First Ever Friday Photo Forum (#FriFotos) Goes Live
(Credit: Jen Pollack Bianco)
Last Friday marked the introduction of the first ever #Frifotos, short for ‘Friday Photo Forum’, a weekly virtual gathering using the widely popular Twitter social-media platform. Each Friday at 1100 EST (1600 GMT), Twitter users have the chance to post relevant pictures that match the weekly subject matter as part of their tweets. What ensues is an entertaining and robust conversation as more and more pictures are uploaded and viewed.
#FriFotos was inspired by Jonathan Epstein, the CEO of Celebrated Experiences, the luxury travel company specializing in travel to the United Kingdom and Ireland. According to Jonathan, “what better way to ease into the weekend than with a fun forum dedicated to fantastic and personal imagery. #FriFotos gives people the chance to share and express things they have seen with others. It is just a bit of fun and a way to share other people’s experiences. #FriFotos is open to everyone.” To participate in #FriFotos, all you need is a Twitter account and use the hashtag #FriFotos in your tweets.
(Credit: Kirsten Alana Larsson)
Over the last year there has been an enormous increase in textural dialog where like minded people sharing a passion can express themselves in 140 characters or less. #FriFotos tries to integrate fantastic imagery with these messages. Twitter, with around 15 million users, is becoming an increasingly dynamic way for people to share life and travel experiences. #FriFotos takes advantage of the Twitter medium to do this.
In the inaugural #FriFotos tweeters from all over the world were ask to submit pictures they felt changed their world over the last 25 years. Instantly, tweets appeared in users timelines of iconic moments: including the man in Tiananmen Square, the coming down of the Berlin Wall, OJ Simpson’s White Bronco, and the handshake of Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat with Bill Clinton. Aside from world events, there were also images of destinations and sights that people had visited such as the London Eye, Coliseum in Rome, the Sydney Opera House and temples in Tikal, Guatemala.
(Credit: Barry @midtownny)
Some images posted were from tweeter’s own travel albums, some were mementos of life experiences they wanted to share, such as a bridge over Ricketts Glen, PA or travelling with children at San Francisco Airport on a family holiday.
Feedback from twitter users so far has been enthusiastic with comments about the #FriFotos tweet-ups including: “Different category each Friday where people put up their favorite images—love this idea!” (@GenuineAccess); “Pug loves #FriFotos.” (@eloisethepug); “Viva #FriFotos!” (@cliffhousehotel).
Future #FriFotos topics will include a diverse range of life-style topics from romance and sports to food and wine. Updates and #FriFotos news will be posted during the week on Twitter as well as on Carpe Noctem, a lifestyle blog published by Best Loved Hotels.