foto will be a real photo sharing platform. Interview to Michael Howard
My interview with Michael Howard anticipates something about the great project he is working on
Since instagram is no longer just an app dedicated to photography, having converted to an experience more similar to tik tok, photographers no longer have a social network really dedicated only to photography. In the past there was flickr and even though it still exists it has lost the momentum it once had. Perhaps because the dynamics with which one lives the experience have changed. Flickr had its why especially in the era of forums, but the internet has changed and I don't even think I can say for the better.
I discovered that the foto project was being born thanks to twitter. I was immediately intrigued by it: I believe that today all of us photographers want a social network for us, truly dedicated to photography and with a more mature approach to it, capable of accepting the diversity of proposals and away from forms of censorship. foto is still a work in process, so I contacted Michael to to ask him a few questions.
Hi, Michael. How and when was the idea of a social app exclusively dedicated to photography born?
I started thinking about building a new photo-sharing app in 2018, but it wasn’t until August 2021, when Instagram declared that it was no longer a photo-sharing platform, that I started to work on the idea with more intention. I’ve always been somewhat discontent with Instagram because I’ve long felt like it focused so much on photography as a temporary experience, and it hasn't fostered the creation of more serious image-making. Instagram has mostly been about building an attention-grabbing and habit-forming machine so they can show us ads.
Instagram ditched us photographers to chase the tik tok model. I believe that to differentiate yourself from mainstream social media you need to completely detach yourself from their logic because there is a whole audience that is less superficial and, if you allow me, less stupid, than seeing someone dancing for 12 seconds. What do you think?
Overall, I agree. Instagram first encouraged shorter attention spans when consuming images, which led to the popular photos often being very attention-grabbing imagery. I call it ‘visual sugar’. Our brains naturally attract certain stimuli, and apps like Instagram and TikTok are dopamine-producing systems. With Foto, I’d like to create a place that is more mature and thoughtful. I recognize that Foto won’t be a place that the entire world will want to be on, but I think there are a lot of people, even non-photographers, that would like a quieter, more intentional space to see images, read, learn, and be inspired. So many sites are pushing video now, but our focus will not be an ad-based revenue model. We want to bring value and features to Foto that allow us to keep the platform ad-free.
In your page disclaimer describing the project you state: "To loosen the rules on censorship." Does this really mean that we will finally see art in all its expressions, including naked without having to suffer from blocks and exclusions?
This is definitely a tough problem to solve, but one of our goals is to celebrate the beauty of the human body in a way that isn’t exploitative, illegal, or harmful. Art history is filled with people showing the naked human form, and we will need to find a way to allow for artful, respectful nude imagery while also deciding how to handle porn. All sites have to draw a line somewhere, even if it’s at the point where things are illegal, harmful, disturbing, violent, etc. How we will solve this hasn’t been figured out yet, but it is something we are committed to as a company. Ideally, we want to allow more nudity than Instagram does. It’s easier to just block everything than put the work in the figure out how to draw a line that is more inclusive for creators. We want to put in the work to find a better solution.
Are there any editorial selections that can favor a space of greater visibility for photographers who somehow deserve? And, if so, how do you plan to put it into practice? Do you already count on a team of editors?
We don’t have a team of editors or curators. Foto is still in the design/prototype phase. To create visibility, we’ll likely have to build a multi-prong approach. I can see one of those approaches being the equivalent of online photo exhibitions where we have curators and photo editors participate in selecting the work for the show. As a company, it will be important for us to highlight the work of artists that are producing meaningful work regardless of their following size. We need to share work because it’s high-quality and avoid a popularity contest. I’m undecided if Foto will have art critics, writers, and editors on staff or if the application can be designed in a way that people in those roles will naturally participate and be a thriving part of the Foto community.
Social media has been used by the (world) system as a control and censorship organism, favoring the single thought and putting in a corner, if not erasing it, every critical thought. The system would like to have a controlled and censored world dominated by influencers telling you what to do. How do you plan to favor the plurality of thought and in the specific case of photography, visions, on your social network?
This is another challenging topic to work on and one that I personally don’t have a solution to at this moment. We must create policies on misinformation, hate speech, violence, nudity, etc. On each of these topics, we will have to say what is allowed and what isn’t allowed. No matter where we draw the line, people will be upset because a line was drawn. Anytime you build anything and release it into the world, you have people that are critical of what you’ve made. We can’t please everyone. We’ll be criticized for allowing too much content on the app, and we’ll be criticized for not allowing enough. We will need to allow as much plurality as possible, but we don’t want to allow misinformation, illegal activities, and harmful content. My current goal is to find the best team members possible to work at Foto that will help shape these important policies while also allowing our users to have as much control as possible over their experience on our platform.
Last question: why should photographers open a foto profile?
Whenever we launch Foto, we want people to create a Foto profile to experience a place that honestly supports artists, creators, and businesses. We want to build a community of thoughtful, creative, and collaborative people. Photography has a rich and powerful history that continues to this day. Image making is something most of the world has access to at this point, and we want to create a new home for images that builds an economy that helps artists have sustainable careers.
Thank you, Michael! And Good Luck with this project!
Guys, if you want to stay updated with the news about this project, I recommend you to follow foto on twitter:
