Tell me about Tookapic
I started a 365 project last week and I am using two sites, for now. In part, because I can get away with posting two different photos for the same day if I can't choose. In part, to figure out which site/app is better. One is yours, the other 365project.org They don't have an app (yet, so they say). Otherwise, it's pretty nice. As is Tookapic.
I have a few questions, and I apologize if the answers are available elsewhere. I promise to look again.
The app/site is made in Poland, and most users are Polish. Yet the language of the site and the community is English. Thank you for that! Why do you think there are not more international, especially US users? How can I find US users to follow?
When I click tookapic.com/places, there are exactly 5 dots in the US. What do they represent? Are they pinned to the location where five users said they were from? Do you only have 5 US users, or are these the most active users? Or the only ones who stated where they are from?
Or are these dots linked to geotags of the photos? I have not found how to geotag my photos. As I click on my photo in the web interface, I see "Where was this photo taken...", but it's not clickable, so I cannot geotag from the web. Maybe there was geotagging option available in the app, which I use to upload the photos. I promise to look closer next time.
How old is your project? How bright/stable your future? Will my photos still be here a year, two, five years from now? I know that no-one can know the future, but surely if you commit this many photos you want to have some kind of idea of their longevity. Where are the photos stored? Are you guys paying for the storage, and will you pull the plug if you don't find a way to make money? Can the photos be automatically backed up to one of the big cloud services?
Other than that, I really like the interface and the engagement of your community. I hope I am here for the long run, even if I have to keep updating two projects instead of one every day. I like the other site, too. Have you thought of what your strengths and weaknesses are compared to 365project.org? Do you see other sites and apps as your competition or, perhaps, something to use alongside or in addition to yours?
P.S. The "you" in this post refers to the site owners/developers as much as the core users. Please feel free to respond to as many questions as you can.
Thank you! Dziekuje!
vividcolourfabric About Tookapic not being so international - Tookapic didn't have proper ad campaign. Paweł told that he had to choose between a programmer and a marketer - he chose the programmer and regrets that decision now. People heard through the grapevine that something like Tookapic was created and probably that's the problem. But to tell the truth - I'm not accusing or blaming you for that, Paweł. You tried to do the best.
About map - every dot represents a city in which a specific amount of photos were taken. I don't know how many. Maybe somebody will tell you more about it. But it's not like every dot means a user. There are a couple of US users, eg: tookapic.com/ericpatzer_0bbnyd... or tookapic.com/jenniferforjoy. Furthermore - you can check this: tookapic.com/places/united-sta.... I haven't pointed everyone so you may want to find some of them by yourself according to your own likings.
BTW - we're all glad that you came here. Really. Every new user makes this place somehow better and we (well, I) think that you're gonna stay with us longer.
ponzu Thank you. Is there a way to get to tookapic.com/places/united-sta... by clicking around? Or just by typing the name of the country in? Can I see photos from California?
ponzu I see how you did that. I just had not scrolled below the map. Somehow, one must know to do that. And I don't see how to narrow down United States to a state. Do you?
vividcolourfabric I don't think so. Places has been thought as a place without any borders. That's why you can't see specific countries on the map as they're not outlined.
Marcin K. Something could change in the meantime (developers are adding features and changing them), but I will try to answer (or point to the answer) a few:
Why only 5 dots on the map...?
To get on map, the city/town has to be in top X most geotagged cities
tookapic.com/talks/432-new-pla...
Adding location?
Try clicking on it and typing, e.g., "san". Then, it should start to propose places like "San Diego" or "San Jose", then you choose something or keep typing... :-) If it doesn't work, it may be an issue with your web browser. In such a case, I bet, that developers will appreciate if you provide the name and the version of your web browser.
Where to look for users from US?
I think you can start here (I clicked on the link in countries ranking on Places page):
tookapic.com/places/united-sta...
I hope it helps.
ponzu Re: geotagging. Got it! If you ask me, when I click on "Where was this photo taken...", the "Where was this photo taken..." should disappear to make it obvious that I am now editing the field. Then new users won't be asking stupid questions ;)
ponzu
Yes, I did find the links to the most popular cities and countries below the map. If the developers are reading, I would sacrifice the pretty "Discover Places" and the helpful "Find fellow photographers from your city. See where do people take the most beautiful photos. Use the map above or the lists below." and would show the "Most popular cities" and the tops of the thumbnails associated with cities right under the map. As it is, on my retina display, I see the map, and under it
Discover Places
Find fellow photographers from your city. See where do people take
On the first three visits to the Places page, I assumed that this was just the summary of what the map is about, and it never occurred to me to scroll.
Paweł Kadysz We've updated the map so it now shows more places.
ponzu Love it! Now I see there are users (or at least photos taken) in the US and Russia (well, Moskva anyway).
