Things 4, 5 and 6, Flickr

I must confess that, when I went to flickr for the fist time, I wasn't terribly impressed. I thought to myself "What's the big deal?" Loading pictures into a website is nothing new. People have been doing it since graphic user interfaces allowed them (or required them) to. Then I started to play with mash ups and image generators and I understood that flickr is more than simply putting images on the we for others to see. It is so easy to manipulate images and create new things with them that, by the time I was done with this steps, I was left wanting more. I used the tools provided by flickr to create the motivational poster and the trading card shown at the right.

I think libraries can use this tool both as a learning activity and as a promotional device. Libraries can use flickr to show users how to manipulate images and inspire those inclined to the visual arts to create projects of their own. This way, libraries can connect artists or aspiring artists with the capabilities of the web.

Additionally, I believe this tool can work wonders for libraries as a promotional tool. Libraries can build photo-blogs promoting library activities, not just by posting pictures of the activities but also mashing the pictures with information useful for those who want to attend the activities, like weather and traffic conditions, links to personnel in charge of the activity so questions about the activity can be asked in real time, etc.

'Til next time,dudes!