Week 3, Thing 8: You can view them online!

Access is currently a buzz word in the museum, library, and archives world. The feeling that records should be available online is one that has encouraged many institutions to undertake massive digitization projects to create electronic copies of archival documents, photographs, and other items so that they may be added to the internet for all the world to see (or at least anyone who is interested).

The Whitby Public Library and Archives is one of those institutions and they are in the process of making their photograph collection available online. On a daily basis, photographs are scanned and uploaded to a host website called Our Ontario. Having the photographs online means that more people have access to them and can view them from the comfort of their homes. The website also contains some Web 2.0 features like the ability to comment on the photographs and even to send images as electronic postcards to friends!

Week 3, Thing 7: Flickr Mashups and Open Source

One of the many great features of Flickr is the fact that it was designed as open source software. A software program that is considered open source means that its code is accessible to developers so that they may use it to design and create other online programs and software.

Flickr is a wonderful example of open source software and so many people have used its code to create third party sites and tools. I found a neat one called PicMarkr which allows you to upload your photos directly from Flickr (or another photo hosting site) and apply a watermark to your photographs. PicMarkr markets itself as a tool that allows you to feel safe about putting your photos online because the watermark serves as a way to protect your ownership of your images.

I used it to add a watermark to one of the photographs I took this summer at a cottage near Haliburton. It was a beautiful day!

Week 3, Thing 6: Flickr, Photos, and Fun!

As is mentioned in my profile, I recently returned from New Zealand after spending about 8 months there. While I was in the Land of Eternal Spring, I created a Flickr account so that I could share my photos with friends and family back home. I found that Flickr was extremely user-friendly and the easiest way to keep loved ones up to date with my activities. It was nice for them to get a feel for where I was living.

I also joined the Flickr group for the region of New Zealand in which I lived, Taranaki. I found this photo of the region's namesake, pride, and protector, Mount Taranaki, in the Taranaki group. I have many photos like this one but I thought Bruce McKinlay's version is quite stunning with the green grass, aqua-blue sky, and snow capped mountain top.

Another good thing about Flickr groups is that photos are added to them on a daily basis which means I can log in to see recent images of my old home!