So, I was one of the first South African photographers to sign up for Google+ in the days when it was still in Beta mode. I have to admit I didn't do much on that network for a while...though I did make a post here and there it took me a while to get into the swing of things, and even then I was still only logging in at invariable times during the week.
I did step up my activity there during this year, however, as it's a great platform for photographers to connect and to view content that you are interested in easily. Lots has been said on the web on the difference between Facebook and Google+, but Google has done something right to attract over 100 million users in the short time that they did.
The main difference is that Facebook "connections" are mostly based on real-life relationships (many from your past - think school and college etc), and so you end up with content in your feed from a lot of folks you may well know, but who end up sharing content that is not in line with your own interests and passions - so for the most part you ignore it. On G+, however, due to the way the "circles" operate, you end up viewing content from mostly total strangers, but the content is in line with what you yourself are sharing and most interested in. This, in my opinion, is a better platform for networking. I do still have my Facebook page and enjoy the Zuckerberg-brainchild, but G+ is a really fun place for me to hang out online.
I started curating a daily photography theme with a friend, Johan Swanepoel (a magnificent photographer in his own right). The daily themes provide a great platform for photographers to upload images in a focused way and ensuring daily engagement with your posts. For a list of themes you can check out Eric Leslie's page HERE or the G+ Photo Pages Directory HERE.
Our theme is called AFRICAN TUESDAY and is an effort to place the focus of the Tuesday imagery on G+ on the continent of Africa. Currently anything goes...we want people to submit not only wildlife images or landscape photos, but also images covering street scenes, rural scenes, architecture, history, culture, travel, conservation and social justice issues.
Round 1 kicked off last week and was a huge success. The topic ended up trending on G+ as a discussion topic, peaking at #2 sometime during the day right below Lady Gaga and above Apple! Round 2 is coming online tomorrow (in 1 hour in the timezone where I live). Why not participate?
You can go directly to the official theme page HERE
...or just go to G+ and search for #africantuesday in the main feed.
We are hoping to see your quality African imagery on Google+!
PS: My personal G+ account can be accessed HERE - please do circle me if you are on G+ already...I will reciprocate...
Morkel Erasmus
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