January 14th, 2007 Flickr.com

Did you get a digital camera for Christmas? Have you been busy emailing photos to your friends and family, only to hear you have clogged up their accounts with your huge files? Well, it sounds like you could use Flickr.

Flickr is an online photo sharing community which allows anyone to create a free account, and upload, organize and share photos. After creating a Flickr account, you can invite friends and family to view your photos using a simple form. Photos can be viewed on Flickr as a “slide show” or individually. You can also easily create a “badge” of photos to post on your website. You can see one on the Library’s site at www.tbpl.ca, under “What’s On” and “Definition Quest”.

Flickr was created in 2004 by a husband and wife team from Vancouver, and currently has over 2.5 million users, including your Public Library! Go to Flickr.com and search for “TBPL” and you’ll see photos from the Friends of the Library annual fundraiser, Definition Quest for Literacy. You can also go directly to our Flickr photos here: Flickr.com/photos/tbpl

The philosophy behind Flickr focusses on building community. You can mark any photo you upload as “private”, which means it can only be seen by those you invite, or “public”, which means anyone in the world can see it. Flickr also uses “tags” which are short, usually one or two word, descriptions of your photos. The tags are searchable, so if you’re interested to see photos of the Sleeping Giant, or the Terry Fox lookout, they are easy to find. You can also leave a “comment” on any public photo on Flickr. So, if you find someone who shares your interest in stained glass, or old barns, you can leave a comment and make a connection. A “profile” for a Flickr account allows you to share a little, or a lot, about yourself.

Flickr also encourages its users to connect in “groups”. Flickr groups share a common theme (like “libraries and librarians”) or location (like “Thunder Bay”), and make it easier to find, share and discuss related photos. If you’re attending a large event, like a conference or reunion, you might be asked to “tag” your photos from that event with a common tag, in order to share the experience. The possibilities of Flickr are amazing. Do you remember trying to assemble pictures from your wedding, taken by guests? With Flickr you could set up a “Suzy and Bob’s Wedding” site, and ask you friends to upload their photos with the tag “SuzyandBobsWedding”. You’ll have an instant online album, which your aunt in Scotland and cousin in Australia can view at their leisure.

A new feature that Flickr has recently introduced is a map, which lets you “geo-locate” your photos. On the main page (flicrk.com), choose “Explore Flickr”, then “World Map” under “Explore”. The map may be viewed as a regular map, satellite image (like GoogleEarth), or a combo.

Since Definition Quest was held at the Valhalla Inn, I was able to geo-locate our set of pictures right on the hotel building. So you can zoom in on Thunder Bay, and view all the photos taken in our city. This would be a neat thing to look at if you’re planning a vacation. You could look at photos from the resort you’re going to stay at, or places you’re going to visit.

Another new feature of Flickr is a “Camera Finder” which shows you the most popular types of cameras used by Flickr members. The camera finder includes links to the manufacturers’ websites, and links to Flickr photos taken with that type of camera.

A neat way to explore Flickr is to go to the link “Browse interesting photos shared over the last 7 days” at Flickr.com Here’s how Flickr.com describes this feature:

There are lots of things that make a photo 'interesting' (or not) in the Flickr. Where the clickthroughs are coming from; who comments on it and when; who marks it as a favourite; its tags and many more things which are constantly changing. Interestingness changes over time, as more and more fantastic photos and stories are added to Flickr.

Find a comfy chair, curl up with your computer, and explore Flickr today. You’ll be transported all over the world, and maybe even make a new friend. Don’t forget to check out the pictures from Definition Quest!

Joanna Aegard is Head of Virtual Library Services at the Thunder Bay Public Library