Tag Archives: Flickr

Quick Start Tips For New Flickr Users: Part I

Modified on by
45

Image of seagulls photoWith time you realize taking your own photos to use in your blog posts is often easier, and more fun, than searching for and attributing creative commons images. And sharing these photos online with your friends, using photosharing websites like Flickr, is even more fun!

This post is part of a series to help people started using Flickr or if you’re experienced using Flickr please share your tips for new people, by leaving a comment on this post.

About Flickr

Flickr is an extremely powerful image and video sharing website widely used by bloggers as a photo repository. Reasons for it’s popularity include:

  1. It’s amazing range of tools and options for organising, editing and sharing your photos
  2. It’s excellent features for connecting with others to create groups and communities
  3. The extensive range of third party applications that let you use public Flickr data like photos, video, tags in new and different ways
  4. The incredible number of creative commons images hosted on the site

Setting Up Your Flickr Account

Image of new accountTo get started you will need to go to Flickr and create an account using your Yahoo ID. Create a Yahoo ID here if you don’t have one.

Once you’ve signed into Flickr with your Yahoo ID it will ask you to choose your screen name i.e. username. I recommend you choose a screen name that makes it easier for others to relate to you as a real person. e.g. Compare spwat3 with suewaters — which is easier?

Image of buddy icon

After creating your account you will be taken to your home page. Make sure you take the time to Create your Buddy Icon, Choose Your Custom Flickr URL and Personalize Your Profile. These make it easier for people from your other social networks to connect with you on Flickr; they are important for building your personal learning network (PLN).

Here is my Flickr profile and bubby icon.

WARNING: Your custom Flickr URL can’t be changed once created so if unsure skip this step and complete later!

You can edit any of this information, except custom Flickr URL, at any time by hovering mouse over your buddy icon, clicking on drop down menu and selecting Your Account.

Tagging and Flickr

Image of tagged item

Before uploading any photos it’s important to understand tagging as they are very important for finding your photos.

Tagging is an method of categorizing where users choose their own keywords or terms to describe online content such as web sites, pictures and blog posts. The idea is that the user chooses tag terms that are meaningful to them to make it easier for them to find their stored information.

There are no guidelines to choosing tags and it’s common to see the same item tagged using different keywords by different users. To make items more findable in searches it’s worth using a range of terms commonly used to describe the image.

Image of taggingOn Flickr, to use more than one word together to describe an image you will need to enclose words with quotation marks. For example, to use the tag candy jar you need to write as “candy jar” or it will be tagged candy and jar.

Uploading Photos

Flickr has a wide range of options for uploading photos including:

  1. Upload page
  2. Uploader application that you can download and install on your desktop – applications available for PC, Mac and Linx – excellent when uploading lots of photos
  3. Email your photos from your phone- configure your email address for Flickr here
  4. Upload photos from your iphone using applications such as Flickup or PixUp

Emailing photos from your phone or uploading from an iphone is a fast and quick method of sharing photos when you’re out and about. Applications like Flickup means you can share your photo on Flickr as you are uploading.

Editing Photos

Once your photos have uploaded you can edit:

  1. Details like their title or description by clicking on eachImage of editing titles
  2. Photos by clicking on the photo which will take you to it’s photo page where you have options including Add notes (here is an example of a Flickr photo with notes), rotating image, adding more tags and Editing the photo directly on Flickr using Picnik.

Image of Picnik editing

FINAL THOUGHTS

Flickr is definitely a site that you need to take the time to explore thoroughly.

If you’re a Flickr user please leave a comment on this post to share:

  1. What you like about using Flickr
  2. Your tips for new people getting started using Flickr
  3. Links to your favorite Flickr photos — bonus points for chocolate photos :)

If you are enjoying reading this blog, please consider feed-icon32x32 Finding and Adding Creative Commons Images To Your Blog PostsSubscribing For Free!

