Thing 5: Flickr and Photo Sharing

A limited number of digital cameras are available for staff to use and play with on Thing 5 . Please contact Jennifer, Rich, Ruth, or Toby to check out a camera.

DEFINE

There are a number of spaces on the Internet that allow people to upload and share their favorite photos. While sites like Shutterfly, PhotoBucket, and Twango have attracted small audiences of their own, it's Flickr that has managed to really captured the online zeitgeist.

Flickr's secret weapon comes in the form of "tags," user-defined keywords that you can assign to every photo you upload to the site. Tags function much like subject headings in our Library's catalog. When used properly they can help us to organize our collection of photos, grouping like-photos together and provide us with quick and easy ways to find specific snapshots. But it's not just for your own photos. Tags help unlock all the social features of Flickr, where the really fun stuff is. We're going to look at the many features of Flickr, and hopefully we'll help you unleash your inner shutterbug.

For more information, we suggest these two articles:

1. The Newbie's Guide to Flickr. Pay particular attention to terms like Tags, Sets, and Collections. You may also want to refer back to this page as you take Flickr out for a spin.
   
   
2. 16 Ways to use Flickr @ Your Library. Keep these ideas in the back of your head as you start to explore Flickr's different features.

DISCOVER

1. Visit Flickr
   
   
2. Explore Flickr
   
   
3. Take a tour of Flickr
   

DO
Please make sure you follow each step in this exercise.

1. Take a digital photo, or two, or 10. You can use your own digital camera, a cell phone, or one of the Library cameras that we'll have available for checkout.
   
   
2. Log into Flickr using the 10 Things account. The user name is "askskokie" and the password is [removed]. If you need help at this time, refer to the Flickr FAQ page or The Newbie's Guide for assistance.
   
   
3. Upload your photos by clicking "upload photos" and following the steps on the proceeding page. Flickr will do most of the work for you.
   
   
4. Add tags and a brief description to your photo by entering text in the corresponding fields. Try to use at least two tags, though you can enter as many as you'd like.
   
   
5. Once you've uploaded your photo, search around Flickr and see what other photos have the same tags.
   
   
6. Post your photo to your blog using Flickr's "Blog This" tool. If you're logged into Flickr, just click on the photo you want to use and you should see a "Blog This" link directly above that photo. You'll need to follow the steps to link the Flickr account to your blog. After you add the photo to your blog, you MUST complete step 7.
   
   
7. Once you've added a photo to your blog, be sure to remove your blog from the list of blogs stored on the 10 Things Flickr account.
   
   
8. Write a blog entry about your experience with this task. Make some suggestions on how the library could make use of its Flickr page? Suggest two or three tags that would be most useful for the Library's Flickr page.

BONUS CHALLENGE (optional)

Browse through some of these mashups and see what others have been able to do with Flickr. If you see something you like, make a note of it in your blog.

Now move on to Thing 6: Social Bookmarking.