Comparing the Major Photo-Sharing Sites

Temporary vs. Permanent

Over the years, photo-sharing sites like Shutterfly, Flickr, Kodak EasyShare, and Photobucket have become the dominant means for consumers to share their growing repository of digital photos. However, the major photo-sharing sites were never designed to permanently house one’s media, but as temporary enablers for editing photos, ordering prints, or sharing images online. The result is a relatively flat user experience where photos are rarely, if ever viewed or accessed again once they’re blasted into email boxes across the Internet.

In response, new solutions like TheFamilyPost.com are emerging that combine the best of high-end photo-sharing with the ability to permanently share videos, stories, and family news; stay organized; and communicate with family and friends.

To understand the difference, it is important to look at how these sites evolved. For the purposes of this article, these sites will be divided into three main categories: 1) Print-Driven sites; 2) Internet Sharing sites; and 3) Permanent Full-Feature sites.

The following analysis looks how the five major photo-sharing sites fit into these categories, their key differentiators, and how they compare with TheFamilyPost.com – DigitalPost Interactive’s unique web destination where consumers can share a lifetime of photos, videos, and more in a secure, engaging, and visually-stunning way.

1) Print-Sharing Sites

Print-Driven sites have evolved with a single, particular focus: to sell prints and print-related products online by giving consumers a temporary place to store and edit their digital photos. Snapfish is supported by computing and printing giant HP, Kodak EasyShare shares the namesake of the company synonymous with photography, and Shutterfly recently IPO’d as an “Internet-based social expression and personal publishing service.”

2) Internet Photo Sharing Sites

Flickr and Photobucket both specialize in providing consumers with a way to share their images with mass amounts of people, although each site achieves this result in different ways. Flickr was designed as an open community where users can view, search, and even copy other members’ photos. Photobucket is primarily a temporary hosting site for storing photos and slideshows that people plug into other, usually social-networking sites like MySpace and Facebook. Photobucket is not so much a destination place as it is an “enabler” for sharing photos elsewhere on the Internet.

3) Permanent Full-Feature Sites

TheFamilyPost.com was designed to be a single online destination to display and preserve a family’s digital media for a lifetime. The big photo-sharing sites were created for storing, editing, and sharing photos, providing a temporary solution. Once the photos are blasted to email inboxes or viewed by visitors, those photos are generally forgotten about. TheFamilyPost.com, on the other hand, was designed as a central, permanent online showcase for all of a family’s media.

When compared with the typical photo-sharing sites such as Kodak Gallery, Flickr, and Shutterfly TheFamilyPost.com stands-out as an advanced yet simple solution for today’s families. Photos are automatically resized for optimal viewing, email blasts can alert visitors of new content, and slideshows can be viewed in full-screen mode in an engaging, elegant, personalized setting.

However, even though each competitor brings its own unique spin to online photo sharing, they lack the multitude of functionalities that set TheFamilyPost.com apart. And few if any can match the fierce brand loyalty that The Family Post creates with its unique personalization tools, stunning displays, and strong sense of user ownership.

Merger and Acquisition Movement for the Top 5 Photo Sharing Sites

• Flickr has been acquired by Yahoo
• Photobucket was acquired by News Corp as a compliment to MySpace
• Kodak acquired ofoto.com to form what is now KodakGallery.com
• Snapfish is owned by HP
• Shutterfly has already IPO’d

Temporary Solution vs. Permanent Solution

TheFamilyPost.com represents the next generation of digital media-sharing. Why? These sites are temporary photo solutions that actually fuel the growth of sites like TheFamilyPost.com.

The first generation of photo-sharing sites were never designed to permanently house one’s media. They were developed as temporary enablers for editing photos, ordering prints, or sharing images online. With today’s current user experience, once photos are blasted to email inboxes or viewed by visitors, they generally fade into obscurity, and are rarely if ever viewed or accessed again.

What’s unique about TheFamilyPost.com, however, is that the entire platform was designed as the next logical step in the photo-sharing life cycle. It’s clear that today’s consumers have many options for storing, editing, and sharing photos online, but most have yet to find a compelling way to permanently display them. That’s where TheFamilyPost.com comes into play. TheFamilyPost.com is a permanent showcase for the best photos that users store and edit at sites like Flickr and EasyShare. In essence, today’s photo-sharing sites are actually fuelling tomorrow’s growth of sites like TheFamilyPost.com, much like MySpace fueled the growth of Photobucket.

In addition, the consumer’s view on digital media is rapidly changing. According to the Photo Marketers Association, over two-thirds of digital cameras today never yield a print. While prints may have been the dominant form of “display” in the past, it’s clear from recent statistics that with digital media, this mindset is changing. Today’s consumer is not just looking for a place just to edit or store photos – they’re looking for a permanent online display for their most coveted memories with the option to purchase prints.

Summary

Of all the competitors in the photo-sharing space, TheFamilyPost.com is the only site where users can permanently store and share a lifetime of digital media and memories in a single, secure place. All this equates to an exceptional user experience that is far more engaging, robust, and compelling than that provided by the largest photo-sharing sites. In short:

• Photo-sharing sites help consumers store, edit, and share photos. The Family Post, gives consumers a stunning place to permanently display them
• Photo-sharing sites are designed with a single purpose: to share photos. TheFamilyPost.com does this along with 10 additional functionalities in a single, convenient place so families can share videos, stories, information, keep organized, and more
• Photo-sharing sites provide families with albums, TheFamilyPost.com provides families with an online home.

TheFamilyPost.com is different from the large photo-sharing site not only in terms of functionality, but also in terms of its strong emotional appeal. The site’s targeted family focus and advanced personalization features create a strong sense of “ownership” that fosters an incredibly loyal user base.

With its commitment to quality, a dedication to elegance and an unwavering focus on creating the best experience for users and visitors alike, TheFamilyPost.com is well positioned to meet the evolving needs of today’s digital consumer and represents the next generation of digital media sharing and presentation.