Share Your Tips For Creating and/or Finding Images For Blog Posts

Modified on by
30

Image of Site BlockedProblem! You want to use Creative Commons images with your students but can’t access Flickr because its blocked at your school.

What options does this leave you? Especially if it needs to be student-safe. Unfortunately this scenario is faced by many educators as highlighted by tilgunas comment on Finding and Adding Creative Commons Images To Your Blog Posts.

I’m thinking we need to be creative in these situations to also consider image generators, comic generators and photo editing tools for creating images. So can you please share student-safe tools that educators could use, other than Flickr, such as:

  • Other sources of creative commons images
  • Image Generators
  • Comic Generators
  • Online Photo Editors

Photo by by Za3tOoOr! licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic.

If you are enjoying reading this blog, please consider Subscribing For Free!

Finding and Adding Creative Commons Images To Your Blog Posts

Modified on by
24

Finding the perfect image to enhance your blog post can be frustrating and time consuming however there are tools that can make this task faster.

This post explains how to find and add creative commons Flickr images to blog posts. Make sure you also refer to Copyright and Using Images in Blog Posts for an introduction to implications of copyright when using images and how to attribute (acknowledge) the original source of an image.

Locating Creative Commons Flickr Images

Flickr is a commonly used image source because the quantity and quality of creative commons images hosted on Flickr increases the chances of finding the image you’re looking for. Read this post for the explanation why most bloggers use images licensed under Creative Commons.

There are several online tools that make searching Creative Commons Flickr photos less time consuming. My favorites are:

1. Compfight

Compfight can be customized to include search of:

  • Tags terms only or within titles and full text i.e. the photo description
  • Creative Commons Flickr photos, all Flickr photos or Flickr photos that can be used for commercial purpose

Compfight is extremely fast at displaying a huge number of images on the page. Clicking on an image on the results page takes you to the image’s photo page on Flickr.

Image of Compfight options

2. FlickrCC

Image of searching FlickrCC

FlickrCC is similar to Compfight in that you can customise your search but it also includes the ability to edit images using their in house editor or Picnik (an external photo editor). Their in house editor can be used for:

  • Adding attribution to the image
  • Cropping
  • Adding a frame and/or text to the image

Blogging Images Directly From Flickr

One option for adding Flickr Images is to blog the photo directly from Flickr instead of using your blog dashboard. Besides being a fast and simple option; it also automatically inserts the image attribution for you.

This post blogged from Flickr to my personal blog explains How to Blog an image from Flickr and shows what a post written using Flickr looks like. Unfortunately adding tags and categories to posts written using Flickr does requires you to edit the post from within your blog dashboard. Also I prefer to write blog post first then look for images.

Inserting Flickr Images Into Blog Posts

The easiest way to insert a Creative Commons Flickr image into your blog post is using the image URL and your Insert/Edit Image button Image of image button as follows:

  1. Locate and copy the image URL for the creative commons Flickr photo you want to use in your blog post.
    • To locate the image URL using Internet Explorer you need to right click on the image and then click on Properties.
    • For FireFox you right click on the image and click on Copy Image Location.

    Locating the Image URL

  2. In your Write Post area click on your Insert/Edit Image button add the Image URL, image description and click on Insert.Image of inserting image
  3. Image of setting alignmentIf you want align image left or right you need to click on the drop down arrow next to Alignment and change alignment before clicking Insert.
    • I normally right align my images.
    • To prevent text wrapping close to image I add the number 5 to both the Vertical and Horizontal space areas.
  4. Image of how to resizeClick on the image and resize to the desired size.
    • I normally use 450 pixels wide for my large images.
    • Less than 250 pixels wide (mostly 200 wide) for right align images.
  5. Link image to its photo page on Flickr by clicking on image and then clicking on Insert/Edit Link button. This is a requirement of using Creative Commons Flickr images. Image of how to link an image to an URL
  6. Add text attribution near image or at bottom of post (refer to Copyright and Using Images in Blog Posts for more information).

