Strategies for Gaining Visibility on Flickr

Social network sites (SNSs) have become an important part of daily communication practices and media use for millions of people. SNSs enable people to interact with content such as photographs or videos in a new way, to create user profiles and communicate with others through these online presentations of self. This study examines social practices among the group of active users of the popular online photo-sharing service Flickr. The results of nine qualitative user interviews show that there is ambivalence in people's relation to the community of Flickr; the users distribute their photographs with expectations of getting attention and feedback from others, but they have to be socially active and network with others in order to become noticed at all. This study aims to provide insight into the strategies for gaining visibility for one's personal content on Flickr, and to contribute to the theory of computer-mediated communication.