CC Site on the quiet side.....

[Matthew]

Was going to respond in the shout box but I feel we need a wee group feedback chat to see how we can turn the tide of quietness.

Reinardina and Mick have quite correctly spotted that the site has been quiet of late. I know I have been away from here a long time and have only just come back, so I apologise for that. Was down to other commitments.
I think we need a brain storm of ideas to try and get the site out of 2nd gear. Personally I don't think more members would be the fix. I think it's down to participation.
I run a page on Facebook (nothing to do with photography) which has only 75 members, but it's very quiet, sometimes comatose. When members do input to the page it's the same band of 5 or 6 dedicated folks. I am also a member of a Facebook photography group which has over 500 members, but again only about a dozen "regulars" contribute to the group with photos and tips.

We have, in my opinion, have the same thing here. Lots of members but only a "band of brothers (and sisters)" participating.

In closing, I don't think we should focus on getting new members, but try to see how we can get our existing ones to participate more and/or find out what makes them reluctant to share their photos or comment in the forums etc.

I welcome any additional thoughts on this as I feel this is something that needs addressed 

[Jediboy]

Well done Matthew for instigating this.
I'll post some thoughts tomorrow, when I have a bit more time.

[Matthew]

 

[DigiDiva]

I too have had other commitments lately, mostly workwise. I belong to a few photo forums, one is very very active in feedback and comments on photos but the comp fails to attract many entries. Here, when an image is posted in the gallery, theres not much interest sadly and that tends to set the precidence.  I don't, for that reason. put many images in the gallery or comment on others, as its the way here. So I am as guilty as others.

Facebook, twitter and pinterest is the downfall of places like this. Because of my job, I have to limit activities in social networking sites. Just recently, a colleague has started to be hounded  by clients and police are now involved. I feel safe and cushioned in here as its specific to people interested in photography. Would hate to see it fail.

[Reinardina]

I too have had a lot on my plate this last year, and still do, but I have been regularly adding photos, in the hope one might attract some attention.

If we want more photos and comments, we'll have to start contributing to the galleries.

If we want lively discussions, we should take the time to add meaningful comments.

The competition attracts some people and puts others off, so what to do about that?
Maybe the poll should not be on the front page, but somewhere 'hidden.' The participants will know where to find it anyway, and maybe the bottom half of the front page could be used for something special? Something eye catching?

Maybe a week of 'best landscapes,' followed by 'best portraits, best monochromes' etcetera.

Or another large image, like the image of the week?

Maybe something unusual? Something 'furthest away from chocolate box'? Abstracts only? 'Outside the box' only, 'No children or animals,' just plants - no flowers, inanimate objects, geometric shapes?

It would certainly create a new, fresh impression.

A forum somewhere, that has nothing to do with photography? An agony aunt type thing? Probably not too serious, something about hobbies? Crude funny rhymes? (I've got quite a few of those stowed away somewhere), short (say maximum 500 words) stories, based on or round a photograph? Around the IOTW?

I think I now need a drink!

Night night all, hope to see all of you tomorrow.

[Matthew]

I guess it's that old saying, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink"....we have lots of "Horses", but not all of them want to drink. The key is finding out how to make them. When I first joined, there was regular input and comment on photos but it has dried up. We need to find out why. I think the best way to sort this is a section at a time, start with the core and work outwards. The core is the gallery, from which everything else feeds from.

I think what might be putting off some folks from uploading is the form filling. I think maybe a concise version would work better, for example just having a box for the photo title/description and tag words. If members want to know what camera/lens set up, settings you used for the shot, then they can ask for this in the comments area. I must admit I only upload a couple because I find the process of typing in my camera and lens a tad laborious.

Interesting to see "time" is mentioned. I think this is where social media sites thrive. As I mentioned in my post I am also part of a Photography group on Facebook, in literally seconds I can upload my photo with a title and/or description and it's up there. Sorry for kicking this off Mick, I appreciate you do a sterling job with this site, I am just trying to help this site survive.

[Oldboy]

I guess it's that old saying, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink"....

I thought it was, "You can lead a horse to water but a pencil must be lead!" 

[donoreo]

I guess it's that old saying, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink"....

I thought it was, "You can lead a horse to water but a pencil must be lead!" 

Pencils are graphite   Yes, it has been quiet.  I have not participated too often either for a few reasons.  I will come back with a few ideas.  I will be honest, I never use the actual galleries here, if I want comments on a photo, I post it right in the forums.  I have not participated in the weekly competitions, but I always vote, for a long time. 

I notice that posting is very much a time of day thing.  It seems to happen early in the day and then be done.  From my perspective, being 5 hours behind the UK, I never see much posted past  9 am my time. 

We could do a few other things.  We have a photo of the week, is it only chosen from the gallery or the forums as well?  If it is not the forums as well, I think we should add them.  We could also do a photo of the month but maybe have that one being a submission by the member.  It has to have been taken and posted in the previous month. 

Just a couple of comments. 

[ABERS]

CC is really what you want it to be and participation depends on what YOU want from it.

I always look at the galleries but only comment if there is something that really catches my eye and I feel warrants a comment, otherwise commenting on all and everything becomes meaningless. This has and always will be a bone of contention, especially amongst those that are setting out on their photographic journey.

Whilst I post images occasionally I must say the same criteria apply, if you've got something that you deem worthy of looking at put it up if not don't put it up for the sake of it.

Not too sure about the 'form filling' when posting an image, where does that occur? I've never done anything like that.

The competition, well my views are well known on that. Sometimes when you look at the home page the recent post column comprises 90% about competitions that are currently on the go. If you are not of the competition persuasion that's an immediate off putter.

