Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Flickr! Web 2.0 photo sharing

Flickr is a photo sharing site and services suite fueled by an online community. It was one of the earliest Web 2.0 applications. It is a very popular Web site for users to share personal photographs, and bloggers use it extensively as a photo repository. It has been made popular by an innovative online community with tools that allow photos to be tagged and browsed by folksonomic means. It hosts over two billion images. The article below was published by the Educause group.

Flickr is a photo-sharing website where anyone can upload and tag photos, browse others' photos, and add comments and annotations. Users can create photo sets and collections to manage content and participate in topical groups to cultivate a sense of community. Although Flickr is ostensibly for photos, the site might more aptly be described as a venue for sharing experiences and building relationships. The site provides the tools, but the value derives from the contributions of the user community -- photos, comments, ratings, and organization -- and the connections that the site facilitates between individuals. In this way, Flickr embodies what has come to be known as Web 2.0 technology.

The "7 Things You Should Know About..." series from the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (ELI) provides concise information on emerging learning technologies. Each brief focuses on a single technology and describes what it is, where it is going, and why it matters to teaching and learning. Use these briefs for a no-jargon, quick overview of a topic and share them with time-pressed colleagues.
In addition to the "7 Things You Should Know About..." briefs, you may find other ELI resources useful in addressing teaching, learning, and technology issues at your institution.

Extended Article in Acrobat format.

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