well , i do not upload photo's reguarly here on this site, but i use it more like a google search machine , because shipspotting.com does have a huge database.
I think this sentence is an excellent description of why Shipspotting.com has become so popular in recent years, and is growing so fast. This is a snowball effect, and this effect is impossible to deter.
Shipspotting.com nowadays appeals to many markets. Not simply those looking for outstanding quality photos, but simply anybody out there that is looking for a picture of a vessel, any vessel, from anywhere around the world, that is used for professional purposes, or for outstanding recreational purposes. It is a global website because of the huge dimension of its database. Name a ship, and you'll find it in Shipspotting. So Shipspotting.com is nowadays functionning like a world maritime encyclopedia, and in this capacity it has no rivals. The best place in the net where to find a time/space depiction of a vessel, virtually any vessel.
There are hundreds of websites, blogs and the like dedicated to ships in the net. If you Google in different languages, you end up in a countless number of sites, some better, some worse, some specialized, other generalist in scope, but none matches Shipspotting.com in what concerns the variety/quality viewers from around the world are looking for when it comes to a pictural depiction of a vessel.
It is perhaps interesting to note that Shipspotting.com is a rare example of a reverse economic rule. In this case it is a growing supply that has created a growing demand, and not vice-versa. And by now, the growing demand is creating even more supply, making Shipspotting.com self perpetuating (sponsors and servers allowing, of course...)
Let us all contribute to its continuing growth!
Jos