Flickr Related Tag Browser lets you surf Flickr's 'tag space'. Flickr tags are keywords used to classify images. Each tag has a list of 'related' tags, based on clustered usage analysis.

Thanks to the Flickr team for their great API. Flickr is almost certainly the best online photo management and sharing application in the world.

I could not agree more with that last sentence. Is there a lesson out there as to what can happen when you let folks loose on data via an open API? That more people will enter a site through these more or less freely franchised outlets? It seems like the antithesis to rigid corporate portals.

But enough of that let's walk through how it works (Geez, I wish I was set up for screencasting!)...

However, he is rather wired for his work. Today, at his new office, they used a digital xray machine that takes the photos of your teeth, but they insert a mini sensor card in your mouth, that is read almost instantly into a computer and projected on a flat screen in the office for him to examine and show me (no plasma screen yet). Apparently the cost savings (on supplies, film, chemicals) are significant, the images sharper and saved to an electronic record, and also since the coverage is larger, I am exposed to less x-rays.

It's one of those subtle things I like to notice where technology slips into ordinary activities, and is useful. At other doctor's offices, I see reams of paper, paper notes, large bukly files, doctors flipping through pages to find things... well it is something they hopefully are in transition.

I ordered an 11x14 glossy of my molars ;-)

And better yet, no cavities.

As noted in the comment from Eric the site creator, you can now use his script to generate a logo dynamically in a page via JavaScript:

<script type="text/javascript"
src="http://metaatem.net/spell.php?picsize=s&string=CogDogBlog">
</script>

I like it! I like randomness, mixing up content, etc. Thanks Eric!

If you do not like the looks of any letter, just click on it and you get a substitute. And guess what Stephen, this one will work on your Flash-less computer!

A generous tip of the blog hat to Tim Lauer, who is always finding cool stuff I follow.

Update! As noted in the comment below from Eric the site creator, you can now use his script to generate a logo dynamically in a page via JavaScript:

<script type="text/javascript"
src="http://metaatem.net/spell.php?picsize=s&string=CogDogBlog">
</script>

Flickr Graph is an application that explores the social relationships inside flickr.com. It makes use of the classic attraction-repulsion algorithm for graphs.

Basically it lets you visualize and generate a dynamic social network the friends and friends of fiends and the friends of friends of friends as defined in flickr. Each node you click on, moves to the center and blossoms with the network for that person. Whichever node is in the center has a link to "view pics" or to load their flickr page

So starting with Will's network I re-organize to put mine in the network....

Now I must admit I've not spent much time going around adding flickr friends (I tend to explore flickr via tags) but now I have more of a reason. It makes for a new interesting way to travel the flickr network-- where can I go with six clicks away from me (traveling by random picks of icons-- note to flick-ers, best to create a flickr icon that is customized- the grey flat smile is pretty ordinary)

(1) cogdogblog (that is me)
(2) mrgluesniffer (brian lamb)
(3) striatic (they guy who did the cool Vancouver flickr map)
(4) eric (no idea)
(5) Jason Classon (no idea)
(6) -- oops ran into an error could not go one more

Lands a flickr map that arranges itself to display my path:

And checking out jason's images... well, he has a mix which liekly explains it self, fun images, beach images, warehouse images... the flickr grpah loads its own representation, and his URL, tags, and individual image icons are all links into flickr:

Every re-draw of the flickr graph seems to generate a slightly different map arrangement. A totally addictive experience. Check it out...

And this is why flickr is the über über über of internet technologies- it is easy to use, engaging, and its APIs allow for innovative add-ons like this example. It would be the opposite of the standard corporate approach to try and keep users penned in. If your internet strategy is aimed at making your site "sticky" to users (locking them into your site), remember that as individual humans, being stuck to something is not very attractive. We want freedom, the ability to come and go, to choose paths, to create our own ways of using content, to rip, mix. Flickr has got it nailed.

This image was made by compositing 2600 photographs and arranging them in a fibonacci spiral, a form commonly seen in plants, such as sunflowers and pinecones. The image was produced by Jim Bumgardner using images from the Squared Circle photo pool at Flickr, the photo-blogging website.

