Google Life
November 20, 2008 3:01 PM | Written by Darius Razgaitis
Google's new photo archive posted in conjunction with Time LIFE brings us millions of photos from some of the first photographs to today. And many are available for the first time ever:
http://images.google.com/hosted/life
We've seen a similar effort before with the Library of Congress' Flickr page, and both sites serve a business purpose that goes beyond the "cool" factor of being able to browse old-timey and iconic images.
For the Library of Congress, the Flickr page accomplishes 3 business objectives:
- Using resources: according to the LOC, the photos on the site "have long been popular with visitors to the Library; they have no known restrictions on publication or distribution, and they have high resolution scans."
- Experimentation: Also from the LOC site, they "look forward to learning what kinds of tags and comments these images inspire. To gain a better understanding of how social tagging and community input could benefit both the Library and users of the collections. To gain experience participating in Web communities that are interested in the kinds of materials in the Library's collections."
- Access: Of course, this is the technology people are using and the best way to reach them. Who would ever have thought of going to the LOC website or the LOC itself to see these?
(As a side note, Ruder Finn client Alvin Ailey has a traveling exhibit with the Library of Congress. Maybe someday those photos will be up on Flickr too?)
Google's LIFE site similarly accomplishes similar objectives (sharing rare photos, coolness factor) and achieves at least one additional business objective that I can detect, and that's to sell merchandise. Using the same vendor that Flickr uses to sell merchandise (Qoop), Google/LIFE allows people to buy framed prints off the site with just a couple quick clicks.
While I think the Google venture could use more social aspects like commenting, sharing, and embedding (right now it only features rating; tagging/labeling is done internally), I think it sets an important precedent for digital business. Content needs to be compelling, easily accessible, and jibe with your business goals.
Here's my favorite photo so far:
http://snipr.com/63dxa
What's yours?
(put it in the comments)
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