Blog.Photobucket.com

Photobucket Unveils “Stories” Feature for Creating Lasting Multimedia Narratives

Photobucket Staff — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 06:00:00 -0700

All-new Photobucket experience leads to strong growth in new registrations; time spent on site more than doubles as user engagement increases.

DENVER – Photobucket Corporation announced the availability of “Photobucket Stories” on November 15^th, providing users with an easy new way to combine photos and videos into complete, sharable narratives. Fresh on the heels of the rollout of the all-new beta Photobucket user experience, the site is seeing significant increases in user engagement as Stories helps to transform the act of photosharing into the art of storytelling.

During its initial beta period, the all-new Photobucket has seen continued growth with new registrations reaching one million new users, while time spent on the site is up two and a half times per user, as compared with the existing site. Photobucket users are also active and engaged with the new Stories feature, generating more than 100,000 “Stories” created in the limited availability beta period.

“We’ve experienced tremendous growth and impressive user engagement levels as a result of our recent redesign,” said Tom Munro, Photobucket’s CEO. “Our mission has always been to help people preserve and protect their memories, but now we’ve been able to take that a step further and turn memories into meaningful, unique stories; the new features we’ve built into the all-new Photobucket allow users to do so much more with their photos and video than ever before.”

Photobucket Stories allows users to easily create and collaborate on living stories by inviting friends and family to contribute photos, video and text to a single, sharable canvas. Once Stories are created, they are easily embeddable on blogs, personal, and brand sites, and can be shared among friends from mobile devices or across Facebook, Twitter and other social networks.

“Building upon the success of the all-new Photobucket, we’re excited to officially launch Photobucket Stories, which is now fully integrated into the user experience,” said Kate Hare, vice president of product management, Photobucket. “We wanted to make it easy for everyone to collaborate and share their complete stories. Friends and family are a big part of our stories and they all have a unique perspective on an event, and Photobucket Stories lets everyone enjoy the fun of creating a story around the event.”

Finally, there is a complete, collaborative and contextual way for creating and sharing your life’s adventures, from the epic to the everyday. No longer are consumers confined to sharing images one at a time or in structured album formats; with Photobucket Stories, the larger narrative evolves with richer context and meaning. Stories allows users to:

Create, curate and tell a complete story by combining photos, videos, text captions and comments
Add to stories from mobile devices with direct upload from camera rolls in both Android and iPhone
Share a story preview via Facebook Timeline, or directly invite Facebook friends to help contribute to a story
Control privacy settings to share your story with a select group – or the world

“With the addition of Stories, Photobucket continues to deliver on our promise to be the one place for all your photos and videos so you can do everything you want with them,” said Munro. “We’ve already taken the guesswork out of preserving and protecting your memories; but thanks to Stories, you can now add new context and meaning to your adventures, connecting with others in a more complete way than ever before.”

To celebrate the launch of Stories, Photobucket is also announcing its “Life’s An Adventure” contest, in which users are invited to chronicle and share their interesting exploits for the opportunity to win $25,000. Anyone can submit an entry in story form via Photobucket.com/StoryContest for consideration. Entries are now being accepted through December 9, and winners will be announced on December 14.

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About Photobucket

Photobucket transforms the act of photosharing into the art of storytelling. As the world’s leading consumer service dedicated to preserving and sharing the entire photo and video lifecycle, Photobucket hosts more than 10 billion images from 100 million registered members, who upload more than four million images and videos per day from the Web and connected digital devices. Photobucket’s headquarters are in Denver with regional offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco.

For the latest feature announcements and news, please visit the Photobucket press blog at http://blog.photobucket.com/photobucket_press.

To create a free Photobucket account, users can visit http://photobucket.com, or find the Photobucket Mobile Application and Snapbucket app available in the app store on all major smartphone platforms. Photobucket supports Mobile Web, iPhone, Android based devices, BlackBerry and Windows Phone 7.

MEDIA CONTACT:

PerkettPR for Photobucket

photobucket@perkettpr.com

Photobucket Launches “Life’s an Adventure” Photo & Video Contest in Celebration of New ‘Stories’ Feature

Photobucket Staff — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 18:00:00 -0700

If a picture is worth 1,000 words, your story may be worth $25,000: Compile a multimedia narrative to tell the story of your best “adventure” via Photobucket’s new storytelling feature for an opportunity to win

DENVER – Photobucket Corporation unveiled its exciting new Stories feature on November 15th, providing users with a simple way to create meaningful, complete narratives of life’s adventures, to share with friends and family. Photobucket Stories transforms the act of photosharing into the art of storytelling with an all-new way to organize and share photos and videos with others. The company is also celebrating the release of Stories with the launch of its “Life’s an Adventure” contest, in which consumers can highlight their adventures in this new shared story format for an opportunity to win $25,000.

“Photobucket Stories makes it easy to create and share a more complete ‘picture’ of the events happening in our lives.” said Tom Munro, Photobucket’s CEO. “Stories takes photosharing beyond wall posts, albums, mobile sharing and collages, giving a whole new way to capture moments and express your creativity.”

