Photoblog
Encyclopedia
A photoblog is a form of photo sharing
and publishing
in the format of a blog
. It differs from a blog through the predominant use of and focus on photographs rather than text. Photoblogging (the action of posting photos to a photoblog) gained momentum in the early 2000s with the advent of the moblog and cameraphones.
that were designed primarily for text content, and photoblogs on photo specific blogging services such as Fotolog
or Flickr
.
The dynamic nature of blogs and photoblogs compared to static sites means that blogs require some form of content management system
(CMS) rather than being built by hand. These content management systems usually provide the photoblog's authors with a web service that allows the creation and management of posts and the uploading of images. The CMS delivers webpages based on the data entered by the photoblog author. Access to photoblogs is usually unrestricted and available to anyone with internet access and a web browser
.
Some existing blogging CMS have been modified by the use of add-ons or plugins (and sometimes core code rewriting) to enable the transition from text blogging to photoblogging. As an example, a photoblog author might limit his blog to display a single entry per day (as opposed to several entries which is typical for text blogs) and he might put thumbnails in entry excerpts to provide archives that display images instead of text snippets. Over time, developers have begun to write purpose-built CMS just for creating photoblogs. Additionally many services specializing in hosting and displaying images, such as Flickr and Fotolog, have APIs that allow other blogging systems to display their images, giving the user many options as to the construction of a particular site. Good photoblogging platforms also include camera metadata (Exif) that display the camera settings of each photo taken.
code for it (e.g. Pixelpost
or Picoplog). Many photobloggers still prefer this option of running their own server, as this gives them full control over the display and functionality of their photoblog. However, there are now a range of photoblog hosting services available which provide ready made photoblogs in which everything has already been set up. This has made photoblogging more accessible to the layman.
Convergence of mobile phones with digital cameras has opened a new era in photoblogging as authors may publish photos directly from smart devices to the Web.
Visual blogging enables people with limited english, or low literacy to contribute to material on the Web. Combined with automatic (photo-booth) uploading technology, this is a powerful tool to build digital literacy and digital citizenship in marginalized groups.
Photo sharing
Photo sharing is the publishing or transfer of a user's digital photos online, thus enabling the user to share them with others . This function is provided through both websites and applications that facilitate the upload and display of images...
and publishing
Electronic publishing
Electronic publishing or ePublishing includes the digital publication of e-books and electronic articles, and the development of digital libraries and catalogues. Electronic publishing has become common in scientific publishing where it has been argued that peer-reviewed scientific journals are in...
in the format of a blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
. It differs from a blog through the predominant use of and focus on photographs rather than text. Photoblogging (the action of posting photos to a photoblog) gained momentum in the early 2000s with the advent of the moblog and cameraphones.
Construction
There are three basic types of photoblogs. Photoblogs on individual domains, photoblogs on blogging services such as BloggerBlogger (service)
Blogger is a blog-publishing service that allows private or multi-user blogs with time-stamped entries. It was created by Pyra Labs, which was bought by Google in 2003. Generally, the blogs are hosted by Google at a subdomain of blogspot.com. Up until May 1, 2010 Blogger allowed users to publish...
that were designed primarily for text content, and photoblogs on photo specific blogging services such as Fotolog
Fotolog
Fotolog.com is a Web 2.0-based shared photoblog web site. With over 30 million registered users, it is one of the oldest and largest sites for sharing pictures through online photo diaries or photo blogs.-History:...
or Flickr
Flickr
Flickr is an image hosting and video hosting website, web services suite, and online community that was created by Ludicorp in 2004 and acquired by Yahoo! in 2005. In addition to being a popular website for users to share and embed personal photographs, the service is widely used by bloggers to...
.
The dynamic nature of blogs and photoblogs compared to static sites means that blogs require some form of content management system
Content management system
A content management system is a system providing a collection of procedures used to manage work flow in a collaborative environment. These procedures can be manual or computer-based...
(CMS) rather than being built by hand. These content management systems usually provide the photoblog's authors with a web service that allows the creation and management of posts and the uploading of images. The CMS delivers webpages based on the data entered by the photoblog author. Access to photoblogs is usually unrestricted and available to anyone with internet access and a web browser
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
.
Some existing blogging CMS have been modified by the use of add-ons or plugins (and sometimes core code rewriting) to enable the transition from text blogging to photoblogging. As an example, a photoblog author might limit his blog to display a single entry per day (as opposed to several entries which is typical for text blogs) and he might put thumbnails in entry excerpts to provide archives that display images instead of text snippets. Over time, developers have begun to write purpose-built CMS just for creating photoblogs. Additionally many services specializing in hosting and displaying images, such as Flickr and Fotolog, have APIs that allow other blogging systems to display their images, giving the user many options as to the construction of a particular site. Good photoblogging platforms also include camera metadata (Exif) that display the camera settings of each photo taken.
Developments and Accessibility
The early days of photoblogging required some level of technical experience with setting up a webserver and installing or writing the CMSContent management system
A content management system is a system providing a collection of procedures used to manage work flow in a collaborative environment. These procedures can be manual or computer-based...
code for it (e.g. Pixelpost
Pixelpost
Pixelpost is an open source photoblog application powered by PHP and MySQL, developed for publishing photos on a chronological base. Main features include multilingual capability, comment function, Exif support, spam filtering, categories, tagging and much more.There is a great range of templates...
or Picoplog). Many photobloggers still prefer this option of running their own server, as this gives them full control over the display and functionality of their photoblog. However, there are now a range of photoblog hosting services available which provide ready made photoblogs in which everything has already been set up. This has made photoblogging more accessible to the layman.
Convergence of mobile phones with digital cameras has opened a new era in photoblogging as authors may publish photos directly from smart devices to the Web.
Visual blogging enables people with limited english, or low literacy to contribute to material on the Web. Combined with automatic (photo-booth) uploading technology, this is a powerful tool to build digital literacy and digital citizenship in marginalized groups.
See also
- Blog software
- Content Management SystemContent management systemA content management system is a system providing a collection of procedures used to manage work flow in a collaborative environment. These procedures can be manual or computer-based...
- Image hosting serviceImage hosting serviceAn image hosting service allows individuals to upload images to an Internet website. The image host will then store the image onto its server, and show the individual different types of code to allow others to view that image....
- Photo sharingPhoto sharingPhoto sharing is the publishing or transfer of a user's digital photos online, thus enabling the user to share them with others . This function is provided through both websites and applications that facilitate the upload and display of images...