Glopho, an online photo-sharing service designed specifically to allow anyone to “make the news” with the pictures they take. Now the millions of people with a camera in their pocket, budding amateur photographers or seasoned professionals can all share the moments they capture and the crowd can decide what is news.
The riots, the Royal procession or the dog on a skateboard; any photo can be easily and immediately shared via the Glopho website and mobile apps and then onwards through Facebook, Twitter or other social channels. Glopho is completely and takes ‘citizen photo-journalism’ to new levels by introducing unique crowd-sourcing and news curation elements to photo-sharing.
The Glopho website shows photos in a rolling format in simple category windows – Reality, Locality and Celebrity – alongside the Users’ Choice, Editor’s Choice and Latest images. Pictures carry the photographer’s own description to explain the ‘what, where and when’ and can be tagged to make them easy to find. Users can personalise their homepage to show their own photos and those of their friends, as well as the other photographers they follow.
Glopho apps are available in both iPhone and Android versions to make it even easier for people to post their pictures and enjoy looking at Glopho while on the go. Those using digital cameras rather than smartphones can upload their pictures via their computer or laptop.
Founder and CEO of Glopho, Simon Walker, said: “News is happening all around us and, more than ever, we are well-equipped to capture those moments digitally. The explosion of social media has also given us, both as individuals and collectively, a bigger voice than ever.”
Glopho is the brainchild of award-winning photojournalist and picture editor Simon Walker. The idea and the business he has created has been developed over the last two years. Thorough Beta testing has allowed iterative development and the creation of the current proposition which is launched fully to the public.
Glopho’s revenue model will see it earning money in two ways. Firstly, from advertisers paying to launch their own ‘premium galleries’, allowing them to get greater value from increasingly content-led social marketing strategies. Secondly, Glopho will take a share of the fees earned by photographers when pictures are sold to news and other outlets wanting to use any images from the site. From their legals page: ‘At all times you will continue to own the copyright or other existing rights in your Material. You give Glopho the right to market and license the Material you have contributed for use. In exchange, Glopho will split any licensing fee received with you on a 50:50 basis. Payment to you will be made by cheque or another method specified by Glopho within 60 days of receipt by Glopho of the full sum agreed with the user. Glopho shall not be responsible for paying you if it does not receive the full sum agreed with the user.’
In its recent first round of funding, Glopho closed an SEIS-eligible round of £150k, corner-stoned by a London Business Angels Network syndicate, and joined by a number of other experienced private investors.
Glopho is run by a management team of experienced senior professionals including founder Simon Walker (CEO), Erik Wenngren (Chairman), James Serjeant (CFO), Richard Ireland (CMO) and Karl Knoflach (CTO).
We’ve downloaded the app – it’s simple to use and we look forward to seeing our photos there.
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