To celebrate the launch of Stories, Photobucket is inviting users to participate in its “Life’s An Adventure” contest, in which they can chronicle and share their most interesting exploits for an opportunity to win $25,000. Anyone can submit an entry in ‘Story’ form via Photobucket.com/StoryContest for consideration. Entries are being accepted now through December 9, and they will be judged on a combination of creativity, adherence to a theme and social engagement before winners will be announced on December 14.

”Our ‘Life’s an Adventure’ contest is our way of celebrating the evolution of the story, as we know it,” said Munro. “In this digital age where fragments have become the status quo, we’re hoping to bring back the narrative with this format, which encourages a more complete, contextual approach to capturing the moments in your life, then easily sharing with friends and family.”

No longer are consumers confined to sharing images one at a time or in structured album formats; with Photobucket Stories, the larger narrative evolves with richer context and meaning. Stories allows users to:

Create, curate and tell a complete story by combining photos, videos, text captions and comments
Add to stories from mobile devices with direct upload from camera rolls in both Android and iPhone
Share a story preview via Facebook Timeline, or directly invite Facebook friends to help contribute to a story
Control privacy settings to share your story with a select group – or the world

To understand how Stories works, and to prepare for your contest entry, you can see some examples of recent Stories created on Photobucket here:

A Postal Love Story: Storybook style story of topical event happening in a Denver Neighborhood
Domo Arigato Mr. Roboto! (Japan 2012): A travel journal of an adventure in Japan
Island Life: Outer Hebrides, Scotland: An exploration of Outer Hebrides, Scotland

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About Photobucket

For the latest feature announcements and news, please visit the Photobucket press blog at http://blog.photobucket.com/photobucket_press.

MEDIA CONTACT:

PerkettPR for Photobucket

photobucket@perkettpr.com

If a picture is worth 1,000 words, your story may be worth $25,000!

Photobucket Staff — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 09:04:52 -0700

That’s right – you read it correctly. We’re giving our fabulous Photobucket fans a chance to showcase their creativity in our “Life’s an Adventure” contest for an opportunity to win $25,000 (and just in time for the holidays, too!).

Participating is easy; simply submit your entry in ‘Photobucket Story’ form via Photobucket.com/StoryContest for consideration. Entries are being accepted now through December 9, and they will be judged on a combination of creativity, adherence to a theme and social engagement. Winners will be announced on December 14.

Haven’t heard about our new Photobucket Stories yet? Stories allows you to easily create and collaborate on living stories by inviting friends and family to contribute photos, video and text to a single, sharable canvas. Once Stories are created, they are easily embeddable on blogs, personal and brand sites, and can be shared among friends from mobile devices or across Facebook, Twitter and other social networks.

To understand how Stories works, and to prepare for your contest entry, you can see some examples of recent Stories created on Photobucket here:

A Postal Love Story: Storybook style story of topical event happening in a Denver Neighborhood
Domo Arigato Mr. Roboto! (Japan 2012): A travel journal of an adventure in Japan
Island Life: Outer Hebrides, Scotland: An exploration of Outer Hebrides, Scotland

So, what are you waiting for? Chronicle and share your most interesting exploits for an opportunity to win $25,000. Happy snapping, sharing and storytelling!

Story of a Mailbox Love Affair

Photobucket Staff — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 12:34:28 -0700

On the Corner of 12^th and Lafayette in Denver Hill’s Capital Hill Neighborhood, there is a love affair….

And so the Story is told. Congratulations goes out to Derek Cann, our social media support specialist, whose clever idea to tell the tale of these now infamous star-crossed lovers was a winner in our recent Photobucket’s Employee Stories Contest. Derek’s compelling, multimedia narrative puts a fun spin on what has now become a love story gone viral.

As reported earlier by media heavyweights such as ABC News and The Denver Post, the affair takes place in Denver, beginning December 2010 with the first love messages painted on two side-by-side U.S. postal mailboxes. Although city officials painted over them repeatedly, the mailbox-painting bandits have continued to come back again and again – keeping the story alive over the years (most recently this week, with messages fit to the presidential election).

Derek’s story is a must-see, entertaining narrative into the complete mailbox love story. Check it out here, and be sure to take advantage of the social share links available on the Photobucket site – for any friends who could use a light read (or just appreciate a good old love story!).

Photobucket App for Windows 8 Available in Windows Store

Photobucket Staff — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 14:23:04 -0600

World's leading dedicated photo and video sharing service brings Windows 8 users new ways to share their life's stories

DENVER, Oct 25, 2012 -- Photobucket Corporation, the world's leading dedicated photo and video sharing service, today announced that its new Photobucket app for Windows 8 is available in the Windows Store.

"Photobucket is a leader in photo and video management, making it a clear choice for inclusion in the Windows Store," said John Richards, senior director of Windows App Marketing at Microsoft Corp. "We are pleased to welcome them to the photo apps category, and we are confident that our users will enjoy managing their photos and videos here, as well."

