Thing 6 - Discovering Web 2.0 Tools

This blog posting is all about a discovery Web 2.0 tool that I selected from the 2009 Web 2.0 awards (Web 2.0 Awards).  I chose the Picnik site (Picnik) as I had heard the instructor talking about it.  Also, I have a huge amount of digital pictures so I was interested in learning more about a Web 2.0 platform that utilizes photographs and videos.  I selected the link only to discover that as of April 19, 2012, Picnik merged into Google+.  So I went about exploring Creative Kit in Google+ (Creative Kit Google+) as many of the popular features of Picnik are now part of it.  Plus, I already had a Google+ account which has been gathering dust for some time.  It was exciting and informative to learn about using it as a platform to share my pictures and videos.

With Google+ you can not only upload pictures but you can also edit, share and create albums.  Videos can be uploaded as well.  One characteristic that I like about it is that the level of security can be changed between four different levels.  There is a public level which is open to the public.  An extended level allows for people in your circle to view the uploads as well as those individuals in your friends’ circle.  The limited level only lets those who you share your uploads with to view them.  Finally, there is an “Only You” level in which only the creator can view.  A draw back of the security levels is that if you change the viewing level to a stricter level all the comments and posts will be deleted.  So it is best to make sure the security level is set to the level you want to keep your uploads at.

If you have an Android or iOS cell phone you can upload photos from it to edit and share later.  All you need is the app to do this.  This can be very handy if you take a lot of pictures or video with your cell phone and would like to transfer it to your computer but are not near one.  Of course you can share directly with your phone, as well as add photos to albums that have already been created.

I uploaded a few pictures into the tool and played around with them a bit.  I really liked the amount of special effects that are available.  Not only can you add a special effect to your photo but you can play around with the settings of that effect in various ways.  There is also an auto fix tool that will correct the exposure of your photograph.

Your friends or family don’t have to have a Google+ account to view your photos or videos.  You can e-mail them a link so that they can view them.  They are able to download the pictures and videos as well.  This is nice for family and friends who live far away.  There is also a setting if you wish to disallow viewers from downloading your photographs, if you with to do so.  (However, if you share it as an link in an e-mail it must be unlocked to work.)

Name tags, comments and captions can be added to photos or videos via the side bar.  Individuals that you invite to view your photos can also tag them.  However, if someone outside of your circle wishes to tag someone you must grant permission for them to do so.  Supposedly you can tag people who are not in your Google+ circle.  I tried to tag someone who is not a member of my Google+ circle, but had a numerous individuals pop up with no way of knowing which one was my friend.  Consequently I nixed that idea.

Another thing that I really like about Google+ is the ability to create different circles of contacts.  This allows the user to share photos and videos with a certain circle.  Of course you can share with as many of your circles as you want.  I thought this would be neat to have as a teacher because I could share class related material with only my class circle.  However, the students would have to be connected to Google+ in order for me to do it this way, which may be challenging to set up.  I would still be able to do it in link form in an e-mail, however.

Overall I think it is a good platform to share photos and videos.  It has some really cool features and good security.  Even if I can’t include all my students in a circle or e-mail them links, I can still use it in class for presentations if I wanted.