Freeviews - Image Hosting and Sharing

Freeview: (noun) A review of my favorite free websites, programs, and applications. Read my first freeview on file sharing!

Image Hosting and Sharing

Beyond the obvious advantages of having archival images on the Internet to increase access and discoverability into your collections, hosting images on the net is the perfect way to manipulate simple webpages to look more interesting or to give more detail on a specific item. Basic HTML tags can enhance a traditional text-based record with a visual description through photo slideshows or clickable images.

3rd place:
Picasa is Google's photo sharing program. You can download a client for your computer or you can use just the web version. I like Picasa because I am HUGE Google product user (Blogger, Gmail, Google Calendar, iGoogle Homepage, Google Earth... You name it, I use it!). It's nice that when I blog and upload a picture through Blogger, it is automatically hosted in a blog-specific Picasa album for future use. There is a slideshow feature, which is essential these days for a photo sharing site, but it lacks any customization. There is only one layout choice and in order to obtain the embed code, it takes 4 or 5 clicks through a navigational path that is clunky and complex. Additionally, when you upload an image through Blogger, it is automatically put into your Picasa album, even if you've never used or wanted to use the site. It seems a bit like cheating to gain users.

2nd place:
Flickr, the Yahoo based photo site, has gained notoriety within the archives/library world with the Library of Congress' Photostream. It's very easy to use and since it's so popular, there is a bevy of other users that are already on the site who can browse other photostreams, allowing for additional access points into your collection. Plus, they allow geotagging, which is a pretty cool feature. However, keeping in mind this is a review of the free version, there are so many limitations. The free version only gives you 100 MB of space per month and only the 200 most recently uploaded images will appear. There are embed-able slideshows, but like Picasa, it isn't very customizable.

See what you think: Archives Reboot on Flickr



1st place:
Photobucket is a great site to use that gives a lot of bang for a $0.00 price tag. Granted, like Flickr, there is a Pro version that gives even more, but this review is for the free version. Not only does Photobucket allow for slideshows that are easily manipulated and completely customizable (they offer over 75 different templates). There is also a built-in image editor that gives you the option to add several different effects or fix various problems, like color. Photobucket also keeps statistics on your photos, both as individual photos and as an album, allowing you to track which of your images are most popular, even if they've been embedded into a third party site, like a digital catalog on your institution's site. Unlike Flickr, you don't have to have a site-specific account logon. If your organization already has a Facebook account, you can log in with that! It's always nice to cut down on various usernames and passwords. For the free version, you get 500 MB of space (overall, versus the 100 MB per month with Flickr) and 10 GB/month of bandwidth. You also get a custom URL for the root album and the video uploading limits are 10 minutes long, as opposed to 90 seconds with Flickr. The only deterrent to using Photobucket is the annoying advertisements. Many ads are videos, so sounds sometimes come on when you use the actual Photobucket site. However, if you are using it merely as hosting in order to embed the images/videos onto another site, there are no ads that will appear.

View All Images

See what you think: Archives Reboot on Photobucket

Freeviews - General File Sharing

I am an avid user of free sites. For example, I've used Photobucket, Flickr, Picasa, Shutterfly, Webshots, and Fotki all at one point or another. And that's just for personal photos! I've decided to start reviewing free services sites so that others may benefit from my personal experiences, time, and effort. Many of these sites allow for an upgraded "Pro" account that gives more features and less advertisements, however I've never paid for a subscription in my life. Why? Because I'm cheap. And honestly, so is your institution/organization. "Freeviews" (Free/Reviews) will be a series of blogs that will include categories such as file sharing sites, image hosting sites, media converting freeware, and other sorts of free programs that you might find useful in your special collections, archives, libraries, and other organizations.

General File Sharing

With so many people having multiple computers/smartphones per household (or even, per person), ensuring that you have access to your own files can become quite a hassle. When I was in college, common solutions were flash drives, emailing files to yourself, or even the "ancient" method of burning CDs with files. These are cumbersome methods. Flash drives are easily lost, email inboxes get flooded, and CDs... well, who likes CDs anymore? Here are my picks:

3rd Place: YouSendIt has become a huge hit, earning itself a spot in Inc. Magazine's Top 500 companies of 2010. However, I've found that YouSendIt allows for limited file sizes, fast expiration times, and a less-than-stellar user interface. I also dislike that I have to stay on a specific webpage while my file uploads. However, it has earned itself a spot in Inc. Magazine's Top 500 companies of 2010, so they're doing something right. Plus, nearly everybody has heard of the website, making it easy to use with others.

2nd Place: Drop.io is a collaborative, file-sharing masterpiece. It allows real-time sharing on a page (similar to the Facebook Wall or Wiki) and also gives a unique e-mail address, voicemail phone number, and conference call phone number, all while protected under custom privacy settings. Here's a great example: A hiring committee creates a drop page for each candidate. Members can add the candidate's resume, references, and cover letter. They can chat on the page about the candidate's qualifications and share URL links, such as the candidate's blog or professional website. Using three-way calling with the Voicemail phone number, a phone interview can be recorded and posted to the drop page for all hiring committee members to review. Additionally, a variety of applications can be added onto the drop page to create a stronger collaborative project. The drawback to this is that it isn't the best tool to share your own files with yourself from device to device. It's clunky to download files that have been posted to the drop and space is limited.

1st place: Dropbox is the king of file syncing. It allows for file sharing both between different people and different devices. It runs quietly in the background and gives a substantial amount of space. Unlike other programs, Dropbox does not have a single file size limit, just an overall user space limit. The free version starts you off with 2 gigs of space and gives you the opportunity to "earn" more space by referring friends, up to 8 GIGS! (Speaking of which, if you want to give it a try, please use my referral link so I earn more space!) That's pretty generous for a free version with no advertisements. That's right, folks- no annoying blinking boxes telling me I'm a winner or pop ups offering me grants to go back to school for an Associate's degree. The front end of this site is also very nice- it makes sense and it very easy to navigate. It also provides automatic backup with your shared folders. Though it does allow for shared folders with other users and public URL links to share with those who do not have a Dropbox account, it really should be seen more like file syncing rather than sharing.



I think this will become an ongoing blog series. Next time I'll do my 3 favorite photo hosting and sharing sites. Stay tuned ...