I’m waiting for the next generation of photo sharing sites. I ended my quest a few months ago because each of the sites I reviewed had features I liked but they lacked at least a few I am interested in. I ended up “settling” for Flickr.
Flickr is great photo sharing site. It seems to excel in its “social” features. But it lacks some features that I want for my private pictures. Most of the pictures I have uploaded to Flickr are private and I put them on the site to display on my private blog.
The reason I bring this up now is because of a post written by Hillel Cooperman. He points out some features that photo sharing sites are lacking. I happen to agree with him and have longed for the features that he outlines in much better terms than I ever could. These features are:
- background sync
- password protection
- custom look and feel
- use your own domain
I have been thinking of other features that I would like in a photo sharing site. I have started a list.
For example, a lot of sites have RSS feeds for all pictures uploaded. I would like to see multiple feeds. At least one feed for private photos and another for public photos. This would be great for a digital photo frame that has a wifi connection and the ability to subscribe to RSS feeds (they are getting more affordable). I could buy one for my mom, update the site with new photos, and she would see the photos.
What other features should I add to my list?
Comments
I never really found a photo sharing site that I like. Flickr is OK but, like you said, it’s lacking. I eventually ended up installing Coppermine on my server and started using that. It too is lacking in features but with it being on my server, I feel like I have some semblance of control over it. There’s no RSS feature but at least it’s on my domain.
I like your idea about the feed that would send photos to a digital frame. That would be so awesome! Since we are so far away from family I try to keep photos posted to myspace so everyone can see Jackson growing up. We’re hoping you can hook us up so we can come home…no pressure or anything
Miss you guys! We are ready for a Mario Kart tourney as soon as we get back!
Regarding current photosharing sites, I don’t really like flikr. My absolute favorite is photobucket.com. (sorry for resurrecting an old post)
Check that out http://shwetha.mine.nu , the author may even share its source code if you ask him/her. the version hosted at that url, is rather old, the author has the latest running on his own site.