Image sharing
The term can also be loosely applied to the use of online photo galleries that are set up and managed by individual users, including photoblogs.
Desktop photo management applications may include their own photo-sharing features or integration with sites for uploading images to them.
Basic image sharing functionality can be found in applications that allow you to email photos, for example by dragging and dropping them into pre-designed templates.
Photo sharing is not confined to the web and personal computers, but is also possible from portable devices such as camera phones, either directly or via MMS.
[5][6] In 2002, SmugMug was founded, focusing on providing a high-quality photo sharing experience for professional photographers.
[10][11][12] In 2004, Flickr was founded, quickly becoming popular due to its vibrant photography community and effective tagging system.
Mobile apps such as Instagram,[19] Snapchat,[20][21] and TikTok emerged, offering a simple and socially focused photo sharing experience.
In recent years, AI and machine learning have become increasingly integrated into photo sharing platforms.
In return for a fee, subscription-based photo sharing sites offer their services without the distraction of advertisements or promotions for prints and gifts.
[25][26] With the introduction of high speed (broadband) connections directly to homes, it is feasible to share images and videos without going through a central service.
Operating peer-to-peer solutions without a central server can create problems as some users do not leave their computers online and connected all the time.
Photos are accessed by regular URLs that standard web browsers understand natively without any further software required.
[29] Twitter collaborated with Photobucket in developing a new photo sharing service so users can attach a picture to a tweet without depending on another application such as TwitPic or Yfrog.
[31] Other applications and networks offering similar service and growing in popularity include Streamzoo, Path, PicsArt, Piictu, and Starmatic.
They can be used for crowdsourced classification (see the section on image classification) but can also play a socio-cultural role in that they can establish neologisms, Internet memes, snowclones, slogans, catch phrases, shared vocabularies and categorizations as well as producing comedic twists, contexts and perspectives of the presented images, and hence often play a significant role in the community building and identity formation of and the entertainment in online communities that allow the creation of broad folksonomies.
[41] Some sites including Panoramio and Wikimedia Commons show their geocoded photographs on a map, helping the user find pictures of the same or nearby objects from different directions.
Critics of image/photo sharing are concerned with the use of applications such as Instagram, because they believe that the behaviors portrayed on these sites could potentially be linked to the narcissism trait.
Keen argues that "Self" is running digital culture, and he states that people use social-media platforms because they are interested in advertising themselves.
[42] Buffardi and Campbell (2008) also alleged that Instagram offers "a gateway for self-promotion via self-descriptions, vanity via photos, and a large amount of shallow relationships."
[44] In its privacy policy, Facebook states that any information posted using its service, including images, may be used to display relevant ads to its users.
[38] A Ghent University study found that employers commonly search for prospective employees on Facebook, and may decide whether or not to grant an interview based on the person's profile picture.
