Flickr Mash-Ups and Third Party Sites

So far, this task has been the one that kept me playing the longest. The Third-Party tools Flickr has available on their site kept me entertained for a good hour and a half because they're so fun!

The one that I thought was most intriguing and most ingenius was the Flickr Retrievr, which finds photos for you based on sketches you draw yourself using their very simple graphic-design widget, which is embedded in the page. You simply select your color and make a dinky little drawing (it functions much like the Paint software that comes on PCs), and the Retrievr will find photos that have the same color and composition as your drawing. I can imagine this would be a fantastic tool for artists who are looking to create art projects using photos that all have a similar "look" to them, and also, it's just wildly fun to play around with!

In addition, I checked out FD's Flickr Toys, which has too much for me to even explore in a day. I got lost on the LOLCAT generator and the website of examples. I think a few patrons wondered what I was looking at that was so funny, but I can't help but laugh when I see something like this:

And since this 23 Things program is all about learning to be computer savvy, I'll share a tech geek joke picture as well:

Also, just as some general feedback about Flickr:

It seems to me that I would never need a Flickr account myself because while I do take the occasional picture, this website seems more geared for professional or semi-professional photographers who are interested in showing and sharing their portfolios. If I take a photograph myself that I would like to host online, I don't need to have a huge account in a site like Flickr...I can upload it to a photo hosting site like Photobucket or TinyPic. Flickr seems to me like it would be better if I had a whole series of photos I wanted to upload rather than just one or two, which is generally all I have. That said, I think Flickr can be a great resource for those of us who don't have an account. It's almost like a stock photo archive (similar to Getty or Corbis) that you can use to search for pictures you need for projects or anything else non-profit. Of course, I'm sure some Flickr users would prefer their photos not be used for websites or other public forums, but that could always be solved by crediting the photographer or requesting permission to use an image for whatever purpose.
It's a fun website, and I use it myself a lot, but I don't think I would need to have an account for myself. I'm content browsing through everyone else's.

P.S. I hate, hate, hate how every time I add a photo or edit a post in Blogger, it adds about five spaces between my paragraphs. How annoying. I just gave up and added the html myself.

Flickr

Browsing through photographs of bookshelves on Flickr is one of the most enjoyable "learning experiences" I can imagine having. Page after page of books stacked in shelves stretching to the ceiling, rainbows of spines, and architecture as monumentous as the knowledge contained in the millions of books within...well, I could have spent a lot longer than an hour looking at images like this.

But the photo to the above right is the one that got my attention the most. The instant I saw it, I wanted this room. I can almost smell it, the picture is so vivid - the scent of old, dusty books and a candle that smells like baked goods, apple pie and cinnamon. I think photos that are truly good do this - they excite senses other than sight.

I can just imagine what is behind this door... If it were my library, the door would lead to a secret room with big leather couches and overstuffed armchairs, a thick carpet on the floor and old lamps scattered around on antique end tables. Maybe even a window that lets in just enough evening sunlight to highlight the specks of dust floating in the air when you settle down with a blanket and a cat in your lap to read your next thick novel.

Everything about this photo just makes my imagination go crazy. I always said I wanted a library of my own with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves crammed full someday. Now I think I'll add "secret room with hidden revolving bookshelf door" to that. Hey, a girl can dream, can't she?