Pictures of Success
I am a fan of Flickr. I say that Google owns my life-my e-mail, my calendar, my to-do list, etc.-except for photos. I like Flickr so much, I pay for it. I can't even say that about LiveJournal, which I've been using for much longer.
One of the advantages that comes with having a Flickr pro account is the reverse-stalker feature, also known as "stats," where you can see charts about how many people have looked at which photos and when. It is the source of endless amusement, especially the all-time running list of which photos have been viewed the most.
Often, I'm quite surprised at which photos of mine become the most popular. I feel like I'd get back from vacation, upload my pictures, and the goofiest or most mundane or blurriest one quickly shoots to the top of the list.
I took stock of my "all-time views" list recently. I was going to examine the top ten, then post about why I think they ranked so high and if I found that surprising or not. But I had one set of photos that was so popular it shored up most of the spots in my top *100*. (And it's probably not the one you're thinking of.) Instead, I went through and looked at the most-viewed photo from each of my most popular sets, and what I thought about them. For example, if one vacation took up spots No. 4, 5, and 6, I just counted that as one thing. Under the photo, I put where the pictures actually fell in the rankings, so you can kind of infer how many were in between.
What I learned is that I have no idea what people like looking at.
1. My Wedding
A photo from my wedding is by far the most often viewed photo in my Flickr account. That makes sense. What's surprising, though, is that it's not really of me, the bride. Or of the groom. Or anyone in the bridal party. Or of any part of the ceremony. It's of Craig and Gretchen gettin' down. I love this photo, too, because-as I've mentioned here before-seeing people dance at the wedding made me feel like we were doing something totally right, especially when they were bringing it as hard as Craig and Gretchen were.
There is actually only one other photo from my wedding that cracked the top tier of Flickr views-one of Maggie and Kyle. Both Gretchen and Kyle linked to these photos on their Facebook pages, so I assume that the bulk of those views are from people who weren't actually at the wedding. I'm pretty sure the actual guests saw the pictures on the professional site (that is probably still spamming all of them with promotional e-mails-sorry!), and not on my Flickr, otherwise the set would've made a stronger showing.
(Photos from my wedding first appear at spot No. 1 on my Flickr stats chart.)
2. Bayard's Wedding Festivities
By contrast, photos from Bayard's wedding account for 16 of my 20 most popular photos. Add in his rehearsal dinner, bachelor party, and day-after activities and his wedding festivities pretty much dominate the top 100 photos. Again, Bayard posted the link to my Flickr set on his Facebook-while he was on his honeymoon, no less-so I got tons and tons of views from his friends and relatives hungry for photos before the pro shots came in. I am happy to oblige. In fact, I've told Jesse now that we always have to post wedding photos immediately, because some brides (ahem) want instant-photo gratification and are really happy to see their pictures, say, the day after the wedding.
(First appearance: No. 2)
3. My Trip to Cleveland in 2006
Photos from my trip to Cleveland were the first I ever uploaded to Flickr. I don't understand why, though, people are so keen to look at them. I have a photo of the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. It must look like every other photo of the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame ever. But, for the longest time, before all of these weddings happened, it was my most-looked-at photo. I think people just like daydreaming about up and moving to the Cleve, right?
(First appearance: No. 3)
4. My Engagement Ring
I took these very quickly, anxious to get them up online and spread the news of my engagement. I just snapped them while I was sitting on my bed. If I had known that they'd be so popular, I probably would've put more thought into it. Maybe I would've painted my nails, or taken a picture at an angle that makes my hand look less chubby. I really wish I'd taken better ones-I pretty much hate this picture now! Also, photos of the ring are way, way more popular than photos of the M&Ms Jesse proposed with, even though the M&M cookie pictures are far more attractive.
(First appearance: No. 8)
5. Our Picture with Cinderella
This photo is amazing. There's nothing else really that can be said about it. Of course everyone would want to look at it.
