Online photo sharing sites offer a great way for people to share their memories with family and friends, and even complete strangers. Unfortunately, not everyone understands how to really make his or her photo collections meaningful. They just throw together a bunch of semi-random pictures in a folder and call it a day. It’s really a wasted opportunity – you can really take your online photo album to another level with a little extra effort.

You should strive to make your photo albums tell a story that anyone, even people who don’t know you, can understand. Most online photo sharing websites provide all the tools you need to make sure that you photo album tells an interesting story. It doesn’t take much work, and it’ll greatly enhance the experience for people who are viewing your photos.

You should try and share things that you yourself are passionate about. If you’re not really interested in what you’re taking pictures of, why should your audience? If you have a hobby that you particularly enjoy and are proud of, you should share that through your photos. This is especially true for crafting projects. Be sure to take pictures of the work-in-progress through its various stages, as well as a picture of yourself with the finished project. You can add comments to each photo explaining how the process works, so viewers of the album will learn something about the craft and about you while they view your photos.

Creating a “photo documentary” of your life is another great way to engage viewers of your photos. You can share an important week in your life, perhaps your training prior to running a marathon all the way through the marathon itself. You can capture your family vacation and share it with the world, day by day. This creates a great way for new acquaintances to really get to know you and for old friends and distant relations to catch up with your life in an instant.

You should also take some time to convert your old photos to a digital format in order to share them. It’s not just the recent events in your life that are important to share. You may be able to dig up some old family photos and share with everyone the history of your family. It’s a great way to reminisce about days past with your loved ones.

Remember that the important moments in life aren’t always around the holidays. Many people tend to let their cameras sit and collect dust when there isn’t some sort of holiday celebration going on. You should always keep your camera close at hand ready to capture those special moments in life – they could happen at any time.

You should never neglect to add comments to all of your photos. Let the people viewing your pictures know what’s going on in the picture. Pictures may be worth a thousand words, but adding a few extra words can really flesh out what’s going on in your pictures.

MJ Johnston writes for a variety of websites, including Digitalphotoalbumsite.com, a photo site that offers advice on the quickest and easiest way to build a digital photo album, as well as free online photo storage.

Your photography and the way you arrange your photos create a story: a story that is the narrative of your life. This is why your pictures are the most valuable material possessions you can have. Losing these precious treasures could be absolutely devastating. And yet, hundreds of thousands of people lose their photos every single year due to house fires, floods, unfavorable climate conditions and even theft and vandalism. Before the introduction of free online photo storage, these regrettable stories could not efficiently be prevented and these great and tragic losses were unfortunate risks that had to be endured.

Fortunately people today have a choice. Free online photo storage stories create a type of insurance for your most important memories. When you store your photographs on the internet, you are ensuring that they will always be there when you need them. No matter what happens to the pictures and photo albums in your home, you can rest assured that all of your photos are safe and secure online and can be retrieved, viewed and even reprinted at any time you need them. This can be quite comforting, especially when you are passionate about photography and preserving family memories.

Life is full of ups and downs. There are good times and bad times. Our photographs preserve the best moments of our lives and allow us to call on these happy moments when we are down and need a boost. Keeping these valuable treasures safe with online photo storage means your stories will always be there when you need to remember what is good in life. The memories we store in our minds can sometimes be clouded when our emotions become confused, but the free online photo storage allows you to see your stories as clearly as when they happened. Keeping focused on the happy times allows you to have a more positive outlook which leads to more happy times.

Even if nothing devastating ever happens to your photos you can count yourself lucky and the free online photo storage stories you have will still come in handy. Sometimes even with the greatest of care, one photo falls out of or becomes torn in your photo album. With free online photo storage stories, you can quickly locate the picture and have it reprinted and sent to you. Another occasion might be when an extended family member comes for a visit and sees a great picture in your album that they would like a copy of. No need to worry over whether you have a double print buried in a box somewhere in the house; you can just order a copy and have it sent straight to their home.

Your photography is an expression of who you are, where you’ve been and where you are going. It is a part of you. The loss you would experience if anything happened to these photos is incalculable. Free online photo storage stories are the best free insurance policy you could have to ensure that your photos last for the rest of your life and beyond.

