Landscape, Nature And Travel Photography

It’s been several months now and I’m really enjoying my time on Google+. One thing that has been making the experience all the more enjoyable is the use of the following extensions in the Chrome browser. The following extensions in some cases improve on the user interface, integrate my activity with other social media sites or just make accessing content easier.  The following extensions are definitely worth checking out and possibly reason enough to use Chrome even more than Firefox, Safari or Internet Explorer.

+Photo Zoom – Allows you to mouse over an image thumbnail and zoom in and out with the motion of your mouse. Saves a click and speeds up browsing time.

Extended Share – Expands adds a “Share on” options under each Google+ entry to quickly share the post on Twitter, Facebook, Linked In and many other sites.

Plus Minus – My favorite feature of this plugin is that it loads more posts automatically as you scroll down, but it does a lot more including designate which Circles show up in your Google+ Stream, mark individual or all posts as read, and more.

Replies and more – Adds a link under each post to “Reply to Author”. This is a huge timesaver even for a fast typist. I use this functionality all the time. The extension does a lot more so check out the extension page.

SGPlus – Is is well… awesome! This is the single best plugin of the bunch as it allows you to use Google+ as a hub to Facebook and Twitter activity. I don’t pull in my feeds from Facebook and Twitter even though I could, but I really like that I can post content in one place and have it appear on Facebook, Twitter and Google+. It’s a huge timesaver. There is tons of documentation on this plugin and they’ve made incredible improvements with it since it was first released.

If you have a favorite Chrome extension that makes your Google+ experience better share it in the comments.

Note yet on Google+ Here’s a Google+  Invite Link

Technorati Tags: Google+, Chrome, Extension, plugin

Don’t get me wrong I love social media and I enjoy interacting with friends, family and fans on Twitter, Facebook and Google+, but there are days I do need to remove distractions and get down to the business of work. Well I found a few solutions to hit the social media mute button and tested them out this past week. In case you’re looking for a virtual (working) cone of silence you may find the following solutions of interest.

• Anti-Social (Mac) – Block specific sites for up to 8 hours, you choose the sites and the duration.
• Freedom (Mac) – Block Internet access for up to 8 hours, you choose the duration.
• StayFocused (Chrome extension) – limits time you spend on distracting web sites that you set in the extensions configuration.

Personally I prefer bringing my laptop out to the beach to unplug and work, but that’s not always possible. In the meantime these applications seemed to do the job I needed. As you’ve guessed I’m a Mac guy so if you have PC or Linux equivalents you use that are recommendable add them in the comments so others can find them.

Technorati Tags: technology, social media, software

There was so much interest in my previous article How I Evaluate Terms of Service for Social Media Web Sites – Google+ I thought the following helpful sites would address lingering questions I’ve heard and point you to incredible resources to help you make the best decisions possible when signing on to new social media sites or even decisions to stay with existing social media sites

TOSback – the Terms of Service Tracker set up by the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
This web site is exceptional in tracking changes to existing web sites and the site I trust most. I’ve yet to see anything specific to Google+ yet, but its only a a matter of time. When they do post something it will be here on the Google TOSback page.

Photo Sharing Sites – Terms of Service Comparison Chart
Compiled by Professor Kathy E. Gill of the University of Washington (@kegill). I think this is a very noble effort and one of the few I’ve found to date to compare multiple sites. Included are Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, Lockerz, MobyPictures, Photobucket, Picasa, Posterous, TwitPic, Tumblr, Twitter and yFrog.
Disclaimer: Always read the Terms of Service in its entirety versus relying on snippets.

ASMP Social Media Tutorial (New as of July 19th):
Great timing ASMP 1 day after my original post released their Social Media Tutorial. As a member of ASMP I’ve always found their resources to be of great help. Be sure to read the Legal Considerations and Common Terms of Use sections. I’m looking forward to them expanding these sections to cover more sits.

Technorati Tags: photography, terms of service, tos, social media

Using a social media web site (Ex. Twitter, Facebook and now Google+) is a common place activity for many, but every time a new social media site comes online the same discussions surfaces and the same comments are made about rights grabs, privacy concerns and the need to lock your personal information & photos offline to preserve your ability to protect your work/business. This later concern is one photographers repeat every time a new site comes online and its often backed by erroneous information or a simple lack of understanding of the Terms of Service (ToS) of the new web site.

The Basics
Before I go further it’s important to note that a Terms of Service document is a legal document. To get a definitive take on what a specific Terms of Service document says consult a lawyer. I am not a lawyer and what I’m about to share is based on my personal experience as a web entrepreneur, full-time professional photographer and former corporate web manager. If you’re reading this and you’re a practicing lawyer I welcome your feedback, input and contribution to the information below.

