Well to the point: Yep
edit: and as a side note: OK I've gotta be honest here even if I sound somewhat stupid, but at first I was naive. When I first came on PBase...I learned to process the hell out of my pics...and learned how to do more and more. I think I may have had more votes for my realistic looking frames then, than for my photos
I had lots of galleries in the "pops" I had lots of friends (nothing wrong with friends) but I'd vote for them, leave a message and they'd vote for me and I never did it consciously, nor did they, it's just that myself and a number of other people were very active at viewing and commenting...myself being very impressed with the general quality of work on here. (it takes very few votes to get in the "pops"). I stopped that and know many of my friends did too once they realized. I don't even tell anyone that I vote or not anymore...if I do. Because it WAS a popularity contest even if not intended, not who should be seen (although sometimes those who should be seen slipped in) There are great photos in the "pops" there are great photos hardly anyone sees too...Some of my friends have disabled voting...I haven't since it's such a hassle with 100+ galleries, and since I've realized what it's all about I don't care...and maybe someone thinks that a photo should really be "seen": the intent of the voting anyway. But something disturbs me more :well the first 2 years on here were spent learning to make my photos look over processed (creating photos) and the last 2 years have been spent trying to break old habits (which can be difficult) and make them look like photos again (taking photos). The first two years I had a lot of galleries in the "pops" the last two, only one or 2 by accident. It's a game ...and I can't tell if my photos (or yours) are good or not, or how to improve them by playing a game....even if there isn't an awareness of playing the game. This all might not make any sense to anyone but it does to me. The danger I see in the whole "pops" thing is where the popular galleries point. To me they are (here flickr and elsewhere) pointing to 'creating' photos (as opposed to OBVIOUS creations that USE photos which to me are sometimes really neat) rather than 'taking' photos. Seems some people are using photos to "create" something that's not really there, kinda like creating "candyland", and even creating themselves as if they were playing 'Second Life' rather than using photography to inform us of ourselves and what and who we are, from the vision the photographer has. For one thing candyland isn't real, and to me after a while has a boring "sameness". That's just my view and the link to the NY Times article about flickr etc. that Sean left, to me is right on the money. Thanks Jypsee for the link to the Brooklyn show too...interesting stuff and thought provoking.
Edit: I don't mean this as a put down on anyone's work, including mine. Some of my stuff is unique as are so many others. What I mean above, is that this is how the pops work in many cases...and when it works this way it doesn't bring too many new photographers, or people doing new and original things, to light. And yes I do know of quite a few people who don't trade votes who are consistently in the pops too....but what I'm talking about here is a trend...about what happens many times.