# 5 Discover Flickr

Photo sharing websites have been around since the 1990s, but it took a small startup site called Flickr to catapult the idea of “sharing” into a full blown online community. Flickr has become the fastest growing photo sharing site on the web and is known as one of the first websites to use keyword “tags” to create associations and connections between photos and users of the site.

For this discovery exercise, you are asked to take a good look at Flickr and discover what this site has to offer. Find out how tags work, what groups are, and all the neat things that people and other libraries (see what's there about St. Paul Public Library) are using Flickr for.

Discovery Resources:

• Flickr Learn More tour (6 steps)
  


• Mediamazine Flickr Tutorials



• Flickr: Popular tags Interesting- Last 7 days



• Flickr Services and let’s not forget to look at some other libraries on Flickr

Discovery Exercise:

Take a good look around Flickr and discover an interesting image that you want to blog about. Be sure to include a link to the image. Here's how to find the link: click on the photo and look at the browser's address bar. Copy and paste that address to your blog to create a link.

For example, this address - http://www.flickr.com/photos/stpaulpubliclibrary/368206093/ - will take you to the photo shown above.

Advanced options:

1. If you have or create a Flickr account, you can use Flickr's blogging tool to add the image in your post. Another option you have for including images in your post is to use Blogger's photo upload tool.

2. Create a Free account in Flickr and use a digital camera to capture a few pictures of something in your branch. Upload these to your Flickr account and tag at least one of the images “stpaulpubliclibrary” and mark it public. Then create a post in your blog about your photo and experience. Be sure to include the image in your post.

So go ahead, explore the site and have some Flickr photo fun!

If you're interested in looking at some other photo hosting sites, then why not check out these recommendations and this Wired story.

P.S.: A quick word about photo posting etiquette - When posting identifiable photos of other people (especially minors) is it advisable to get the person's permission before posting their photo in a publicly accessible place like Flickr. Never upload pictures that weren't taken by you (unless you have the photographer's consent) and always give credit when you include photos taken by someone else in your blog.

Coming up next: make your own trading cards!