Given Photobucket's strength, size and emphasis on both sharing and storytelling, supporting the Windows 8 platform was a natural fit. Designed specifically for the touch-driven new Windows user interface, the Photobucket app includes the following features:

-- Fast and intuitive category browsing and full search of the more than 10 billion photos and videos hosted on Photobucket.com

-- Full album and photo and video management experience through a new user interface optimized for Windows 8

-- Optimized transfer of content between Windows 8 devices and Photobucket.com

-- Robust social sharing capabilities, including direct commenting, liking and sharing to Facebook, Twitter and email

"Photobucket aims to provide our users with the richest photo and video service online, giving people the power to save, share and socialize their stories," said Tom Munro, CEO of Photobucket. "The new Photobucket app takes advantage of the power and ease of the new Windows UI, bringing that very same compelling experience to Windows customers."

The new Photobucket App for Windows 8 is available for free download now in the Windows Store.

About Photobucket

Photobucket transforms the act of photosharing into the art of storytelling. As the world's leading consumer service dedicated to preserving and sharing the entire photo and video lifecycle, Photobucket hosts more than 10 billion images from 100 million registered members, who upload more than four million images and videos per day from the Web and connected digital devices. Photobucket's headquarters are in Denver with regional offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco.

For the latest feature announcements and news, please visit the Photobucket press blog at http://blog.photobucket.com/photobucket_press.

Welcome to “PB Loves” Photo Gallery

Photobucket Staff — Thu, 18 Oct 2012 15:21:50 -0600

Sometimes the little things in life inspire, whether it's the sprinkles on top of a cupcake, the grass at an outdoor picnic to your favorite palm trees.

Large or small, we wanted a place to celebrate photos of the things that make us happy, so welcome to PB Loves. It’s our collection of the Photobucket staff’s favorite photographs, snapshots and memories put together to inspire you. Find the most popular PB Loves pictures and themed categories we’ll share on a daily basis.

Contribute to a category, whether you are touched by celebrating Happy Birthdays, taking a step into New Beginnings, or traveling around the virtual globe in Worldly Travels. Whatever pictures reflect your passion, we're sure you'll find a corresponding PB Loves category to explore.

After you dive into the photo gallery, we want to see the stories within your Photobucket Library come to life on PB Loves! Start with a photo collage to display all the images you love.

Creating a collage with Photobucket’s online photo editor is easy; just check out the collage tutorial for a quick how-to. Discover your artistic side by adding a background, color-altering filters, stunning photo effects, quotes and fun overlays to your favorite photos. And your options with the “add image” feature don’t stop there. Try adding a watermark logo to a photo image, too!

Once you create your photo collage, you can share across your social networks and/or download and print your favorites. Here’s to taking our hats (rather, sunglasses!) off to creativity and showing the world what PB Loves!

Like us on Facebook: https ://www .facebook .com /photobucket

Things are happening at Photobucket!

Photobucket Staff — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 12:52:48 -0600

Today is a very exciting day for Photobucket and for our users as well. For months, we have been carefully listening to what you, our loyal users, wanted to see more of in the site and have been doing some heavy remodeling behind the scenes. We are incredibly excited to pull back the curtain, starting today for a portion of our users, and reveal a brand new Photobucket experience that we hope you’ll enjoy!

Our generation captures and shares more photos and videos than any other. But as we take more photos on more devices and share them to more places, our digital portfolios have become fragmented and scattered. So while capturing and sharing has become easier than ever, management of all our photos and videos has become more difficult.

The all-new Photobucket is designed to address this issue by connecting all your devices, backing up all your photos and videos, and providing all the tools you need to easily create, share and protect your digital library. The new site debuts a sleek look and simplified design putting the most important items at your fingertips. There are also new features that allow you to:

Automatically upload photos and videos from computers, mobile phones and social sites
Control what, where and with whom you share
Utilize diverse creative features, including fast and easy-to-use editing tools
Preserve all original images, maintaining the complete picture
Ensure safe, secure storage of all photos and videos, forever

If you take advantage of the new Photobucket ecosystem, you will never have to worry about backing up again, and all your photos and videos will be in one place! If you haven’t received beta access yet, you can submit your email address to request a beta invitation to the all-new Photobucket here http://bit.ly/N2JRTm.

At Photobucket, our users and your images are the fabric of our company and why we come to work every day. We thank you for choosing Photobucket in the past and for helping to inspire and shape the new experience. We hope you love it as much as we do. And stay tuned — in a couple weeks we will share a completely new way to create, curate and share your stories.

That’s enough from us, please take a look around the new site and let us know what you think. Already, our private beta users have provided hundreds of comments that have led to many enhancements across the experience. Thank you, enjoy the new site and please keep your feedback coming.

Keeping your photo links safe online

Photobucket Staff — Thu, 09 Aug 2012 15:03:32 -0600

You may have seen the articles talking about "fusking" or the ability to gain access to private images on Photobucket. Protecting your privacy is paramount at Photobucket so we wanted to clarify what that means for those of you unfamiliar with the term and share how you can add a layer of protection.