Jockeying for Legal Protection – How Each Party Protects Themselves
Me – As a professional photographer I don’t just think in terms of producing photographs; I think in terms of intellectual property. As such all of my work is filed officially for copyright with the U.S. Library of Congress. (For more on my copyright work-flow see Copyrights: Protecting My Photography or 10 Must Read Copyright Articles for Photographers.) This is important because it helps me protect my creative work to the full letter of the law in the event my work is misappropriated. And by that I mean companies of all sizes will almost always take note of a copyright infringement claim when notified of a formal copyright filing with the U.S. Library of Congress as it can mean real impact to their bottom-line.

Copyright protection helps me gain footing to protect my business and secure future income even when up against a person or company infringing my copyright that might have greater resources or might otherwise chose to ignore a complaint it sees as a non-priority.

Them – Not surprising companies behind social media web sites also think in terms of intellectual property and take necessary steps to protect themselves.

• First and foremost they want to establish that they own the code behind the functionality that makes their site work (ex. site users don’t own how Google+, Twitter or Facebook works or any portion of code behind the sites). This is almost always under a Proprietary Rights and/or general License section of a ToS.
• Secondly they want to establish they hold the right to share submitted information (syndicate information) in such a way that the site functions as expected in regard to sharing content and can be ported to sister web properties or web partners (ex. Tweets can be ported to a blog via a Twitter widget, Tweetdeck or Hootsuite can receive/display your tweets from Twitter, etc.).  Social media is about sharing, so syndication is a central function to secure rights for. In general such terms can be found under a Content License section of a ToS.
• Thirdly they want to make sure they are not opening themselves up to lawsuits (ex. liability, privacy or copyright infringement and claims regarding security breaches). To safeguard against such claims “Liability”, “Security” and “Privacy” disclaimers are always present. Copyright & Trademarks are often covered on 3 fronts: End User content (content you own that is shared), 3rd Party Content (content you share owned by others) and Developers (programmers creating new software leveraging an API to port shared content to plugins, apps, etc.) Because of the complexity surrounding copyrighted and trademarked information terms are usually divided between several sections in a ToS document.

If you were to start a social media company these would be your top 3 concerns. Creating a social media web site takes a lot of time, planning and resources. Losing that investment would be catastrophic hence the need for legalese covering the aforementioned concerns.

My Top 4 Factors Dictating Participation on Social Media Web Sites (ex. Google+)
Note: Google+ is used as an example, but could be replaced by any company/site name.

1. Is a claim made that the copyright of my work is transferred to Google+ (or company X) upon posting/submission?
2. Is a claim made that my copyrighted work will be distributed to sites under a set umbrella of sites  and services (ex. Google+, Gmail, Buzz, Google Search, Google Image Search, Google Maps, Google Places, etc.), or far beyond such as a blanket claim to sub-license my shared work to known and unknown companies/services (ex. 3rd party advertisers or image licensing services)?
3. Do terms used in relation to any claimed license include “irrevocable”, “perpetual license”, “fully paid”, “royalty-free” or the classic phrase “by all means and in any media now known or hereafter developed”?
   Horrible example often absorbed in boiler-plate ToS:

   You agree to grant to “Company X” a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, perpetual license, with the right to sub-license, to reproduce, distribute, transmit, create derivative works of, publicly display and publicly perform any materials and other information (including, without limitation, ideas contained therein for new or improved products and services) you submit to any public areas of the Site (such as bulletin boards, forums and newsgroups) or by e-mail to “Company X” by all means and in any media now known or hereafter developed. You also grant to “Company X” the right to use your name in connection with the submitted materials and other information as well as in connection with all advertising, marketing and promotional material related thereto. You agree that you shall have no recourse against “Company X” for any alleged or actual infringement or misappropriation of any proprietary right in your communications to “Company X”.

4. Can the Terms of Service be terminated by myself and not just by Google+?

How Google+ Holds Up to my 4 Factors of Participation
As I read the Google Terms of Service document my 4 Factors of Participation break out as follows:

1. Copyright – I retain my copyright and all other rights held to submitted content. (Win!)
   

   11.1 You retain copyright and any other rights you already hold in Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. (for remainder see #3 below)

2. Content distribution & claimed rights
   

   11.2 You agree that this license includes a right for Google to make such Content available to other companies, organizations or individuals with whom Google has relationships for the provision of syndicated services, and to use such Content in connection with the provision of those services.