MJ Johnston writes for a variety of websites, including Free-printable-calendars.org, a photo site that offers advice on free printable calendars.

ICANN creates the process for new gTLDs. In other words, if you want to manage your own TLD, what comes after the dot, like com, net, org, etc., it is not like registering a domain name where if you get the idea first, you can register it.

Lets say you wanted to register and own .CPA and sell domain names on that TLD, you could submit your application to ICANN first, then ICANN can still decide to give it to someone else, even though it was your idea.

The new gTLD FAQ. See item 5 in the FAQ. http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtld-strategy-faq.htm#idea

5. I have an idea for a new gTLD. Can I register my idea with ICANN in advance of the next application period?

ICANN’s Answer - No. The application process for new gTLDs is not a “first come, first served” process. ICANN will accept submissions only during an open application period. As such, there is no incentive to ensuring your application is received before everyone else’s applications.

Instead, applicants will need to meet the objective criteria set forth in the Applicant Guidebook. To be selected to operate a new TLD, an applicant must satisfy ICANN that, among other criteria, it has strong technical and business capability and a commitment to implement ICANN policies effectively.

“Objective”? Hardly.

Technical capabilities are important and it is within ICANN’s charter to make sure you can technically handle running your own TLD.

Business capability is not within ICANN’s charter to decide. My business plan for the TLD is none of ICANN’s business and may be proprietary in nature. I may want to give the domain names away for free to my clients. That may be a good business plan for me. It is not ICANN’s place to disagree.

If they mean financial capability, again, not their place to decide. I may have a bank standing by that says IF I get the TLD, they will give me the business loan to kick it off. It is not ICANN’s place to say I must already have that in place BEFORE awarding me the TLD I want. This is just another way ICANN plans to stop small business owners from participating in the process.

Commitment to implement ICANN policies effectively - If they mean I must satisfy them that I do not intend to hurt the Internet from a “technical” point of view, then they are correct to add this. If they mean that as a business owner, I must agree to always agree with ICANN policies, then that is communism.

From the ICANN Website at http://www.icann.org/en/committees/evol-reform/working-paper-mission-06may02.htm

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is the private-sector body responsible for coordinating the global Internet’s systems of unique identifiers.

The mission of ICANN is to coordinate the stable operation of the Internet’s unique identifier systems. In particular, ICANN:

1. Coordinates the allocation and assignment of three sets of unique identifiers for the Internet:

Domain names (forming a system referred to as “DNS”);

Internet protocol (IP) addresses and autonomous system (AS) numbers; and

Protocol port and parameter numbers.

2. Coordinates the operation and evolution of the DNS’s root name server system.

Where in that ICANN Mission Statement overview does it indicate that my business plan or finances are any of their business? Again, technical capabilities ARE within their mission to assure Internet Stability.

Again from the ICANN Website at http://www.icann.org/en/committees/evol-reform/working-paper-mission-06may02.htm

ICANN Core Values

In performing its mission, ICANN adheres to these core values and principles:

[a]. Preserve and enhance the operational stability, reliability, security, and global interoperability of the Internet.

Ok. Operation Stability, Technical reliability and security, and interoperability. I agree 100%.

[b]. Respect the creativity and innovation made possible by the Internet by limiting ICANN’s activities to those matters within ICANN’s mission requiring or significantly benefiting from global coordination.

If they are going to decide who’s business plan is most effective or most viable, then they violate this part of their own core values. By blocking someone from implementing their own ideas they stifle creativity. ICANN is not limiting itself to these activities in regards to creation of new gTLDs and therefore in complete opposition to the core values they say they represent.

[c]. To the extent feasible, delegate coordination functions to responsible entities that reflect the interests of affected parties.

Which means creating or working with technical bodies that can help assure the stability of the Internet, such as the IETF.

[d]. Promote international participation at all levels of decision-making and policy-making.

Which ICANN has yet to do in any way.

[e]. Seek broad, informed participation reflecting the functional and geographic diversity of the Internet.

ICANN has made a concentrated effort over the years to stifle participation by the general population of Internet Users.

They stopped allowing us to vote in Board Members when the original charter said the public would be able to elect half of the board.

They eliminated the general Assembly because they did not like what the public had to say, because we did not agree with their policies.

