A Thing: The 7th One. (Flickr.)

When it comes to tools as far as photo-sharing goes, it can be hard to differentiate between all the websites out there.  Tinypic, Photobucket, Pinterest, Instagram, Shutterfly, Picasa, Flickr?  If you're finding yourself stressed out, overwhelmed by the choices, and wondering why people didn't just stick to those glossy-paged binder photo albums, then fear not.  Today, we'll be shedding some light on a nice, helpful corner of the photo-sharing universe beyond the crafting scissors and the glue.  Like all other things, all of these sites have their pros and cons.  However, as square one, this post is going to be focusing on only one of these websites.  Want a hint?  It's a good one, and it's coming to you live, straight from Yahoo!  (Flickr.)  

Did you ever hear that sharing is caring?  Cause it is!  One of the greatest tools you can use as far as sharing your memories and experiences with others is a photo-sharing tool.  And one of the greatest photo-sharing tools you can use is Yahoo's Flickr.  This website offers a nice balance of professionalism and recreation, and allows you to network with other photographers by sharing your work, and sharing in others', all while interacting with Flickr's clean and organized interface.

As an educator, I believe that Flickr would be a useful tool to introduce students to.  I believe that challenging students with creative projects is a great way to throw some variety into what can be a bland classroom experience.  Perhaps, a teacher could find ways to incorporate photography into their lesson plans, and have the kids upload their assignments to Flickr.  As for myself, I have had a personal Flickr account for years, now (it's been the best photo-sharing site I've worked with, so far).

Click me!

No, click me!

NO, click ME!

See?  However, I really strongly fancy the idea of a classroom Flickr account.  Or a school or grade-level Flickr account, maybe.  The classroom teacher, or principle, or class sponsor could act as a moderator to the group, and students could add their own photos to it, or perhaps they could email the photos to the moderator, and they could post them, to avoid any questionable content making it onto the site in the first place.  That would be a nice way of promoting community in the academic environment, don'tcha think?  I do!  

So, go explore those other photo-hosters, if you want to!  Like I said, they all have their pros and cons.  I enjoy Flickr because it offers the perfect balance of seriousness for my purposes.  It's not designated strictly for professional photographers, nor is it a breeding ground for meme images and 100 x 100 animated avatars, so it's a good match for me.  If you have any concerns about putting your photos out there, try not to worry too hard; you can make your photos private, if you please, and you can set the copyright allowances however you want to!  If you ask me, all of that sounds like a recipe for one great photo-sharing tool!