4 ms·

> Photo sharing is something that everyone is trying desperately to solve. Honestly - is this not a solved problem? I have a hard enough time choosing what se

by Splines 15y ago

> Photo sharing is something that everyone is trying desperately to solve. Honestly - is this not a solved problem? I have a hard enough time choosing what service to use to share pictures on, there's not exactly a dearth of services in this space.

furyofantares 15y ago
It's something everyone knows how to do from a technology standpoint, which is why so many services are trying to do it. But from a user experience standpoint I don't see anyone really nailing it. And I think for this you really want to nail it even for people who are not very good at all at using technology.
- tjoff 15y ago
  I think the problem stems from that no one actually have any pictures they want to share on a daily basis (exception might be pictures of babies). Instagram solved it by inventing shareable pictures of nothing. While I can appreciate the idea of a "daily picture" (or whatever) in a more diary-form this is a completely different beast than a family photo / vacation photo / group activity photo etc., such photos only get better with time where an instagram is useless a social-minute after it was shot.
  - brlewis 15y ago
    I've got the photos-that-get-better-with-time problem nailed, but I don't think it can be as viral as daily-nothing apps. Nostalgia tends to be more individual; daily-nothing is entirely social.
- ajaymehta 15y ago
  Found both of your comments here incredibly interesting. We're working on solving this problem with FamilyLeaf (YC W12): http://familyleaf.com http://familyleaf.com I'd love to have you try it out to help keep your family in touch, and maybe even talk further about your ideas around the problem. Please ping me at ajay[at]familyleaf.com
  - azarias 15y ago
    There is definitely a lot of social fatigue. I have cared less and less about my friends' hiking pictures over the years---and family and a few very close friends might be the largest group I will ever closely follow. It will be interesting to see what you guys come up with.
brlewis 15y ago
Which one are you using?
- Splines 15y ago
  It depends for what: - FB for photos for my relatives/friends that have FB accounts - Posterous/G+ for more personal photos (just neat stuff I take a picture of) - Costco Photos for my parents-in-law I guess that last one is the "unsolved problem" bit, but there are blocking logistical issues to even get them on the internet that may not get solved any time soon.
damoncali 15y ago
I still cannot send pictures of my daughters to my mother reliably (or more accurately, she cannot receive them). It's not solved by a long shot from my point of view.
- brlewis 15y ago
  Can you tell more about your mother's situation? Is there wifi where she lives?
  - damoncali 15y ago
    Yeah - she has all the tech she needs. She's just really bad at using it. How do you share folders with someone who doesn't really understand even the basics of finder? It has to be automatic for me, and foolproof for her. If either element is missing, it doesn't happen.
    - Steko 15y ago
      Private Flickr bookmark with a browser that signs you in automatically?
    - r4vik 15y ago
      Just get a digital photo frame that does rss, point it to your flickr account. She doesn't need to do anything, latest photos will show up on her frame
    - brlewis 15y ago
      r4vik's solution makes it foolproof for her. As far as making it automatic for you, please check out OurDoings Dropbox integration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r93TDJeZyI&context=C4a04c84ADvjVQa1PpcFMu1EcFlSEejJmEzIIzutNQzecM5Q3BCaM= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r93TDJeZyI&context=C4a04... OurDoings has RSS better than Flickr.
    - damoncali 15y ago
      To respond to the comments below/above: a digital frame w/ RSS may be a good option - I may try that. It still isn't perfect, but it's better than what I've been doing. (Emailing, and then having to explain over and over again what a "Downloads" folder is, and why you can't print images sized for the web). Some complications that continue to annoy me, though: she wants to print them. She wants them on her ipad. She wants them on her iphone. I hate manually sorting out which ones she would like to see and uploading them to whatever service. The holy grail for me? I take a picture with my DSLR, and it knows who to send it based on what I took a picture of. If it's for my mom, it appears on all of her devices, which have "print" buttons on them that will make nice, printed versions show up in her mailbox. I don't think this is that far off, but it doesn't exist yet in idiot-proof form.

by Splines 15y ago

furyofantares 15y ago

It's something everyone knows how to do from a technology standpoint, which is why so many services are trying to do it. But from a user experience standpoint I don't see anyone really nailing it. And I think for this you really want to nail it even for people who are not very good at all at using technology.

tjoff 15y ago
I think the problem stems from that no one actually have any pictures they want to share on a daily basis (exception might be pictures of babies). Instagram solved it by inventing shareable pictures of nothing. While I can appreciate the idea of a "daily picture" (or whatever) in a more diary-form this is a completely different beast than a family photo / vacation photo / group activity photo etc., such photos only get better with time where an instagram is useless a social-minute after it was shot.
- brlewis 15y ago
  I've got the photos-that-get-better-with-time problem nailed, but I don't think it can be as viral as daily-nothing apps. Nostalgia tends to be more individual; daily-nothing is entirely social.
ajaymehta 15y ago
Found both of your comments here incredibly interesting. We're working on solving this problem with FamilyLeaf (YC W12): http://familyleaf.com http://familyleaf.com I'd love to have you try it out to help keep your family in touch, and maybe even talk further about your ideas around the problem. Please ping me at ajay[at]familyleaf.com
- azarias 15y ago
  There is definitely a lot of social fatigue. I have cared less and less about my friends' hiking pictures over the years---and family and a few very close friends might be the largest group I will ever closely follow. It will be interesting to see what you guys come up with.

brlewis 15y ago

Which one are you using?

Splines 15y ago
It depends for what: - FB for photos for my relatives/friends that have FB accounts - Posterous/G+ for more personal photos (just neat stuff I take a picture of) - Costco Photos for my parents-in-law I guess that last one is the "unsolved problem" bit, but there are blocking logistical issues to even get them on the internet that may not get solved any time soon.

damoncali 15y ago

I still cannot send pictures of my daughters to my mother reliably (or more accurately, she cannot receive them). It's not solved by a long shot from my point of view.

brlewis 15y ago
Can you tell more about your mother's situation? Is there wifi where she lives?
- damoncali 15y ago
  Yeah - she has all the tech she needs. She's just really bad at using it. How do you share folders with someone who doesn't really understand even the basics of finder? It has to be automatic for me, and foolproof for her. If either element is missing, it doesn't happen.
  - Steko 15y ago
    Private Flickr bookmark with a browser that signs you in automatically?
  - r4vik 15y ago
    Just get a digital photo frame that does rss, point it to your flickr account. She doesn't need to do anything, latest photos will show up on her frame
  - brlewis 15y ago
    r4vik's solution makes it foolproof for her. As far as making it automatic for you, please check out OurDoings Dropbox integration: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r93TDJeZyI&context=C4a04c84ADvjVQa1PpcFMu1EcFlSEejJmEzIIzutNQzecM5Q3BCaM= http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7r93TDJeZyI&context=C4a04... OurDoings has RSS better than Flickr.
  - damoncali 15y ago
    To respond to the comments below/above: a digital frame w/ RSS may be a good option - I may try that. It still isn't perfect, but it's better than what I've been doing. (Emailing, and then having to explain over and over again what a "Downloads" folder is, and why you can't print images sized for the web). Some complications that continue to annoy me, though: she wants to print them. She wants them on her ipad. She wants them on her iphone. I hate manually sorting out which ones she would like to see and uploading them to whatever service. The holy grail for me? I take a picture with my DSLR, and it knows who to send it based on what I took a picture of. If it's for my mom, it appears on all of her devices, which have "print" buttons on them that will make nice, printed versions show up in her mailbox. I don't think this is that far off, but it doesn't exist yet in idiot-proof form.