Webshots
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Webshots is a large free online photo sharing site owned by CNET Networks.
Webshots launched in 1996 as a professional photo screensaver/wallpaper site, but expanded into photo sharing in 1999. Photos taken from users' digital cameras can be organized into dozens of different categories to narrow down specific searches and content. Since its start, it has grown to one of the largest photo sharing communites on the Internet; as of January 2, 2007, there were more than 458 million photos on the site. Most of the photos are searchable by any user, dependent on the keywords associated with each photo, such as the caption provided by the uploader.
The site is supported by advertising and has recently added small video ads on most pages. Users can become "Premium Members" for an annual fee which allows them to view the site without ads and also to upload a larger number of images to their own galleries. All members get a free homepage where they can share up to 1000 photos publicly with friends, family and anyone who comes across it. Webshots Premium allows for 5000 photos. The site offers an automatic notification feature that tells users when their favorite members have added new photos. Members also have the option to share their photos privately.
Webshots is a popular photo sharing community, and many of its active uploaders are either teenagers or young adults, typically of college age. Sexually suggestive photos have gradually increased in number and visibility on the site, appearing repeatedly in the "Most Popular" section. This has earned the site the nickname, "WebHots".
Webshots has also made inadvertent celebrities out of certain individuals, particularly Amanda Wenk who became a minor Internet phenomenon in 2005 due to the popularity of her sexually suggestive photo galleries. Visits to her pages would often be in excess of 30,000 per day.
On July 14, 2004, CNET Networks announced that it would be acquiring Twofold Photos, Inc,, the privately-held company behind Webshots, for $60 million in cash and $10 million of deferred consideration.[1].
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[edit] Criticism
The site is also criticized by a number of people who believe that young adults take advantage of the widespread popularity of Webshots to publish potentially reputation-damaging photos of their college or high school acquaintances on a worldwide scale. While the constant flow of new material on Webshots makes a long-term backlash against a particular group or individual unlikely, the immortalizing of a person photographed in a potentially embarrassing situation and circulated freely on the world wide web is often very upsetting to many people.[citation needed]
Some Macintosh users complain that Webshots hasn't updated its client desktop pattern and screensaver software for almost a year for the Mac OS X platform, although the website itself is available on all platforms. Webshots provides alternative Mac solutions but they do not have functionality that the official client brings.[citation needed]
[edit] See also
- Flickr
- Google Image Search
- Picsearch
- MyPhotoAlbum
[edit] References
- ^ "CNET Networks to Acquire Webshots; Webshots is Leading Photography Web site; Over 14 Million Monthly Visitors", Business Wire, 2004-07-14. Retrieved on 2007-01-05.
[edit] External link
| CNET |
|---|
| Websites |
| Consumating | Download.com | GameFAQs | Game Rankings | GameSpot | Metacritic | MP3.com | mySimon | TechRepublic | TV.com | Webshots | ZDNet |
| People |
| Veronica Belmont | Ina Fried | Jeff Gerstmann | Greg Kasavin | James Kim | Declan McCullagh | Tom Merritt | Halsey Minor | Alex Navarro | Daniel Terdiman | Molly Wood |
| Other |
| Buzz Out Loud | CNET TV |
