'Net Features : image

Extend Image Value by Tagging with Rich Content

Michael Garrity — Thu, 09 May 2013 18:11:00 GMT

Image tagging is a popular new way to make pictures on a website more informative and engaging for users.

Now, website owners and designers can bring that engagement to their own images with the iPicture jQuery plugin that allows users to create interactive image walkthroughs that use the pictures already one their websites.

iPicture makes it incredibly easy to overlay little tooltips and hints on top of the image, which will appear to viewers as small circles with a + sign in the middle (see image below). When users scroll over these icons, they’ll see additional information that comes in the form of various types of rich content, such as HTML, photos or even videos.

The plugin is easy to integrate into a website and can be customized and extended using CSS. Even the individual tooltip icons, themselves, can be altered to match the look and feel of a site.

Social Show and Tell: The Image Toolbox

Allison Howen — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 19:15:00 GMT

Images tend to resonate with audiences on social networks better than text-based posts. In fact, after Facebook launched Timeline for brands, visual content, which includes images and videos, received a 65 percent increase in engagement according to a study from Simply Measured.

The reason that images resonate so well with audiences is because people are inclined to scan their social feeds quickly, and images stand out on text-heavy pages. And, since an image is worth a thousand words, brands should implement a “show and tell” strategy for their social media marketing campaigns.

Even companies without in-house graphic designers can create original visual content, thanks to a variety of Web-based tools and services, which are explored below.

Web-Based Image Editors

Chances are that your company already has some images lying around that could be used in a social post – whether its photos from a company party, which can be posted so that fans can better relate with your staff, or product images that show off one of your best seller’s unique features. However, sometimes those images need to be cropped or edited in another way, which is where Web-based image editors come in handy. In fact, many of these services can even be used to incorporate other features into images, such as text, arrows and icons that can be used to create memes, as well as other special effects that can help images stand out. While my personal favorite image editor is PicMonkey (which I used to create the image below), here are nine other services worth checking out:

Pixlr

Aviary

Devicedriven

FotoFlexr

Dr.pic

Lunapic

Phixr

Pixenate

Web Resizer

Infographic and Chart Builders

Content marketers can easily recycle content by putting their stats into visual charts and infographics. These data-packed images capture both audience members’ and industry professionals’ attention, and often times end up going viral. But not every company has a graphic designer on staff, which can make the creation process for this type of content a difficult task – unless you leverage one of the Web’s infographic or chart builders, such as the services mentioned below:

Easel.ly (used for the image below)

Infogr.am

Piktochart

Google Chart Tools

Datameer

Wordle

Stock Photos

Sometimes you might have a good piece of content that fulfills the “tell” part of your social strategy, but you might be missing an appropriate image for the “show” part of your post, which is when stock image services are useful. While some of these services offer free images, other services require users to purchase rights to use photos:

Veer

Everystockphoto

Stockvault (used for the image below)

Flickr

Getty Images

iStockphoto

Shutterstock

Mobile Image Apps

Many Web workers don’t stop working when they are away from their desktops, and nowadays, smartphones make it easy for professionals to continue working while on-the-go. The most popular mobile image editor is Instagram, but there are other apps that can personalize visual content, including:

Camera+

Filterstorm

iPhoto

Photoshop Express

Pixlr-O-Matic

PicSay Pro

PicCollage (used for image below)

Additional Strategies

Brands can incorporate images into their social strategy in a variety of ways. For example, social media managers can ask for user-generated content from their fans and followers, which can then be shared on the brand’s social networks. Moreover, businesses can get innovative by putting text into images. For instance, you could take screen shots of interesting content, such as a positive consumer review, to share with your company's social audience, take a picture of someone holding a homemade sign promoting an upcoming event, or even create an image quote with a service like Quozio, as seen below.

How does your brand incorporate images into its social strategy? Let us know in the Comment section below.

Getty Images Expands on Flickr

Allison Howen — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 09:30:00 GMT

Getty Images has expanded its partnership with Flickr by launching Flickr Select.

Flickr Select is a curated, rights-managed collection that represents some of the most creative and dynamic professional photos from the Flickr Collection on the Getty Images website.

Flickr Select debuted with almost 6,000 images, and new pictures will be added on a monthly basis. The content within Flickr Select is chosen by Getty Images’ editors from images available on Flickr’s website.

Getty Images originally launched its partnership with Flickr in March 2009. As one of the biggest names in the photography business, images are sold all over the world by Getty Images for commercial and editorial use.

“What sets Flickr Select apart are one-of-a-kind pictures hand-picked by our editors and art directors that illustrate life as it’s being – real moments captured by everyday people,” says Andrew Delaney, head of content at Getty Images.

For more information or to purchase photos, view the Flickr collection at www.gettyimages.com/flickr.

Image Is Everything Online

Pete Prestipino — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 13:30:00 GMT

According to a study conducted by MaCorr Research and released today by 1&1 Internet Inc., over three-quarters of Americans admit to having concerns about how they appear online as a result of personal material placed on the Internet.

The survey found that 27 percent have regretted posting material about themselves online, yet 76 percent of Americans admit to judging individuals solely based on their material online.

Over half (58 percent) of Americans now routinely 'Google' new people they meet. Another survey of 700 people who publish their own personal website(2), as opposed to just social networking, found that 85 percent believed this offered more control over their online image, and 77 percent saw their website as providing a better impression than social networks such as MySpace or Facebook.

The '1&1 Online Identity Survey' found that an astonishing 77 percent of the American public express some degree of concern regarding the issue of 'online identity.' Significantly, the majority of Americans, 89 percent, now believe there to be personal material (i.e. blogs, photos, Facebook profiles) relating to them on the Internet. Over 30 percent of people have been embarrassed by what others have published online. Almost 1 in 5 (18 percent) of Americans believe their online image gives an inaccurate portrayal of themselves, with some 27 percent later regretting posting material online.