It’s temptingly lazy but wrong to think residents pictures can fill the hole left by dwindling budgets.
A couple of things have made me think.
First, basking in the afterglow of a successful project a debate started.
We’ve worked with residents to turn an empty shop window in Walsall town centre into an information point brightened up by shots from the Walsall Flickr group.
It’s a brilliantly simple idea that came from Flickr photographer Lee Jordan. I’ve written about it here and you can read Lee’s blog on it too.
Lee and others were fine about having their work used and showcased.
In response to my venturing a repeat in a different scheme one Flickr member on Twitter wrote:
“Local council have just requested use of some of my pics on Flickr for a printed guide, for a credit and linkback. I declined. Any thoughts? On one hand it may be good publicity, on the other it devalues photography. What do others think…?”
After an online debate I deliberately stepped back from, other residents talked about the benefits of photo sharing. The member changed heart and threw his hat into the ring.
Thirdly, blogger Pete Ashton invited his council to ‘f*** you’ (literally) after they once again asked to use pictures for free. This came after a shot of his which he got £50 for was used without his knowledge for a major national cultural campaign that wasn’t fully explained when he was first approached.
Fourthly, when I post an image to Flickr these days I always add a liberal creative commons image so they can be re-used as long as there is a credit and a link. I’m forever using and linking to cc images on this blog so it seems churlish not to share. So long as you are not a commercial enterprise. You can read more about creative commons here.
So, there are four views. For my money each if those are just as valid.
Why FOUR answers and they’re all right?
Because everyone’s approach is deeply personal. That’s why.
There’s no such thing as one size fits all.
Are crowd sources images a cure all for cut budgets?
No.
Don’t think that Flickr is a sweet shop full of free images that’ll solve your slashed photographic budget.
Don’t think you can wander along to Google images, right click, save and Bob’s your Uncle. Don’t ever do that.
There’s still a place for commissioned freelance photography for marketing and press shots. Not least because photographic staff on newspapers are being laid off.
There’s a place for stock photography websites such as istock.
There’s a place for searching The Commons on Flickr where scores of museums and institutions have added millions of images that can be re-used by anyone. NASA, The Smithsonian and the US Library of Congress stand out.
There’s a place too – if residents are agreeable – for their images to be used by local government. Just so long they are not taken for granted and the shots are treated with the same reverence as a very delicate vase or a signed first edition you’re borrowing for a while.
That’s why I’m not desperately keen on the approach that some councils have of creating a Flickr group where by adding you allow automatic re-use. It just doesn’t feel right.
If there’s an image a resident had taken ask nicely, explain what it’ll be used for stick to the agreement and don’t be offended if the answer is ‘no’ and if there is some cash in the budget for payment try very hard to.
It’s quite mad to think that there wasn’t a Flickr group for local government.
Snow ploughs? Yes. There’s two groups. There’s more you can shake a stick at for libraries and museums but there was nothing for the overall umbrella institution of local government.
Amazingly, after two weeks there’s now more than 400 images posted to the new group from several dozen Flickr streams. The excellent US blogger, Gov 20 Radio host, Flickr user and advocate for Nation Builder Adriel Hampton has got behind it too with this blog post which is rather great to see.
What is Flickr?
It’s a social photography website that people, clubs and organisations have been using in growing numbers. Or six billion to be exact. That’s the number of images uploaded so far.
You join and upload images and you can post them to an array of different groups with a common theme.
Yes, local government can be a frustrating institution at times and when it’s done badly it can be as horrid as the little girl in the story. But even it’s fiercest critic must admit that local government does some really good things. It’s by celebrating them that we ensure it’ll be around in the future.
Celebrate the routine stuff…
I’m becoming increasingly interested in the routine things that local government does. We’re hopeless at shouting about the day-to-day things that get taken for granted. That’s the play equipment, the park, the roads we drive on the school bus or 700 other services.
