I've chosen to use flickr as my photo-sharing experience as it is the popular choice among so many.
In March of 2007 Stewart Butterfield, co-founder of Flickr, was asked why Flickr worked? His response was honest and refreshing, "I'm not sure why Flickr works." (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaLRM1KA6rw) One reason he does point out was that the initial Flickr community was very strong. This sentiment continues to this day. I asked a co-worker of mine, a long time Flickr user what he enjoyed about it. He mention the social aspect, the sharing, comparing, discussions, basically being part of a community of individuals that share the same interests.
In my quest to become a "Flickrite" I realized how many of these web 2.0 tools are intertwined. Of course even a novice cyber surfer would already have known this, but I am a complete newbie. Flickr blog, Flickr on twitter, and having a Flickr tab on your Facebook page to show your updated photo-stream. The first thing I enjoyed about this site was something Davies and Merchant mentioned in our text, that you can use this site without even joining (pg. 36) This virtual change room if you will is a nice feature it allows you to know exactly what you are getting if you decide to join.
1.) As I previously mentioned I had never visited Flickr or any other photo-sharing site prior to this course. The process for signing up and joining Flickr was relatively painless as with many of these technologies. The program walks you through step by step quite nicely. With in minutes your pictures are there to share with the world, if you choose. Will Richardson mentions how easy organizing photos on Flickr is in Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and other...(2006) I wasn't convinced of this as I searched the menu on the top of the screen over and over I could not find anything for setting up folders and organizing my photos. So I figured Mr. Richardson was confused, until I noticed the menu on the right side of the screen which allowed for a very simple process of organizing, my apologies Mr. Richardson! One thing I set out to do was to set up a EDES 501/544 group in Flickr. My idea was that my entire cohort could join up and add photos to show who we are, what our interests are, where we come from, things of this nature. This has not been as easy, I tried to invite the whole class, so far there is almost half of us in about a week of trying. Also I have not been able to organize our photos as that right side margin does not seem to be on the group page?! So the group project has been a bit frustrating but individually it has been a breeze.
2.) Flickr is a fabulous tool in terms of personal use. As a learner I enjoyed playing around and discovering all of its fabulous tools, organising (my photos), editing on Flickr, tagging important aspects, annotating images, and describing each photo, all of this for free. The trailfire video pointed out that we can store all of our photos safely on Flickr. Safe from fire and computer crashes. This had not occurred to me as an option, of course you may have to upgrade for a minimal fee ( I think it is $25.00) to store all your photos. You can store up to 100MB for free which is pretty large to me. Just the aspect of being able to just send our account link to our families so they can go online at their leisure and see all of our photos is fantastic! Also to most recent ones would be shown first in the photo-stream which makes things easy. My Mum will love to be able to go and see all the most recent photos of her granddaughters anytime she wishes. All of our immediate family lives away, so it is a handy tool in that sense.
3.) In my profession as a Sonographer and an instructor of sonography Flickr is a tool that is right up our alley. Ultrasound is nothing but images of the human body. In a class setting you could load a bunch of ultrasound images to Flickr and let the students go online and discuss what is happening in the images, what pathologies might be present, what other images should you get if you see this, the possibilities are many. Through the discussion the students could brainstorm, work there way through the problem. On a professional level the national society could set up a link for its members in the same manner. An on-line case study perhaps. The members could then go in look at the images and discuss what is happening, similar to the class scenario. The only con to this is believe it or not, everybody does not have access to a computer, or the internet. Also availability, not everyone will want to spend time after work or school to participate. In the classroom it could be made mandatory if it was not to overload them, so it would be easier in this atmosphere.
Starting this mission at level 0, and being where I am now in such a short time period shows how quickly and easily one can learn this tool and all it has to offer. I look forward to continue using Flickr and getting the upgrade to store our family photos there. So I guess I have been drawn to the bright light of Flickr.