They do not reach out to educate more people about the ICANN process and actively seek people to participate in that process. So, once again, ICANN’s core values are ignored by ICANN.

[f]. Introduce and promote competition in the registration of domain names where practicable and beneficial.

Charging upwards of $200,000 to get your own TLD does not promote competition, it stifles competition.

Authoritatively deciding to award someone else’s idea to a company more friendly to ICANN does not promote competition, it stifles competition.

ICANN has done nothing to promote competition on the web. It has helped companies like VeriSign and Network Solutions to maintain a monopoly on domain names.

Right now, the only viable domain names to own exist in dot com, (controlled by VeriSign and Network Solutions) and Dot Net, (controlled by VeriSign and Network Solutions).

The only TLDs that ICANN has approved have been those that do not threaten to really compete with Dot Com or Dot Net.

They approved Dot Biz even though it already existed in another root and had a current owner and gave it to a different company. Yes, someone owned that business and ICANN simply awarded it to another company because it decided the other company should run it instead.

They approved Dot Museum. How many museums are there in the world anyway? And why would they need a Dot museum? Not my place to question that business plan, but it goes toward ICANN leaning toward approving TLDs that will not threaten VeriSign or Network Solutions monopoly.

They approved Dot Info. The spammers TLD that no one else really wants. They had to lower the price to about $1.99 per year to even get people to register them and that just attracted the spammers.

They approved Dot Mobi. This TLD would never threaten VeriSign or Network Solutions either. A very poor choice in my opinion. Again, to the owners of Dot Mobi, it is not my place to second guess your business plan just like it is not ICANN’s place to question mine.

ICANN has succeeded for years in defending the monopoly held by VeriSign and Network Solutions. The creation of TLDs like Dot CPA, Dot lawyer, Dot Attorney, Dot Cars, Dot Sex, Dot Family, Dot Church, Dot SEO (My own TLD), Dot WebDesign, Dot Hosting, etc., would do more to foster competition and free enterprise and would break the monopoly that ICANN defends for VeriSign and Network Solutions.

Those TLDs all exist and are operational in another root. ICANN and the ISPs do not let you see ALL of the Internet. That is the only reason you cannot visit domain names in these TLDs.

Your ISP could easily enable your DNS so that you would see all you see now, plus hundreds of other domain names on better TLDs than ICANN has approved.

TLDA Mission Statement from http://www.tlda.org

The Top Level Domain Association Inc. is a trade association of Internet Top Level Domain (TLD) holders. This organization represents the interests of TLD Holders and fosters cooperation among them to insure a stable, inclusive namespace. All TLD holders are welcome to be members of the TLDA.

Inclusive. That is the key word. Whenever you enable your DNS to see these other TLDs and domain names, you can still see dot com, net, org, aero, museum, info, etc.

The difference is that ICANN wishes to exclude you from seeing them. How does that foster competition?

Back to ICANN’s Core Principles;

[g]. Where feasible, depend on market mechanisms to promote and sustain a competitive environment.

It is totally feasible to include the other namespace where other TLDs already exist. They exist in a stable environment and are owned and managed by people who know how to operate their own TLD and should be allowed to do so.

ICANN intends to award TLDs to ICANN-friendly companies even when others already own those TLDs.

[h]. Employ open and transparent policy-making mechanisms that promote well-informed, technically sound decisions.

ICANN is so far from transparency by definition that one wonders why they have not edited this out of their core principles.

They ARE transparent in their efforts to help VeriSign and Network Solutions maintain a monopoly on commercially viable TLDs.

[i]. Make allocation and assignment decisions by applying documented policies neutrally and objectively.

There has been nothing neutral in the way they have done this so far. Is it neutral to take your business idea and give it to another company?

[j]. Act with a speed that is responsive to the needs of the Internet but obtain informed input from those most affected as part of the decision-making process.

I love how they continually use the phrase, “Those most affected”. To ICANN, this means the bigger the company, the more they are affected, so their opinions matter more than the average user of the Internet or any small business owner.

[k]. Remain accountable to the Internet community though mechanisms that enhance ICANN’s effectiveness.

They have never been accountable to anyone. The original Board was to step down after the first year. They didn’t even do that. They extended their own terms.