It’s fascinating to look through what’s been posted to the local government Flickr pool so far to see shots of routine tasks being done elsewhere in the world.
Yes, there’s a place for the set piece media ribbon cutting shot. But the routine shots of people just doing everyday things for me are what really stand out. All to often what we think is everyday is actually a really vital service to someone else’s parents.
So, you’re no David Bailey. What can you do?
It would be really fantastic if you could post some too. They really don’t have to be a staggeringly good quality. A camera phone will do.
Just so long as there’s something of local government in them.
Romans at Wroxeter in Shropshire I can vouch for. Select a venue and then take a look in the bottom right hand corner . There you’ll see a really great use of Flickr.
By posting into an English Heritage group you agree that you don’t mind if the image is linked to via the organisations’ website. That’s a brilliant idea. They’re also upfront about it too.
Forget leather patched tweed jackets, those people at English Heritage are actually pretty cutting edge.
Can this idea be used in local government? No question. Does it cost money? Not a penny. But what it does do is this:
It provide an extra resource for people looking to browse for a place to visit.
It creates a presence on a popular social networking site.
It builds links with the community who can really feel as though they own a small slice of the website.
At a time when budgets are tight and very painful cuts have been made at English Heritage, this is good work by the history geeks.
There’s four billion reasons why Flickr is brilliant.
Four billion? That’s the number of images uploaded to it over the past five years.
Best bit? You don’t have to be David Bailey to get something out of it. You could be Bill Bailey.
What is Flickr? It’s a photo sharing website. You join as an individual. You upload pictures. You can add them to groups. You can comment on pictures too.
There are tens of thousands of groups on a bewildering range of subjects. Football? Check. Walking? Buses? Cricket scoreboards? Clouds? They all have dedicated groups. There’s even one for Gregg’s shop fronts, believe it or not.
There are also geographical Flickr groups based on areas like the Black Country, Walsall or London.
Why bother with Flickr? Because a picture says 1,000 words. Besides, it’s a brilliant way to capture, celebrate and collaborate.
It’s a cinderella social media platform without a Stephen Fry to champion it. But there is a growing and exciting number of uses for it.
So what are the barriers for people to use it?
Like any platform, there are obstacles. None are insummountable.
There’s the usual cultural issues for an organisation using web 2.0. People can talk to you. You can talk back. You may have blocking issues too.
There may also be concern over images. Surely there’s room for dodgy pictures? Actually, not really. The Flickr community is a hugely civilised place. Your first uploads get checked over before they are seen. People comment constructively.
Isn’t it just for good photographers? No. Amateurs thrive here. Snap away.
How about copyright? Copyright is with the photographer. Even if you’ve commissioned it. Don’t upload someone else’s shots without their permission.
Eleven uses of Flickr in local government
1. Be a dissemenator – Stock photography – Newcastle use it as a way of allowing stock photography to be disseminated. With photographers’ permission. Like Calderdale Council’s countryside team.
8. Be a civic pride builder – Create a Flickr group for an area, like Sandwell Council did.
9. Be a picture tart – Post council Flickr pictures to different groups. Shot of the town hall? Put it in the Town Hall Flickr group.
10. Be a stock photography user – the Creative Commons is a licence that allows the use of shots with certain conditions. There is a category that allows for not for profit use, for example.
11. Be a digital divide bridger – favourite walks or a way to celebrate heritage is an excellent way to encourage people to log on.
There’s eleven. That’s for starters…
Steph Jennings from the Walsall Flickr group and the Lighthouse Media Centre in Wolverhampton made some excellent points at Hyperlocal Govcamp West Midlands on how Walsall Council used images on their website.
This YouTube clip helps explain it:
This blog is based on a session at localgovcamp Yorkshire and Humberside in York (#lgcyh) which also had input from @janetedavis, @allyhook and @barnsley55.
Much kudos to the Walsall Flickr group and to the inspirational @essitam and @reelgonekid.
