Anyone who has read this column over the years knows that during trade shows I do photo essays. The way people navigate these online pictures is almost formulaic. If the link to the first photo attracts 100 percent of the audience, the second photo will attract 50 percent. Each album page has a link to another page. The fallout is identical.
People see the first photo, then just get bored.
I suppose my photographs might just be boring, but the rapid decline in iterative photo views seems universal. Of course none of the anti-link trends are helped by the major sites, which all have internal policies of not linking outside their sites except in very special circumstances. This is becoming a common problem and cheapens sites and the perceived value of links. If every time you click on a link you just get another page on the same site with a different banner ad, you subtly feel you've been duped, and you start to shy away from links altogether. Most of the big sites are under extreme pressure to keep the visitor stuck on the site as if it were a closed system.