Reasons to click on a thumbnail

[johnwaine]

Ever wondered why certain thumbnails get clicked on alot and others don't?

I'm not really thinking about the odd surprise - a picture you weren't sure of that attracts lots of hits. Appreciation of a picture will always be subjective.

I'm thinking about the technical, visual triggers. Here's my range of reasons why a hit is scored:

1. Viewing female flesh!
2. The thumbnail portrays an obviously excellent picture.
3. The thumbnail hints at something intriguing whatever the quality of the picture.
4. The viewer has nexted through a gallery rather than targetting a particular picture which now has another hit.

(Likewise, some thumbnails don't trigger a click because they portray more or less all the viewer needs to see however good the picture - and especially if it's a tight crop.)

All of this leaves me amazed that the vote facility is not used far more. A picture with say 200 hits may get only 1 or 2 votes. The most popular picture in the whole of PBase appears only to have ever attracted 53 votes - from 70,000 registered users!! source: http://www.pbase.com/galleries?view=popular_photos&period=all

Is democracy dead or have I misunderstood the vote counting?

[distorted]

I have gone thru the popular photo's meta galleries where it actually shows a number in ()'s.. (I was told in a different thread this was the number of votes for that image)

I placed a few votes on some images I liked.. came back the next day and went thru the gallery again only to find the same (original) number with the images I voted on (I had expected them to at least incr by 1) but this is not the case. So either
1. my votes don't count
or
2. the voting script needs worked on.

[clickaway]

I'm told that if you put something like naked or sexy in the keyword field, it will increase your hit rate!

Chris - the most popular photos page is not always updated at the same time everyday it seems. Since its usually updated when I'm asleep, I don't know the mechanisms here, but I'm sure your votes did count in the end.

Ray

[johnwaine]

Ray - don't you find it strange that the best picture of all time has only recorded 53 votes from 70,000 potential voters? The Monster Raving Loony Party could do better. LOL

[adalberto_tiburzi]

johnwaine observed

Code: Select all

the best picture of all time has only recorded 53 votes from 70,000 potential voters?

that's because too few people vote, me too I forget very often...

[dazedgonebye]

Ray - don't you find it strange that the best picture of all time has only recorded 53 votes from 70,000 potential voters? The Monster Raving Loony Party could do better. LOL

Voting is a strange thing here. Many people just don't.
A year or so ago, I tried to cheer people on to voting more. I think the votes among the PaD'rs actually angered a few other PBase folks who felt slighted.
Too much ego and too little photography at times.
I'm back to trying to vote more often again. I go through the PaDs and vote and I go through the popular lists and vote.

Regarding thumbnails. I think an image has to have curb apeal. the more subtle, the less likely the image will get the hits.

[senorcarnival]

It seems that there's at least one gallery that's female flesh related in the popular galleries at any point in time. I see some of the shots and they're not all that great, taken with some definitely non-adequate equipment when you examine the EXIF, but just because it's got some broad in a bikini it gets voted on. A lot.
I just feel sorry for some of these models that are conned into doing a photo shoot with some bozo that's using a point and shoot and claiming to be a pro.