Baffled as to why there is zero response to my web app

Thanks very much for your input, TravlinGuy.

You could well be right (I'm certainly not ).

It's a bit of a difficult concept to describe - and maybe that's where I'm struggling.
You said that you can find your own photo locations, but, that's the point. When I moved to this area a few years ago, I spend the first year-and-a-half driving round searching out good photo spots.
Some of them were very obscure.
To have been able to go to a web site, simply click on your location, and ask for all photos within, say, a fifty mile radius of where I am - and be given exact GPS coordinates and a Google map to take me to where the original photographer was standing - would have been fantastic!
That's basically what the site does.

For those who have heard of geocaching, it's like that for photographs.

The trouble is that, like many services of its kind, the benefits get larger the more people use it (as the locations are shared by the users).

I just don't have a clear way to get "over the hump" of getting enough users to make it more useful.

I will have another look at the wording on the landing page to see if I can come up with a better "benefits" description and "call to action".

I appreciate your input.

Please take my advice as constructive criticism - just one persons opinion! Feel free to ignore!

1. The first thing that catches my eye on the site is actually the advertising on the right. And my first opinion then is "this is not a big player - nothing new in the photography website world...time to move on". I'm not saying this is fair, but its the thought that goes through my head. Grow first...THEN pursue the advertising dollars (or other ways to monetize).

2. The next thing I see is a bunch of very small scrolling thumbnails that have no value. They are too small to appreciate the photography and they are not hot linked to anything. Pure distraction.

3. Then you tell me, in text, how easy it is to use, but there are 5 steps. If you believe surfers have no attention span, you better believe my eyes glazed over the text...subconciously thinking this looks complicated. You need to immediately, and graphically, grab the surfers attention and show how easy it is. Make it three steps with big graphics "Get started today: 1) Register for free 2) Upload your memories 3) Watch the discussion flow!" (as a example).

3b. Not saying my site is a work of art, but if you look at my signature site, you will understand the part about the quick attention grab and making it look simple.

4. Your site layout is a bit off. After the main messaging, there is a column of photos on the left but all white space scrolling down.

5. I do think that you should consider some professional design work. You're obviously a talented coder to write all this, but graphics design is a different skill set (I'm terrible at it). A designer will make a more "wow" effect.

6. Finally, your home page does not make we want to participate even though its a social network of sorts. I dont see engaging extracts or compelling calls to action.

Again, please feel free to ignore the above advice. I actually think you have a very good idea here. These things are always tough and I wish there was a formula to make something viral! If it were me, I'd spruce up the offering before engaging on more PR/Marketing.

Good luck to you...I hope this can take off...its a good idea.

Chris

Wow. So much good advice. Thank you all for taking the time.
I agree. I had had exactly this thought. I had tried to make it minimalist so that the design didn't get in the way of the functionality (like Flickr), but, I think I ended up with simply "old-fashioned" as you say. It definitely doesn't look "2.0".

I can't afford to hire a designer to help, but I have made much more interesting designs myself in the past. Although, yes, I'm a coder first, I will definitely "jazz up" at least the home page, and report back. :-)

Got it. I'm copying the points from all your replies and consolidating them into a document to work from.

OK. I'll take that off. To be honest, I had removed it from the home page, and registration pages. I'd only recently put it back on because nobody was ever seeing any advertising because they wouldn't go past the first page!

You're right. This has always been the hardest part. Back to the drawing board (again).

This was all in the pipeline. To be honest, it all stalled because of the zero response. I didn't want to throw more time at it before I got some kind of response. When/if I get some kind of "action" with it, they will be back on. This sort of thing is perfect for a mobile version.

Right. I will put some thought into that. At least some kind of reward other than the "kudos" currently offered.
Do you think providing the ability to connect photographers with potential buyers - without actually brokering the deal - would be enough. I only ask this as I'm up against limited time now.

Again, thank you all for your constructive criticism/advice. Rest assured it's appreciated and being taken notice of. Keep it coming!

Wow. I can soooo see the attraction of this idea.

I mean, who wouldn't want to go straight to where Ansel Adams took some of those fantastic shots? Granted, they wouldn't have the GPS coordinates, or any other metadata, but it makes the point, no?

This could be really cool as a way for amateur photographers to share great locations in their areas, pros to show off where they've been, and for games and adventure plans to be born.

You need to capture people's imaginations at first to get them talking. Once you get a few of them competing, the thing stands a chance of going viral. How you go about that would depend on what crowd you were looking for.


Paul

OK. I've been listening to all your ideas and input, and I've come up with this radically different design.

gpshots.com/NewDesign.php
(Sorry, still can't post images or links).

What do you guys think?

The few big sites that do contain geotagged photos (assuming the people actually do geotag their photos [few, in my experience]), are geared towards the photo - with incidental location information. Mine is geared toward the location - with incidental photos.

You do know that photos have to be reviewed, and some will be accepted for inclusion on Google Earth? Google Earth isn't a photo site.

However, you have highlighted the struggle that I am up against. The people who know enough to be aware that some of the bigger sites do indeed allow geotagging of photographs, immediately default to "So what. It's already there". Without seeing that there is actually a big difference and, in my opinion, much more value in terms of interface, functionality and the whole concept of the site.

It isn't a photo sharing site. It's a location sharing site.

My 2 cents:

I agree 100%. Your stats are highly impressive. 4.16 pages per visit and 00:03:39 Avg. Time on Site is highly admirable.

I'll be honest, I was not wowed by your site (hated the blue font ), but then again, like travelinguy I'm not a photographer.

Good Luck!

Have you tried emailing the people who've signed up with a simple questionnaire? - Ask them why they haven't taken further action and what would be necessary to get them to do so.

Also, you'll want to protect your signup form from automated 'bots asap, otherwise your stats will be slanted. It takes a brand new website of mine around 48hrs before the registration form starts to get 'spammed'.

Other than that, to reiterate what others have said, it is a little 'passive' and really needs a bolder presentation IMHO. Also, when I think of photography....well, the images you have don't really catch the eye and draw me in. Perhaps look towards some of the Photo sharing sites for some inspiration.

Thanks. The site is world-wide. A map has been suggested before, and it makes sense. It actually wouldn't be that hard to do. The reason I haven't done it so far is that it may simply highlight how little activity there is on the site currently!