They eliminated the voting in of half the BoD. They eliminated the general Assembly. They have eliminated any attempt at being held accountable.

[l]. While remaining rooted in the private sector, act with sensitivity to governmental concerns for the public interest so that the need for direct governmental action is minimized.

Again, they violate their own core principles here. The rejection of Dot XXX is a great example. Whether you and I agree with having a Dot XXX or not is not the issue.

The issue is that ICANN allowed George Bush to tell them not to allow it. The Internet is international and is supposed to be free of governmental intervention.

The bottom line is that ICANN needs to be held accountable to it’s own core values and ICANN needs to stay out of trying to make policy if they are to be a neutral technical body as they were created to be.

ICANN is opening itself up to major litigation in the area of promoting non-competitive business practices, blocking free trade, and opening themselves to major liability when a registry they approve harms registrants businesses.

For some reason, ICANN seems to believe that it can do whatever it wants with impunity. That is a very dangerous mindset in a litigious society.

If I want to own my own TLD and sell domain names as a business, who is ICANN to tell me I cannot do this?

They are a US nonprofit entity, registered and based in the state of California. They do not have the power to stop free enterprise or free trade and it is illegal to engage in non-competitive business practices.

That’s my opinion and I’m sticking to it.

Chris McElroy aka NameCritic has been involved with the ICANN Process and Consumer Issues involving Domain Names since 2000. He is a current member of the TLDA. You can read the Chris McElroy aka NameCritic Blog for more info about domain names, TLDs, and ICANN

Once you have discovered the many uses of creating photo stories such as sharing your adventures with family and friends, creating an online journal or creating a story to highlight your qualifications in order to boost your college application or resume you will want to use free photo editing software to create your stories. Finding free photo editing software online to create your stories is easy because there are many sites and programs to choose from. You will want to choose the best free photo editing software for the type of stories you want to create, however. You can even create a free online photo album.

You should look for free photo editing software that allows your stories as much flexibility as possible. You should be able to resize your photos, create backgrounds from a variety of designs and colors and place the text where you would like it to go. You also want the software to allow you to edit your photos to reduce redeye and eliminate flaws in the photo. The ability to crop your photos is also helpful so that the image is focused on the subject and displayed to its fullest potential. In fact, your free photo editing software that you use for creating your photo stories should be able to do anything you can do with regular photo editing software PLUS the capability to add your text in a creative fashion.

Even the best professional photographers regularly use photo editing software, so budding photo storytellers should not feel that their photos are second-rate just because they need some editing with free photo editing software to create stories that are compelling. Editing is just a way of taking a good photo and making it great so free photo editing takes your stories to the next level. You want your viewers to focus on the subject of the photo and be drawn into your story so removing imperfections and cropping unnecessary scenery can help them zero in on the important elements of your photo story.

Finding the best photo editing program online for your stories will ensure that your creativity will not have limits. You want your photo story to translate from your mind onto the computer screen just the way you see it and the right editing program will help you do just that. In fact, all the editing tools and options that are available may just make the photo story you develop better than you could’ve imagined.

Creating photo stories is a great hobby that has so many possible uses such as: creating a family history, recording a vacation, journaling your thoughts and feelings or just keeping in touch with friend and family. Free photo editing for your stories makes this fun hobby even better in these difficult economic times. With a couple of clicks of your mouse you can be on your way to creating memories that will last a lifetime with free photo editing and the stories of your adventures with your family and friends. What could be better than that?

MJ Johnston writes for a variety of websites, including Hoorray, a photo sharing site that offers the quickest and easiest way to build free printable calendars, as well as free online photo storage.

People’s lives today are so busy. There are jobs, classes, taking care of the kids, clubs, lessons and so on. They don’t always have enough time to spend with the people they love, especially in their extended families. Writing individual letters and sending pictures takes up more time and money. Creating and sending out a family newsletter to everyone on your list is a better idea, but that still costs money for paper, ink, envelopes and stamps. Which means you will be less likely to share it with everyone you know.

