Thing 4. Photosharing with Flickr

Photo-sharing Web sites have been around for quite awhile, in Internet terms. Flickr (now owned by Yahoo) took the idea of photo sharing and turned it into an online community. Flickr allows users to upload their photos and then share them with family, friends, or the world. Users can “tag” photos with descriptive words and phrases--what librarians would call keywords—to help users identify and search for photos.

In this Thing, you are asked to take a good look at Flickr and discover what this site has to offer. Find out how tags work, what groups are, and all the neat things that people and other libraries (a list here, too) are creating thanks to Flickr. Here is a link to the 23 Things On a Stick Flickr account. The Library of Congress has a Flickr account--with more than 3,000 photos that you are invited to tag.

Take a look at how the Clemens and Alcuin libraries of the College of St. Benedict and St. John's University are using a Flickr feature called "add a note" to highlight books in their collections. Mouse over any of the books in the bookcase to get the details and a link to the catalog record. Very cool use of Flickr in a library. (Here is more fun at the Clemens and Alcuin libraries!)

You have two options in this Thing…

First watch the Common Craft video "Online Photosharing in Plain English." Click arrow to start the video.



Then choose
A.
1. Take a good look around Flickr and find an interesting image that you want to blog about. You can explore Flickr photos, search the tags, view various groups, and more without a Flickr account.

2. Use any keyword(s) (baseball, cats, library cats, library signs, Minnesota library, whatever…) to find photos with those tags.When you find an interesting image or group, comment on your experience finding images, using Flickr, and anything else related to the exercise. Upload the image to your blog (be sure to credit the photographer). Don't forget to include a link to the image in the post.

--OR-- the more fun option

B.
1. Create a Free Account in Flickr (note that Flickr is now part of Yahoo! If you have a Yahoo! account for email or MyYahoo!, log in with that.).
2. Then use a digital camera to capture a few pictures of something in your library.
3. Upload these to your new Flickr account and tag at least one of the images with 23 Things On a Stick. Be sure to mark the photo public.
4. Add one or more of your images to your blog. You can add the image in one of two ways:

• Flickr's blogging tool (need a Flickr account to see the button) lets you click the Blog This button (right above the picture) and add any public photo on Flickr to your blog. Be sure to give credit to the photographer, if it is not your photo.
• Blogger's photo upload feature lets you add photos from your computer or from the Web and choose the placement in the blog post. Click the little photo icon in the toolbar on the New Post page—it is in the row of tools above the post box. Follow the instructions in the pop up box.

5. Once you have the photo uploaded and tagged, create a post in your blog about your photo and Flickr experience. Will you use Flickr for the library or media center, for your personal photos, or in another way?

Spend some time exploring the site and have some Flickr photo fun.If you're interested in looking at some other photo hosting and sharing sites, check out Picasa Web Albums from Google or another service called Smugmug.

Keep in mind that when posting identifiable photos of other people (especially minors) get the person's permission before posting their photo in a publicly accessible place like Flickr. Never upload pictures to your Flickr account that weren't taken by you (unless you have the photographer's consent) and always give credit when you include photos taken by someone else in your blog.

Resources

• Flickr Learn More tour (6 steps)
• Mediamazine Flickr Tutorials
• Keep up with Flickr news via the Flickrblog

More ways to explore:

• Flickr: Popular tags
• Interesting- Last 7 days
• 365 Days of Library Pictures in Flickr

Blog Prompts
Share your Flickr-ing thoughts:

• How might you use Flickr in your library or media center?
• Do you use Flickr or another photo hosting service? Which one? How does it compare to Flickr?
• How do you feel about having your photos public (note that you can mark your Flickr photos private, too)--any concerns?

Challenge (optional)
1. Explore the new Picnik/Flickr partnership. Edit and post some of your edited photos on your blog. Note that you can use Picnik independently of Flickr--it also has a premium service that offers a lot of other editing options.
2. Be sure to blog about the pros and cons of this third party application.
3. Compare & contrast other photo sites like Picasa or Smugmug or one you use. Which has great features to recommend to the rest of us?
4. Try more of Flickr's or another site's tools to manipulate or organize photos and then tell us about it.
5. Post anything you've done/learned about photo-editing or photo sites on your blog.

Photos ad personality and interest to blogs and Web pages. Photo hosting sites like Flickr make sharing photos easy.

Thing 5. More Flickr Fun

Like many Web 2.0 sites, Flickr encourages other people to build their own online applications that use images found on the site. Through the use of APIs (application programming interfaces), many people have created third party tools and mashups that use Flickr images. The tools help you find, organize, and use photos in various ways. You can create mosaics of photos, use photos in games, and find apps that make using Flickr easier or more efficient. Look here for mashups, web apps, and Flickr tools. Webmonkey thinks these are the 10 Best Flickr mash-ups.

For this Thing, explore some of the fun Flickr mashups and 3rd party tools that are out there. Note that many of these require the Flash plug-in.