Unless you’ve renamed your photos, your image names likely follow a consistent format, such as IMG_1939.JPG, IMG_1940.JPG, IMG_1941.JPG. If you have a Private album with default photo file names and you share the link to one of the photos in that Private album, it could be possible for someone to guess the link to other photos in that same Private album, since the files have a similar name. If they guess the exact link, they may be able to see that photo even though you never shared the link with them.

Photobucket monitors suspicious activity to track for possible fuskers. However the easiest way to protect your content is to scramble the links to your photos and videos. Unless you have a need to preserve your original file names, as some of our users do, we recommend that you select this option to scramble both past and future uploads.

The option to scramble has been available for some time, but we realize that not all users were aware of this feature. Here are step by step instructions on how to scramble your existing links http://photobucket.zendesk.com/entries/21822222. On new accounts, scrambling will be the default setting.

Your privacy is paramount to our company and we strive to provide comprehensive, secure privacy options that satisfy all user types and needs. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Thank you,
Tom Munro
CEO

Celebrate Dad with Personalized Photo Gifts and “Me and My Dad” Photo Contest

Photobucket Staff — Wed, 13 Jun 2012 17:49:29 -0600

It’s that time of year again! As we head into mid-June our thoughts usually tend toward ideas to celebrate Dad, who can be one tough character to buy for, by the way. Below are a few ideas in case you need some help deciding how to best honor your family’s patriarch this weekend.

One surefire crowd pleaser is to find a classic “Dad” picture and turn it into a memorable, personalized gift for him. Create a photo mug, puzzle, playing cards, T-shirt or canvas print with a more personal touch this way. Or, perhaps he’s more of a gadget guy and would prefer a cover for his iPhone, iPad or Kindle? Those can be easily personalized, as well, with special shots from family milestones, vacations and other memories.

Whatever gift you decide on, you’re sure to put a sparkle in his eye with the special thought you put into honoring him with a printed photo memory this Father’s Day. As an added bonus, Photobucket is pleased to offer 20 percent off your purchase as our way of saying “thanks” to Dad, too. Just be sure to use promo code “SUMMER20” when placing your order.

And while you’re at it, why not share your favorite pictures of Dad in our Father’s Day “Me and My Dad” Photo contest? We would love to see your favorite “classic” photos and share in your Father’s Day Tribute this year.

Happy Father’s Day to all the amazing Dads and Dads-to-be out there!

Hats off to this year’s grads!

Photobucket Staff — Thu, 24 May 2012 15:07:00 -0600

It’s that time of year again... Tents are pitched everywhere as seniors in both high school and college are marking the end of their journeys and preparing for the next adventure. Parents rejoice as they watch the achievements their children have made and capture the moment on camera so they can remember the day forever. Don’t you remember the day you finally had your degree in hand?

Whether graduating from kindergarten, high school or college, photos are the best way to celebrate these academic milestones and achievements. We all have the obligatory “transferring of the diploma” and “shaking the hand” photos, but we want to see your best photo for our graduation contest. Maybe you did a cartwheel after accepting your diploma? Maybe you wrote a message to mom and dad with masking tape on top of your mortar board … or maybe you celebrated this rite of passage with all of your best friends? Whatever it is, we want to see your special moments caught on camera for our contest.

Can’t decide on your favorite photo? We have made it easy to gather together all your favorite photos and make a collage! Why?

It’s an easy and fun way to tell a story from the entire day – relive the excitement over and over again.
As always, we can also help you add filters, fix the dreaded red eye, decorate or personalize all of your photos for added effect.
But most of all, we think you’ll love memorializing those moments in your own way – so tell us what you think!

Congrats to everyone who graduated this year, and we hope you enjoy the well-deserved summer break! We look forward to seeing all of your photos. Is yours the best?

Mother's Day Tips & Ideas

Photobucket Staff — Wed, 02 May 2012 13:50:37 -0600

From playing in the yard to making the imposssible possible, moms are quiet special people. She always puts her children ahead of herself and loves to be on the sidelines as everyone's #1 fan. This year make your favorite lady feel special by making her a collage showing off why she's your go-to rock.

You can create a collage like this using our new editing tools, here's how:

For you proud moms, try creating a collage like this on why you love being a mom. Do the same steps as above on creating a collage.

Whether you create a collage or just have your favorite picture of you and your mom, upload it to our Mother's Day contest!

Autodesk and Photobucket to Bring Pixlr Photo Editing to 100 Million New Users

Photobucket Staff — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 05:59:34 -0600

Popular Pixlr Photo Editor Offers Increased Customization for Photobucket Users

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., April 10, 2012 — Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) announced a partnership with Photobucket, the leading dedicated photo and video sharing service, to bring Pixlr™ photo editing tools to Photobucket users. Pixlr’s integration within the Photobucket website will give users access to an even more robust set of tools for editing their images directly within the Photobucket service.

Photobucket will now offer Pixlr tools, including the popular Pixlr Editor, which enables per-pixel editing, and the newly revamped Pixlr Express, which provides simple tools to correct, crop, resize and personalize images with effects, overlays and borders. The partnership between the companies will also provide advertisers with a creative environment from which they can deliver custom, branded effects in Photobucket ad packages.