An even better way to keep family and friends in tune with your life is to use free online photo sharing stories. The people you love can keep up with all the things your family is doing no matter where they live in the world. Imagine how much easier it is to send them an email link and let them know about the updates? Then Mom can forward it to your Great Aunt Martha or your second cousin Samantha without it costing you a dime or taking up any more of your precious time.

One great thing about free online photo sharing stories is, obviously, that they are free. This eliminates all the excuses for not keeping your family updated on Johnny’s swim team or Susie’s dance class. Maybe you want to share the simple things in life, like your latest quilt design or a new recipe you tried. You can post as many photo sharing stories as you want for free so you don’t have to worry about something being too trivial. People love being included in the small moments and it really helps them feel closer to you and your family.

The other great thing about free online photo sharing stories is that they are so easy to create. You can upload your photo to the website and add your story along with it. It can be as long or short as you like. Some people just like to share a sentence or two that describes the scene in the picture. Others write a complete essay-style story to really engage the reader include their friends and family into their lives more intimately. The choice is yours.

And it doesn’t take a lot of technical skill to do these. Most of the time all you have to do is point and click. Click to add the photo. Click in the text box to write your story. Click once more to publish it to the web. It’s so much easier than creating a newsletter or even creating a scrapbook page at home. Plus, there are not any paper scraps left laying around the house.

Free online photo sharing stories are so much fun to create and to view. It is really a win-win situation for everyone. You can keep up your busy lifestyle while still staying in touch with family and friends and they get to appreciate and enjoy all the great times you and the children are having. That is a grandparent’s wish come true!

MJ Johnston writes for a variety of websites, including Hoorray, a photo sharing site that offers the quickest and easiest way to build a free online photo album, as well as free online photo storage.

Journaling is a great way to preserve your most private thoughts, feelings and memories. It is something you do just for you and may not want just anybody to see. It can be a great form of self-therapy as you work through the situations and emotions of your life. Journaling is a way to get out frustrations, deal with anger and disappointments as well as celebrating the victories and happy moments. Adding pictures to your journal helps to make the stories you write come alive and become much more enjoyable to come back to. Creating your own journal online with free online photo sharing stories is a great way to keep the things you want private personal and to share the things you want only with those you chose to share with.

Pictures often capture things that can’t be expressed in other ways. The stories you write can help you work through your feelings as the photos inspire you. Perhaps you have a photo of you with a boyfriend or girlfriend at the Prom and you write about the wonderful evening you had and how your date spilled punch on your shoe, but it was so funny that you couldn’t be angry. You will laugh again and again as you reread that and relive the emotions you felt. Maybe if you look closely at the photo you will see the spot that was left after you and your best friend tried to wash it off in the bathroom. Free online photo sharing stories make it easy to upload and create these memories that can last a lifetime.

Of course, you might not want your online journal to be private. Maybe you would like to share it with the world. Think of how a journal can change the way people see the world. Remember The Diary of Ann Frank? Creating free online photo sharing stories is a great way to other people insight into the situations and circumstances of life that you go through. It can be a way to share your story with the future generations of the world. You are a unique individual and certainly must have a lot to share with others. You have a chance to preserve your own unique history and share it with the generations.

In summary, journaling is an important thing that everyone should do in their lives. For some people a regular paper journal makes sense, but for others making their own photo journal with free photo sharing stories online is a much easier and more efficient choice. The special moments of your life can be captured and preserved whether they are for your eyes only or to share with the entire world including future generations. Creating free online photo stories is simple and easy. This kind of online journal allows you to express yourself creatively while exploring your thoughts and emotions. As you reflect on the choices you have made in the past, the future often becomes more clear and you can choose to make it whatever you want.

MJ Johnston writes for a variety of websites, including Hoorray, a photo sharing site that offers the quickest and easiest way to build a free online photo album, as well as free online photo storage.

There are a number of great websites where you can create and view free online photo sharing stories. There are some truly amazing photos and stories out there. They give a brief glimpse into a life that a person would otherwise never have been aware of. They offer a chance to reflect on one’s own life and the people in it. Sometimes a new perspective can make all the difference in conquering a person’s fears or overcoming their obstacles. There’s just so much in a photo and then when a story is added to it, the whole thing becomes even more compelling.

