BeenUp2: another mobile photo sharing service

Written on May 18, 2008 – 2:40 pm
Ernst-Jan Pfauth, editor in chief

When something happens in my life that I find noteworthy enough to share with family, friends, business relations and “weak ties”, I post it to Twitter. Sometimes words are not enough and I post a photo using Mobypicture. So my sharing needs are full-filled. Yet the majority of people lack this fulfillment, mostly because they don’t use Twitter. For those folks, Ian Kilpatrick has built BeenUp2. (Update: Layton Wedgeworth is also one of the site’s founding fathers.)

BeenUp2.com mobile photo sharing On BeenUp2, users can send photos of life’s special moments to their profile by using a phone, e-mail or an old-fashioned uploader. There’s also an iPhone app for all you hipsters out there. As soon as the pic is live, the “chit-chat” can begin as other people may post comments on your photo. Sounds familiar right? Twitter for visually-minded people?

There are some differences though. For example, when you’re an active Twitter user, your messages and photos just disappear in a dull older/ newer post archives. BeenUp2 however, creates a diary for those nostalgic moments. There’s also a geotag feature which makes it possible to browse around the globe. But to be honest with you, Flickr already offers these services. And when it comes down to the archives, there’s probably already a Twitter app for it (if not, I guess now there’ll be one pretty soon).

If somebody came up to me and asked where he could share special moments, I would tell him to adopt today’s standards and sign up for Twitter, which he should connect to Flickr by using a service like Mobypicture. Even though BeenUp2 is really easy to use, it’s just one service too many. The web is already cluttered enough. Like Lani from KillerStartups noted:

Will users grow tired of the same pic/video sharing/ social networking offers currently flooding the market?

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beenup2, flickr, mobile, mobypicture, photo, photo sharing, twitter

About the author: Ernst-Jan is a blogger and journalist, who previously worked in New York to cover news at the United Nations. Next to writing, he's also a singer in the band Christina Five.

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6 comments/trackbacks to “BeenUp2: another mobile photo sharing service”

May 20, 2008: BeenUp2 Blog » Blog Archive » The word is spreading!
[...] TheNextWeb.org - BeenUp2: another mobile photo sharing service [...]

By James Gregory on May 18, 2008

I’m not entirely sure you have all your facts straight.

In regards to Twitter and BeenUp2:

Twitter is for sharing notes and text, whereas BeenUp2 is about sharing photos and videos. The two sites have different functions, but they share a similar purpose–to share with others that which the user wants to post.

In regards to the creator(s) of BeenUp2:

Ian Kilpatrick was not the sole creator of BeenUp2. Layton Wedgeworth is also one of the site’s “founding fathers.”

In regards to Flickr and BeenUp2:

BeenUp2 is entirely free and is currently running unlimited photo hosting. Flickr users would require purchasing the pro version. BeenUp2 has the upper-hand there. Also, the Trips function is helpful for creating a diary-photo album of your trips that you can create on-the-go with your phone and add the text later when you get home and have internet access. Commenting is easily tracked in BeenUp2 between your own comments to other people and other people’s comments to you. But again, the two sites have different functions while sharing a common purpose. Flickr is a photo hosting site for providing access for sharing photos around the web. BeenUp2 is a photo hosting site for sharing photos and videos on the site.

So, can we compare Twitter and Flickr with BeenUp2? Only to a certain point. But each site has their own specific function. One user might not like Twitter but will like Flickr, and another will like BeenUp2 over Flickr. It is an issue of function, needs, and use. Each site serves its purpose, so it is not a bad thing, which I think you implied, that there is a wide variety of sharing/networking sites. But since BeenUp2 is more inclusive in function and features, i.e., it is not like Twitter where you have to use an additional application to get pictures involved through another party such as Flickr, it seems as though BeenUp2 is the best social-networking site for photo/video sharing.

[Reply]
By Lindsay on May 18, 2008

Nice write up. I’m a big bup2 fan myself, and really think that has a lot to do with how easy to use and accessible the service and its features are. You bring up a good point regarding all of the other micro-blogging and similar options that are hitting the market, but in its space I’d say that Beenup2 easily stands heads and shoulders above their competitors with what they do and the way they do it. What really surprised me most was how much of conversation and a community that the service sparks. I can’t imagine anybody giving it a shot and not getting hooked.

[Reply]
By Ernst-Jan Pfauth on May 18, 2008

@James Thanks for the info about the creator. When it comes down to the other remarks, I think it’s more a matter of preferences than facts.

For me, another sharing service would be one too many. I already have my followers on Twitter, and thanks to apps like Mobypicture I can use that service in the same way as Beenup2. Of course there some differences, yet not all that important as Twitter combined with a photo app does the job.

And without bringing BeenUp2 down, Flickr is almost perfection. Their wide range of functionalities plus the huge community and number of sub-communities make it almost an unbeatable platform. I’m glad to pay a little money for that.

Though you never know, one day it seemed impossible that Google would beat Yahoo, yet it happened. But when I look BeenUp2, I don’t see another potential hit. I see a lively niche community (as you can tell by Lindsay’s comment), and that’s just fine. So in the end, I agree with you to a certain level, diversity doesn’t have to be bad.

[Reply]
By Lindsay on May 19, 2008

@Ernst-Jan: I certainly respect what you are saying about your needs being met by Twitter and various appz that can accompany it, but the part where you label beenup2 as more of a lively niche community with somewhat limited potential comes across as a bit short sighted. While any of these services might prove to be the next big thing, the entire category of mobile/pic/video sharing/social networking is very young and very much a niche as a whole. As an early adopter, it is clear that you have become very entrenched within twitter at the moment, but in the social space many other users might have had the same feelings for friendster or myspace when they now spend their time primarily on facebook. My intention isn’t to directly compare these products, but rather to add a little perspective.

[Reply]
By James Gregory on May 20, 2008

@Ernst-Jan:

The facts of BeenUp2 were not clearly presented, which is kind of important if you are going to compare it with other social networking sites such as Flickr and Twitter. Points of comparison and dissimilarity are necessary for comparing and contrasting them. I was pointing out what you failed to mention.

I think you reiterated what I was motioning towards: the issue at hand is one of preference. Twitter will likely meet the preferences of many, but certainly not of everyone. Same with Flickr and the same with BeenUp2.

[Reply]

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