Thanks dPS Community
With Thanksgiving later this week I wanted to take a moment out to thank you – the readers and community of dPS – for supporting our site and helping us grow.
This last few days we’ve passed (and are approaching) a few exciting milestones that have made me pause to reflect upon what a wonderful group of readers we have here.
- Yesterday we moved past 750,000 subscribers to our weekly newsletter – wow, three quarters of the way to a million (subscribe here if you want free weekly tips emailed to you)
- In the next few days we’re likely to pass through 90,000 Facebook friends (like us here if you haven’t already)
- This week we also hit 200,000 forum members (join them here for some great discussion and sharing)
- We’ve also seen some great growth on Twitter where there are 65,000 people following along (follow us here)
Ultimately the above are just numbers – some of which we’ve celebrated as a team this week – but what excites me most about dPS is the people involved. Our team of writers, moderators and staff have pulled together this year in an unprecedented way and our readership have also been incredibly supportive.
For a site the size of dPS I’m constantly amazed how well our readers and community get along. While some see the internet as a place full of snark, self promotion and sleaze I’m proud to point at dPS as a largely positive, supportive and constructive community that ultimately is about helping camera owners improve their photography.
So I guess I’m saying I’m thankful to you. Thanks for making dPS the place that it is – I can’t wait to see where the year ahead takes us!
34 Responses to “Thanks dPS Community” - Add Yours
November 24th, 2011 at 6:01 am
You have enough subscribers to start a groupon like site just for Photography!
November 24th, 2011 at 7:43 am
Thank you! I’m new to photography and I found several websites that were of those who would do nothing but self promote and critize. Im thankful I found you site which has helped me improve greatly. So once again, thanks!
November 24th, 2011 at 8:26 am
And Thank You for building such a brilliant site that truly inspires me in my photography!
November 24th, 2011 at 8:37 am
I have read so many tips on this site that are “just what I needed”. Thanks Darren and team for a superb resource!
Dawn.
November 24th, 2011 at 9:01 am
Wow – I never realized how big your site has become. As a Marketing professional I’m very very surprised not to see brands like Canon, Sony and Nikon with their ads all over this site. I’d have thought you’d be one of the biggest sites in this space – do they approach you for advertising or have you resisted their approaches?
Intrigued as to why the big camera manufacturers are not here?
November 24th, 2011 at 9:12 am
Thanks to you Darren and friends!!
November 24th, 2011 at 9:28 am
thanks everyone for your comments.
Brooke – it’s a work in progress. I too am a little surprised by the lack of active interest we’ve had from some camera manufacturers. I have found that it is sometimes more complex than it seems though – these companies are internationals and have many departments.
Me being Australia while most of our audience are in the USA complicates things a touch too – the US based headquarters are often not able to talk to me as an Aussie and the Aussie departments don’t see the value in chatting because while we do have a large Aussie readership its a small % of our overall traffic. While it seems odd that a multi-national company can’t work out how to tackle that relatively small problem I guess its in their too-hard-basket for now.
All in all its frustrating for us too (and I know is frustrating for some people who work within these companies). We’ll keep soldiering on though – with us narrowing in on almost 5 million unique visits per month I guess they’ll take notice eventually. In the mean time we’ll keep producing useful tips and tutorials for our readers and not get too distracted by all that!
Thanks for your support.
November 24th, 2011 at 9:34 am
Thank you for everything Darren! What a great achievement and a wonderful community!
November 24th, 2011 at 9:36 am
I’m with Brooke - where the hell are Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Sony, Panasonic, Leica, Olympus, Kodak, Fuji????
This site has helped me so much – I come here multiple times a day to help me improve my photography and every time I’m looking to buy a new camer or piece of gear it is here I do my research.
Seems like a no brainer for manufacturers to be building a presence here where there are so many fans of their gear already and where people are actively researching their next camera upgrade.
Anyway – keep up the good work, til the big boys turn up with some some sponsor money I’ll keep buying every eBook you launch!
November 24th, 2011 at 9:43 am
thanks Greg – we did have a self organized reader group petition Canon US at one point to try to get them more active on the site – feel free to drop your favorite manufacturers a note!
But seriously – thanks all for your support.
November 24th, 2011 at 9:47 am
Thats good stuff Darren!
November 24th, 2011 at 9:47 am
You’re welcome, Darren!!! I love DPS!
Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!