“Our goal is to enable our 100 million users to share their memories and stories with simple, best-in-class creative tools; and our partnership with Pixlr enables us to do just that,” said Kate Hare, vice president, Products, Photobucket. “Whether users are looking for easy adjustments and effects, or are in need of advanced features such as layers and per-pixel editing, Pixlr significantly expands that toolset, helping us to deliver the most robust tools for photo-editing and personalization.”

“Autodesk is helping liberate creativity by making digital design and creation tools accessible and more enjoyable to a wide range of people,” said Samir Hanna, vice president, Consumer Products, Autodesk, “We’re excited to enhance the Photobucket user experience and continue to inspire creativity through Pixlr’s wide range of photo editing tools.”

With more than 25 million users, Pixlr is one of the most widely used free photo editors. It transforms any image with a fast, intuitive and robust toolset that is easy to use for inexperienced photographers with no prior knowledge of photo editing, while also offering fully featured, per-pixel editing complete with layers, adjustment tools and filters for the more advanced user. Photobucket users will have access to all Pixlr editing tools, from simple to advanced functions.

“We strive to deliver an unparalleled user experience, providing both consumers and brands with mobile and web options for simplifying their ability to tell stories through images,” said Photobucket’s Hare. “The Pixlr tools, in addition to our recently launched Social Importer, are critical components for providing consumers with an easy — yet comprehensive — solution for personalizing, storing and sharing all of their photos and videos for life.”

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc. is a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software. Customers across the manufacturing, architecture, building, construction, and media and entertainment industries ¾ including the last 17 Academy Award® winners for Best Visual Effects ¾ use Autodesk software to design, visualize and simulate their ideas. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art software for global markets. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.

About Photobucket

Photobucket is the world’s leading dedicated photo and video sharing service. With over 100 million registered members, Photobucket users upload over four million images and videos per day from the web and connected digital devices. Photobucket hosts, preserves and protects photos and videos while bringing members the very best browsing, sharing and editing experiences. In addition to uploading and sharing with friends and family on the Photobucket site, users can also instantly share memories across all of the most popular social networks, instant messenger applications, through email and from their mobile phones. Photobucket’s headquarters are in Denver, Colorado, with a regional office in San Francisco, California. For the latest feature announcements and news, visit the Photobucket press blog at http://blog.photobucket.com/photobucket_press.

Autodesk, AutoCAD and Pixlr are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. Academy Award is a registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.

Photobucket to Offer Metro Style Photo Application in Inaugural Windows Store

Photobucket Staff — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 10:13:39 -0700

World Leader in Photo and Video Sharing Selected to be Part of Windows 8 Launch

Denver, CO. – Feb. 29, 2012 – Photobucket Corporation, the world’s leading dedicated photo and video sharing service, today announced that it is one of an exclusive group of companies hand-selected by Microsoft Corp. to be part of the launch of the new Windows Store for Windows 8 apps.

“Once installed, the Photobucket App and Windows 8’s Metro style user interface provide a powerful way to showcase Photobucket’s functionality combined with the key features of the Windows 8 operating system. As part of the launch of the Windows Store, Photobucket will be able to deliver access to a leading platform for saving, sharing, and socializing photos and videos to Windows 8,” said Tom Munro, CEO of Photobucket.

The Photobucket app was specifically designed for the touch-driven Windows Metro style user interface and includes the following features:

Category browsing and full search of the nearly 10 billion photos hosted on Photobucket.com
Photobucket’s full album and photo management experience through a new user interface optimized for Metro style
Ability to capture and upload photos directly from Windows 8-based PCs
Integration with Windows 8 File Picker, giving consumers easy access to Photobucket images for general platform use
Social features, including commenting, liking, and sharing out

“With its extensive user base and rich feature set for managing photos and video, Photobucket was a natural choice for the Windows Store preview,” said Aidan Marcuss, senior director of Windows Core Marking and Ecosystem at Microsoft. “We are extremely pleased to have them as an app in the photos category.”

The new Photobucket App for Windows 8 is available to those who have downloaded the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, at no cost, in the Windows Store.

About Photobucket

Photobucket is the world’s leading dedicated photo and video sharing service. With over 100 million registered members, Photobucket users upload over four million images and videos per day from the Web and connected digital devices. Photobucket hosts, preserves and protects photos and videos while bringing members the very best browsing, sharing and editing experiences. In addition to uploading and sharing with friends and family on the Photobucket site, users can also instantly share memories across all of the most popular social networks, instant messenger applications, through email, and from their mobile phones. Photobucket’s headquarters are in Denver, Colorado with a regional office in San Francisco, California.

For the latest feature announcements and news, please visit the Photobucket press blog at http://blog.photobucket.com/photobucket_press.

