#6: Flickr Fun - and then some!

Listen to this podcast [3:22] ---> powered by ODEO




If you thought Flickr was cool in and of itself (I certainly did!), there are a gazillion more things to do and see using Flickr that will amaze you!

Continuing the web frontier spirit of sharing, Flickr invites users to go forth and experiment. For those with technical expertise, this invitation prompts creative design challenges for building new online applications. For those of us without technical expertise, this provides an almost dizzying array of Flickr-based tools that go above and beyond our humble digital dreams.

Examples:

• The the images above, spelling Thing #6, were generated using Spell with flickr. *
• Flickr Postcard Browser - enter a place name to search and watch an array of thumbnail Flickr images as they arrange themselves all over a black screen; click on one for a close-up view. Click the image again to return to the thumbnail screen selection.
• Color Fields Colr Pickr - color wheel with scale for changing hue/tone.
• Flickeur pulls random images from Flickr to merge, move and blend them into an artistically unique display with electronic music. It can be odd and beautiful (from one moment to another!).

Wow, huh?

Now, if you noticed the urls, these are not Flickr addresses.

These are created and hosted elsewhere by those blessed techno-experts who took Flickr, went forth, and multiplied its power. These folks (who will excuse me, please, if I misapply the use of jargon here) have written APIs (application program interfaces) using Flickr's API to create new programs based on Flickr content but transforming or translating it into either new interactive tools or new displays.

These are "mashups." People smoosh two (or more) cool ideas together with tech know-how to create hybrid web applications. When these applications are made available to us, they become third party tools. Ready to mix and mash?

Discovery Exercise:

Two routes for this discovery exercise - no commitment (just play online) or invest something of yourself (err, well, of your images). Whatever trek you undertake, please write a blog entry about it.

1. Low threshold: Just play around with dynamic tools

• A game called Matchr that presents 16 Flickr photos that look random, but are actually 8 pairs with matching tags. If you get the gist my brief explanation, I recommend skipping the beginner stuff in the main "Hi there" box and just clicking the New Puzzle link at the right, midway down the screen.
• Solve an online image puzzle - jigsaw, slide and stick puzzles, play around with kaleidescope variations - variety of options. Scroll down to browse categories, top 40 lists of popular puzzles/images, or search by keyword (on left, more than halfway down scrolled page).
• Flickr Sudoku!
  

2. Taking it up a notch: Do something with image(s) of your choosing

• Use the Warholizer to create pop art out of one of your images. Or choose another mashup from fd's Flickr toys site. Flickr lists this guy's tools at the top of their list!
  
• Create an online jigsaw puzzle! FlashPuzzleZone provides a template for you here. Note: your image will be scaled down as necessary due to parameters for the program and some images work better others. But if it turns out for you, FlashPuzzleZone provides the html code to you, so you can post it to your blog.
• Create a slideshow/animated gif of your Flickr images using Gickr. If you're a digital photo-taker like I am (inexpert), you click click click trying to get just the right shot. This tool looks to be the thing to make use of all those lame shots leading up to just the right one! Again, as with the tool above, not all your images may work well.
  

*Okay, actually only Thing and 6 were generated there. This tool does not create spaces between words nor does it seem to have all typical keyboard symbols. So, I went into Flickr, searched for pound sign (disregarded British pound sterling and other stuff and fortunately found a Creative Commons image originally uploaded by mag3737). His tag is actually poundsign, but Flickr found the variation for me! I inserted the uploaded image between what Spell with flickr provided.

#5: Discovering Flickr

Listen to this podcast [1:45] ---> powered by ODEO

Let's Dance!
Originally uploaded by greeneyedhedgehog

Flickr - yes, that's not a typo. There isn't an e missing between those last two consonants.

Flickr is a web tool for posting and sharing photos openly online. There are other tools and photo sites, but Flickr sort of revolutionized this web photo album idea (and it's very Web 2.0).

