Feedback Request - POTW

Announcements from UK Airshow Review and our partners
Post Reply
User avatar
LN Strike Eagle
UKAR Staff
Posts: 11191
Joined: Mon 21 Jul 2008, 3:29 pm

Feedback Request - POTW

Post by LN Strike Eagle »

Picture of the Week is now well into the second year since it's revival (it was an original UKAR feature way back in the late 1990s and early 2000s), and the stats tell us it's doing very well; 212 photographers featured, 10 DVD winners so far (with another four months worth waiting to be judged) and very healthy page views etc, but I'm looking for some feedback from you guys on this feature please.

Do you follow the feature regularly? Do you read the captions? Do you pay attention to the camera/lens info? Would you change anything or like to see more of less of anything in POTW? Any comments or suggestions welcome.

Over to you.
"You really are an oafish philistine at times!"

PeterR
Posts: 4841
Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 12:43 pm

Re: Feedback Request - POTW

Post by PeterR »

Think it's a great feature tbh! :clap: Really highlights the high-level of skill that UKAR members have but I'd like to see more prizes involved, Ian Allan still sponsor - couldn't they provide something?

User avatar
Sam Dodd
Posts: 919
Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 10:30 am
Location: Corsham (Wiltshire)
Contact:

Re: Feedback Request - POTW

Post by Sam Dodd »

It's a great idea, a really nice thing to have on here. I must say, I forget to look at it sometimes, mabye it could be advertised even more?

User avatar
tommercer
UKAR Supporter
Posts: 1571
Joined: Fri 16 Jul 2010, 9:22 am
Contact:

Re: Feedback Request - POTW

Post by tommercer »

Maybe have a section of its own in the 'Aviation Photography' section of the forum? So that the photographers get more recognition

User avatar
Seamus
Posts: 2776
Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 3:51 pm
Location: Tiverton, Devon
Contact:

Re: Feedback Request - POTW

Post by Seamus »

I'd agree with the above comment. That way, the shots chosen can receive direct feedback from other members.

It's certainly an enjoyable feature, always interesting to see what shots get selected from what is normally pretty fierce competition.
My shots on Flickr and Airliners

User avatar
LN Strike Eagle
UKAR Staff
Posts: 11191
Joined: Mon 21 Jul 2008, 3:29 pm

Re: Feedback Request - POTW

Post by LN Strike Eagle »

Thanks for the comments so far.

Peter - if we were able to secure another regular stream of prizes, I think I'd prefer to put them onto a seperate feature as I'm not sure how we could do more prizes for POTW really - one a month is about right because I think we'd be unlikely to find anyone willing to hand out one prize per week. What did you have in mind - more prizes for one winner, or different prizes for different winners?

Sam - at the moment every update is published in this Announcements forum, and also on Twitter and Facebook. If you follow UKAR on any of those sites, you hopefully shouldn't miss an update. Did you have something else in mind?

Tom & Shaun - Could you elaborate a little more on what you mean? At the moment, the photos are already on the forum and you can comment on them there (either in the individual thread or in the weekly update topic) so we'd just be duplicating the information...? Putting them on the website gives them more recognition - the main image is featured on the homepage and they are kept in the archive long after their threads have 'dried up'. That opens those threads up to a lot of traffic and exposure already.
"You really are an oafish philistine at times!"

User avatar
danspuggti
Posts: 709
Joined: Tue 21 Apr 2009, 12:03 pm
Location: Stourbridge, West Midlands

Re: Feedback Request - POTW

Post by danspuggti »

I must admit that as soon as I get the notification on Facebook then I click onto the UKAR site and straight to the POTW section.
I do pay attention to the camera/lens info, especially when someone captures a brilliant photo on "older" gear (I know alot is down to the skill of the photographer), and as I simply don't have time to go through all the normal photo threads it helps give an idea of results of various body+lens combo's, especially as I'm currently looking at the minefield of DSLR's!
I think the one prize a month is good. Regarding prizes per week, I'd be happy just to have one of my photo's on the front page of this popular website!

Although not seeing the original POTW (joined site April '09) I must say it's a brilliant addition and shows complete amateurs like myself that someday, with alot of practice (and a little bit of luck), we might take a photo as good as that :wink:

DAN
Same old sh*t.............just happening on a different day!!!

