After deactivating my personal account on Facebook, I noticed that I lost interest in most other networks too. But I did in fact miss a few things. Such as easily contacting my models and a private way of sharing photographs through the Messenger. I am aware all this can be done through WhatsApp and other products. And last but not least, there is always E-mail, but I noticed that a lot of people I work with are so swamped with work related messages that responding can not always be a priority. For some, it is even harder to catch up on E-mail using a smart phone.
So, I decided to create my own network for friends and models. I have been working on it for a month now in my spare time. A lot of tweaking needed to be done. The site is fully functional now and I am testing it with a few friends.
First of all, the site is completely secure to protect people who create an account by using the SSL or https protocol. Most of the content is shielded from the general public by a registration system. Registering to the site is free, but accounts are manually activated to keep those away who have no business whatsoever to be an active member of the site.
Furthermore the site is divided into groups. One has to subscribe to a group to get to see its content. A membership request for the group Models Sets will only be activated if you have actually posed for me or if you belong to a small group of trusted friends. This way models can always pick up their photographs on the site without fear of works being distributed on the web without their consent.
There is also a private messaging system, which makes it easier for me to separate my own important messages from the pile of mail and app messages I receive through various other channels. Models and friends can create their own profiles and befriend people, much like any regular social network. This network however is microscopically small, despite the many photographs hosted there, and of course it is only about photography.
Two sections however are open to the general public and that is my new portfolio that still needs to be expanded and the news feed. If you have posed for me or if you have been in contact with me over the years feel free to register. So far I have not invited people to join for two reasons: I am not completely certain this will actually work as an efficient way to keep in touch with the people I work with, and I only want people in who really care for my work. In other words; I want to keep this site as exclusive as I possibly can. I am not aiming for lots of traffic.
The site you are looking at right now will stay my main site for quite some time and I will keep updating it, but please have a look at the new site too.
