Fun With Flickr...For Free!!
Flickr is undoubtedly one of the most popular photo-sharing websites out there and its popularity is also largely owed to the huge gamut of applications it offers. The most interesting part is that, like Facebook, Flickr leverages its user-base and their expertise to offer more and more enriching applications for the Flickr community. So if are a developer, and if you want to showcase your talent with some interesting applications, click here, and head for The App Garden on Flickr’s services page.
Also, if you are a website owner (say a photography or online printing blog), where you want to use the features on Flickr, you’re in for a treat. In the latter half of this article, we’ll show you the initial steps needed to start a Flickr application. In the mean time, let’s take a quick look at some of the existing applications that some Flickr users are offering.
A good example is Photoworks SF , with which (in the author's words), ‘you can order prints of your Flickr photos from San Francisco's favorite Photo Lab. It's so easy to send us files because the app just pulls the largest size for printing.’ So you see; it is actually developed by a business owner who runs the Photoworks website , and has created and application to leverage on Flickr’s services. A client with his photos on Flickr, doesn’t need to physically upload to the company’s website for printing orders.
Here’s another example, it’s called Flickr2Twitter , with which you can link both your accounts. Once you have the application setup, you can tweet any photo that you email from your phone and tweet them from Flickr.
This could be an excellent tool for journalists involved in field reporting. Here’s how you use it; open the application page, click ‘setup Flickr2Twitter’, you’ll be asked to go to your Twitter account for authorization. Once you’ve authorized, you land up back on your Flickr page. Here, follow the simple onscreen instructions and, you’re set.
Then, there are other applications that seem interesting, such as Pictarine , which is fun to use and it ‘allows you to privately share your Flickr photos’ with your friends on social networking sites, Yahoo and Gmail.
Now, there’s a very popular application called Flickr for the iPhone and iPod Touch . It lets you share photos through your phone, on the move. You can shoot, upload instantly, geo-tag your pictures, add them to a set, view them categorically, and do virtually everything on Flickr that you could from your PC. Looks quite interesting! Now, if you’re an avid Flickr user, you’d know what sort of an online exposure your pictures can get you, especially if you’re a good photographer.
If you use any of these applications, do let us know your take on them. And, if you’re a developer and would like to create your own application, here’s how you can get started.
Developers and users alike
Step 1: Apply for an API key
Step 2: You describe to Flickr, as to what the application does and what it is meant for. On clicking ‘Submit’, you’ll instantly be taken to the next window which will have the API key for you to work with.
Step 3: Now before you move on to creating your application, it’s recommended that you read up on the terms and conditions of using the data available on Flickr.com. On this page, you’ll see a few links, like API terms of use and community guidelines, which will help you to do just that. Once you’ve read all the terms and conditions, you come to Flickr and create an application which suites your needs.
Our comments section is open for your feedback, and, if you already have an application created, share it with us!