Making Flickr more fun with toys
If you're a Flickr user, you might be unaware there's a whole world of tools that take advantage of Flickr's API to let you tweak and repurpose your shots. This morning I've been enjoying BigHugeLabs, a site that's home to about 40 tools that let you play with Flickr photos--yours and everyone else's. Several provide simple ways to add text, or a filter to your photo. Others dig deep into the heart of service to let you turn your photos into desk kitsch and conversation starters. I've picked five of my favorites.
Trading Card. This tool is the epitome of cool. It lets you turn your photos into trading cards, a la Magic: The Gathering, or other card battle games. Just pop in some text and you're good to go. You can also add icons, several humorous to note your character's "attributes." There's honestly not a real-world use for this, besides making funny shots of your friends, which can be e-mailed to them, or posted back up to Flickr with a push of a button.
(Credit:
CNET Networks)
Magazine Cover. That photo of pancakes from brunch this weekend is far superior to the hackneyed stuff you see on the covers of food magazines. See what it would look like in full glossy glory with this tool. Add text, change its font and colorings. When you're done, you've got a slick-looking, fake magazine cover to do with what you will. Great for faux birthday and celebration items to e-mail to friends and family.
Calendar. Need a quick and simple calendar to pinup in your office? Spruce it up from Outlook, iCal, and Google Calendar's printouts with this calendar-making tool. Pick any photo from Flickr or upload your own, choose the month, and the tool will do the rest.
Guess the Title is a fun, yet maddeningly difficult game. Each photo has a 60-second timer, and it's up to you to guess the title of the shot before time runs out. As the countdown continues, more letters appear to help you out, but it's really hit or miss on the difficulty scale to guess what people have called their shots. You can play the game against other people, and the game keeps track of points. The sooner you answer, the more points you get.
Flickr DNA is the ultimate mashup of Flickr statistics. Just plug in a username, and the tool will go to work, pulling up all sorts of information about their photos and tags. You can browse the latest uploads, the all time most interesting shots, along with a chart that shows you how many photos they've added to the service in the past month. It's essentially what Flickr could be if they decided to add more social-networking features to their profiles.
[Found on Programmable Web]
Josh Lowensohn writes for Webware.com, CNET's blog about Web applications and services. E-mail Josh, or follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/Josh. 
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