Five simple tips for taking memorable vacation photos

Photobucket Staff — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:16:56 -0700

By Tom Munro, CEO

It’s hard to believe that winter break has already come and gone. I managed to sneak out and take my son skiing last weekend, and I hope you had a chance to squeeze in some family together time before the kids go back to school. Not only do vacations provide families a much-needed break from the daily grind, but I also think they’re a great opportunity to capture some special moments together. And because of that, I wanted to share a few of my favorite quick tips to help you capture those memories while traveling:

Make a plan for power. Not it’s not as fun as thinking about cool backdrops or funny poses, but the simple fact is that dead batteries ruin great photo opportunities. Learn to manage power with spare batteries and chargers (plan ahead with a power adapter, if you’re going international), and you’ll never miss that epic “shot that could have been.”
Protect your gear. Cameras and smartphones are particularly susceptible to damage from moisture and falls, so take proper precautions, especially if you’re active. Invest in a padded, waterproof camera bag, keep memory cards away from anything with a magnetic field while going through airport security, and consider picking up a pack of silica gel to further reduce moisture, if you’re headed someplace humid.
Avoid clichéd shots. Resist the urge to pose people awkwardly in front of landmarks and monuments. Not only will your family’s patience wear thin (I speak from experience), but it also makes for generic pictures post-vacation. Instead, make it a game to challenge the group to create clever poses and compositions that haven’t been done before.
Plant the seed. Usually one person assumes the role of unofficial family photographer, but don’t let that be the default on family trips! They don’t have to be expensive – even a drugstore point-and-shoot will do – but giving kids cameras is a great way to keep them entertained as they capture the vacation from their perspective. You may be pleasantly surprised at what they can come up with!
Remember the three B’s: Bring storage, Back up files – and above all, Be creative! The first two are pretty self-explanatory; there’s no use in taking the time to take great photos if you run out of shots the second day of the trip or – I hate to even say it – accidentally delete everything. So pack ample storage, and remember to regularly transfer photos to your online account (Photobucket!) to make sure those memories are safe. But, bottom line, enjoy your camera, experiment with new lenses, functions and features and just have fun with photography on your trip. Whether it’s an international excursion or a short staycation, you’re making memories that are worth capturing.

If you have any other tips to add, please feel free to share them in the comments below.

-Tom

Teva Mountain Games Photo Competition

Photobucket Staff — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 11:19:40 -0700

Did you make it to the Winter Mountain Games this last weekend in Vail?

We were there, braving the cold to bring you Photobucket goodies and app downloads.

If you took some photos, remember to enter the public contest by adding your photos to the group album. You can win some great prizes from Eddie Bauer, Teva, Maui Jim and more!

Check out this great photo as an example:

And even if you weren't there, you can still take a good look through the group album and click "Like" for the photos you love!

Thanks to everyone who came by to say hi and learn more about Photobucket! You guys rock!

Photobucket Momentum – Building on a Great Year & Looking Ahead

Photobucket Staff — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:12:31 -0700

Before really jumping fully into the New Year (I can’t believe it’s already February) I wanted to stop for a minute and look back on the past year, think about how far we have come, and to thank you all for being a part of it. We really had a great year at Photobucket, and there is more excitement to come.

In 2011, Photobucket, cemented its position as the most-visited photo site in 2011, celebrated a partnership with Twitter, released its Snapbucket photo-editing mobile application, and grew the leadership team with the additions of several key executives. When I look at those milestones, I’m pleased with the work our teams have done to advance Photobucket in the market.

By all accounts, the numbers are staggering. By the end of 2011, we boasted nearly 9.5 billion photo and video uploads with an average of five million new uploads each day, plus more than four billion images and videos served each day to more than two million unique sites. Additionally, Photobucket received nearly one million new registered users each month. This means that more and more, consumers are turning to Photobucket as the place to store all of their memories which I find very flattering.

Early in the summer, we were able to capitalize on the heightened interest in mobile photos by releasing Snapbucket, which complements our flagship Photobucket Mobile app. Snapbucket enables users to “snap” photos from their mobile device, personalize those photos through unique filters, effects, vignettes and frames, and then easily share with their social community. On this front, there is much more to come.

Photobucket also announced a groundbreaking partnership with Twitter in 2011; as you likely know, Photobucket powers Twitter's native photo sharing capabilities, allowing users to easily upload and share photos directly in Tweets. This partnership reflected the synergy between both companies’ growth strategies and audience needs, delivering a simple, intuitive user experience for photo sharing. We’re pleased with the momentum, and expect to see increased growth as consumers see the native simplicity of adding photos to their Tweets.

Photobucket shows no signs of stopping this positive momentum in 2012, with plans for subsequent product enhancements and launches, additions in functionality and features, new and novel editing tools, plus an updated look and feel for the website. Here is a video of me talking about video and photo trends if you are interested in hearing more.

Thank you to all of you for your support!