F-22 Raptor A
Posts: 420
Joined: Tue 08 Jun 2010, 5:00 pm

Re: Feedback Request - POTW

Post by F-22 Raptor A »

I really enjoy looking. No, I dont pay any info to the camera and lens because it's not info I need! I read the captions and use it to access the thread, rather than sift through all of the photo threads, because there are plenty.

Keep it coming!

User avatar
tommercer
UKAR Supporter
Posts: 1571
Joined: Fri 16 Jul 2010, 9:22 am
Contact:

Re: Feedback Request - POTW

Post by tommercer »

What i mean is just put them in a more obvious place, I only knew it existed a week or so ago. I often browse the aviation photography sections on here (Airshow Photography, Warbirds etc.) If the POTW was to have its own section in the aviation photography section i think it might be more widely recognised. Maybe thats just me :)

DarrenBe
Posts: 162
Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 9:51 am
Location: Peterhead/Aberdeen
Contact:

Re: Feedback Request - POTW

Post by DarrenBe »

Must admit I've never paid much attention to POTW, basically I'm only interested in certain forum sections, the rest of the UKAR site I pretty much ignore.

User avatar
Ben H
UKAR Supporter
Posts: 3071
Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 4:04 pm
Location: Reigate, UK
Contact:

Re: Feedback Request - POTW

Post by Ben H »

DarrenBe wrote:Must admit I've never paid much attention to POTW, basically I'm only interested in certain forum sections, the rest of the UKAR site I pretty much ignore.


Nice to know our efforts are appreciated :lol:

Zymurgy661
Posts: 178
Joined: Thu 12 Aug 2010, 8:15 pm

Re: Feedback Request - POTW

Post by Zymurgy661 »

as a newcomer to UKAR i've only recently discovered POTW. Whilst i do enjoy looking at it and find it a brilliant way of catching up with the best pics out of hundreds each week i don't think it's visible enough to remind people to look and have often found myself catching up with 2/3 weeks worth at a time when i remember

User avatar
HaveQuick2
Posts: 94
Joined: Mon 01 Sep 2008, 11:21 am

Re: Feedback Request - POTW

Post by HaveQuick2 »

Never knew it existed.
HQ2 out

User avatar
Seamus
Posts: 2776
Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 3:51 pm
Location: Tiverton, Devon
Contact:

Re: Feedback Request - POTW

Post by Seamus »

LN Strike Eagle wrote:Tom & Shaun - Could you elaborate a little more on what you mean? At the moment, the photos are already on the forum and you can comment on them there (either in the individual thread or in the weekly update topic) so we'd just be duplicating the information...? Putting them on the website gives them more recognition - the main image is featured on the homepage and they are kept in the archive long after their threads have 'dried up'. That opens those threads up to a lot of traffic and exposure already.


They're fair points Dan, but the above posts would suggest that people aren't looking in the announcements section and/or on the main website and therefore not seeing the pics. I've also yet to see posts in threads featuring a POTW that have made a comment based on seeing them in the feature. I had in my mind the idea of a dedicated space of the forum where each week the 6/7 chosen shots could be posted in their own thread, making them more visible to the forum audience and enabling direct responses to them, as oppose to wading through 6/7 threads to make their comments there and clicking back and forth between forum and website.
My shots on Flickr and Airliners

Zymurgy661
Posts: 178
Joined: Thu 12 Aug 2010, 8:15 pm

Re: Feedback Request - POTW

Post by Zymurgy661 »

Seamus wrote:They're fair points Dan, but the above posts would suggest that people aren't looking in the announcements section and/or on the main website and therefore not seeing the pics. ....


Indeed, i personally jump straight to the forums rather than the main website as 99.9% of the time that is where new information/updates will be

User avatar
LN Strike Eagle
UKAR Staff
Posts: 11191
Joined: Mon 21 Jul 2008, 3:29 pm

Re: Feedback Request - POTW

Post by LN Strike Eagle »

I appreciate the feedback, but only nine people have responded to this request and although they're pretty much evenly split between those who do and don't look, the stats tell us that there's a big number of people who do look, and the vast majority of them are accessing the POTW page directly from the forums. POTW is consistently the most popular feature page on the website and is second only to the homepage (as you'd expect).

