What would social networking sites be without photos? Well, they would certainly be a lot less interesting. Photo hosting websites are growing with the current rise of social networking sites. They are even rivaling photo-printing companies such as Kodak.
For example, Photobucket.com is a common choice for many social networkers. In 2005 Photobucket had around 12.2 million visitors, while Yahoo’s photo website had 9.6 million, and Kodak had only 5.9 million. And Photobucket doesn’t even sell prints.
Photobucket must be doing something right. In an article from 2005, the writer states, “Photobucket said it is targeting a younger audience, including teenagers looking to dress up their blog”. Yes, exactly. Photobucket facilitates the process of posting your own photos on a blog, or a message board by providing the direct link of the picture, and html tag, and an IMG code (used on some message boards) right next to the uploaded photo. And it’s free. What more could a Gen Y-er want?
It only gets better for the social networker. The article linked above is from 2005, and since then, Photobucket has given all registered members more space to store their photos, and the ability to upload videos.
Photobucket’s challenge is to find an efficient way to make money off their popularity. They offer a premium membership that costs $25 a year, but the statistics of how many people took advantage of the offer were not released. The site is currently relying on ads, which has proven to be a bit of a risk. Photo sharing sites in the 90’s tried to rely on just ads, but their endeavors proved unsuccessful.
However, Alex Welch, the creator of Photobucket was quoted saying, “Young people, in my mind, drive innovation”. As long as social networks remain popular, Photobucket will not lose its success.
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