IsmaelRuiz.NET

I’ve been in Flickr for about a month or so. And so far I have uploaded 66 photos to my photostream. Of which 4 have already made it to Flickr’s Explore, meaning that those pics are “interesting.” And I have about 60 contacts.

Now, I’ve come to the point where I had to ask myself “the question:” Is it really worth leaving comments to others in Flickr? Since I joined I have already made 650 comments. That’s really a lot of comments for such a short period of time.
Now, to answer my question, I needed to know how many comments others have left on my photos. And to my surprise it’s pretty close. People in Flickr have left 628 comments on my photos. That makes a ratio of 650/628, which means that for every 1.035 comments you make, you’ll get 1 comment back. If we round it off, it’s pretty close to a 1:1 ratio. For every comment you make, you’ll most likely get a comment back.

Well, enough with that. Now, it’s up to you to decide if it’s worth it. You’ll have to consider the fact that if you leave no comments, or few comments, you’ll receive no comments, or few comments. If you can live with that, then don’t leave comments to others. But if you are really looking to get lots of comments on your photos… leave lots of comments.

Some other things to consider would be posting your photos to the right groups. Flickr is full of groups that people just post photos without leaving any comments. Make sure that the groups you choose are groups that will leave you comments. For instance, groups that leave comments usually have rules that you have to comment in order to remain in the group.

Another way of getting comments is commenting on your contact’s photos. Be nice to your contacts. If you see a photo you like, leave a comment. It’s very likely that your contact would respond back with a comment on one of your photos.

In conclusion, like I said before, if you want comments, you have to leave comments (you rip what you sow).

Ismael L. Ruiz

Note: this article assumes that you take good photos.