On being sociable at Ipernity

Face

Dear fellow Ipernauts!

About a month ago I made the decision to try to be more sociable on this site. I joined Ipernity from the F-site-that-shall-not-be-named during the great censorship controversy of 2006, and I've not regretted it. Although I've built up a small network of people I like to think of as close neighbours, I've not made great efforts to use Ipernity as a social site. This summer I decided to try to change my ways.

My decision is linked with others: I am exploring other social sites (Facebook, Twitter, Friend Feed). and I've started blogging about my experiences - I'll add links here to those blogs in time.

Added to this, though, I've recently met a few different people, new on Ipernity, who seem to be asking about the site partly in terms of its social networking capacity. (I'm thinking in particular of Busterkeaton's blog entry ipernity versus flickr - he used the forbidden word! - and Albtraum's blog entry Netiquette.) Trying to answer them, I found myself thinking more about Ipernity as a social networking site.

My favourite mermaid

Previously, what I've done here in terms of being sociable is to try to visit everyone who visits me, comment on a picture or two on their site, leave a message in their guestbook, favourite photos I really like. Occasonally I managed to visit some of my neighbours, and sometimes I browsed my favourites. But I have often not been on Ipernity for more than an hour or so, once a week or even once a month, so doing any of this has not been so regular.

As part of my new effort to be more sociable, from the middle of June, I have started a project to post one photo every day for a year to the Sverige, Suede, Sweden group. This means I have to visit Ipernity at least once every 24 hours, and I hope that will make me spend a bit of time here, so I can visit other people's sites even without being invited. If not every day, then at least every few days.

Faces in the crowd 2

About the same time that I started posting to the Sverige group, one of my neighbours, Wickerl invited me to be a moderator on the No Limit group. I don't think I've ever posted anything to this group as I've not worked out what it's for yet. (Unless it just wants to break a record? Anyone who can enlighten me?) Anyway, just this group seems very difficult for me to fit into my scheme of things. I am trying, though, to post to the other groups I'm a member of, and to visit them more frequently too.

I've seen that there have been physical Ipernity meetings where photographers on Ipernity get together in a place and take a photographic expedition. I'd be interested to join in such a meeting sometime. I don't know whether there is any central planning for these meetings though. Can anyone advise?

John with drink

Well, I written far more than usual here and probably far more than necessary, so I'll close here. If you've read through this, thanks. Please feel free to drop me a line, write in my guest book or visit my gallery! (Och du får gärna skriva på svenska om du känna dig säkrare på det språk!)

I hope to meet you soon, at least virtually!

John