(First appearance: No. 32)
6. Jesse Standing on a Kitchen Island
I took this photo when Jesse and I went to a writer's conference at Wesleyan. It was years after we graduated, and for the conference we were staying in a dorm that didn't exist when we went there. It was a very nice dorm, with kitchen islands, and I think Jesse was rebelling against the new class' swanky digs when he decided to stand up on it and strike a karate pose. I have no idea, though, why anyone else would care enough to make this one of my most-looked-at photos.
(First appearance: No. 38)
7. Jesse & Jasper
Remember when 7/11 became the Kwik-E-Mart? It did-and I have photos to prove it! This one is actually from the same time period as our trip to Wesleyan. People are just really interested in what Jesse was doing in the summer of 2007, I guess, that they keep clicking on these two.
(First appearance: No. 55)
8. The Wes Trip to Amherst
Finding a lack of reasons to get together-it was a summer free of weddings, grad-school graduations, and the like-the Wes crew decided to totally take over a B&B in Amherst and generally hang out in the Pioneer Valley. Pictures from that trip were also some of the first I uploaded to my Flickr. I can see why they're in the most popular tier, because lots of people are in them (not just Jesse and me) and they've had a long time to rack up views.
(First appearance: No. 63)
9. Group Portrait on Governor's Island
Hooray! I love this one. We can't take pictures in that spot anymore because they installed a beach there. Boo. This is another one I can totally understand, since again there are a bunch of people in it who might be interested in taking a look afterwards. I'm surprised that photos like this and the previous one haven't made it higher in the list.
(First appearance: No. 78)
10. Rob and Sabrina's Wedding
Specifically, boys manning the DJ booth at that wedding. I can see why people would be interested in the subject matter, but the most out-of-focus photo also seems to be the most popular. What gives, guys?
(First appearance: No. 84)
I would love to see other people do lists like this. I know not everyone has a Flickr/LiveJournal combo. (Jesse? Want to help me turn this into a meme?) Can we get it to jump to Facebook/Twitter? (Do they keep track of views?) Is anyone else as puzzled by their most popular photos as I am?
One of the advantages that comes with having a Flickr pro account is the reverse-stalker feature, also known as "stats," where you can see charts about how many people have looked at which photos and when. It is the source of endless amusement, especially the all-time running list of which photos have been viewed the most.
Often, I'm quite surprised at which photos of mine become the most popular. I feel like I'd get back from vacation, upload my pictures, and the goofiest or most mundane or blurriest one quickly shoots to the top of the list.
I took stock of my "all-time views" list recently. I was going to examine the top ten, then post about why I think they ranked so high and if I found that surprising or not. But I had one set of photos that was so popular it shored up most of the spots in my top *100*. (And it's probably not the one you're thinking of.) Instead, I went through and looked at the most-viewed photo from each of my most popular sets, and what I thought about them. For example, if one vacation took up spots No. 4, 5, and 6, I just counted that as one thing. Under the photo, I put where the pictures actually fell in the rankings, so you can kind of infer how many were in between.
What I learned is that I have no idea what people like looking at.
1. My Wedding
A photo from my wedding is by far the most often viewed photo in my Flickr account. That makes sense. What's surprising, though, is that it's not really of me, the bride. Or of the groom. Or anyone in the bridal party. Or of any part of the ceremony. It's of Craig and Gretchen gettin' down. I love this photo, too, because-as I've mentioned here before-seeing people dance at the wedding made me feel like we were doing something totally right, especially when they were bringing it as hard as Craig and Gretchen were.
There is actually only one other photo from my wedding that cracked the top tier of Flickr views-one of Maggie and Kyle. Both Gretchen and Kyle linked to these photos on their Facebook pages, so I assume that the bulk of those views are from people who weren't actually at the wedding. I'm pretty sure the actual guests saw the pictures on the professional site (that is probably still spamming all of them with promotional e-mails-sorry!), and not on my Flickr, otherwise the set would've made a stronger showing.