Satoshi T
About locations pinned on the map : It is not where the photographer lives, but the place photographed is pinned. Photographer decided whether to register the location or not for each photo. So, there should be more photos taken at that place.
In addition, Pins are not displayed if there are no more than about 15 photos registered in the same place the reason is the map becomes full of pins.
IMO, it is good to keep the rule in Poland, but I think it should lower their thresholds on the other areas if it can.
Even near me, there should be many photos taken in Shizuoka, Osaka, Seoul, Beijing, Taipei, Shanghai....and so on.
120mr I think it's a good idea to lower thresholds for the world.
Marek Szymczuk We've increased the number of markers on map to display up to 3 cities per country (city must have at least 5 photos). These rules doesn't apply to Poland (25 cities) and United States (10 cities).
Also, you can follow a place, city or even a whole country:
Just click "Follow" next to its name (for now, photos from place/city/country won't show up on Feed).
ponzu Love the features! And the responsiveness of the devs.
ponzu
Consider this: as I look at Japan (as hyperlinked by you), I don't know what other places are there, or how to get to them -- other than editing /japan out of the URL or clicking Explore->places. I think there should be a link or links on any given place pages leading to
- all places
- popular places
- nearby places (if possible)
- parent place (if possible)
Thank you!
Satoshi T To search users by place : It is now only beta implementation so I think you can use if you become a Hero user, It is very useful to find users who live in your specified area. Reference URL: tookapic.com/users Perhaps it will displays 404 error for no Hero user or a user setting the beta function to OFF.
ponzu Yes, 404 error until I become a Hero.
Marek Szymczuk
It's now available for everyone (Explore → People):
tookapic.com/people/location
ponzu I see it. Thank you!
Satoshi T About storage and financial situation : As for storage, it is kept on the cloud -AWS- which is quite stable even from the world viewpoint. So I think that the safety of data in the physical sense is very high. However, now financial situation of Tookapic to keep pay for system is more problematic. In order to maintain that, we are now actively making members become Hero who is a paid members : tookapic.com/tookapic-hero
ponzu I understand. I hovered over the "PayPal" button for a little bit (for the $6/mo). It will not make me go broke, but there are many options to do a 365 project for free, including Flickr where I have been since 2006. Granted, on Flickr the project would become diluted by my other irregular but large uploads, and there will not be this community. That is, the community is much larger, but much less engaged, also diluted in a way. Still, it feels weird to join one week to check it out and to become a hero the next. Let me look around. The appeal for Heroes and their monthly contributions does sound dire indeed.
Satoshi T About community : Actually, I have not participated in other '365 projects', so I can not compare. However, things to say is that many members respect each other and each individual's direction, and to increase others motivation. On the other hand, it may be unsatisfactory if you want to pursue photographic technology in a stoic or ask you to do strict training with strong words.
ponzu Yes, a balance of praise and critique would be nice, but I think the core users are in a state of mind that they should nurture and cultivate new users, so naturally, they want o save their critique for another day.
ponzu Thank you for all the great answers. Let me digest :)
Paweł Kadysz @ponzu thanks for starting this talk. I know 365project.org and wish them well, but I can't stand their interface. It's so 90s'. As for your questions, let me answer them one by one...
1. Everything is stored on Amazon Web Service servers and it's safe and sound, with daily backups, etc.
2. If we don't manage to find a way to make money and will be forced to shut down, you'll be notified at least few weeks before actual shutdown and will be able to download all your photos in full resolution.
3. We're now pretty close to get the deal with one of the partners and are talking to few investors right now. It's looking good, but we haven't closed anything yet.
4. I haven't used 365project.org much so I can't tell you how it compares to tookapic, but as you mentioned - they don't have the mobile app. And their web interface is very outdated - and for me as UX/UI designer is a completed deal breaker.
If you have any more questions - feel free to ask, I'll be happy to answer.
Satoshi T I hope that 3. goes well and that financial stability can be obtained.
ponzu Yes, I was wondering what it was that bugged me about 365project, and you put it well. It really is 90s. Well, maybe 2000s.
Thank you for going into details on the viability of Tookapic, I really appreciate the honesty.
When it comes to choosing between a great looking site with a closely-knit and engaged community, but uncertain future, and a so-so looking site with a large, if mostly quiet, user base, and no obvious viability issue, it's not an easy choice. For now, it's no chore to update both sites (I am one week in), and I can get away with submitting two different photos if the day was good and left me with good choices.
I really like Tookapic. It blows my mind that it is not better known. I think a well placed ad on Facebook can bring thousands of international users -- if that's what you are looking for.
I wish you a bright and prosperous future, and I hope to be a part of it. If I am still here after a month, I am pretty sure I will convert to Hero. At least that is my sincere intent.
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ponzu I found the answer to one of my questions: you will soon turn 3 years old. And I do sense that the viability of Tookapic will be linked to the success of the paid version. Am I wrong?