Wikipedia for Photographers: Fotopedia!
I’ll admit it. I like wikipedia. Yeah, I know it’s not perfect; I know it’s built by people with faults and ignorance and all that… but it’s just such a cool idea. Editing articles can be fun, especially when you seem to be the only person with internet access who knows about certain things (like small little forks in the road in the African bush, for instance). But for those purposes, there’s always wikitravel. (And yes, I’ve done a bit with the Malawi/Mozambique pages).
Recently I learned about a cool new initiative called Fotopedia. As a photographer, I can sign up (for free) and upload my best works from different categories. This is where all that knowledge about forks in the road and African peoples I run across can actually educate, visually at least, the rest of the globe. The site links up with wikipedia to provide the written content. Visitors to the site can then vote for their favorite photos on any particular topic. It’s another of those user-driven content sites that also more or less self-polices in order to push the more quality images to the top.
I’ve now uploaded a few shots about the Ya*o people (referred to on the site as WaYao). I’ve got a few images from Kommetjie, a surfers paradise near Cape Town we enjoy. Kalk Bay gets a pic. Zomba Plateau. Even the Mangochi “Bakili Muluzi” bridge.
I’ll give it a rest now and see what happens. I love the idea of the site. Get your work out there. Expose it to others. Use it for the greater good: humanitarian photography at its best.
What niche have YOU got that would benefit Fotopedia.com users?
