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July 28, 2004
2004: The Year Of The PhotoBlog
Posted by Dana Blankenhorn
The winner for Big Trend of 2004 has been chosen. Nominations are closed. (The image is from a Brazilian blog - it's a worldwide trend.)
As it was portals in 1998, and blogs in 2003, 2004 is all about photoblogging.
The idea of posting photos easily to the Web and sharing them is the trend of the year, without question. Kodak was the first to get into this, but like everything else they've tried they missed the wave. Other photofinishers like Ritz jumped in, but they missed the main chance as well.
They missed the main chance because they tried to charge people for sharing a few photos among a few friends, without context.
The main chance is to let people post photos free, to let them do it from their cameras, to post it all to public Web sites, and to call it blogging.
This is a trend that goes across the Web. It's huge in the mainstream, where Google has Picasa and Yahoo has launched camera phone uploads. It's huge in blogging, where the Technorati Top 100 is now filled with sites like Fotolog.Net, PhotoMatt, and a host of Modblog sites, which has come from nowhere fast with its picture gallery capability. (Cameraphone picture from USA Today.)
What's it all about?
Camera phones.
I'm not seeing a lot of art here. I'm seeing snapshots. I'm seeing friends smiling into the camera, families standing in front of tourist traps, cute dogs and kitties. Not that there's anything wrong with that...
Comments (2)
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Dana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist for over 25 years and has covered the online world professionally since 1985. He founded the "Interactive Age Daily" for CMP Media, and has written for the Chicago Tribune, Advertising Age, and dozens of other publications over the years.
1. toon on August 3, 2004 06:38 PM writes...
Foto Matt? How many people are on?
Permalink to CommentCheck the Europe records (yep, the continent still exists).
PhotoBlog has 57.000 users, 950.000 pageviews daily and they claim (see www.photoblog.biz) to be growing with +2.800 users a day.
2. toon on August 3, 2004 06:39 PM writes...
and as to art: check their pictures of the day
Permalink to Commenthttp://www.photoblog.be/?action=browse&id=picoftheday
that IS art