Project Play

Image Sharing & Editing

Digital cameras have changed how we take and store our photos. They also have made it possible to share our photos in amazing new ways. Sharing images in the Web 2.0 world provides another way to express yourself, to share your view of the world with others, and to “discuss” or inspire discussion in a visual way rather than in the textual ways we’ve explored thus far. This week, you’ll learn about:

• Flickr
• free online image editing tools
• some issues to consider before sharing images online

Listen to our next podcast (or read the Week 6 Podcast Transcript PDF) and read the content below. If you have questions about anything along the way, be sure to contact us. We’re happy to help!

About Sharing Images Online

All About Flickr

Flickr is just one of many image sharing sites available these days, but by far the most popular. Learn about Flickr by watching the video below from U Tech Tips:

You can explore more of Flickr’s features with the following resources:

• Flickr’s tour (general overview of features)
• Newbie’s Guide to Flickr (specifics on using Flickr)
• MediaMazine’s Flickr Tutorial Series (good info on setting up a Flickr account & other Flickr features)

Tags

Flickr users assign tags to their photos to make them easier to find later. Learn more about tags and look at Flickr’s most popular tags to get an idea of what people are using. Flickr also allows geotagging, which places your photos on a map. If you’re curious about geotagging, check out their video on the topic. (If tags seem a little foreign to you right now, don’t worry. We’ll be covering tags and folksonomies in more depth during Week 8 of Project Play.)

Comments

Flickr has a commenting feature much like blogs. Learn more about comments on Flickr.

Groups

The video above talked about groups a bit. Groups are a great way to collaborate on a specific theme, topic, event or place, and after all, Web 2.0 is all about collaboration, right? Learn more about groups at the Flickr FAQ.

Searching

You can search Flickr by tag or by full text keyword. I’d like you to take a minute to explore what people have shared via Flickr. Go to http://www.flickr.com/. Search for some of the following and see what you find:

• Wisconsin
• the name of your community
• your favorite place
• your favorite pastime
• Nancy Pearl

Libraries on Flickr

Explore the following library examples on Flickr:

• McMillan Memorial Library
• lplconnects (La Crosse Public Library)
• Lester Public Library
• ImaginOn (Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County)
• Plymouth Libraries (an example from “across the pond”)

There are also some library groups in Flickr:

• Libraries & Librarians Group
• 365 Library Days Project

Do the examples above give you any ideas on how you or your library might use Flickr?

Flickr Toys

One of the best things about Flickr is that a bunch of cool toys have been created to interact with the site. Take a look at fd’s flickr toys to see what fun you can have with your Flickr images. My personal favorites are Captioner and Magazine Cover. Spell with Flickr was mentioned in the video above and is definitely fun to try out. Here’s my attempt:

Other Photo Sharing Sites

While Flickr is the most popular, it’s certainly not the only option. Here are some others for your consideration:

• Kodak Gallery
• Shutterfly
• Zoto
• SmugMug

Copyright & Photo Posting Etiquette

There are some things to consider when posting identifiable photos of other people, especially minors, in a publicly accessible place like Flickr:

• Consider getting the person’s permission before posting their photo, and if the person is a minor, consider getting their parent’s permission before posting.
• Don’t post people’s full names with the photo - consider using only first names or simply a description, such as, “winner of our iPod giveaway” or “our teen advisory group.”
• Meet with your library’s or municipality’s attorney to create a policy on how your library will handle sharing photos - will permission from parents be required before posting pictures of minors? will photos of minors be shared at all? will names be included with photos or not? It’s best to create a policy that reflects the values of your community.
• Never upload pictures that weren’t taken by you unless you have the photographer’s consent.
• Always give credit when you include photos taken by someone else - this is especially true when you are linking to someone else’s photo in your blog.

In addition to the etiquette tips included above, you should be aware of copyright issues relating to online images:

• “In most parts of the world, including the U.S., Canada, EU countries, and Japan, you are automatically granted copyrights to your photos” (from Flickr’s FAQ).
• Some people choose to use a Creative Commons license for their images as an alternative to full blown copyright. You can select from about six default licenses to find one that best suits your needs.
• When exploring Flickr or other online image sites, look for the copyright info for each photo so you know if you can use the image and how. On Flickr, copyright info is included in the right hand column under “Additional Information.”

Online Image Editors

NOTE: This section is optional! Those of you with digital cameras will definitely want to take a look.

If you have a digital camera, you might be interested to know that you don’t necessarily need to invest in expensive software to create neat effects with your digital photos. Flickr and most of the other sites included above offer some basic photo editing, but there are also a variety of free online editors to explore. Here’s a short list:

• flauntR
  Get images directly from Flickr or your computer, then create cool effects with the click of a button. Requires creating a username and password, but the service is free.
• Phixr
  Phixr requires you to create a username and password, but is free to use. You can crop, rotate, resize, fix red eye, create a border, round corners, add text, and add other effects. Allows exporting to Flickr!
• Snipshot
  Open a picture from your computer, then resize, crop, enhance, adjust lighting, or change to grayscale. All available without logging in. Very easy to use and allows exporting to Flickr.
• ResizR
  Limits your editing to resizing and rotating images. Supports JPG file format only. Great if you only need to resize something to post on your web site!

Assignment

Find an image in Flickr you would like to blog about. Link to the image from your blog post, or, if you create a Flickr account, use Flickr’s blogging tool to add the image to your post. You can also choose to use Blogger’s photo upload tool to include your own photo in your blog. Be sure to include in your blog post your thoughts about Flickr and its application in your personal or professional life. Possible questions to answer in your post: What kinds of things are happening at your library that could be shared on Flickr? What are barriers that would prevent you or your library from using Flickr? What is your favorite feature in Flickr? What do you dislike about Flickr?

OR

Create a free Flickr account (see MediaMazine’s easy instructions) and upload your own digital photos to your account. Tag at least one of your images “projectplay” (no spaces) and make it public. Use Flickr’s blogging tool to add the image to your post. You can also choose to use Blogger’s photo upload tool to include your photo in your blog. Be sure to include in your blog post your thoughts about Flickr and its application in your personal or professional life. Possible questions to answer in your post: What kinds of things are happening at your library that could be shared on Flickr? What are barriers that would prevent you or your library from using Flickr? What is your favorite feature in Flickr? What do you dislike about Flickr?

Extra: pikipimp & JibJab

pikipimp help you pimp your pik! Upload a photo or specify a URL where your photo resides on the web, then add blings, text, glitter, or animation. Here’s a sample:

Another fun way to play with images is to upload a photo to JibJab’s Starring You! feature. Upload photos to create your “heads,” then add them to a selection of dance routines for a good laugh. You can use “Public Heads” to create new videos if you don’t have images of your own to upload.

If you use pikipimp or JibJab to create some fun photos and videos, be sure to post or link to them in your Project Play blog!

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