November 24th, 2011 at 9:54 am
Darren I appreciate the constant positive focus at DPS on learning the skill and art of photography. Thank you. ,
November 24th, 2011 at 10:31 am
I found this site only relatively recently and there’s such a lot that’s interesting and relevant – I’m on here all the time now when I should be doing work stuff. So thanks – I think!
November 24th, 2011 at 11:06 am
Thank you from Australia, for your always helpful photography tips. Has most certainly helped me with my business. xx
November 24th, 2011 at 11:26 am
Darren,
Thank you for putting DPS together and keeping a constant flow of good info available. It’s been a great source for help and inspiration!
November 24th, 2011 at 11:58 am
I find it quite astonishing that the major DSLR companies are not more involved with DPS, whether that be through sponsorship, participation in the forums, product reviews, etc. The audience here is large, highly engaged and has money to spend! I suspect once one of them works out there is value here the other will follow quickly. Keep up the great work Darren, Simon & team!
November 24th, 2011 at 12:07 pm
I’m fairly new on board, but I love dPS already! So helpful, so convenient, and just all around awesome!
Thank YOU!
November 24th, 2011 at 12:29 pm
thanks to dps – primary source for learning photgraphy.
November 24th, 2011 at 1:51 pm
I’m not sure why these guys are absent either. What I can say is thank DPS team for an outstanding, inspiring and informational website. We link to you daily!
November 24th, 2011 at 1:58 pm
I forgot to also thank DPS for being my primary source of learning and inspirations.
Although Darren, I have to say that we, as compulsive (or selective) buyers of photography equipment, would all benefit from a collective purchase website just for photography. I know that getting deals, is even harder than getting the manufactures to advertise in the site, but with these numbers of subscribers, you definitely have something to negotiate with them.
Thank you very much for this amazing site, and long live to dPS!
November 24th, 2011 at 3:32 pm
Thanks DPS for the countless tips and articles, your site is always part of my morning routine and it’s a great way to stat the day w/ a nice aticles witty comments from the viewers and inspiring pics from the group via G+
November 24th, 2011 at 5:11 pm
Whatever little I know it is all because of you DPS. Many thanks.
November 24th, 2011 at 7:29 pm
Thank YOU!
November 24th, 2011 at 11:29 pm
thanks dps…and all the stuff.keep up the good work….im addicted in photography and im only beginners….i hope i become a pro, too…..thats my goal in my life.and this thread is relevant to me….thanks thanks,,,,,
November 25th, 2011 at 4:54 am
I am fairly new to photography and totally enjoy all of your content! Enjoy reading all the tips and recommendations…and posts from other subscribers! I am equally THANKFUL for you guys!!
November 25th, 2011 at 5:51 am
Thank you Darren for creating this wonderful place on the internet for enthusiastic shutterbugs like me. dPS enlightens and inspires me as a photographer every single day. Best of all, being an amateur, I’ve always felt challenged in a good way, but never small or inadequate, in the company of so many talented professionals who hang out here. That’s the real beauty of dPS I guess.
November 25th, 2011 at 11:43 am
Yes, thanks for such a great resource for learning and inspiration. I would so miss this site if it ever went away. I’ve grown so much as a photographer since joining this wonderful group of people!!
November 25th, 2011 at 8:26 pm
Thanks Darren for all the work that you put into this wonderful and informative site.
I have spend many hour trawling through the Tutorials and other articals as well as the forum and have learnt so much from what I have read.
Keep up the great work.
Regards,
Steve
November 25th, 2011 at 10:17 pm
Kudos to you Darren for your inspiration and hard work. Most of what I know I’ve learned from the articles on DPS. I bless the day I discovered this site. I visit at least once a day and return time and again to the really helpful posts. Please, keep up the great work. You have the gratitude of this average, but enthusiastic, shutterbug.
November 26th, 2011 at 3:59 am
Thanks for the work you all do to keep us informed. I was pointed to this site by a friend in our camera club and it has become something I look forward to each week. when your newsletter shows up I know I have another week of things to learn and work on.
Best wishes for the upcoming year. If you continue to produce the quality product that you now have the Gods will smile on you.
Blessings
Jim
November 26th, 2011 at 11:51 am
Thank YOU for existing dPS!
November 26th, 2011 at 3:51 pm
Thanks for all the hardwork that goes into keeping this site running and updated with information that is unrivaled by any site. Readers like myself would always keep learning and practicing with the vast amount of useful resources laid out across your site. Thank you DPS and keep up the amazing work
November 28th, 2011 at 1:28 pm
Thank you for this site. I have learned a lot and look forward to learning more. I’m glad I found your site!
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