eNetworking 101: The Blog: Connecting to people through photo-sharing

For photographers, their calling card is their work (their photos). We select photographers because we like the photos they have done.

Amazingly, we select people to connect with based on their photos! We like to look at each other's photos perhaps because it allows us to live vicariously through another person. Or maybe it is because we can learn more about a person by looking at that person's photos. Or maybe we just like looking at pictures. (A picture is supposedly worth a thousand words.) Whatever it is, sharing photos online either through a photo-sharing service, via Facebook, or some other tool seems to be a great way of making meaningful connections.

I attended a conference in spring 2006 and took some photos. Once home, I uploaded photos to a photo-sharing service (one that many others at the conference used). It was Sunday night, but it was an active night! Evidently many of us were uploading photos, checking to see who else was online, and sending invitations to connect with each other. Suddenly and quickly, because of my photos, I was connected to several well-known people from the conference.

Since then, I've checked their contacts/friends in the photo-sharing service and friended several people from those lists that I know. And after every conference, I seem to gather more contacts through the photo-sharing service because we connect through our photos.

And yes, we're learning more about each other through our photos. We're having conversations about our photos. We're learning about our profession through our photos. And we're even using each other's photos (with permission).

Now I use an RSS feed to see what new photos my contacts are uploading. This allows me stay up-to-date on what they are doing, since often my contacts take photos of their presentations, travels, and colleagues (as well as fun stuff).

If you are using a photo-sharing service, consider sharing the URL with your colleagues, especially if you have photos from events that they have attended with you. Find ways of using the photos with other social networking tools. I think you'll be amazed at the connections that will arise because of them.

The photo above is a fun photo a photographer friend took of others photographing a wedding.