What is a photoblogging challenge?

A couple times a year, we organize a challenge that consists of daily prompts and invite community members to post a photo that interprets that prompt. The prompts are usually suggestions from the community. We gather the photos into a challenge collection so you can see the photos that other community members have posted, and maybe find some new people to follow and get to know.

How will I know what today’s prompt is?

Follow @challenges where the day’s prompt is posted, as well as a sneak peek of the next day’s prompt, intended for the time zones that are located west of the International Date Line.

Weekly lists will be posted here:

Week 3 Photoblogging Prompts

I have an idea for a prompt. Is it too late to submit it? We accept suggestions for the April challenge until we have 30 prompts. Use this form to submit up to 3 prompts. Thanks!

Where can I see all the photos that are submitted?

We manually add photos to a special purpose timeline: micro.blog/discover/mbapr
You can also see a grid of thumbnails: micro.blog/discover/mbapr/grid

Do I need to format my photo post in a specific way or include a specific caption for it to appear in the challenge photo collection?

Your post should contain one photo, no title, and fewer than 300 characters of text so that the photo displays inline as a short post. If you include the day’s challenge prompt word, it will make it easier on the human curators, but it is not required. (If you include more than one photo, your post won’t appear in the challenge photo collection.)

There is a hashtag you can use (#mbapr) if you like hashtags. Micro.blog doesn’t support hashtags, but we don’t mind if you include them.

We strongly recommend that you add an accessible description to your photo. It is a strong recommendation but not a requirement for having your photos included. (For more details on how to use ALT text, including help on creating descriptions, see ALT descriptions and Micro.blog’s Discover timeline.)

Does the photo need to be taken on the same day as the prompt for that day?

No. There’s no requirement regarding when the photo was taken.

Can I submit more than one photo? Can I submit a screenshot?

In order to be included in the challenge collection, your submission should have just one photo. A screenshot won’t be included in the collection, but it will still count for the photoblogging challenge pin.

Why don’t you automate the challenge photo collection?

On Micro.blog, we prefer to hand curate content that is publicly available to remove incentive for spammers to try to game our challenges. So far, this has been manageable for our small team.

Why doesn’t my photo appear in the collection?

Because we are human, and sometimes miss things. Ask @jean to fix the oversight.

What are Micro.blog pins?

You can unlock pins by achieving milestones in Micro.blog, such as writing every day or using a certain feature. You can see the pins you’ve earned on the Account page One of the most difficult pins to earn is the 30-day Photo Challenge. By participating in the April 2024 challenge, you will earn it! (If you already have this pin, you will still earn the feeling of satisfaction in completing another challenge.)