   This is a broad statement, but rights aren’t given to 3rd parties outside of the scope of syndicating content. As stated earlier sharing is a central pillar to social media so I’m OK with this. (OK)

   In addition Section 11.3 clarifies an often abused statement “by all means and in any media now known or hereafter developed”. Content will be changed or adapted to meet technical requirements of future networks, to fit future devices, services or media. It’s open ended but makes logical sense to me versus being an extremely vague rights claim. (OK)

   11.3 You understand that Google, in performing the required technical steps to provide the Services to our users, may (a) transmit or distribute your Content over various public networks and in various media; and (b) make such changes to your Content as are necessary to conform and adapt that Content to the technical requirements of connecting networks, devices, services or media. You agree that this license shall permit Google to take these actions.

3. Use of “Red Flag” terms
   

   11.1 (cont.) By submitting, posting or displaying the content you give Google a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and exclusive license to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. This license is for the sole purpose of enabling Google to display, distribute and promote the Services and may be revoked for certain Services as defined in the Additional Terms of those Services.

   • Yikes Google starts using red flag terms “perpetual”, irrevocable”, and “royalty-free” and “non-exclusive”. To their credit they use “worldwide” and not “universe” which I’ve begun seeing. At first glance I’m turned off by these terms, but I fall back to my entrepreneurial experience from the dot com days and recognize these are terms necessary to use to reproduce content online. Think of this blog post. The title and abstract of its contents can be displayed in Google+, shown on a Google Custom page, in a Google RSS Reader, be translated by Google Translate, repurposed via Google owned Feedburner, appear in Google Search, etc. Each of these services needs to modify the display and length of this posts content. On top of that there is no limit in time-frame to when someone might find a search result for example. (Reluctant OK)
   • Google clarifies why the aforementioned red flag terms are employed, but also states these terms may be revoked per the terms of other Google services. This part per my earlier explanation makes sense, but ends in a way that makes me a little nervous as its open ended. (Reluctant OK)
4. Termination of Terms of Service
   Google outlines in Section 13.1 and 13.2 that you can terminate the ToS and provides a mechanism to do so. (Win)

Keeping an Eye on the Big Picture
Social Media sites can be used in a variety of ways to support personal and business goals. While they’re fun to use I strongly believe they should be used with a goal in mind. Goals for personal use may vary drastically compared to goals for business use.  On top of that goals for business use vary as well based on the type of business you run, how you run your business and who your target audience is. My top 4 concerns in evaluating the ToS for a social media site may not be the same as your own, but I personally think they’re a good start in making an early evaluation of a particular service and whether they’re worthy of using.

In my example I’m OK in using Google+. Having read the Google+ ToS I have a better feel of how my content is being used and have identified short comings that might force me to modify my sharing behavior there. Ultimately I find no reason yet to curb my sharing behavior, but as with all new services I’m starting off conservatively to see how Google+ evolves during the closed beta.

Social media is a great tool. As always I recommend approaching it with an open mind and in an educated fashion.

Related Articles:

• TOSBack Terms-of-Use Tracker
• Terms Of (Ab)Use – Electronic Frontier Foundation
• The Clicks That Bind: Ways Users “Agree” to Online Terms of Service – Electronic Frontier Foundation

Update: Google+ ToS from an Attorney
Google user licenses: clarification would be nice, but they’re not panic-worthy

Getty Images Blesses the Google+ ToS for its Flickr Collection Contributors
Getty Images has responded to inquiries that posting images on Google+ does not violate the terms of Flickr Getty Contributor contracts.
If you’re a Getty Flickr contributor you can view this private link with specific details

Google+ Not Part of Google Display Network (Ad Network)
Google representative states “Google+ is not part of the Google Display Network” in this wired article Google+ vs. Facebook on Privacy: + Ahead On Points — For Now

Technorati Tags: Social Media, Terms of Service, Terms of Use, ToS, ToU, Google+, Photography, photo, professional, Google, copyright

Today I’m kicking off the 2010 Photographer Social Media Survey and you’re invited to take part by clicking on the red link below:

2010 Photographer Social Media Survey
Estimated time of completion – 10-15 minutes
Please note by 2010 we mean business year 2010

This survey is being co-run with Miki Johnson and is a follow-up survey to the 2009 Photographer Social Media Survey. The goal of this survey is to evaluate and share developing trends of how photographers used social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and others in 2010 as compared to 2009.  The 2009 Survey was an incredible success thanks to your participation and word of mouth to your peers.

I invite you to take part in this survey and to spread word of it to other photo communities and photography trade organizations. Data compiled from this survey will be shared upon its completion to all who are interested.

Thanks for your interest, participation and efforts to share this survey with your peers.

