Is traffic on photo boards way down?

wt21

Hall of Famer
Just wondering.

I have been off most boards for some time. We moved, kids are in high school (and one is struggling), parents have moved into assisted living. Lots of issues.

So, I recently started looking around again, and from what I see -- traffic on all the boards I've visited in the past seem waaaaaay down. Here, mu-43, Talkemount, even DPR. I visited the old e-p1.net, and that place is pretty much completely dead.

Maybe photo equipment innovation drove more members in the past, and with all cameras now being pretty much excellent, there's not as much interest? The rise of the good-enough phone camera?

Anyone else notice this kind of trend?
 
It's a combination of factors. Time of the year - always quiet pre- and post-Christmas - and the proliferation of single-marque, sometimes even single-model forums. Traffic is split as a result.
 
I suspect the social media sites have claimed some of our traffic. I also notice that there are fewer written comments and more 'Likes' on our site. Are we getting too lazy to engage in a conversation?
OK, I guess I can't just "like" this comment :)

That's an interesting question. The other issue with just "liking" (or "agreeing" or whatnot) is that the conversation doesn't get bumped, so it eventually falls off the list. Interesting thought...
 
I've been spending a bit more time on FredMiranda and a bit less here (due to my equipment choices over the past couple of years), and continue to check in with DPR, as I always have. And I've noticed everything is down for the past couple of weeks, which I attribute to the holidays.

By my own participation is down quite a bit everywhere, and I think that's largely related to the point you made about gear being so uniformly excellent that there's less and less to talk about in terms of gear. And all of these forums have always been largely about gear. I personally am just so comfortable with my own gear, after a few years of trying damn near everything in the search for what works best for me, that I just don't have a lot to say about gear anymore. I'll still chime in on some particular technical subject I have a specific interest in, but overall I have a lot less to say, and less need to hear, about gear. And I think that's true of a lot of people - GAS seems to be down somewhat in general, probably just because so many options out there are so good now. It's just about what works best for each of us, rather than what's "better". That's always been true to some degree, but more obviously so today. There are always new folks who are just getting into it and asking a lot of questions. I try to help when I can, but I don't really feel part of that process so much anymore...

-Ray
 
I agree with you Ray, though I'm a hypocrite as I just moved from m43 to Sony-only, lol (and posted a question about Nikon mirrorless). But overall, there isn't too much to say.

The old style "check out this new thing" just isn't as exciting anymore, because short of a few lens holes in some of the lineups, there's very little about some other system that is better than the one you are using (or at least, most of us understand the trade-offs now).

I suppose some amazing sensor tech, or some new entrant (like Nikon into large sensor mirrorless, or Panasonic going full frame) could stir the pot, but otherwise, everything seems to be pretty well documented.

Ray -- what did you settle on for gear?
 
Ray -- what did you settle on for gear?
Nikon DF with a few AF lenses (all Nikon), a few newer MF lenses (two Zeiss, two Voigtlander), and a truckload of older Nikon MF lenses. I was pretty much wrecked for anything but full frame when I first got an RX1 about three years ago. Then I got a loaner of a DF about two years ago and realized that the size/weight of a full frame DSLR with most primes didn't bother me even a little bit (contrary to an erroneous thought I'd had stuck in my brain since I got seriously back into photography about six years ago) and it just felt and worked soooo right to me. It took me about six months of fits and starts to fully switch paradigms, but by summer of 2014, I'd sold off all of my Fuji and m43 gear and gone all full frame. No gear lust since except the occasional old lens that catches my eye and usually costs $50-$150. It just feels and works like a camera is supposed to, to my mind anyway. The best of old and new technology I could ever imagine, with the possible (but not terribly likely) exception of your hypothetical Nikon mirrorless.

I still have a Nikon Coolpix A as a great pocket/street camera and I use it some, but I seem to be doing less and less street photography lately, and usually when I just come upon something when I have the DF with me, and it's not like the DF gives up anything in that context. So the Coolpix isn't getting THAT much use lately. Although I still love it when I pick it up. And I have a Canon G7X which is the best pocket zoom I've ever tried by some distance, but as with every pocket zoom I've ever owned, it sits unused and fully neglected. The only reason I still have it is to remind me not to buy another one, which I'd forget if I didn't have one around tormenting me about not being used!