Jim is aiming to turn this into an actual poster, and to do so, he is seeking to get permission from the people who shared the 2600 photos on flickr-- and he is appealing to them to make sure they have applied a Creative Commons license (tools built into the flickr site) that alloes derivative works. He even created a second graphic that shows in color the images that need permission changes (it looks like 25%- but check out the image):

Legally, we can only use your photos with your permission. This means you must license them. Fortunately, Flickr makes this easy.

The red band indicates unlicensed photos. The purple band indicates photos which are licensed, but have a "No Derivatives" clause. The photos in the center are useable.

Remember: We can not, and will not use your photos if you don't license them!

This reminded me of an ichat yesterday with Gerry Paille, and he was asking why places like flickr and del.icio.us are exploding with activity, but educators cannot seem to get anywhere above the no pulse line with learning objects. Imagine a chink of learning material seamlessly created from 2600 other pieces, each licensed. Flickr is proving huge amounts of reusablity of their "objects".

Of course photos are much similar than learning objects (after all, we all know what a photo is :-).

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

So how long till there is a marriage of flickr and an audio equivalent? How about iPodPhotoPodcasting?

Today, I got an invite to join the "spread that love" flickr group (which explains why I had to fish it out of the junk mail folder!). So here is the meme for this group:

Take your favourite sandwich or toast spread on an excursion outdoors for a day or so. Show the world how much you love it, and take some interesting photos of it as you go, (compile them into a small set of say 5 to 10 images), by which I mean "on location" outside your house, we want to see whacky and weird places you can get away with photographing your favourite spread.

This started with some photos of Marmite and "Reggie" the Vegemite on their excursions. Is this silly? It is in the eye of the beholder, but witness that at least 30 other people have joined. This could not have happened ever before in history without the net, without flickr, and without a bunch of people who love their spreads.

I was wondering what I did to deserve the honor? Ah, it's my own fault.

But an important lesson emerges from this silliness (or not so silly if you are a professional photographer of yeast food extracts).... flickr as a technology enables and facilitates a social space, online community if you will, but not by itself. People and shared purpose are what make an online community thrive or die. So do not expect any technology to do the job alone.

flickr foto

Pass the Suflur, Please
available on my flickr

I have dinkered away a bit more time than I would have preferred to set up this "blog from flickr to MT", but that is what happens why you start pawing around with new toys. It is a matter of clicking the "Blog This" icon from flickr:

Anyhow, I had to do a bit of munging to the style flickr uses to create a post, and especially take out the CSS it inserts into the entry (instead putting it in my style sheet), modifying the styles to my liking.

That gets really messy when you have MT's default to convert everything to HTML!

Then I had to do some subsituting in the template on the flickr site, using their own template tags to insert my flickr-composed caption on the right of this image, and then put this text (which I am writing on the flickr site- screen shot pleeeze!).

full size
Composing an MT entry within flickr!

The only thing I cannot seem to do is to assign MT categories or keywords (the latter I use to generate the full entry URL).

Oh well, there is post-production in lots of things.

flickr foto

On the Waterfront
available on my flickr

The tools are getting interestingly cross-bred.

It's been a few months since I looked at the photo blog site flickr and having gone back, I am very pleased with all the new tools they have! For one, I can compose a blog post with any image in "my flickr" and have it sent to my MovableType site (or Blogger or ... a bunch of others). There are also some slick desktop upload tools.

I am also trying the side bar feed from flickr replacing the one I had before from buzznet.

Taking place in Los Angeles starting July 10, 2004, SENT brings perhaps your cheesy phone camera snapshots to a level of fine art? Images will be invited to be submitted by the public.

It looks like it may be too let to send your phone snaps, but stay tuned to see the results.

SENT will be the first major exhibit of phonecam art in the United States. We'll explore the camera phone's potential as a creative tool in two ways: through an online public dialogue in which amateur photographers and phonecam users around the world share mobile snapshots of their lives; and through an invitational exhibit in which professional photographers, artists, and public figures test the limits of creative possibilities offered by these hybrid devices.

I think it is a cool idea- yes the technology and photo quality are limited compared to some of the newer 8 megapixel digital cameras, but that is the creativity of working in a limited media.

Found via the Flickr blogthere is a lot going on over there, been a few months since I "flickr-ed". They have many new tools and features and this new concept of flick, mix, and blog with Fliccker and Feedburner.

Looks like I will be diving in deeper with Flickr to use for image holding, as I have plans to translate our MovableType Blogshop to one hosted and about blogging with Blogger. The free version has no image loading capability.