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I am thinking about setting up maybe a whatsapp group chat or similar for contributors. Open to ideas around a platform, as long as it’s nothing too complicated to use.
Who would be interested?
Suggestions, thoughts, comments?
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11 June, 2026
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Comments
Peter Schu on A group chat for contributors / paid subs
Comment posted: 10/06/2026
Paul Quellin on A group chat for contributors / paid subs
Comment posted: 10/06/2026
I wonder if a 35mmc one might require some rules for subjects and frequency, especially allowing for time zones. Perhaps potentially longer conversations could be referred to individual messaging to keep the chat manageable. I can certainly see lots of benefits too. I suspect I would use it for appealing for help with particular cameras, processing issues, films etc.
Got to be worth a trial at least I think, maybe with a set date to review it's use.
Best regards Paul
Comment posted: 10/06/2026
Michael Zwicky-Ross on A group chat for contributors / paid subs
Comment posted: 10/06/2026
Rollin Banderob on A group chat for contributors / paid subs
Comment posted: 10/06/2026
Erik Brammer on A group chat for contributors / paid subs
Comment posted: 10/06/2026
I think it’s a good idea to create a platform for contributors, but I think a single group chat will become very chaotic, in particular in case people don’t quote the comment they might be responding to.
Don from Crown+Flint has created a Discord group, part of which is public, some of it is limited to beta testers. Things a separated into categories. That works reasonably well.
Don’t forget, I am one of those Germans… :-)
Matthew Bigwood on A group chat for contributors / paid subs
Comment posted: 10/06/2026
Des McSweeney on A group chat for contributors / paid subs
Comment posted: 10/06/2026
Fred Nelson on A group chat for contributors / paid subs
Comment posted: 10/06/2026
Ibraar Hussain on A group chat for contributors / paid subs
Comment posted: 10/06/2026
Eric Rose on A group chat for contributors / paid subs
Comment posted: 10/06/2026
Ken Davis on A group chat for contributors / paid subs
Comment posted: 10/06/2026
to stop this running away from the initial idea (as forums tend to do!) I think we would need to set down it's aims, objectives and how it will operate as a group. Who will chair it, you I hope?
Ken Davis
David Hume on A group chat for contributors / paid subs
Comment posted: 10/06/2026
I like that I can pop into the comments or can leave them alone depending on how busy I am, whereas I guess if I were getting notifications I'd feel some sort of pull to either check them out or just absent myself entirely. I wonder also if making a group would cut the good conversations off from those people who like to read the comments and discussions but do not feel the need to add their own thoughts to them.
I guess summing up I'd say if Hamish thinks it's a good idea it probably is, but it's not something I'm itching to get into. And I feel that the site as it is progresses and becomes more interesting as time goes by as things stand.
Comment posted: 10/06/2026
Walter Reumkens on A group chat for contributors / paid subs
Comment posted: 10/06/2026
Comment posted: 10/06/2026
Comment posted: 10/06/2026
Comment posted: 10/06/2026
Alexander Seidler on A group chat for contributors / paid subs
Comment posted: 11/06/2026
Comment posted: 11/06/2026
Ed on A group chat for contributors / paid subs
Comment posted: 11/06/2026
Ed
Comment posted: 11/06/2026
Leonel Leyva C on A group chat for contributors / paid subs
Comment posted: 11/06/2026
Gerard on A group chat for contributors / paid subs
Comment posted: 11/06/2026
Since your idea creates a 'behind the public eye' platform - which might be quite useful - Dropbox could be used as well; it is also able to handle much more contributions, and won't clog everyone's Whatsapp account.
Danilo Leonardi on A group chat for contributors / paid subs
Comment posted: 11/06/2026
For me, one of 35mmc's greatest strengths is that it's a publication with an editorial board, with an engaged community around it, rather than another social media feed. One of the things I admire about the community around 35mmc is that thoughtful comments become attached to the articles themselves. They're left there for someone to discover months or even years later, adding another layer of meaning to the piece. The conversation becomes part of the site's memory.
My hesitation about a WhatsApp group (or similar on another platform) comes from my own experience of those groups. Some become so active they're almost impossible to follow, while others are rather dead. The active ones I often end up muting simply because I have a life outside the online world. When, and if, I return, there may be hundreds of messages, and any worthwhile discussion has usually disappeared into the flow. In one WhatsApp group with photographers in active practice that I'm part of, it often drifts into people trying to sell old gear. I suppose my slightly irrational fear is that a more general and open group might drift into a familiar social media-style cycle of endless messages about whatever is currently being hyped, fairly lightweight (and/or not very enlightened) gear talk, or the recurring “I switched from Brand A to Brand B” narratives.
Thanks, Hamish, for asking. I really appreciate you inviting thoughts before deciding, and I’m sharing these very much in that way.
Comment posted: 11/06/2026
Geoff Chaplin on A group chat for contributors / paid subs
Comment posted: 11/06/2026
Leon Winnert on A group chat for contributors / paid subs
Comment posted: 11/06/2026
First, have seen one or two comments about an older generation not being able to how shall we say cope with WhatsApp. I personally don't think the comments are valid. It is after all a very simple application. Type your message, add picture if you want to, press send. .
With a Photographic Club I'm a member of most of the membership is middle-aged to late middle-aged and we have a WhatsApp group. Not everybody is on it, that is their personal choice. The majority of the club is and it works fine.
The big problem is ensuring that is not hijacked by group participants using it for banging on about political views, offering abuse to various people and products, generally going off piste. There is a simple solution to that. And that is for Group Admin to take a very Draconian stance with regards to policing content. My photo club's WhatsApp group admin promptly expunges anything that is not photography or club related. Of course group admin has the facility to evict any persistent perpetrators of inappropriate posts as well as unwanted and / or antisocial activity.
Scott Ferguson on A group chat for contributors / paid subs
Comment posted: 11/06/2026
Reading your post kind of quickly, I thought this was a proposal to do some kind of 'live' chat, like a zoom meet up, which I think might be kind of fun -- adding voices and moving faces with our friends from around the world! There are some challenges, particularly finding a time that works for our globally reader/writership. I had to organize something like that when we were doing our Covid Season of Succession and arrange live zoom meetings with key people from LA, NY, London, Sweden, and Australia, and someone inevitably had to drag themselves out of bed at 3am (usually Australia).
That being said, I think a live zoom that could range in topics like Post Production, constructive critiques, maybe bring in some special guests, like an admired photograprer, like some of the cool people Ibbs was writing about a while back, or talking about certain styles or techniques like Landscape, Street, Documentary, Architecture, Fine Art, all could be quite interesting.
Being honest, I'm a little uncertain about how best to use a text group chat. Maybe we could do some of the same things I was contemplating for a zoom without the pressure of asking David Hume to get up at 3am? It could also be a great way to get "hive mind" advice on a piece of gear you're thinking of buying, but there already seem to be other forums that do that, like Reddit and many other online photo reviewing resources. But I'm with David Hume, if you think it can be useful and interesting, Hamish, I'd be game to give it a go.
Cheers,
s
David Mackay on A group chat for contributors / paid subs
Comment posted: 12/06/2026
Jeffery Luhn on A group chat for contributors / paid subs
Comment posted: 13/06/2026
Steve Abbott on A group chat for contributors / paid subs
Comment posted: 13/06/2026
Gary Smith on A group chat for contributors / paid subs
Comment posted: 13/06/2026