Take a Foul Shot at Dribbble: Social Network for Artists Misses the Mark
By Morgan Gossett | @mogossett So if you're someone with a knack for drawing or with any kind of creative skills, Dribbble (yes, with 3 b's) could be a great social media site for you, especially if your already connected to Twitter and Facebook. Considered a micro-blogging site for the creative mind, Dribbble is an emerging social media outlet for those with a creative soul. Instead of writing about what’s on your mind, create it and take a screen shot of your drawing. Then comment and share those pics with other members within the site. The only problem is you have to become a “player.”
Twitter has their own social media terms and so does Dribbble. Members are called players, followers are call spectators, and posts are called shots. Does this remind you of a certain sport? If you’ve guessed basketball, you're correct. According to their faq site the reason for this quirky association was water polo didn’t work as well. In order to become a player from a spectator you have to become a prospect.
Members only: So you take screen shots of your work and post it on this website, pretty simple, pretty cool for people who like to show their work, but becoming a member is a little too complicated. Breakdown:
- Become a spectator
- Apply to be a prospect
- Be invited to become a member
- Be member and post shots and comment
Why all the rules? It holds people accountable. It helps people reach out to other people in the creative community by showing interest in their work.
Shots: Then instead of getting an unlimited amount of shots (posts) you only get 24 free shots each month, but it doesn’t rollover so there is no point in saving up.
So unlike Twitter, you have to go through this process to become a member and then you only get to post 24 times. Personally, I think there’s too much work that goes into it. People like simplicity, not complications.
Overall, Dribbble is a good concept but the integration into the site is a hassle. It allows creative people to come together to look at each other's work and provide feedback from peers. It’s not a portfolio site, so you can post any art project you want, but besides those factors it is't any different than any other social media site that lets you post pictures.
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