1. Check out one or more of these and create something from Flickr photos to add to your blog:

• Clockr uses random photos to display the time.
• Flickr Color Pickr - lets you find public photos in Flickr that match a specific color.
• Big Huge Labs offers a round-up of Flickr tools.
• Spell with Flickr spells out your word or phrase with Flickr photos.
• splashr lets you present your Flickr photos in different view.
  
• Create puzzles from your Flickr photos.

2. Upload one or more of these mash-ups to your blog (most will give easy-to-follow instructions somewhere on the site about how to copy the code needed and where to place it on your blog.)

Blog Prompts

• How can you use any of these tools in your library and media center? Reading programs, posters promoting library events, librarian trading cards all come to mind as possibilities.
• What do you think of sharing photos online?

Spell with Flickr

These tools are fun but a warning--it is very easy to spend a lot of time playing with these tools! It could become your latest hobby!

Thing 8. Share Your Creations

Big Huge Labs Mosaic Maker

A hallmark of Web 2.0 is sharing--your thoughts, ideas, plans, photos, videos, and more. Many Web 2.0 tools we have or will look at are sharing tools—Flickr, YouTube, wikis, blogs, and more all let you share images, videos, and/or information. Del.ic.ious lets you share your bookmarks and the social media sites let you share your likes and dislikes on things you’ve read online.

The tools in this Thing let you share many different kinds of creations via the Web. No need for the computer to have the right software installed to open a presentation, no attachments to open, no remembering your flash drive--you just need an account (usually) and a computer with Internet access. Handy as a backup for your presentations at conferences, your vacation photos, your book preferences, or, as you see in eFolio Minnesota, your personal accomplishments. Web2.0=Sharing!

For this Thing, explore each of the tools listed and then:

1. Choose one of the tools listed under Slideshows, Photos, Databases, and eFolio (and create a slideshow, photo montage, or database. Add photos or information and then link it to your blog.

Create and Share Slideshows
You can use a service like these as the primary delivery method for a presentation or you can use it to share your presentation after you have delivered it. You can share a slide deck on your library Web site to highlight a program, book displays, or anything else you can think to do. Here is an example of a shared slide show Web 2.0 Tools in Your Classroom.

Each service offers different features. Explore these tools:

• Thumbstacks
• Zoho Show
• Slideshare
• Slide
  

Share Your Photos
Flickr and other photo hosting sites are an obvious way to share photos. The sites in this Thing offer "fancier" presentations of your photos. While these are “slide shows,” too, they don’t have the narrative flow of a formal presentation. These tools work best for vacation or library program photo sharing on a blog or Web site

Picture Trail offers many different ways to organize an display your photos. Called Flicks, they can ad pizzazz to yor Web page or blog. Upload your photos to Picture Tail, arrange them into albums, choose your Flick slideshow format, and then save. Just copy the automatically-generated code and paste it into your blog where you want the Flick to appear. This is a Moving Thumbnails Flick.

Flickr badge creates a set of photos that displays horizontally or vertically. You can use your photos or everyone’s to add photo interest to your blog. (after you sign into Flicker, go to http://www.flickr.com/badge.gne)

Big Huge Lab offers many tools for using your photos to illustrate different things—billboards, name badges, motivational posters, and more. It also has a cool feature called Mosaic Maker. The mosaic a the top is an example of the result. Upload your photos (account required) and arrange them in a grid.

All of the photos in these examples are from the MInn23 Flickr account.

Remember, "free" has a price. In the case of many Web 2.0 tools, it is advertising or "special offers." So click through the ad pages, and use the tools. In PictureTrail, once you have viewed the offers, they won't (usually) appear again.

Databases
You can create and share databases of information, too. Create a book “want to read” or recommendations database and put a link on your blog or Web page.

Lazybase lets you create databases that only you can edit or allows edits from others. Here is an example of a non-editable database: Award Wining Fiction

It’s All About You! eFolio Minnesota
eFolio Minnesota is "a multimedia electronic portfolio designed to help you create a living showcase of your education, career and personal achievements." All Minnesota residents, including students enrolled in Minnesota schools, educators and others can use eFolio Minnesota to reach their career and education goals. See Before You Begin to learn more about using this cutting-edge electronic portfolio tool, or go straight to Sign Up.

A registered trademark, eFolio Minnesota is a product of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities in partnership with state workforce and education organizations.

• Take the tour and view some sample eFolios.
• Here are some ideas for educators on using eFolios.

Need more or want to explore? 50 Web 2.0 Ways to Tell a Story is a huge list of tools you can use to create and share online. There are tools for storytelling, scrapbooking, video, audio, remixing, cartooning, and much, much more.

Blog Prompts

• What uses do these tools have for library or personal use?
• Was the tool you used easy to navigate and understand?
• Would you recommend it to others?
• Do you use other sharing tools for photos, documents, or other creations that you would recommend?

Challenge (optional)
1. Create one of each of the sharing types—slide show, photo montage, database, eFolio and then link the results and blog about your experience.