wwp@yahoogroups.com:
Re: quo vadis WWP?
Keith Martin 2013-Feb-17 10:04:00
On 16 Feb 2013, at 00:10, "bryant_arnett" <#removed#> wrote:
> I think the issue with Facebook is really about how we, as participants and promoters of the WWP, can best communicate with each other and the world. I don't think the WWP itself should EVER be treated as a social network. I don't think there should be any comments added to the pages directly. I hope and pray there will never be any pop-up banners or ads placed on the WWP images or pages. I do NOT think that because it is fashionable for everything on the web to be just like Facebook, that we need to turn the WWP into another social network.
>
> For the WWP to become Facebook friendly, I would like to see something like a "Share" button on each pano page. This would allow people to easily share the URL of an image on their own wall or with a FB friend. I think that's all we need at the actual WWP site to begin linking with the FB world.
I don't think anyone actually wants to turn the WWP into another social network, don't worry! That's almost always a bad idea; it'd be a distraction from the core aims, and it wouldn't work anyway. :)
What you say you'd like is actually pretty much what I'd like too, and I think it's similar to what some others have mentioned as well: keep the project focused on encouraging and promoting excellence, experimentation and (most important of all) participation in panorama photography, through themed projects that challenge and inspire people into participating... but also use existing social tools to spread awareness and boost engagement. Share buttons are ways to let people promote panoramas they like. The same goes for Like buttons. (You said you would go like the WWP on FB, which shows how useful such actions can be. :)
Including comments wouldn't be a step towards trying to make the WWP a social media platform. If comments are kept to individual photo pages (the most logical place) they'd be far too fragmented for any use other than comments directly about the individual pano. My knee-jerk reaction is that I'd *like* to see comments in those pages ? feedback is a wonderful thing! But this is something that needs to be considered very carefully. If implemented it shouldn't dominate at all, and it could perhaps be a selectable option. (That way there wouldn't be the ethical dilemma of what to do with existing panoramas; they'd only be shown per each pano-author's request.)
Banners, ads ? I totally agree that that'd be a mistake. Don's been backing the project with money as well as his time for a long time now and it'd be good if something could help there. But ads seem so anti the core ethos of the project that I think it'd be an actual risk to its future. Not to mention probably only bringing in peanuts. :) I don't think ads appearing is a real risk, but it doesn't hurt to remind ourselves.
It also wouldn't hurt to consider the option of sponsorship, as long as it didn't end up causing similar problems to regular banner or popup ads.
> Now, with that said, I do think there might be some benefit for us to shift our communication about the WWP, both internally and externally, to a better platform. This Yahoo group has served its purpose well, but could easily be improved by something like a dedicated facebook page.
Maybe. The thing is, a Facebook page is actually a massively different thing to a mailing list. Maybe it would be good to change to that, maybe it wouldn't. But we mustn't ignore how incredibly different it is.
k