A lot of budding professional and amateur photographers are cutting their teeth by posting their photos and sharing their free online photo sharing stories for all to see—and comment on. This is a great way to hone their skills as they discover what makes a photo capture the audience’s attention and what techniques actually distract from the story they were trying to tell. Nothing teaches a person more quickly than the uncensored honesty you get on the internet! The aspiring photographer can then make the proper adjustments to his next project, post the new photo and story and see if the changes affect the way people view his pictures and/or story.

Families enjoy sharing their photos and stories online, too. Sometimes they post these in public free online photo sharing stories as well. Other times they prefer an account that allows them to control who has access to their free online photo sharing stories. Either way, they enjoy sharing the magic and wonder of a child’s first step, kindergarten graduation or winning touchdown with a photo sharing story. These online stories are a great way to preserve the families cherished memories without the worry of pictures being destroyed by fire, flood or any other natural or man-made disaster.

They say a “picture is worth a thousand words” and when you add a story and post it online it is absolutely priceless. Telling the story brings even more life into the picture. The story can tell what happened right before or after the picture was taken. It could also explain the “why” behind the picture. Why is the boy sitting there with a bowl of spaghetti on his head? Did the photographer just step in to capture the action or was the scene staged? Did he put the spaghetti on his head or was it his sister whose face we see laughing in the background? The story is the difference between a picture being given a quick glance and an “aw” and really having an impact on the viewer.

There are so many possibilities with free online photo sharing stories. They are enjoyable to view and enjoyable to create. From preserving and sharing family memories to educating and inspiring others, online photo sharing stories provide endless creative opportunities. They also provide a great creative outlet in which to express oneself and share interesting ideas with others. The possibilities are endless to say the least.

MJ Johnston writes for a variety of websites, including Hoorray, a photo sharing site that offers the quickest and easiest way to build a free online photo album, as well as free online photo storage.

What if, in order to succeed, you have to abandon preconceived ideas and methods that have always worked before? Would you make the change?

Advancements in technology have always confounded those who were well acquainted with the status quo. However, what would life be like today if there were no early adopters of computer technology?

We would likely find reports constructed on a typewriter complete with whiteout marks. We would find a hand written ledger that would manage the accounting side of a business and we would find all correspondence with customers and business associates being done face-to-face, by phone or through letters.

Cell phones would not be used, video conferencing would be the stuff of sci-fi and many opportunities would be largely missed.

As technology changes we need to learn to harness what positives we can from the process in order to maximize potential earnings. For instance technology has simplified the art of communication. In a business-to-business scenario it is possible to make immediate contact through instant messaging with associates around the world. Email blasts can happen with short notice and total connection time is reduced in some cases by days.

If time is money then computer technology has the ability to save business owners a lot of money. We have product to move, time on our hands and we need the ability to drive sales NOW.

The concepts we have come to use regularly in online business were developed by computer geeks we all made fun of many years ago when they huddled in high school computer labs writing code for things we thought were irrelevant. Today these men and women command our respect because they bought into a bigger picture we couldn’t see.

So as the methods of business change so, too, does business. In many cases the storefront has been abandoned in favor of an office at home. The role of business has been relegated to the imagination of the business owner. There are rules, but there is more flexibility and innovation than many have previously experienced.

Online business has abandoned the notion that only the rich and powerful can create business. The Internet has brought a sense of business equality to the masses and this notion is being embraced far and wide.

In many cases the delivery side of business remains unchanged, but the execution of business and the development of clients has seen a radical departure from even twenty years ago.

There has to be an understanding that the methods of business will change, but the end result still needs to be a successful business.

Marketing skills will need to be adapted or newly developed for an online environment. We won’t have the opportunity for face-to-face sales so high pressure techniques may need to be set aside for the sake of improved consumer response.

Where once customers could simply ask us for advice on a product or service now we must be proactive and deliver quality information before they even ask. We do that online through ezines, ecourses and email.

In many cases the consumer demands more of ecommerce and we need to be prepared to give it to them. The cyber pool is much larger than a local storefront so treat it with all the respect you might give a five star hotel. If you treat it that way chances are pretty good your customers will think of it more highly as well.

Make A Website in minutes with the Website Builder at HighPowerSites.com. Start a HOME BUSINESS and Sell Ebooks at BooksWealth.com.