Here is an example of how I attribute images:

You might like to also check out all our posts on using images in blog posts.

Photo by cogdogblog licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic.

If you are enjoying reading this blog, please consider Subscribing For Free!

Copyright and Using Images in Blog Posts

Modified on by
56

Adding an image to your blog post can make a big difference on how easy the post is on the eyes. Good use of images grab reader’s attention.

I really wanted to include use of images in my Here’s My First Five Tips For Writing Better Blog Posts — What Are Yours? post but it really requires a series of posts. So this post will focus on copyright and using images plus how to attribute (acknowledge) the original source of an image. The next post will cover how to find images and add to posts.

Copyright and Images

Locating images can be frustrating and time consuming because you can’t just use any image you like in blog posts. Why? Because unless stated otherwise the law automatically grants full “copyright” over any creative work a person makes. Using copyrighted image exposures you to the risk of copyright infringement which is why most bloggers use images licensed under Creative Commons.

Creative Commons, founded in 2001, is an organization which provides free content license (i.e. creative commons license) that people can apply to their work. When you license your work with creative commons, you are giving people the permission to use it without having to ask permission, provided they use it in the manner stated in the creative common license.

The reason people use creative commons licenses is to make it easier for everyone to share and adapt creative work without the concern of copyright infringement. Creative commons licenses are used for books, websites, blogs, photographs, films, videos, songs and other audio & visual recordings.

Check out this video to learn more about Creative Commons Licenses.

Creative Commons Flickr Photos

The most common source of creative commons images used by bloggers is Flickr. Unfortunately many assume Flickr images are licensed under creative commons and allowed to be used. This isn’t the case; images marked as “All Rights Reserved” are copyrighted and require permission from their creator.

Images marked as “Some Rights Reserved” means a creative commons license applies. Always check to see which license applies when using a photo from Flickr to ensure you only use the image in the manner specified by the license.

Image of locating the Flickr License

People can choose from a range Creative commons licenses for their Flickr photos. Each license imposes different restrictions on how you use the images. Below is what each license means:

Image of Creative Commons 2.0 license

Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license means you are allowed to use the image, and manipulate it in any manner, for commercial or non-commercial purposes provided you attribute the original author.

Image of Creative Commons 2.0 no derivatives

Creative Commons Attribution No Derivatives Works 2.0 Generic license means you are allowed to use the image, for both commercial or non-commercial purposes, provided you do not modify it in any manner (this includes cropping and adding words to the image) and attribute the original author.

Image of Creative Commons Non-Commerical

Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial No Derivative Works 2.0 Generic license allows you to use the image for non-commercial purposes only provided you do not not modify it in any manner (this includes cropping and adding words to the image). You must attribute the original author.

Image of Creative Commons Non Commerical

Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial 2.0 Generic license means you are allowed to use the image, and manipulate it in any manner, for non-commercial purposes only provided you attribute the original author.

Image of Creative Commons ShareAlike NonCommercial

Attribution Noncommercial Share Alike 2.0 Generic license means you are allowed to use the image, and manipulate it in any manner, for non-commercial purposes only. Any resulting work that is created by altering, transforming, or building upon may only be distributed under the same or similar license to this one. You are required to attribute the original author.

Image of Creative Commons ShareAlike

Attribution Share Alike 2.0 Generic license allows you to use the image, and manipulate it in any manner, for commercial or non-commercial purposes. You are required to attribute the original author. Any resulting work that is created by altering, transforming, or building upon may only be distributed under the same or similar license to this one.

Image Attribution

It’s a requirement of all Creative Commons Licenses that attribute the original author i.e. you can’t just use a creative commons image without acknowledging the person who originally created it. Within or at the end your blog post you must attribute the image.

Opinions vary on how images should be attribute, some consider linking back to the original source (e.g. it’s Flickr photo page) is adequate. However you are meant to make it clear to others what license applies to the image which is why I attribute images by also including the link to creative commons license.