(Photos from my wedding first appear at spot No. 1 on my Flickr stats chart.)
2. Bayard's Wedding Festivities
By contrast, photos from Bayard's wedding account for 16 of my 20 most popular photos. Add in his rehearsal dinner, bachelor party, and day-after activities and his wedding festivities pretty much dominate the top 100 photos. Again, Bayard posted the link to my Flickr set on his Facebook-while he was on his honeymoon, no less-so I got tons and tons of views from his friends and relatives hungry for photos before the pro shots came in. I am happy to oblige. In fact, I've told Jesse now that we always have to post wedding photos immediately, because some brides (ahem) want instant-photo gratification and are really happy to see their pictures, say, the day after the wedding.
(First appearance: No. 2)
3. My Trip to Cleveland in 2006
Photos from my trip to Cleveland were the first I ever uploaded to Flickr. I don't understand why, though, people are so keen to look at them. I have a photo of the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame. It must look like every other photo of the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame ever. But, for the longest time, before all of these weddings happened, it was my most-looked-at photo. I think people just like daydreaming about up and moving to the Cleve, right?
(First appearance: No. 3)
4. My Engagement Ring
I took these very quickly, anxious to get them up online and spread the news of my engagement. I just snapped them while I was sitting on my bed. If I had known that they'd be so popular, I probably would've put more thought into it. Maybe I would've painted my nails, or taken a picture at an angle that makes my hand look less chubby. I really wish I'd taken better ones-I pretty much hate this picture now! Also, photos of the ring are way, way more popular than photos of the M&Ms Jesse proposed with, even though the M&M cookie pictures are far more attractive.
(First appearance: No. 8)
5. Our Picture with Cinderella
This photo is amazing. There's nothing else really that can be said about it. Of course everyone would want to look at it.
(First appearance: No. 32)
6. Jesse Standing on a Kitchen Island
I took this photo when Jesse and I went to a writer's conference at Wesleyan. It was years after we graduated, and for the conference we were staying in a dorm that didn't exist when we went there. It was a very nice dorm, with kitchen islands, and I think Jesse was rebelling against the new class' swanky digs when he decided to stand up on it and strike a karate pose. I have no idea, though, why anyone else would care enough to make this one of my most-looked-at photos.
(First appearance: No. 38)
7. Jesse & Jasper
Remember when 7/11 became the Kwik-E-Mart? It did-and I have photos to prove it! This one is actually from the same time period as our trip to Wesleyan. People are just really interested in what Jesse was doing in the summer of 2007, I guess, that they keep clicking on these two.
(First appearance: No. 55)
8. The Wes Trip to Amherst
Finding a lack of reasons to get together-it was a summer free of weddings, grad-school graduations, and the like-the Wes crew decided to totally take over a B&B in Amherst and generally hang out in the Pioneer Valley. Pictures from that trip were also some of the first I uploaded to my Flickr. I can see why they're in the most popular tier, because lots of people are in them (not just Jesse and me) and they've had a long time to rack up views.
(First appearance: No. 63)
9. Group Portrait on Governor's Island
Hooray! I love this one. We can't take pictures in that spot anymore because they installed a beach there. Boo. This is another one I can totally understand, since again there are a bunch of people in it who might be interested in taking a look afterwards. I'm surprised that photos like this and the previous one haven't made it higher in the list.
(First appearance: No. 78)
10. Rob and Sabrina's Wedding
Specifically, boys manning the DJ booth at that wedding. I can see why people would be interested in the subject matter, but the most out-of-focus photo also seems to be the most popular. What gives, guys?
(First appearance: No. 84)
I would love to see other people do lists like this. I know not everyone has a Flickr/LiveJournal combo. (Jesse? Want to help me turn this into a meme?) Can we get it to jump to Facebook/Twitter? (Do they keep track of views?) Is anyone else as puzzled by their most popular photos as I am?