Let's build a new site (or die trying)

Photo sites are like eating out: even if you dine at a three-star Michelin restaurant each day, sooner or later you'll get the desire to prepare something at home just the way you like it, or maybe to add that extra flavor you've always missed from the menu.

I mean: no matter which site you prefer, one day the idea arises why not to create your own photo community site with all the good features found and all the things you've been missing or seen ignored elsewhere?

Of course copying an idea from here and there is not the proper way, and there's always the question what makes a site particularly attractive and special. How to spice up the basic idea of photographers presenting their work with extra features in order to promote their vision, provide them with feedback on their works, extend their network or even let them make money.

I've been nurturing this idea for a while but 1x had made me a little lazy. But now the bug in my ear started to buzz again and consulted a few programmers how much money, time and efforts such a project would require. I even visited a really big name in the business and to my surprise soon found myself talking to their CEO. I expected a conversation like this:

- Mr CEO, sorry for my sweaty T-shirt but I'm on holiday. I want to have a site like this.com, with the evaluation features of that.net and the interface of yetanotherphotosite.org, but of course not just copying their stuff but everything made better and smarter and sexier, playing Johnny Cash every time I open it and providing me secret access to the telephone numbers of Barbara Taurua's female models should she ever publish photos there. Oh yes, and of course full Facebook connectivity and promotion features that make members become dirty filthy rich from all the photos they sell.
- No problem, sir. We will do that in two weeks, development and hosting will cost you 50.000 euros, maintenance etc only 15.000 per month. According to our cost/benefit calculations you will see money from this in 2055.
- Errr.... thanks for the coffee and your time but I need to go and feed the tuna in my fridge.

In reality, the short meeting turned out to last well into the evening with lots of features and ideas discussed and a more or less affordable sum mentioned in the end.

Bottomline: a new site will be born, more or less in the spirit I mentioned in the beginning of this post.
If someone ever thought that the true winners of photo sites are those who get there first, now would be a good time to drop me an email at patakiorama@gmail.com. After all, the site will probably need screeners/curators and a core crew (oh yes! now this is the time to turn the table :)). The name is not fixed yet but several domains have been acquired already. It would be good to have a catchy name attracting lots of visitors, so my pick includes nakedmileycyrusvideos.com, ladygagahasadickandweproveit.org, weknowwhokilledkennedy.net and of course 2x.com. Jokes aside: we snatched some good stuff with all the new .co domains made recently available, and a few .coms and .nets too. I said "we" because special thanks go to the first brave soul who joined me in this, and whose name I prefer not to tell yet.

The site project is still in embryonic stage but if only half can be realized of what's possible, this will be something really big. Maybe we end up dining out in the end but at least let's try to cook for ourselves for once...