Tune-Up #4: Photo Sharing with Flickr

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 capture everyone's interest.

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. http://tametheweb.com/2006/09/steal_this_idea_flickr_for_lib.html. 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.
Note: Photos to be uploaded are stored on the network in the Computer Classroom, but you may also upload your own photos from a flash drive.

1 Log into Flickr using the Technology Tuneup account. The user name is "asktinley02" and the password is GreenWalls. If you need help at this time, refer to the Flickr FAQ page or The Newbie's Guide for assistance.

2. For the purposes of this exercise, we will skip the first step ("Personalize your profile").

3. Click on "Upload your first photos"; then click on "Choose photos and videos."

4. If you're working in the Computer Classroom, go to step 4a. If you're working at some other computer, go to step 4b.

4.a If you're working in the Computer Classroom, find the box at the top of the screen that has a downward-pointing arrow. Click on that arrow.
- From the drop-down menu, click on the line marked "Training$ on tpubserver (T:)"
- Double-click to open the folder labeled "Sample Photos - Tech Tuneups."
- Select any picture, and click on the "Open" button.
- Click on the "Upload" button, then go to step 5.

4.b If you are working on another computer select "My Documents" and then the "My Pictures" folder. (If you don't have any pictures you can select the "Sample Pictures" folder.)
- Select any picture, and click on the "Open" button.
- Click on the "Upload" button, then go to step 5.

5. 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.

6. Next, we will transfer this photo to your own blog. Click here and follow the directions to add a link from your personal blog to our Flickr account. Note: this is an important step. If you don't complete this step, Flickr will not "recognize" your personal blog.

7. Go back to Flickr and 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. Be sure to choose your own blog from the drop-down list (if there is more than one blog listed); otherwise, the picture you chose will appear on someone else's blog.

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.

Note: for this Tune-Up you will be blogging twice (once with your picture and once with your comment about the Tune-Up).

Next week's Tune #5 will discuss Social Networking with Facebook.