Flickr of Excitement

Nope, didnt spell flicker incorrectly.

I was never really into group emails. Other then when I was backpacking in 1998 and were getting charged 4 pounds per 15 mins for internet access. Today, I think if people want to see what I am up to they can go to my Blog. Saves the time of trying to write a creative thoughtful email to people when you know you only have about 2 minutes to do it.

Annnyway... so that is what I have been doing. Now, I cannot get enough of blogging photos. There is something really powerful about "personal journalism". Not just documenting what you have been up to - but capturing it and getting it out there in a timely way. So your friends can go and see what you did an hour ago or the night before. For me, that starts to get exciting - to see where my Mum and Dad visited this afternoon for example. I want today's news! Tomorrow, its yesterday's news. Use and dispose generation I guess.

So, I have been trying to come up with a fast process to match that wish of timely personal journalism. (Damn, I sound like I am my own publisher - "C'mon kid, get your photos out there!) I am a Mac user (surprise surprise).

Apple have dropped the ball in this area.

Up until now, to place photos on my blogspot site I have been: importing photos from camera to iPhoto, exporting to jpeg, then resizing in Preview (because the photos are large), then uploading to Homepage, viewing web page, getting photo URL, cut and pasting into blog and adding html code....

Too hard.

But now... there is Flickr.

When I started playing around with Flickr I realized that these guys/girls are photo bloggers themselves. Its all about a process. Think about it as capturing image and getting to friends and families eyes. They have worked out the in between process. They are now my facilitator. My online production house. I am demanding and they are up to the task.

With Flickr - you set up your account on flickr.com (which was one of the easiest sign up processes I have done in a long time) and then you can download an application called Flickr Uploadr. You can then drag and drop photos from anywhere on your computer. From iPhoto, from a web page you are looking at, from your files etc. Then this is where the magic begins.

Flickr can resize the photo for you. Flickr then gives you the URL location of your photo AND it will even generate the HTML tag with your title in it. In non-tech talk, you can just cut and paste those letters into your blog and it will come up with the photo!!!!!!!!!!! So you can now easily capture and share and then take advantage of the Blogger publishing world. Within seconds your RSS feed will push the new headline out to your friends who are taking your feed.

Personal Journalism. In a timely way. This the reason people are going to start using their digital cameras again. Taking shots and emailing them around to people who are not interested got boring after a while. I am even checking out how to use the features on my camera.... gasp, might even read the manual.... Well, I would had I not thrown it out right away. Who reads manuals...

Now lets see who buys them first... Apple, Yahoo or Google. My money goes on Yahoo. They seem to have that philosophy of surround yourself with people smarter than they are... Where as Steve Jobs loves to project that 'mad genius' theme that he tinker and personally dreams everything up himself.

Flickr On my Friends.

People lining up for new video game

Two new major video game titles were released today. And one thing struck me whilst standing in line about to purchase the last two copies of EA's MVP Baseball game (much to the disappointment/anger of the stockbroker type behind me). It was the diversity of the crowd.

I felt like I was standing in line to get a movie ticket. Which was really interesting when you compare it to the feeling I used to have of being a full geek for being seen in a game shop. There was also the same excitement around the launch day. I called about 6 stores to see if they had it and they had sold out. I asked the guy at Gamestop and he said he had take 350 pre-rders for the game just in his store. He had heard of other stores having more. Pretty much all stores will guarantee you a copy on the first day it comes out of you put $5 down nowadays.

So I got home and checked out all the new features in the game. One of the best things, was logging on to Xbox Live and hearing the first few people speaking on the game. It was like they had rushed to a new planet and were now walking around checking out the place. Then they will wait for the world to become more and more populated.

XBOX 360.... Get used to hearing that...

It sounds as though this will be the name for the next generation Xbox...