Technorati Tags: photography, photographer, survey, social media

Ever see an odd pixelated square graphic like this one on a web page, print magazine or as someone’s social media site avatar? If you haven’t yet I guarantee you will now. This type of graphic is called a QR Code and something you’ll want to take note of and to creatively use in the future.

What is a QR Code & Why Use It?
QR stands for Quick Response and essentially are bar codes, a different variation to what you find on grocery labels in the store. In essence QR codes are a visual representation of a web URL. They’re used in print and on web pages to help people load a web page from their camera enabled mobile phone.  This is particularly helpful to transition viewers quickly from the world of print to the web.

How Does One Use A QR Code?
The simplest use-case of utilizing a QR code is as follows:

1. Viewer sees a QR Code on a print ad or a web page
2. Viewer loads a QR Code scanning application on your mobile phone
3. Viewer photographs the QR Code with your mobile phone
4. The QR Code scanning application then provides the viewer with a URL and the option to load it on your phone’s web browser.

The aforementioned use case is the basic way to use a QR code, but there are many creative applications in using a QR Code. Case in point is the C.A.O.S Living book (see below) where QR Codes were used to create a book that never grows old. There are several interesting ways to use QR Codes as they can be included on business cards, online avatars, promotional mailers, guerrilla marketing, tattoos…. OK maybe you shouldn’t use it as a tattoo. Recently I made use of a Wordpress plug-in that auto generates QR codes for every blog post on my blog. If you look on the right side of my blog I now have a section titled “QR Code To Go”. The purpose of this is to allow people to transition reading my blog from their computer to their phone if they’re on the go and need to be mobile.

As for what QR Code app to use… there are numerous QR Code readers now available in the iTunes and Android marketplaces. Take a look to find one that will work on your phone. It’s a great app to have on hand.

How Do I Make A QR Code?
The simplest way to create a QR Code is to access one of the many online QR Code generator web sites now available. I personally use the Kaywa QR Code generator. From this site and equivalents you can enter a URL and download an image file of your QR Code in various sizes. You can then use the image as you see fit to direct people to the URL entered into the generator.

Final Thoughts
QR Codes are definitely growing in popularity and they’re worth exploring if you haven’t already begun to do so. They’re big in Japan and they’re growing in popularity across the globe. If you come up with a creative use of a QR Code or know of a great example be sure to let me know in the comments. It’d be great to share some inspirational uses with others. If QR Codes are new to you then definitely take a look at the videos and resource links below.

Demo Videos
How QR Codes Work – Scanning QR Codes Found on NY Streets

Timeless Book Video

Additional Resources & Reading on QR Codes

• More Details on the Basics of QR Codes
• How to Scan a QR Code on an iPhone
• How to Scan a QR Code on an Android Mobile Phone
• QR Code Features (For the Technically Minded)
• QR Code Best Practices
• QR Code Generator
• Tips on Advertising with QR Codes
• 33 Ways Photographers Can Use QR Codes

Who’s Scanning QR Codes (via Jumpscan & Mashable)

Technorati Tags: photography, marketing, qr code

Cell phone photography is exploding in use these days. As our ability to take photographs becomes easier, so too does the inadvertent spread of our personal information. Devices such as the iPhone automatically embed GPS data into EXIF data of its photos. Uninformed use of certain social media sites / image hosting services can result in the inadvertent spread of personal information such as your approximate home address or daily routine.

It’s important to note that I’m a firm believer in embedding EXIF data into professional images from a dSLR so that you can be found for future work, image licensing or print sales. In this instance I’m focused on images that originate from mobile / cell phones and other mobile devices. For a complete list of what social media web sites preserve metadata refer to David Rieck’s Controlled Vocabulary Social Media survey.

As it relates to mobile / cell phone photography and privacy I was tipped off to the following news report by Michael E. Gordon. Ever aware of metadata and my online activity with my iPhone photography I felt comfortable I was in good shape on the privacy front, but I decided to check sites that I disiplay my iPhone photos just in case. What I learned was that my settings on some sites were not 100% correct. Below the following video I’ve outlined what sites did or did not include GPS data and what I had to do to adjust my settings to hide personal GPS data.

Mobile App Communities (ex. Best Camera, Instagr.am, etc.)
A general rule of thumb is that anytime a mobile app applies a visual change to your photos there is a good chance, as of this post date, the metadata of your photo is not being preserved. Apps such as Best Camera and Instagr.am that apply pre-set filters to alter the look of your photographs do not carry over metadata to the final version of your image. As it relates to privacy this is great, but if you’re sharing dSLR photos that are being made available commercially this is not such a great thing.

