Picture this: Blipfoto links up with Channel 4

Published on Thursday 31 March 2011 15:55

AN ONLINE photo-sharing site that has attracted a cult following is poised to announce a tie-up with Channel 4.

Blipfoto is in talks with several "big brands", including C4, over potential partnerships as it embarks on the next stage of expansion.

They are likely to include competitions and other methods of encouraging current and potential users of the site to create content, according to founder Joe Tree.

Last year, the firm was involved in several projects, including with the National Theatre of Scotland and the Edinburgh festivals, which helped to spread its brand.

Since it was set up in 2006, Blipfoto has seen its popularity boom among photography and social networking enthusiasts simply through word of mouth.

It now has 160,000 unique visitors a month and enjoyed its busiest month to date in March.

The partnerships will be one part of a more formal marketing campaign.

Blipfoto users upload one photo a day, taken on that day and add text to describe the image and the story behind it.

The online photo journal has proved so popular that Blipfoto enthusiasts regularly meet up and there has even been a marriage between two users in America who met through the site.

Last year, the firm secured 200,000 of investment from a string of backers, including the well known American venture capitalist Ken Morse.

It is currently looking into a second round of investment as Tree seeks to take the fledgling company to the next stage of development.

"We have already been approached by investors who are interested in supporting a second round of investment," he said. "We have got big, big aspirations for growth."

The company generates revenues through subscriptions, although you don't have to be a member to use the site's more basic functions.

Tree said Blipfoto has always made a strong commitment not to pursue advertising, which has proved popular among its artistic followers.

"People see Blipfoto as quite a contemplative space. It's somewhere were you go to get away from the busy noise of the internet," he said.

"We wanted a revenue model which was simple, transparent and benefited everyone."