First, Flickr took 'sharing' to a new level by allowing users to make public or private individual photos; then, Flickr added a feature called tags (with a cute little tag/label icon). Tags are keyword labels users associate with their images. They are not unique to Flickr, but my background reading indicates that Flickr was among the first (if not the first) photo site to making tagging available. We'll be getting into more tagging in Week 6.

So, for this 5th Thing, we encourage you to look at Flickr and find out what it's all about. Okay, maybe not what it's all about, but check it out!

You can head straight to Flickr (http://www.flickr.com/) to start your own exploration, or you might want to start with their tour.

• Tour (7 pages of brief info)
• Explore
  
• Here's some info about tags. And/or here are examples of popular Flickr tags
• Images from the last 7 days WARNING! Hitting that reload button might absorb a lot of your time
• About interestingness, Flickr's great word for Last 7 days photo selection and a very vague explanation of how they apply it...
  
  

Discovery Exercise:

In this discovery exercise, you have three options… one involves creating an account, the other involves multiple steps to avoid creating a Flickr account but still selecting an image to blog about, the last involves using a digital image you already have (and creating an account).

For all of these options, my verbosity will make the instructions look daunting, but really, this stuff is easier than the length of this page makes it look!

Option 1
Creating an account is really pretty easy - but it is another account (refer again to tips on keeping track of accounts from Karen's first podcast - #1: The first thing!). Well, it's sort of two more accounts but really one account that let's you do more stuff in other places. Flickr requires a Yahoo! ID (essentially a Yahoo! email address) for creating an account - but they walk you through this step by step. [If you already have a Yahoo! email account, just use that and log in right away.]

Once you have the account created, Flickr will ask you for a screen name - it doesn't have to be the same as your account name. Have fun! People have cool, fun, and mysterious screen names. And then you can create an icon for yourself (photo of yourself or an image of anything you like) - or leave it as the default indifferent emoticon. Add as much or as little to your profile as you wish (or are ready to complete at this point) on the Personal Information tab. Before finishing your profile, though, click on the Extending Flickr tab to link your blog to your Flickr account.

Under Your blogs click the link "Configure your Flickr-to-blog settings" then Set up your blog. If you set up a new Blogger account for Thing #3, you'll use the first (default) tool listed, "Blogger Blog (New)," and click the Next button. The next page will say stuff about beta, beta.blogger.com, and things that might confuse you and me, so just click the link "Head over to Google now."

Enter your Google/Blogger/Gmail account and password, then on the next page Grant Access. Flickr assumes you have more than one blog (what a compliment to us newbies!); just click next if your blog title shows. Confirm the blog settings, click All Done. You then have an option for creating a custom post template, layout and settings for posting images to your blog.

You're done with account creation and linking your blog.

Now, go find a picture! Just about every page in Flickr has a search field in the upper right - even the one where you just finished linking your blog. Search for something you fancy. The Italian Alps? snow cones? serenity? From the search results page, click on the image you like best.

The page displaying the single photo will present, just above the image in gray text and icons, options of what you can do with the photo. Select the "Blog this" option and follow the prompts. You can edit this later when you log into your Blogger account (or change it from published post to a draft as I did with the image above while I fretted over verbiage).

Option 2
So, you're not ready to create yet another account. But we still want you to actively explore Flickr. Remember one of the few rules we have? Rule 2 is Share - and Flickr is so good about sharing! They have even incorporated Creative Commons licensing with the images available publicly.

Okay, so head to Flickr and search for something of interest to you. The beach? windswept plains? a Snickers bar?

Got one? An image, that is, not a candy bar.

3 Ft R > 1,
originally uploaded by
MyAngelG.

Select your favorite from among the results and click on it. On the page with the single image, just above the picture you'll see a magnifying glass icon and "All sizes" - click on that button. This brings you to a download page with options for the size you want (mind you, you'll be downloading this for your blog, so think about what size image you want there). Select your size and download the image. Make a note about who posted this image so you can provide an attribution and/or a link to the Flickr page.