It's all about photography and related topics and sometimes a bit of banter on the side, it seems to get visitors on a regular basis, if they feel they don't want to join in, well that's life.

[Mick]

Pleased to see a thread on this subject started by someone else rather than myself, I think I've mentioned it a few times in the past. 

You probably gather from my lack of input lately that I have completely given up trying to get this place active (or should I say, more active).  Although it seems forums are a dying breed, some just seem to get it right and are pretty active.  So we need to ask what are we (Me) doing so wrong here at CC. 

Coppermine: (The gallery software)  Yes it looks outdated and doesn't have the bells and whistles that some of the social sites have, but I'm kind of stuck with it atm.  You're probably aware that I'm on the team, in fact I'm an admin over at the place where Coppermine gallery is built, hence my reluctance to change to a different gallery system.  That said, a new version is being worked on, and will be a lot different from what we have atm, if it ever makes the release stage.

SMF: (The forum software) Again, I'd like to stick with this, as I'm also on the support team for the portal addon which gives us all the various parts of the site outside the forums. A rewritten version of the forum script is also under way, this will also look and work differently too, and I'm testing this locally as it develops. 

So for the software, it's a case of 1: waiting, and seeing if the new versions will all play nicely together.  2: If I can be arsed to even bother trying. Is it worth the effort.

ABERS hit the nail on the head though. "CC is really what you want it to be and participation depends on what YOU want from it"

This stage is yours so whatever do with it is down to you guys. 

I think what might be putting off some folks from uploading is the form filling. I think maybe a concise version would work better, for example just having a box for the photo title/description and tag words. If members want to know what camera/lens set up, settings you used for the shot, then they can ask for this in the comments area. I must admit I only upload a couple because I find the process of typing in my camera and lens a tad laborious.

Matthew, I'm wondering the same as ABERS, I'm not sure where the form filling problem occurs, you don't have to fill in anything really, most of the fields are optional.  just the "title/description" would be fine for example.

[Jediboy]

Some good points here, but was hoping to see more.
For me, I'd like to see the forum easier to access. I tend to look at new comments in threads but rarely enter the forum to go any 'deeper.' My failing, but I wonder how many others do this??

Personally I like the comps but I can see what others say so maybe consideration should be given to leaving it as a thread. As already mentioned, people who participate know about it so could easily find it in a thread. Perhaps just a small reminder on the home page would work?.

I agree that it's difficult to encourage participation, I guess we need to become more active and see if that breeds more involvement.

[Matthew]

CC is really what you want it to be and participation depends on what YOU want from it.

I always look at the galleries but only comment if there is something that really catches my eye and I feel warrants a comment, otherwise commenting on all and everything becomes meaningless. This has and always will be a bone of contention, especially amongst those that are setting out on their photographic journey.

Whilst I post images occasionally I must say the same criteria apply, if you've got something that you deem worthy of looking at put it up if not don't put it up for the sake of it.

Not too sure about the 'form filling' when posting an image, where does that occur? I've never done anything like that.

The competition, well my views are well known on that. Sometimes when you look at the home page the recent post column comprises 90% about competitions that are currently on the go. If you are not of the competition persuasion that's an immediate off putter.

It's all about photography and related topics and sometimes a bit of banter on the side, it seems to get visitors on a regular basis, if they feel they don't want to join in, well that's life.

I was referring loosely to the process of uploading your image. Once you click "upload" you are then taken to a page where you enter the title/description, tags, camera, lens and location. My point was if you have a few photographs you'd like to upload, you may be put off by the "formy" nature of the process. I know you can copy and paste text for repetitive inserts and not all the fields are mandatory. I was suggesting a concise version where you just need to add a title/description and tags to make it a little less laborious.

But as you say, CC is what you make it. I just feel it is lacking that buzz it used to have and we need to come up with some fresh ideas to stop it going stale.

Just my humble opinion 

[Mick]

For me, I'd like to see the forum easier to access. I tend to look at new comments in threads but rarely enter the forum to go any 'deeper.' My failing, but I wonder how many others do this??

Thanks Jediboy, but I'm not sure what you mean by "I'd like to see the forum easier to access" Is it a lack of navigation? or something else, such as too many boards etc.

[Reinardina]

This topic pops up regularly. People react, and for a time there is a bit of a buzz, which soon dies out, as people seem to lose interest, and the site becomes dormant again.

The front page often shows the same photographs, and not only competition entries.
At the bottom, the competition poll prevents anything new or exciting happening there for a whole week. So, as I said in my previous post, it may be best, to remove the poll from its prominent place, and reserve this space for something a bit special. Eye catching.

Maybe there should be stricter guidelines for posting images. Restrict them to two or three at any one time, till, at least three or four from other members have been uploaded. This prevents a front page filled with almost identical images, as has happened in the past.

In 'dead' times, this may prevent any new images appearing at all, so you should be able to add some more if, for instance, nothing has happened for 24 hours.

But, to be brutally honest, I think CC, like so many other sites, is not viable anymore, so closing it down, is the only 'solution.'

Please prove me wrong.

[Hinfrance]

A bit harsh Re - it's a small and friendly place, rather unlike the impersonal antisocial networking sites like Facebook - where I almost never post anything out of choice.

As for the process of uploading to the gallery, I have to say that I agree it could be better presented. How about a direct 'upload photos' button prominent on the front page, and a redesign of the upload page to make it clear that all of the fields are optional except the file name and album boxes, and make the album box default to a 'public' album by default. Then uploading should be a breeze.

Something like this perhaps: