Social side to Smugmug?

philx123philx123 Registered Users Posts: 201 Major grins
edited January 8, 2010 in SmugMug Support
Is there a social element to it like, say flickr? I haven;t noticed any groups as such, other than the forums like wedding, wide angle, etc (but then again I've been too busy to explore fully). If there are, where are they?

many thanks

Comments

  • BeachBillBeachBill Registered Users Posts: 1,311 Major grins
    edited December 20, 2009
    http://www.smugmug.com/help/communities

    http://www.smugmug.com/community/
    Bill Gerrard Photography - Facebook - Interview - SmugRoom: Useful Tools for SmugMug
  • philx123philx123 Registered Users Posts: 201 Major grins
    edited December 20, 2009
    BeachBill wrote:
    http://www.smugmug.com/help/communities

    http://www.smugmug.com/community/


    thanks for that, much appreciated.

    Have a good Christmas.

    Phil
  • sskinnersskinner Registered Users Posts: 16 Big grins
    edited January 8, 2010
    This is the part of smugmug that bums me out. Communities on smugmug are a far cry from how fun groups are on flickr. Since I set up my smugmug account, I fully committed my photography here but I can't bear to leave flickr behind because of the fun, interactive social aspects of it. So, I post to both sites. Flickr is a very busy social site; smugmug seems kind of dead comparatively.

    Smugmug is the business side of my photos, where I can do the really good things with easy batch keywording, doing things with my photos (prints, products, etc). But flickr is way more fun because of the social interaction. I had hoped for a similar experience on smugmug, but that does not seem to be the case. Makes you wonder if the full pro membership is worth being able to more conveniently order prints and other stuff, which is what I signed up for to give it a full year and see.

    I'd love to hear from some smugmuggers who've really gotten great interaction out of it and hear how they got to that point. Photo sharing isn't as fun when you're the only one looking at your stuff.
  • LPCLPC Registered Users Posts: 481 Major grins
    edited January 8, 2010
    The day Smugmug becomes a social website is the day I will close my account forever. I loathe the social aspect of flickr -

    'Hello your pic deserves a Shield of Excellence - please add this image to the Shield of Excellence Fun Group'

    Why? What am I five years old? Is there a Shield of Excellence Wall in the Kindergarten? :stfu


    I like to think Smugmug is a little more grown up and professional, for people who are serious about their photography and want somewhere quiet, secure and beautiful to show, share and store their photographs!
  • sskinnersskinner Registered Users Posts: 16 Big grins
    edited January 8, 2010
    I totally agree with you on that account. I can't stand the cheesy so called awards and animated crap that ends up in people's posts. However, I've never run into that issue. Perhaps it's because I always posted to more serious groups. My social interaction experience has been great, with people sharing ideas and offering suggestions. That sort of feedback from other serious photographers has been priceless. This is the sort of thing that seems to be lacking to me on smugmug. That's what I was referring to.

    I'm fine with using both. I am equally not willing to give up smugmug either. When I want opinions and discussion on a photo, I post to flickr. If I'm sending people to look at my photos, I send them to smugmug. I just would enjoy a bit more interaction than I've been getting on smugmug and would love some tips/ideas on how to do that.
  • LPCLPC Registered Users Posts: 481 Major grins
    edited January 8, 2010
    I have a biologist friend who posts all his shots on flickr and never gets those 'awards' so maybe they can be blocked and it's true he finds it very useful for sharing information with professional colleagues around the world.

    But he also has another site like Smugmug which he keeps for the really good stuff. Like you he sends people there if they are interested in the photograph rather than the subject. Photographs never look very good on flickr I think.

    But you can enable comments and join like minded groups on Smugmug I think - I never have so I can't be sure but I know I have seen pages and pages of comments on other smugmug galleries. I guess the key is inviting people in and making the content of your site as visible as possible.
  • sskinnersskinner Registered Users Posts: 16 Big grins
    edited January 8, 2010
    True, photos on flickr don't look nearly as nice as they do on smug. ESPECIALLY since the new themes came out!

    I've been digging into the communities on smugmug but they're pretty lame in comparison. I guess the best approach is not to expect everything from one source. Let smug do what it does best and have my fun on flickr. I don't think I want to invest the time and energy to generate buzz for my photos on smug.

    There's a boatload of wonderful photographers on flickr who are just frugal, and won't invest in smugmug. Too bad in a way. Their photography has more to gain from being on smugmug than the snappy cam crowd.
  • LPCLPC Registered Users Posts: 481 Major grins
    edited January 8, 2010
    sskinner wrote:
    I guess the best approach is not to expect everything from one source .

    True of a lot of things in life!
    sskinner wrote:
    There's a boatload of wonderful photographers on flickr who are just frugal, and won't invest in smugmug. Too bad in a way. Their photography has more to gain from being on smugmug than the snappy cam crowd.

    I agree - some of the best photographs I have ever seen have been on flickr but they would look truly sensational in a Smugmug gallery thumb.gif
  • Luc De JaegerLuc De Jaeger Registered Users Posts: 139 Major grins
    edited January 8, 2010
    I don't want SmugMug to become a social network the way Flickr goes.eek7.gif

    I want SmugMug to be a professional photo hosting website for (professional) photographers.iloveyou.gif

    Most of the people who made me a contact (fortunately not all!!) on Flickr are obsessed with sexy policewomen, tight pants over buttocks, leather pants and boots, fetishism...headscratch.gifcry

    I'm not prudish and each his/her own... but i'm not a fetishist and I want to be honored as a photographer.clap.gif

    Flickr often gives me shivers when I see another one contacting me to be a contact when I see what their profile exactly is... It starts frightening me...rolleyes1.gifscratcheek7.gif

    Luc
    http://lucdejaeger.smugmug.com/
  • sskinnersskinner Registered Users Posts: 16 Big grins
    edited January 8, 2010
    Pardon me for saying so Luc, but you use enough emoticons in your post actually resembles these cheesy social messages we're talking about on flickr!

    As others have said, each site has its positives. There are people like myself - recent flickr converts, who are just trying to find out how to get the most out of smugmug. For example, it would not occur to them that you wouldn't be able to post a picture to multiple communities where it's relevant. When I started with smugmug, that was news to me as well. It's a learning process.

    I don't think anyone wants to turn smugmug into a flickr style site or they wouldn't be at smugmug in the first place. For many, flickr is the only photo sharing site they've used in detail (myself included), so that's the extent of their experience. If you're really a fan of smugmug, then you should be singing it's praises and helping others get the most out of it. No one gives a rats behind about why you or anyone else here hates flickr. It's simply a point of reference.

    I'm beginning to wonder about this smugmug crowd.... Seems like anytime someone mentions a feature on some other photo sharing site, dgrinners act like you just insulted their mother. Sheez...
  • Luc De JaegerLuc De Jaeger Registered Users Posts: 139 Major grins
    edited January 8, 2010
    sskinner wrote:
    Pardon me for saying so Luc, but you use enough emoticons in your post actually resembles these cheesy social messages we're talking about on flickr!

    As others have said, each site has its positives. There are people like myself - recent flickr converts, who are just trying to find out how to get the most out of smugmug. For example, it would not occur to them that you wouldn't be able to post a picture to multiple communities where it's relevant. When I started with smugmug, that was news to me as well. It's a learning process.

    I don't think anyone wants to turn smugmug into a flickr style site or they wouldn't be at smugmug in the first place. For many, flickr is the only photo sharing site they've used in detail (myself included), so that's the extent of their experience. If you're really a fan of smugmug, then you should be singing it's praises and helping others get the most out of it. No one gives a rats behind about why you or anyone else here hates flickr. It's simply a point of reference.

    I'm beginning to wonder about this smugmug crowd.... Seems like anytime someone mentions a feature on some other photo sharing site, dgrinners act like you just insulted their mother. Sheez...

    I think we agree on everything! Just wanted to let you know where Flickr (THE photo sharing network) is heading with my photos after all these years that I have a pro account with them. I just wanted to vent that I don't want Smugmug to go the same route. I use Flickr as an entrance to SmugMug and this often helps.

    Thanks for your comments!
    Luc
    http://lucdejaeger.smugmug.com/
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