-Tom

Mobile Engagement Spike

Photobucket Staff — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 08:30:58 -0700

Photobucket Survey Reveals Spike in Mobile Video & Fanatical Mobile App Usage during 2011 Holiday Season

Latest consumer survey, supported by data from Photobucket’s 100 million users, reveals trends in online photo and video capturing behavior throughout the holidays

Denver, CO – January 31, 2012 – Photobucket Corporation, the world’s leading dedicated photo and video sharing service, today announced results from its company-sponsored 2011 Post-Holiday Photo Usage survey. Responses from more than 2,200 survey participants, as well as data garnered from Photobucket’s 100 million users and their nine and a half billion image uploads, helped to illustrate the current attitudes and habits of those capturing photos and videos throughout the 2011 holiday season. Among the findings are that video uploads via mobile devices are increasing, and digital camera use has generally decreased, except for important holiday pictures.

Mobile Video Popularity Increases

According to the survey, consumers used mobile devices to capture video during the recent holidays at an unprecedented rate. In fact, of those surveyed, 80 percent took video via a mobile device at least once, and half used a mobile device to record video daily or multiple times per day.

This is an increase from the Photobucket Summer 2011 survey where only 59 percent of participants used mobile devices for video at least once, and 25 percent used mobile devices for video multiple times per day. Although the time of year and the holidays are a factor, the trend is indicative of the overall rising popularity of mobile devices for video.

Photobucket’s internal data further supports this claim; video uploads to Photobucket.com have more than doubled in the past year.

Fanatical Use in Mobile Photo Apps Growing

Data from the 2011 summer survey suggested that there was a high threshold for adoption of mobile apps, but once adopted, there was enthusiastic use; this assertion was again supported in the recent survey. Although 43 percent of respondents to the 2011 holiday survey indicated they have yet to try a mobile app for photos, those who use mobile apps at least once, if not multiple times per day doubled to 42 percent, up from 20 percent in the summer survey.

This enthusiasm is further supported by Photobucket’s internal data, which shows that mobile app use has increased by 64 percent since the launch of Snapbucket, Photobucket’s second mobile app that enables users to “snap” photos from their mobile device, personalize those photos through unique filters, effects, vignettes and frames, and then easily share with their social community.

“We saw explosive growth in mobile in 2011; in fact, we topped 10 million mobile downloads to end the year,” said Munro. “With our integrated platform, we have uniquely positioned Photobucket to bring together the ease of mobile with the creativity and permanence of the web. In the coming year, we look forward to furthering our leadership in the mobile space.”

Digital Camera Use Falters But Still Has a Role

The 2011 holiday survey showed a significant decrease in the number of consumers reporting use of digital cameras for capturing the majority of their images throughout the season, down from 82 percent in the 2010 holiday survey to 64 percent in the 2011 holiday survey. However, 38 percent reported that they switched back to a digital camera for holiday images. This may indicate that although overall digital camera use is declining, these devices still serve a purpose, perhaps for capturing what consumers consider their most important images.

Centralized Organization on Rise

Over the past year, the number of choices for capturing, sharing and storing photos online has grown extensively; however, despite consumers’ tendency to fragment their online photo storage, survey results show a trend toward consolidation of digital memories.

In fact, the survey revealed that only 33 percent of respondents had images on three or more sites; well down from 50 percent in the Photobucket Summer 2011 survey and 52 percent in last year’s holiday survey. Those reporting images on more than five sites have declined as well, from nine percent in both previous surveys, to just under six percent in the most recent holiday survey.

“The explosive growth in the photo-sharing market has shown how popular the market really is. Unfortunately, this growth has also overwhelmed people with choices for sharing and storing images,” said Tom Munro, CEO of Photobucket. “We are happy to see a trend toward consolidation; consumers, after trying multiple options, desire a single place in which they can store and share the story of their life in photos and video. Photobucket strives to be that resource for them to easily save, edit, create and manage all of their photos and video for life.”

Holiday Memories through Photo-Sharing

Other interesting results from the 2011 holiday survey include:

Sharing holiday pictures on social media sites is up:

Year-over-year, growth went from 57 percent to 80 percent
Use of images on holiday cards continues to be very popular:
41 percent used an image for their holiday card
58 percent of those with pets included them in the image on their holiday card
Popularity of photo-sharing sites also remains high:
83 percent of consumers report storing their holiday images online
Photobucket has provided an Infographic that further explores the survey results as well as additional data garnered from Photobucket’s 100 million users.

How the Survey Was Conducted

The 2011 Post Holiday survey was conducted in January 2012. Results from 2,227 respondents were recorded.

To create a free Photobucket account, users can visit http://photobucket.com or find the Photobucket Mobile Application and Snapbucket app available in the app store on all major smartphone platforms. Photobucket supports Mobile Web, iPhone, Android based devices, Blackberry and Windows Phone 7.

About Photobucket

Photobucket is the world’s leading dedicated photo and video sharing service. With over 100 million registered members, Photobucket users upload over four million images and videos per day from the Web and connected digital devices. Photobucket hosts, preserves and protects photos and videos while bringing members the very best browsing, sharing and editing experiences. In addition to uploading and sharing with friends and family on the Photobucket site, users can also instantly share memories across all of the most popular social networks, instant messenger applications, through email, and from their mobile phones. Photobucket’s headquarters are in Denver, Colorado with a regional office in San Francisco, California. For the latest feature announcements and news, please visit the Photobucket press blog at http://blog.photobucket.com/photobucket_press.