-Ray
 
Seems to me that this site illustrates how much better things are when quality and civility are the rule. The Single in January area is also a major attraction here.
 
I've been gone, and just returning myself. Just some personal observations. Along with what has already been said. It seems to me, that there is a lot of lazy photography being posted. The glamour has dimmed, or my old eyes are just tired of looking at average "snapshots". (And, I am guilty of the lazy and average). There is an awful lot of what I've seen, just doesn't stand out enough to warrant a comment or second look. Yes, I've been called negative before. :sorry:
 
I've been gone, and just returning myself. Just some personal observations. Along with what has already been said. It seems to me, that there is a lot of lazy photography being posted. The glamour has dimmed, or my old eyes are just tired of looking at average "snapshots". (And, I am guilty of the lazy and average). There is an awful lot of what I've seen, just doesn't stand out enough to warrant a comment or second look. Yes, I've been called negative before. :sorry:

I would hate to recommend compromise, since so many things compromised become mundane. However, that which brings the kind of interesting images this site has together with the personalities it has, is a great breath of fresh air on the otherwise stagnant (though hectic) Internet.
 
I read once that most folks master the information to be gained from a speciality magazine (or forum) in 3-4 years. After that the payback comes at a lower rate and folks look for new challenges. One problem here is that criticism of images can involve either technical issues like exposure or more aesthetic considerations. Not everyone likes too much of either. I suspect (with little evidence) than many of us here are tech types, and aren't fond of engaging in the the language of art appreciation or design. (Think f/11 magazine.) We like images to various degrees and say so, but expressing more abstract criticism is not something we find all that interesting. Very Much JMHO, of course, and I may just be projecting my own experience.
 
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The big problem in changing the "lazy photography" to something more dynamic and stimulating is getting rid of the people who drag the site down. That is not me and my perception of this site BTW, it's me and my experience in being unwelcome on other sites where I didn't get the hint, and so I was encouraged to leave in various unpleasant ways. The thing is, the site is the composite of the people who post there, so it seems that changing things would entail changing the people makeup, and, umm, good luck on that.
 
Dale, you make an excellent point. We ARE the site. What we post today sets the tone for the forum that people read, join and leave tomorrow. We all have a part to play and there is no harm in encouraging positivity.

I have modded here for a couple of years now, as well as over at FujiXSpot, and I have to say that this is one of the most courteous corners of the internet I can think of. However, sometimes just a little grit in the diet makes for a larger and more lusterous pearl ;)
 
For me, civility and variety are the big draws here. I found the folks here to be civil, informed, and helpful. And variety . . . lots of different cameras, formats, and genres . . . I check the unread posts almost every day because I am bound to come across something interesting and very often it is something outside the realm of what I normally do. For example, John Flores is up to stuff with the Pentax Q system that I wouldn't have believed until today.

I see parallels between music and photography. John Hartford once said, "My limitations define my style." Yeah, me too. Van Morrison remarked, "I've written the same song a hundred times." I've taken the same photograph a thousand times.

But the variety here, undergirded by the civility, makes me want to keep looking here and maybe, just maybe, my photography will improve a bit as a result. Who cares if there are not a thousand new posts overnight? Not me.

Cheers, Jock
 
I should point out that Beethoven and Bach, to name a couple of examples, would wander certain streets on occasion, incognito, to pick up ideas from local street musicians.

This site not only serves its regular members, but has influence elsewhere, and may even be a source of jealousy in some cases.
 
Traffic has held pretty steady in terms of returning members and visitors, but traffic from Google searches has been in steady decline. I can only guess that Google's algorithms have changed to rank forum content lower.
 
Things you think about as a hobbyist "is my hobby dwindling in popularity?"
Things you think about as a site owner "did Google just mess me up again?"

never even considered that!
 
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