Now log into your blog, create a new entry and "add image" following Blogger instructions for uploading images. Publish your post!

Option 3

If you have lots of digital images, you might want to browse through them before getting into Flickr so you have something in mind to start uploading to your Flickr account.

Head to Flickr to set up an account if you don't already have one. Flickr requires a Yahoo! ID (essentially a Yahoo! email address) for creating an account. If you already have a Yahoo! email account, just use that and log in right away.

Once you have the account created, Flickr will ask you for a screen name - it doesn't have to be the same as your account name. Then you can choose to create an icon for yourself (photo of yourself or an image of anything you like) - or leave it as the default indifferent emoticon. This was an obstacle for me because I didn't have a small enough image to use for an icon. (That'll be my 24th thing, maybe?). Add as much or as little to your profile as you wish (or are ready to complete at this point) on the Personal Information tab. Before finishing your profile, though, click on the Extending Flickr tab to link your blog to your Flickr account.

Under Your blogs click the link "Configure your Flickr-to-blog settings" then Set up your blog. If you set up a new Blogger account for Thing #3, you'll use the first (default) tool listed, "Blogger Blog (New)," and click the Next button. The next page will say stuff about beta, beta.blogger.com, and things that might confuse you and me, so just click the link "Head over to Google now."

Enter your Google/Blogger/Gmail account and password, then on the next page Grant Access. Just click next if your blog title shows (if you have more than one Blogger page, there is a drop down menu of your blogs). Confirm the blog settings by clicking All Done. You then have an option for creating a custom post template, layout and settings for posting images to your blog.

You're done with account creation and linking your blog.

Now, upload an image or two (or as many as you wish!). Once you have uploaded an image, you can blog from that image page! Look just above the image to find gray text and icons giving you options of what you can do with the photo. Select the "Blog this" option and follow the prompts. The title of the blog entry defaults to the image title, but you can change that. Type in blog entry and hit the Post Entry button. (You can edit this post more extensively when you log into your Blogger account.) Pretty cool, huh?


Notes about searching in Flickr

• use quotation marks around phrases (otherwise Flickr inserts AND between words)
• the ubiquitous Search box searches on full text, not just tags; you can narrow your search somewhat from the results page by clicking the option "Tags only" and re-running your search.
  
• to go directly to a search page for searching tags only, click on the Search link next to the search box (without typing anything in search box)
• looks like it automatically searches for both singular and plural (e.g. searching "snow cones" will result in images tagged "snow cone")
  

P.S. If you are curious, like I am, about how the site name Flickr was determined, I found a blogged interview of Flickr co-founder Caterina Fake (yes, that's her last name) and learned that they went for "a name that meant light and motion" - and that she is relieved they did not choose a variation on the word photography.

#4: Sharing your blog

Listen to this podcast [3:56] ---> powered by ODEO

The last activity this week is to share your blog with the rest of us. The easiest way to do this is to write a comment right below this entry and tell us about your new blog. (If you login to make your comment, your name should link to your blog.) Then we'll add it to the blogroll to the left. If your blog already appears in the list on the left, we've already found it!

Then read the blog entries others have written. You might find ideas that get you thinking in a totally new direction. If so, you can write another blog entry! Can you see how entries and comments and links build upon each other in this read/write web?

If you're confused, that's okay too. It's part of learning, sometimes an important part. Write about confusion!

But most of all, play around and have fun!

#3: Creating a blog

Listen to this podcast [5:41]--> powered by ODEO

Now that you've explored this blog and thought a bit about learning, it's time to really get started. Blogging isn't just about reading. It's really about writing.

Creating a blog using Blogger* takes just three easy steps:

1. Create an account
2. Name your blog
3. Select your template.

Once you’ve created your blog, here are two important things to note:

To add posts: The maintenance interface that you will use to add posts, edit or change the step-up your blog is accessed online at http://www.blogger.com Be sure to write down your login and password. (Remember? That was part of the first thing last week!)