Facebook – Mobile Uploads & Places
Facebook has never preserved image metadata to the best of my knowledge. Once again this is great if you’re concerned about location related metadata in your mobile / cell phone photographs, but horrible if you’re uploading dSLR images for business purposes.

Flickr
Flickr has long been at the forefront of geotagging photographs. They’ve implemented an elegant solution to read GPS data in a photographs metadata on import and show the location via Google maps on each photo page.  I have (2) two Flickr accounts. One account is for my professional work and the other highlights photos taken from my cell phone. Checking my cell phone Flickr account I found that personal location data was being revealed on numerous photos and I had to remove it. The fastest way to do this was to batch remove GPS data.  Here is how I did it….

Batch Delete GPS data on Flickr

1. Navigate to “Organize & Create”
2. At the bottom of the browser window just above the row of image thumbnails click “Select All” and drag them to where it says “Drag items here to edit them as a batch”
3. Select the “Location” menu and choose “Change geoprivacy”
4. Select remove Map information

To stop Flickr from importing GPS data from your photos (highly recommended for mobile phone images if privacy is a concern)

1. Navigate to “You” > “Your Account” or click on your account name in the upper right of the browser window
2. Select “Privacy & Permissions”
3. Click on “edit” for “Import EXIF location data”
4. Uncheck “Yes, please, that would be lovely.” and click Save under “Shall we import that information when a photo or video is uploaded or replaced?”

FourSquare & Gowalla
These applications are a fun way to share your whereabouts and activity with your social network. While shared images do not contain EXIF data the application is capturing / providing information on your location you voluntarily share with others via location services.

GPS Settings on your iPhone
To be 100% certain what applications are providing location based information about you via GPS you should check your iPhone settings. To do this follow these easy steps:

1. Click on the Settings app
2. Choose “General”
3. Select “Location Services”
4. Turn on or off the ability to relay GPS data to the list of apps found on your phone

Final Thoughts
I hope this information helps you get the most out of your online / mobile experience while preserving the level of privacy you prefer. I do not have access to an Android phone so if you have privacy tips please feel free to share them in the comments.

Technorati Tags: Photography, mobile phone, cell phone, privacy, GPS, geotagging, iPhone, Android

To conclude my monthly series “Thoughts on the iPad” where I previously discussed future audience trends in Where Will Your Audience Be Next Year? and developing eCommerce trends with mobile apps in Cracking the Code to Web Revenue? I wanted to discuss the web marketing potential of mobile apps. With all signs pointing toward a shift in user adoption with mobile devices and eCommerce trends highlighting an increase in mobile app consumption, the natural questions are “How is this relevant to me? ” and “How can the potential of mobile apps be realized?”  The answer to these questions are most certainly subjective, but here is my take.

How are mobile apps relevant to me?
The earliest adopters of mobile applications (service & content publishers) have by and large been larger brands with deeper pockets or small tech companies looking to capture the attention of early adopters with novel products & services. For some mobile apps have been a way to establish an image of hip or cool, a means to create PR buzz or to push the envelope establishing a new business model. As it relates to small business owners, such as photographers, the question inevitably arises how is this new platform relevant to me?

Mobile apps provide a very interesting solution to a challenge faced by all businesses regardless of size, namely generating revenue online. Don’t get me wrong there are multiple approaches to generating revenue online including straight sales (ex. books, prints, ebooks, etc), freemium (ex. MailChimp, my email marketing service of choice, offers limited free service with expanded services costing money), advertising, subscription, etc. Each of these business models can be accomplished outside of the realm of mobile applications through a standard website. Unlike the standard website mobile applications excel in revenue generation because:

1. There is an understood expectation that apps at some point cost money
2. They’re mobile and your audience can make a purchase virtually anywhere
3. They facilitate instant sharing of online testimonials between customers and prospective customers via social media & email
4. Transaction conversion rates by app customers are trending higher than standard web customers
5. They can unify existing web properties (marketing and commerce) into a powerful sales tool

Realizing the Potential of Mobile Apps
Depending on your business model there are numerous ways to realize the potential of mobile applications. I can’t claim to know the exact answer for everyone, but the clues to finding the right answer for you are in the list above. Personally I feel the most novel aspect of mobile apps is the ability to hone marketing and sales efforts into a razor sharp tool. Utilizing a mobile app to act as a lens that focuses ones online presence is an incredible opportunity. Such an approach not only pulls together disparate online efforts it reinforces brand, messaging and product/service offerings.

On that note, look out for my next post later today for an exciting announcement that will show how I’m applying such theory to my business online.

Technorati Tags: technology, mobile, app, application, photography, iPad