PRODUCT/EDITORIAL BACKGROUNDER fotocommunity
Thousands of Members Converge In Cologne To Explore The Many Benefits Of Belonging To World's Only True Information-age Community
Q. How did fotocommunity get started?
A. Andreas Meyer, a successful German-based multimedia entrepreneur for 16 years, took a sabbatical in 2000 from his various projects to pursue a love of travel and photography. When he returned to Bonn, he created a homepage to share his photos, and noticed some disturbing trends. Not only were his expenses in building the site disproportionate to returns, but also the entire experience was less than satisfying. His page garnered too few visitors who offered too little feedback. He began to wonder if a uniform user interface could solve the same dilemma for hundreds of similar photo-philes faced with their own "little projects," and the idea of fotocommunity was born. The inaugural site www.fotocommunity.de went live in Germany in 2001. By 2006, the site was international, offering platforms in five languages for members to share photos, find inspiration and trade ideas.
Q. Is fotocommunity a virtual community only, or can members meet in person?
A. One of the best outcomes of fotocommunity has been the way in which fotocommunity members organize among themselves and extend their interaction from online into the the "real" world. Through regular meetings, field trips and workshops fotocommunity members are able to nourish real-life contacts that go beyond the Internet. More than 200 such user-initiated meetings take place every month in the German-speaking areas alone. fotocommunity site coordinators are encouraged that similar type meetings will also be arranged in communities throughout the US as well.
Photokina represents one of the best opportunities for members to meet and explore the many benefits of belonging to fotocommunity. The fotocommunity 7,535 sq. ft. booth and exhibition space at Photokina - B054/D055 in Hall 9 - is expected to draw over 10,000 global members to the industry-leading trade fair held from September 23 to 28, 2008 in Cologne, Germany.
Complete with an 'Action Stage', lecture program and all-day workshops in multiple languages, members will also enjoy a lounge area to meet, greet and network in person. The last day of the show, WorldConvention Day, features an all-day event will culminate in the fotocommunity WorldConvention Party.
More information about the 'festivals' and WorldConvention at Photokina can be viewed at:
http://www.fotocommunity.com/photokina
Q. What about the online experience itself? How is fotocommunity different from other sites that encourage postings for photography?
A. Whether online or at a global industry event such as the photkina, the quality of communication among members remains a key difference. Online, ongoing communication among members is certainly more intense than on any other site (more than 200 million page views per month) that deals with photography. In addition to commenting on photos, members interact with each other to such an extent that fotocommunity has evolved into a true community of people passionate about photography, one designed and managed for the information age. Only fotocmmunity offers members multiple communication tools such as internal messages, photo-mails an internal chat, and numerous forums. In fact, since fotocommunity was founded, members have written over 60 million reviews for approximately 11 million photos.
Another big difference with fotocommunity is the way in which people are invited to participate on the site. Unlike other sites where anyone can post as many photos as they wish, the number of uploads per week on www.fotocommunity.com is strictly limited. Those who wish to upload mor than one photo per week pay for the service, and even the number is limited. This restriction ensures that only the best possible photos find their way onto fotocommunity. Members dont't need to worry about copyright infringement, either. Profiteering off member talents is the antithesis of the fotocommunity mission. The site, built for a free and easy exchange among enthusiasts, will never sell a member's photos without explicit permission.
Q. What does membership in fotocommunity involve?
A. Registration on fotocommunity is free, although the number of photos each free visitor may post on the site is limited. A varying fee structure gives three levels of members increasingly advanced benefits, including the ability to post more photos in a shorter time period.
Those who pay the Basic memberhship fee of about $6 USD per month have the privilege of uploading ten photos per week and storing up to 350 photos online in fotocommunity.
The slightly higher monthly fees of the Pro und World membership levels give account members access to exclusive channels as well as the ability to upload up to 30 photos per week and store up to 2,000 photos online. For more information about membership visit:
www.fotocommunity.com/pc/pay.php
Q. What is a 'typical' profile of a fotocommunity member?
A. In Europe, fotocommunity not only connects the discerning photographer, but also it has caught on as an important site for top photographic magazines and photographers to seed new ideas and evaluate the latest trends. Through photo galleries and contests, fotocommunity enables magazines to acquire high-quality images with far less effort than if they organized their own contests. The ongoing photographic contests sponsored by fotocommunity for the photokina provide a prime example. Not only were members encouraged to submit entries, but the spotlight will shine on winners each and every day of the photokina along the Fair's Boulevard. For more on fotocommunity contests, click here.
US fotocommunity members who are interested in the burgeoning green movement, will also have the opportunity to showcase their work in October. They can participate in an exciting new interactive photographic photography contests running in conjunction with top photo journals from October 2008 through January, 2009. For more information, go to:
http://www.fotocommunity.com/pc/pc/channel/57 and Rangefinder Publishing's AfterCapture & Rangefinder magazines.
Q. What other things can English-speaking members expect from fotocommunity.com?
A. The fotocommunity staff is constantly at work in the background to keep member communications running smoothly in the foreground. What's more, the users determine how the content is further developed. Experienced staff members see to it that members' requests are quickly adopted.
As a result, fotocommunity features an enhaned user interface that puts all site functionality on one screen with easy-to-use, easy-to-navigate bars and tas that make browsing the site a breeze. US members who join at the World membership level for example can take advantage of a "world tab" to access photos by category from all over the glob with one click.
A 'favorite photos' bookmark makes it easy to designate and share their favorite photos with an all-new feature that makes specific information public to visitors of their pages. Members also have the ability to instantly connect photos and news from fotocommunity to their respective websites, as well. They now can showcase their talents and interests to the world in the latest slide-show format.
Members now who have a LinkedIn-style news feed, as well, that allows designated member buddies the ability to share recent photography-related interests and projects. They also will have access to an extensive database of headshots via sedcards.
Just as the hundreds of social networking sites have achieved soaring popularity among targeted groups of teens to professionals, fotocmmunity members use the site to exchange photos, news,and detailed information about their likes and dislikes. Comments, photo postcards, chats, text forums, and linked pictures and profiles all help the site foster a true community feeling, one developed and maintained for today's global information age.
For more, visit www.fotocommunity.com
About fotocommunity
Founded in 2001, fotocommunity (fc) today is an Internet community of approximately 750,000 avid photographers and photographic enthusiasts and houses more than 12 million photos worldwide. As Europe's largest platform for those with an intense interest in photography, www.fotocommunity.de is a convergence of laymen, professionals and artists alike. With 200 million page views per month, fotocommunity is quickly becoming a global phenomenon. www.fotocommunity.com, with its English user interface, is increasingly popular, along with the Italian-language www.fotocommunity.it. A French-language www.fotocommunity.fr fotocommunity and Spanish-language www.fotocommunity.es fotocommunity were launched at the photokina, the world's largest photography exhibition, in 2006.
For more information visit: www.fotocommunity.com
For editorial questions, please contact:
CJC Strategists (212) 777-7654
Charlé-John Cafiero
fc.comPR(at)cjcstrategists.com