To view your blog: Your blog address is http://(xxxx).blogspot.com, (xxxx)=the unique identifier you entered in Step 2. Be sure to also write down your blog address.

OK -- Now, it’s your turn...

Discovery Exercise:

1 -- Set up a blog for yourself through Blogger.

2 -- Add a test post or two. Then write an entry about the 7 and 1/2 lifelong learning habits, especially which one is easiest and hardest for you & why.

3 -- Have fun!!!!

If you're an early bird and have already completed this step, write another entry about learning. It's a great topic because we can explore it from so many different perspectives.

* Use of Blogger is only a recommendation. If there is another blog hosting site that you are more comfortable with, please feel free to use it.

#2: Learning 2.0

Listen to this podcast [2:01] ---> powered by ODEO

Before we get started exploring the Web 2.0 tools, let's take some time to reflect about learning.

Learning doesn't mean you have to reinvent the wheel. The tutorial we're using here was produced for this project by the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County (PLCMC), and we have used it (and the whole idea of the 23 Things) with their permission and under their Creative Commons license. (Remember Rule 2 in the First Thing: Share? Creative Commons licenses are wonderful ways of sharing.) We've made some changes to parts of the program and customized it for GCC.

These habits, what PLCMC calls the Seven and 1/2 Habits of Highly Successful Lifelong Learners, will provide you with a refresher on what it means to be a lifelong learner.

Discovery Exercise:

1. Make sure you have headphones or speakers attached to your computer.
   Open up the 7 & 1/2 Habits online tutorial and view it.
   
2. As you watch and listen, write down which habit among the 7 & 1/2 is easiest for you and which is hardest. You will use your personal blog (which you will set up next week) to post your thoughts about lifelong learning.
   
3. In order to get to the attachments for this tutorial, you’ll need to disable your pop-up blocker. I was able to open the attachments (see the link on the top right corner of the tutorial) in IE 7 by holding down the Control key and clicking on the file name. Then I could either open the file or save it (to that 23 Things folder you created as part of the first thing, right?)

This isn't the only way to think about our habits of learning. If you know of other approaches, jot down a few notes and share them in the next thing, your blog. And don't forget to play around a bit. Learning should always contain a large dose of fun!

Frequently Asked Questions

We've already had a few questions, and I'm sure we'll get more, so we've started this FAQ to collect them all in one place.

Can I use [this or that] browser?

We think all Web 2.0 applications will run on any reasonably current browser, but this is probably something to watch for. When I hit a snag and something doesn't work properly, I usually try it with a different browser entirely before I panic or call for help.

What if I get behind?

That's okay. We'll just chug along, but we'll miss you! You'll be able to catch up with what's happened when you come back from that wonderfully exciting place you've been. But don't be gone too long . . .

How will I know when to do things?

In the beginning, we'll send some reminders in email, but beginning with Week 4, we'll learn new ways to stay connected that don't depend on email.

#1: The first thing!

Listen to this podcast [2:56] ---> powered by ODEO
If you've found your way here, you're one of a merry band exploring 23 Things @ Glendale Community College over the summer. Each week, either Christine or I will introduce a couple of things to learn about during the week. We've posted the list of 23 Things and a schedule; whether you print it out and post it on your refrigerator or add the dates and topics to your Blackberry is a secret you'll never have to share. Our goal is to post at least the first thing each week in time for you to get started each Monday morning, but we might get the things done earlier. Who knows?

You can work ahead if you'd like; just be sure to check back to make sure you've done the specific task we've identified for that week. If you fall behind -- hey, life intervenes occasionally -- that's okay. You can always catch up, but we've heard a rumor that there are some prizes for those who complete all 23 Things by August 1st. Shssh.

For the first few weeks, we'll send out email reminders, but that's so Web 1.0! In Week 4, we'll learn some Web 2.0 ways to keep up without filling up your mailbox. Won't that be grand?

If you have questions, check our FAQ to see if we've answered them already. If not, post a question there . . . or here . . . we'll find them! And away we go . . .