Learning Side by Side

I have mulled over this concept, which is so vividly portrayed in the title of an educational podcasting course written by my colleague, Janice Stearns (see http://lausdpodcast.wikispaces.com).  I see “publishing with purpose” to the web as a key concept when setting out to share to the world the thoughts, creativity, and feelings that reside within.  The purpose drives the content.  For example, I have a niece that uses My Space for communicating with childhood friends (despite the warnings espoused by everyone in her family).  She doesn’t hide her activity on My Space, but I have witnessed the passion in her writing as she describes how High School Musical has changed her life.  What is her purpose?  Well, she is keeping ties with friends she no longer sees because she has moved on to a new school.  Meanwhile, I have a My Space account that shows nothing relevant about me because I have no reason to publish anything there… yet.

So let’s look at the exciting ways to publish with purpose by examining a personal foray into photosharing.  I first want to divulge how enamored I was in creating a web album in Picasa to serve as my photo journal of a recent family vacation across Alaska (Quick fact: I was one of those lured to visit the state by the billboards that said Alaska Before You Die).  Why Picasa? Well, the free Google tool integrates well with other more popular Google applications.  And also, it allows me to create slideshows of my journey, including captions.

Trip to Alaska

Yes, there are many choices out there.  I am also a fan of Flickr and Zoomr as well as enjoy seeing my friends’ photos in Kodak Gallery.  But I liked the fact that I could map where each photograph was taken and then have it generate a kml file of my adventure to view in Google Earth.

Indeed, the photographs included in my Picasa web album served a specific purpose.  It documented my 2007 family vacation.  I also took other photographs in Alaska using a Nikon D200 that were taken as more of a “photowalk”.  What is a photowalk? Another colleague, Bob Sachs, describes it simply as “a walk in taking photos.” (http://www.bobsachs.com/photowalking.html).  But I didn’t include the photographs from my photowalk in my Alaska Picasa web album because they did not meet my intended purpose of the collection (to share our experience with extended family and friends).  And I have not yet published the other photographs elsewhere.  Right now, these other photographs reside on a hard drive awaiting my scrutiny. So I sum up this entry with reflective questions.  What purpose do you have in publishing photographs to the web?  What photosharing tools best suit your needs?  Do you go out with a camera with more than one goal to fulfill (just as I did during my vacation)?