From the CES floor to the floor of the Grand Canyon...

Photobucket Staff — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:30:28 -0700

By Tom Munro, CEO

CES 2012 was the second largest in its history, and the sheer scope of exhibitors, attendees and product announcements was impressive. I spent a good portion of my time in meetings, but had a unique opportunity to be whisked away from the madness, and experience one of our greatest national treasures first hand.

Nokia hosted an event to which David Toner, our VP of Marketing, and I were lucky enough to be invited. It began with a limo ride, where we headed straight to a heliport near McCarran International. Destination? The Grand Canyon. Armed with the brand new Lumia 800 series Windows phones (pre-US release) we flew in seven helicopters right down to the floor of the canyon. Enjoying near perfect weather, we departed the helicopters to be greeted by unparalleled beauty, with some snacks and champagne to boot.

Two and a half hours removed from the hustle and bustle of CES, we were in the midst of breathtaking scenery, some of which I captured with the Lumia 800. Not only did the camera have a very solid feel with comfortable dimensions, but it also has quite a unique look. Through an “unexpected drop-test” (i.e. accident), I found no evidence of impact, and because of the solid color of the body, no visible scratches. A must-have for an active dad.

Nokia’s host, Brett Murray, couldn’t have conceived of a more picture-perfect event. And, the company’s ingenuity and product design were well rewarded back in Las Vegas, when they won CNET’s Best of CES Award for Mobile Phones http://cnet.co/wonAFk. I hope you enjoy some of the pictures we captured, and I know this is an experience I won’t soon forget. Thank you so much to our hosts for such a fantastic opportunity!

-Tom

Happy New Year! Starting 2012 on a Positive Note

Photobucket Staff — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:31:29 -0700

By Tom Munro, CEO

A new year is upon us, and I always like to use this time to take the lessons learned from the previous 12 months and apply them as we set goals for the next 12 months. Did you achieve what you set out to accomplish in 2011? Why or why not? And what changes can be made to make your 2012 even more successful, both personally and professionally?

Here at Photobucket, we were fortunate enough to end 2011 on a high note (see my previous posts here and here). But we are even more excited to be carrying that positive momentum into 2012: Recently, the website Top Ten Reviews ranked Photobucket as #1 in their roundup of the “2012 Best Photo Sharing Service Comparisons and Reviews.” And thanks to our partnership with Twitter last year, research recently revealed that Twitter’s own photo-sharing feature (powered by Photobucket) now powers nearly half of all the photos shared on the micro-blogging site. You can read more about the findings Colleen Taylor’s GigaOm article here.

Perhaps the best part of a new year, however, is that’s there’s so much opportunity on the horizon. At Photobucket, we’ve got some great things up our sleeves for the next 12 months (I can’t spill the beans just yet, but be sure to stay tuned). But I also want to invite you to share your thoughts on how we can improve Photobucket over the course of the next year. We’re continually evolving, and everything we do is with you, our users, in mind, so please feel free to share any feedback and ideas on how we can make it the best possible experience for you.

Thanks for your continued support, and here’s to 2012!

-Tom

Embracing SLR Cameras

Photobucket Staff — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 09:06:39 -0700

by Tom Munro, CEO

With the holidays just around the corner, many of us will be eager to capture special moments by taking photos of friends and family. And with the popularity of SLR cameras on the rise, I thought I would provide a few tips to help you get started. Even though most SLRs feature preset shooting modes, transitioning from a point-and-shoot can still be quite overwhelming. Despite this learning curve, the results can be very rewarding, so just take it slow and be patient. You will love the pictures you can take!

First, read your instructions. It may seem simple, but this is often something we overlook when buying new electronic ‘toys.’ Sure, some gadgets are self-explanatory, but your camera’s instruction booklet is an important one to read. It will walk you through all the features of your camera so you’ll be able to make the most of your investment.

Next – start exploring the menus and settings. Bloggers Kevin and Amanda say you should prioritize learning the concepts of Aperture Priority and Shutter Priority. This will go a long way in helping you understand lighting, depth of field and where to focus. And then you’ll be able to get those great, dramatic photos where one object is in focus and the background is blurred. Lifehacker also has some great tips to check out as you’re exploring, too.

Then, practice! Don’t wait until you are at the family Christmas party or the New Year’s Eve party you are hosting or you may miss those fleeting moments you want to capture on film. Instead, set up a time to try your hand at different techniques at home with your dogs, kids, friends, significant other – basically, anyone and anything you can use as a subject. The point of this is to just get comfortable with your SLR.

Finally, take off the auto mode training wheels and put your camera into manual mode – this is, in fact, why you decided to get an SLR in the first place. In part two of Lifehacker’s look at SLR cameras, they break down how to use your camera in full manual mode. The possibilities are limitless, so don’t be afraid to try new things here – you never know, you might stumble upon something amazing!

Don’t have a SLR or are hoping to get a one for Christmas? Here are the top SLR cameras of 2011 according to ZDNet. Good luck, and happy snapping this season.

-Tom