ATM, it strikes me that advertising the updates is the biggest failing, rather than the POTW format. If people aren't aware POTW exists after 14 months, then surely they won't be aware of any of the website the content....?

We'll look at other ways of promoting the updates to try and get those who don't follow regularly to do so, but POTW was designed from the outset as website content and it will remain there; re-posting the same information on the forum just duplicates the information for no real reason when updates are posted in here and it's all just one click of a mouse away.

Perhaps we'll trial a pinned topic in each photo forum advertising the POTW updates. We tried RSS, but dropped it as not many people used it. Did you ever read the Private Messages sent out advertising the updates? Would you read an e-mail newsletter if one was mailed out to all forum members?

HaveQuick - I'm interested in your comment. You are clearly aware that there's a forum for UKAR updates as you've seen a topic here to reply to, so how is it you've never noticed any of other threads that have popped up weekly in the last 14 months advertising POTW and other features? You will also have received many Private Messages we have sent out to all members advertising the website updates too - have you really not seen any of the messages in your inbox?

Zymurgy661 - the website is updated once a week. Of course the forums are more active and the majority of members are likely to access the forums directly, but again, we do advertise updates on the forums every week. At some point every weekend I or someone else advertises the update in this section of the forum, some sometimes the updates are sent directly to your inbox also. How do you miss them?
"You really are an oafish philistine at times!"

DeanW
Posts: 3319
Joined: Sun 31 Aug 2008, 10:18 am

Re: Feedback Request - POTW

Post by DeanW »

POTW is the most interesting feature of the UKAR site, aside from the forum.
LN Strike Eagle wrote:Do you follow the feature regularly? Do you read the captions? Do you pay attention to the camera/lens info?

If it helps - yes, yes and yes!

User avatar
MartinNeedham
Posts: 1540
Joined: Sun 28 Sep 2008, 6:58 pm
Location: Cheshire
Contact:

Re: Feedback Request - POTW

Post by MartinNeedham »

J35 Draken wrote:POTW is the most interesting feature of the UKAR site, aside from the forum.
LN Strike Eagle wrote:Do you follow the feature regularly? Do you read the captions? Do you pay attention to the camera/lens info?

If it helps - yes, yes and yes!


What Dean said.

User avatar
HaveQuick2
Posts: 94
Joined: Mon 01 Sep 2008, 11:21 am

Re: Feedback Request - POTW

Post by HaveQuick2 »

HaveQuick - I'm interested in your comment. You are clearly aware that there's a forum for UKAR updates as you've seen a topic here to reply to, so how is it you've never noticed any of other threads that have popped up weekly in the last 14 months advertising POTW and other features? You will also have received many Private Messages we have sent out to all members advertising the website updates too - have you really not seen any of the messages in your inbox?

I generally just have a quick scan of the odd board that interests me every now and again. As for PMs, I check infrequently, and only really pay attention to ones sent to me rather than ones sent to everyone.

I suppose if UKAR was the only website in the world and I had an infinite amount of spare time on my hands, perhaps I would spend more time and notice more on it. But, unfortunately that is not the way of the world and I only have enough time for a quick glance every now and again.

Hope that explains things (at least I did respond!)
HQ2 out

Zymurgy661
Posts: 178
Joined: Thu 12 Aug 2010, 8:15 pm

Re: Feedback Request - POTW

Post by Zymurgy661 »

Zymurgy661 - the website is updated once a week. Of course the forums are more active and the majority of members are likely to access the forums directly, but again, we do advertise updates on the forums every week. At some point every weekend I or someone else advertises the update in this section of the forum, some sometimes the updates are sent directly to your inbox also. How do you miss them?


The problem is that i (personally) tend to forget about this section! As it's only updated infrequently and also not a section i can post in it goes to the back of my mind and i end up scrolling past it. I don't recall ever seeing a UKAR email so can't really comment on that bit. I have started following UKAR on twitter now but not sure if the POTW is announced there?

Would it be beneficial to post the POTW update as a forum wide sticky rather than in a particular section? That way it would always be infront of people no matter which area of the forum they are viewing?

Don't get me wrong, i find POTW very good (as i have previously said) however i find it all to easy to get caught up in other sections of the forum and forget about it.

Post Reply