Open-source software powers my photoblog, but after discovering flickr my website has evolved, with positive results.
I am a recent flickr convert. I now post photos on my flickr account that compliment my photoblog. I cross-promote my website by uploading my daily image to flickr, adding it to groups and communities, and tagging it with my website’s URL. Flickr’s open API allows for creative developers to work with the site in innovative ways. This creative interaction is fresh, and is what separates flickr from other photo sharing sites. It promotes online discourse.
The third party software I discovered, and purchased, was FlickrExport for iPhoto, whose sole purpose is to allow users to upload images directly from iPhoto into a flickr account, as individual photos, into albums, with tags, compression, and even notes.
Another neat feature is the flickr moo mini card. The Moo site allows you to create mini business cards from images in your flickr account. This feature was an extraordinary way for me to view my images as test subjects for potential business cards. The customer can crop images, customize the text and logo in real time, and view them as a galley prior to purchase. Moo has fostered online tags for sharing moo card images, and also groups that trade moo cards.
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Moo is not the only one doing interesting things with flickr. John Watson, described on flickr as the “epitome of the Flickr API hacker”, has built a reputation around applications and website tools that compliment your photos. Yahoo!, the parent company of flickr, has incorporated users’ photos into its trip planner, allowing users to merge travel plans with flickr photos, creating photo-documentaries about recent trips.
Companies and individuals keen to provide the necessary tools to foster online dialogue and conversation should look at flickr as a prime example of a web 2.0 success story. Embracing the best of closed and open-source software, flickr is a website where the possibilities are endless. Flickr’s simplicity and ease-of-use are why it is so successful, and the site is an easy way to pass enjoyable hours (as I have done) getting lost in brilliant photography from amateurs and professionals around the world.
I’ve done the same thing. I wanted my own photoblog where I control layout and everything. I’ve known about Flickr all this time but wanted my own thing. As time went on I grew more in love with the Flickr community. Now I have a ton of pictures on Flickr, all with my website address added in the picture description. I’ve found that Yahoo hasn’t given out my website for any searches in the last 3 months. Google loves me on the other hand, sending tons of traffic to me. I’m wondering if Yahoo’s search engine intel thinks that I’m a spam site because of all the website addresses in Flickr pointing to me.