Week 3 - Images

Week 3: Images

7. Upload a photo to Flickr
8. Check out some Flickr Apps
9. Learn about Creative Commons licences

7. Upload a photo to Flickr

Flickr.com is the world’s most popular photo-sharing site. Users sign up for free and start uploading images, which will then be visible to anybody on the net. There are millions of photos on Flickr, ranging from holiday snaps to high art.

Take particular note of the “tags”. This is metadata attached to a photo by the site’s users, making it easier to find a photo of, say, “butterflies”.

Try creating a Flickr/Yahoo account and uploading an image. Go to Flickr.com, click on “Create Your Account” and follow the instructions.

If you are wondering how a library could use this, there is a great example at the Library of Congress.

8. Check out some Flickr Apps

One of the most fun aspects of web 2.0 is "applications" or "apps". Apps are created when a clever person takes online information and mashes it together with a second source and/or some ingenuity and tech savvy to create something new.

Flickr have encouraged apps, and many of them are listed here.

Go have a look and see what you think.

What other apps can you imagine? How could we use some of these ideas at the library?

9. Learn about Creative Commons licences

Creative Commons is a new type of intellectual property licence that allows the creator of data to waive certain rights, meaning that data can be used (with some limitations) to create new content. Web 2.0 thrives on the imaginative connections made by users, and Creative Commons licences enable this to happen without the usual copyright problems.

Watch this short video:



If you want to read more, go to the website.

You can search for Creative Commons material using Google Advanced Search.

Flickr is a major user of Creative Commons licences, and the Australian Bureau of Statistics recently announced that it will be releasing much of its data for use by third parties. There are countless other examples out there.

How could you use Creative Commons material in your own work?

Now go and post about this week’s experience on your blog!