos’) seems at first glance to be the same.
Stay curious kids.
Instagram : markkelly333
Flickr (yes , still holding out) : http://www.flickr.com/photos/what_i_see/
Related articles
- Hands on with the new Flickr photo-sharing app (news.consumerreports.org)
- What Facebook, Instagram, and Google Can Learn from Flickr (theatlanticwire.com)
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