Here is an example of how I attribute images:

Photo by cogdogblog licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic.

You will notice that if you click on the link cogdogblog it takes you to image’s photo page. Similarly if you click on the photo it also takes you to image’s photo page. Flickr’s community guidelines specify that if you post a Flickr photo on an external website, the photo must link back to its photo page. This attribution ensures it’s compliant with both Flickr and Creative Commons requirements.

FINAL THOUGHTS

This post is meant as an introduction to the issues of using images and some of the implications to bloggers. Copyright laws varies between countries.

The next post will cover how to find creative commons images and add to posts.  Alternatively you might like to check out all our posts on using images in blog posts.

If you are enjoying reading this blog, please consider Subscribing For Free!


How I Use RSS To Make My Life Easier

Modified on by
42

So I’ve tried my best to explain what is RSS and why it’s important to learn how to use. And as I said I find it hard to explain probably because the power of RSS is really something you need to experience first hand.

I’m really into RSS — a RSS power user may be an appropriate title since I grab every RSS opportunity to make my life easier and maximise my ability to interact effectively with others.

Remember I’m using RSS as a simple and effective way of keeping in touch when new information is added to a website without having to visit the site; instead information is brought to one location, my feed reader, for me to read at my convenience.

So let me show you some of ways I use RSS with my Google Reader.

Subscribing To Blogs

Image of Conversations in the blogspherI read a lot of blogs by subscribing to their RSS feeds because blogging isn’t about working in a vacuum; it’s about the conversations.

Conversations aren’t about you just writing a reflective post that invites / encourages / evokes readers to express their opinion by writing comments on your post. It’s also about you engaging in conversations on others’ blogs by linking to their posts and writing comments on their posts.

To engage effectively in blogging conversations you need to subscribe to blogs that interest you. If you aren’t already subscribe to educational blogs — why not use this list of blogs or the blogroll on my personal blog (on the bottom right hand side) as a starting point.

Effectively Managing Comments

Image of Comment ConversationsOne of my most important tips for keeping up the conversations on blogs is being very effective at managing your comments on other people’s blogs. I’m really good at this because I use tools that track my comments posted on other people’s blogs plus subscribe to the RSS feed from these tools.

Whenever a person comments on a post that I have commented on, their comment is transferred from the post into my Google Reader, so I can choose to immediately respond back if I want.

Currently I use two comment tracking tools — co.mment and cocomment. The RSS feed from co.mment is better than cocomment however cocomment is better for community building. Here’s my explanation on how to set up and use co.mment. You can check out my comment tracking account’s here — on co.mment and at cocomment.

Managing Interactions on Flickr

Flickr is really cool Web 2.0 tool that didn’t initially grab me because I didn’t get the whole idea of sharing photos online and it’s Image of using Flickr in RSSwhole social networking aspect.

Now I’ve made Flickr friends and comment on their photos; my friends newest photos and any comments I make are automatically feed from Flickr to my Google Reader (here are my instructions of how I do it).

This interaction has shown me a different glimpse of their life compared to what I see from reading their blogs or following them on twitter.

RSS is More Than Blog Posts

As Rafa Ribas said about my previous post on RSS:

There is more to RSS than just blog posts. You can RSS news, comments to your posts or others, audio and video, comic strips (I am an absolute fan of xkcd.com), other people’s bookmarks (del.icio.us), and so on and so forth. In summary, RSS is a bit daunting at first, but absolutely amazing in its potential.

Image of RSS iconI’ve only given a small glimpse into the ways I harness the power of RSS. Remember to look out for the RSS icon whenever you visit a web site and consider if subscribing to it’s feed will make your life easier and/or more fun.

FINAL THOUGHT

So have you set up a feed reader yet? If you’re just getting going – please let us know what’s working for you and what’s not.

If you are experienced with using RSS how about telling us about the different RSS feeds besides blog posts that you subscribe to, and why you like subscribing to them.

If you are enjoying reading this blog, please consider Subscribing For Free!