Archive for the ‘Photography’ Category

Social Photography: Thoughts and 4 Tips

Posted on: January 31st, 2012 by Geoff Livingston 16 Comments

Ride the Sunset!
Taken mid-air last night with an iPhone 4s.

You may not love Flickr, Instagram or Pinterest, but you can’t deny the continuing rise of social photography. Photos dominate social media. Even on Facebook, the king of networks, people spend 17 percent of their time perusing photos according to a recent ComScore/BuddyMedia study.

Facebook time spent seg

Whether they are retail pics “pinned” on Pinterest, food shots discussed on any social site (25 percent of foodie photo creators do so as part of a daily food diary), or a happenstance shared on Instagram or via TwitPic, photos are a universal staple of the online social world. As such, social photography should be a part of your communications strategy.

The results have been fantastic for me. While this blog has a decent following, in the four years I have written here regularly (some of the old 2007-8 posts were imported from my now defunct Now Is Gone blog), my photo blog on Flickr has generated roughly 50% more page views.

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How Instagram Restored My Faith in Social Networking

Posted on: December 7th, 2011 by Geoff Livingston 25 Comments

Photo

If you have not played with runaway hit mobile social network Instagram, you should. Yes, it’s become known as a utility for iPhone users to send pictures to Facebook and Twitter, but make no bones about it, Instagram is its own social network, and a very enjoyable one, too. In fact, it has restored my faith in the media form.

With more than 13 million people on Instagram, you can see some fantastic sharing. It is innately personal and wonderful.

Gone from the mix is the usual social media punditry and sword fighting. Instead you simply have real experiences throughout the average day. It’s just photos, sharing and comments, and nothing more.

Instagram exists on the mobile web, and is not tethered to the web. Rather it is on your iPhone or iPad via application (soon coming to Android). It only lives on the most personal and portable electronic devices. I think that in combination with its simplicity is what makes the network so special.

You see, on the go people can only be people. It’s not contrived, and thus sharing is unusually naked and revealing. People show each other how they see the world. Yes, you can share professional or well edited photos via your phone, but generally Instagram is a social phenomena of the moment. It feels safe, and unbelievably relational.

Sure, companies are trying to figure out how to tap into the incredible Instagram phenomena. And Instagram itself is another social network in search of a revenue model (advertising looks like the probable path). With an open API, people are exploring how to harness the photos, including search by city.

But for now, Instagram is very pure in its simple peer-to-peer interaction. And in that sense, it is a welcome relief in comparison to the over-commercialized Facebook, Twitter, and blogosphere.

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Soleil Shines a New Light, Thank Yous

Posted on: October 29th, 2010 by Geoff Livingston 17 Comments

Soleil Is a Halloween Baby

Soleil Maya Livingston joined us this morning at 3:31 a.m. The parents thought a blog was in order to wish her a very warm welcome.

Before waxing poetic, we want to thank the great people who wished Soleil a warm arrival today, and congratulated Caitlin and I. So many people reached out to us on the interwebs. It was amazing! Hundreds, from Norway to Argentina, and that was just incredible. It literally brought tears to our eyes seeing all of the responses. Totally unexpected. Thank you so much.

Caitlin and Soleil are both doing great! The baby came in at 6 lbs, 10 oz, one week before her due date of November 4. October 29 also happens to be Soleil’s maternal grandmother Jane’s birthday, and her paternal grandparents Tom and Maxine’s anniversary. With so many things to celebrate, October 29, will be a golden day across our family for many years.

A New Light

Soleil Maya Livingston

Ike Pigott wrote an interesting thing on my Facebook wall today, ” I eventually got tired of all the people who said ‘Ha! Your life is going to change.’ The truth is, your life is going to *start.* And you now know exactly why.” Just below his comment my sister said something similar, every time a baby is born, a parent is also born.

On a personal note, I so understand this now. And yeah, there is nothing that anyone can say that prepares you for holding your child in your arms for the first time, taking care of it, holding it, keeping it warm. It breaks a seal in your soul, and a new kind of indescribable love, the greatest love, flows freely from the depths of your being.

It’s amazing. It was an emotional day, and I think probably the greatest day of my life yet.

Both of us are so grateful for Soleil’s presence in our lives. And we want to thank all of you again for your support.

Love,

Caitlin and Geoff

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