I came across a list of photo sharing websites I thought I would share with you (see link at the end).  This came about because I was wanting to use Flikr to host some photos that I was linking to from our staff intranet to sell a couple of household items.  Flikr said that this was 'commercial' and not allowed, so I went in search of alternatives. This is a list of things you might want to consider before you sign up to a site:
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Want to share your photos?
  1. If you are selling a product, will the site allow you to link to a photo of the item?  You may need to clarify what the provider considers 'commercial'.  I feel that there is a slight difference between the UK and the US sense of the word in that any sale in the US would be considered commercial, but to many people in the UK a private sale would not.  Read the terms of use and if it is not clear, contact them to ask before you invest any of your time uploading photos.
  2. Another point that is important to me is, are you able to download the original file that you uploaded?  There may be two reasons that you need to do this.  First, you may want to allow other people to download your images (e.g. family), secondly you may want to upload the image at home and download a copy of it at work, or at some other location.  Not all sites have this capability so check first.
  3. Check the storage space allowed.  Many have a free allowance that is pretty generous.  For extra large storage you might need to pay a fee. 
  4. Some sites restrict the size of the image that is stored.  If you want to show large images make sure the site provides that size.
  5. Make sure that the site you choose will host the file type you want to use.  If you will only use jpeg images then you are safe, but if for example you want to use png files (which are another form of image file) than check.  For example, Snapfish will only allow you to upload jpeg files or zip files containing jpeg files.
Anyway, here is the link to a list of photo sharing sites and their features and limitations: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_photo_sharing_websites

I am using Picassa for my family photos and am happy with it.  It has a smooth uploading system with iPhoto on my Apple Mac too, which makes it even easier.  You can download the image editing software for free as well.

In my next post I will pick one service and take you through the joining and uploading process.
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I had a situation recently where I sent some large files to an individual and because they had a slow network connection they were unable to download them.  So I thought about a way around this and decided to use Google Docs which I have written about before.  This is how I did it.

You need to visit the Google search page and sign up with an email address and password - it's free!

If you are on the Google search engine page you will go to more at the top of the screen and select Documents from the drop down list.
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Click on the Upload button on the left and then search for your files.  When you have all the files listed click on Start upload at the bottom of the screen.
You will then be given a window confirming that your files have been uploaded.

Click on Back To Google Docs on the left.


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You will see the uploaded files in the window.  Select the files you want to share by clicking in the small box at the beginning of the row for each file.  Then click on the Share drop down.  Choose Sharing Settings.
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Enter the email address of those you want to share with.  Decide whether you want them to view or edit the file and select the appropriate choice from the drop down.
Type a message underneath if required.
I would advise you to leave ticked 'Send email notifications' so that the person will receive a link to the file by email.

You will then get a window showing who has permissions to view and/or edit the selected files.  Note that this person cannot see or edit the other files in your Google Docs.

Voila!  Another use for this great free online resource.
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