Tip of the day from Journalism.co.uk - link Flickr and Twitter

Social media: Want to post images to your Twitter account? SnapTweet links Twitter with Flickr and lets you post your latest photo by sending a message to @snaptweet. Tipster: Laura Oliver To submit a tip to Journalism.co.uk, use this link - we will pay a fiver for the best ones published. Full story...

Tags: Laura Oliver, social media

Getty teams up with Yahoo to tap into Flickr users

Getty Images is to collaborate with Yahoo-owned image-sharing site Flickr to harness the potential of the site’s members.

Through the partnership Getty will invite Flickr members to contribute their images to a ‘Flickr branded collection’ on the agency’s website. Pics in this collection will then be made available for licensing by Getty’s clients.

Editors from Getty will select the members and the two companies are currently working on online tools for contacting Flickr users.

Members who chose to submit their images to the collection will hand over exclusive commercial rights of the photos to Getty.

“Flickr members will benefit from Getty Images’ global sales and distribution teams helping to market their images and from Getty Images’ expertise and experience in rights and clearances of visual content. Getty Images’ customers will benefit from the fresh, unique and individualistic perspectives of members within Flickr’s global community,” a release from Yahoo said.

A launch date for the collection is yet to be announced.

Tags: Getty Images

Tip of the day from Journalism.co.uk

Audio-visual: Be careful where you upload - read the terms and conditions first as they can include rights grabs. Revver is better than YouTube, Flickr is better than PhotoBucket. Avoid Facebook. Tipster: John Thompson

Got a tip? Submit it here - we will pay a fiver for the best ones published.

Tags: John Thompson, Journalism.co.uk, YouTube

Innovations in Journalism - a plug in to ease sorting through web images and video from PicLens

We give developers the opportunity to tell us journalists why we should sit up and pay attention to the sites and devices they are working on. Today, it’s searching easily though web images and video with PicLens.

1) Who are you and what’s it all about?
Hi, I’m Alec Jeong from Cooliris.

We’ve developed PicLens, a plug-in that transforms your browser into a 3D environment where you can search, drag, and zoom around thousands of images and videos across the web.

PicLens makes your online media come to life in a full-screen, cinematic presentation that goes beyond the confines of the traditional browser.

2) Why would this be useful to a journalist?
Journalist regularly search for photos and videos on the web, tediously clicking in and out of web pages and image search engines to find the perfect image or video.

PicLens changes all that, by allowing you to search and view 100s or even 1000s of online photos and videos in an instant.

Need to see the photo in detail? Just click a toggle button and the photo or video will go full screen. Jump to the corresponding page of the image or video? No problem.

3) Is this it, or is there more to come?
There is much more, much more to come. In the coming months, we will be adding features that will completely transform the way you use online media.

4) Why are you doing this?
We asked ourselves the question: What would the web be like if, rather than having to browse click by click, we were able find and share information quickly and directly through a single, rich media navigation layer that frees you from the confines of the traditional browser window and web pages?

We believe that you would discover that the web is richer than you’ve believed before, and that the added spatiality would enable you get much more from the rich online media and from your social connections.

5) What does it cost to use it?
PicLens is free to use and available for Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari.

The “3D Wall” interface is available now for Firefox and IE and is coming to Safari soon.

6) How will you make it pay?
Our goal has always been to focus on providing the ultimate user experience. With several million downloads of our product in just the past few months, we are on a fast trajectory to bring in the next generation online media experience.

Tags: image search engines, Internet Explorer, media navigation layer, online media, online photos, web images

Social Media Journalist: “Facebook is overrated. The novelty is wearing off and people are getting bored” Matthew Buckland

Journalism.co.uk talks to reporters across the globe working at the collision of journalism and social media about how they see it changing their industry. This week, Matthew Buckland from Mail & Guardian, South Africa.

1) Who are you and what do you do?
I am Matthew Buckland, the GM of Mail & Guardian Online.

As head of the online division I am responsible for the overall online and mobile strategy, with an overview of editorial, production, technical and online sales.

I am also involved quite heavily in our social media strategies and sites.

2) Which web or mobile-based social media tools do you use on a daily basis and why?
I use Twitter, both web and mobile. I blog on my own blog about online media, web 2.0 and technology, thoughtleader.co.za and sometimes on Poynter’s new media titbits.

I use Mybloglog on my blog quite a bit. I use Facebook web and mobile… but less and less these days. At the end of last year I began using Slideshare to share my presentations and see others. I Digg every now and again, and use a local version, Muti.co.za.

I also keep half an eyeball on Linkedin - but don’t really do it justice. I am an occasional Del.ici.ous user. I use both Flickr and Picasa as online photo albums/photo sharing.

For video sharing I use Youtube, obviously. I’m also a wikipediaholic.

I used SecondLife for about a week, but realised it would be best for my health to shut it down and never look at it again

Generally I find these social media tools are a good way of networking, sharing ideas and content, and building relationships with people. They also waste a lot of time and create noise in my life.

3) Of the thousands of social media tools available could you single one out as having the most potential for news either as a publishing or newsgathering tool?
I think of all the hyped up social media tools we’ve seen, blogging has shown that it is more than just a fad, but here to stay.

We’ve seen how mainstream online publishers have embraced blogs both as new publishing formats and newsgathering tool with considerable success.

4) And the most overrated in your opinion?
I’m beginning to think Facebook is overrated. The novelty is wearing off and people are getting bored, very quickly.

Tags: Delaware, Mail & Guardian, Matthew Buckland Journalism.co.uk, media titbits, mobile-based social media tools, online division, online media, online photo albums/photo sharing, online publishers, online sales, overall online and mobile strategy, social media, social media strategies, social media tools, South Africa, YouTube

Wired: Flickr groups reject new video feature

Several user groups on Flickr have been set up against the introduction of video to the image-sharing website, which was announced earlier this week.

Users are concerned that there was no pilot stage for the service, which allows ‘Pro’ subscribers to submit 90-second video clips alongside images.

By Thursday the ‘We Say No to Videos on Flickr’ group had more than 22,000 members.

News.com: Flickr video launch - pleasing but limited

Flickr video has arrived - after what seemed like an age - and CNET’s Dan Farber is impressed with the results, even if users are limited to 90 seconds of videos. Crazy, for my money.

‘It’s the video analog of Twitter, which limits users to 140 characters. It’s a fine communications constraint, but it doesn’t apply as easily to video content,’ says Faber.

While Flickr have been dillydallying, as Faber points out, YouTube has rocketed ahead with its offering.

Tags: communications constraint, Dan Farber, YouTube