Smartphone Photography Club

#30 Glass Photo Sharing Photography Community App | Pros & Cons

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Full article and YouTube video - here

What is different about Glass?

What I love about the bold concept beyond the distraction-free app focussed on your photos is the return to the chronological feed. After finding photographers to follow, their latest uploads appear in your feed.

It is not designed to keep you scrolling using addictive tricks to encourage engagement or using your usage data to feed an algorithm.

Glass is independent and has not taken outside funding, opting for support by the community itself through subscription $5 a month or $50 a year or, at launch, $30 a year with a free 14-day trial available to new users.

The app is iOS only and to join, you need to join the queue for an invitation or from other Glass members. Once inside you have invitations to provide your friends and family. In a recent Twitter update, they suggested the invites only exist to ensure the quality experience and that they can scale responsibly.

Pros - what you will like

  • Subscription-based. Yes, that is a positive... support the developers to keep providing updates and making this an even better experience!
  • No ads or data tracking
  • No algorithm: You see things as they are posted, and when you return to the app the photos you've seen are still there.
  • No engagement tricks to get you hooked on the app... just photos
  • No filters: When you upload a photo, there are no in-app editing tools.
  • P3 colour profile support
  • Minimal compression
  • EXIF data behind your photos automatically upload
  • Community around comments
  • No "likes" or "reactions": If you want to tell someone you like their photo, then you literally leave a comment about the photo.
  • Photos take up the whole screen
  • Tap the photo to see the EXIF
  • Peek at the photographer information by swiping right and holding the screen
  • Can delete an individual photo by swiping left
  • Icons are intuitive
  • Chronological is great to be selective about who I follow

    • Cons - what you may want

    • Cannot add a hotlink to your website/portfolio in the bio
    • Very hard to find like-minded photographers in your particular interest
    • When looking at other user's profiles, it would be great to see their photos organised in a thumbnail format rather than having to scroll through each photo.
    • Allow users to group photos by album
    • Cannot unfollow unless you block someone - it feels nasty to do!
    • Cannot add a caption after the photo is uploaded
    • Cannot remove or edit EXIF
    • Ability to share profile instead of just one photo
    • If you share a photo outside the app, the recipient needs to open an account
    • Tags or hashtags do not mean algorithm – easier to search
    • The iPad experience is lacking

      • ・・・

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      ・・・ 

      Be passionate, Be creative and Stay curious

      - Mike

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      Smartphone Photography ClubBy Mike James