However, one thing I find particularly productive (aside from being really “on point” at the time we are conjuring up search term combinations) is to toggle back and forth between the “tag” and “text” options within Compfight. (I’m in love with it right now for several reasons: http://compfight.com )

I find that even though most folks wouldn’t even try to tag with potential metaphors… many times they will engage in a bit more reflection on the image within the text or comments below. This is exactly what the “text” search looks for within Flickr when using Compfight. And really, if people DID try to tag in a “higher level” way… it would probably generate a ton of noise around any potential signal. Think about it. What screams one word/concept/thought to one person, certainly may not to someone else. Now suggesting tags as you find image gold is another thing altogether. That could be beneficial in this respect.

And really… for what it’s worth, I didn’t read read your “search is overrated” line so literally. Right or not, I simply read it as if you were saying it in jest along the lines of “my PLN can beat up your PLN.”

This post certainly does show, in a nutshell, the power of many people strapped to a web portal and keyboard with a common goal and a consulting plea. It is an interesting Surowieckian commentary on the power of collective, decentralized knowledge.

Fun post.
Sean Nash´s last blog ..The End of The Line

On the other hand, if I only got 2 responses, those two may have served me well. To that end, I would likely have exchanged a few responses to tweak my request and hopefully come up with a usable product.

Thanks Sean for pushing my thinking.

Overrated was obviously not the best word. Perhaps even better than suggesting we take it for granted, would be to state it is limited.
I agree, it’s evolving an perhaps one day it will be able to produce those results without the support I elicited. The semantic web I believe it’s called. Which makes one wonder how it will evolve. For now, I value my backup plan.

Alan of Moose Jaw,

The tagging thing gets tricky. While standardized tags may have value, if I post a picture of the Eiffel Tower, there may be several tags similar to others but I also might add tags such as “holiday” “tall” along with names of my family who may be in the photo. Dave Wienberger is about the best at explaining how we tag our world. “Everything is Miscellaneous”. While this is extremely messy, it can work and for the most part it does. The searches I did weren’t awful but I had a specific idea in mind that wasn’t easily tagged. As Lesley suggested, it would be interesting to see how people did the search.

One activity I’ve done with students is to have them search for a photo that portrays a specific emotion. Ask them to find a picture showing fear or joy. Then discuss various strategies for finding those terms. A great opportunity to discuss vocabulary among other things.

Always nice to have these comments.

On the other hand, the ability to even try searching such a vast pool of free to use images did not exist a few years back. You are lucky to have such an overrated resource, even if it does produce the prize right away.

But again, a great example of tapping into your net.

And nice image, too.
Alan Levine´s last blog ..Bailey is Sailing Again

Searching will never be a one-stop shopping exercise. Powerful search engines make content accessible to us with short phrases. Images are accessible to us with a single word and if you know approximately what you are looking for – ‘autumn leaves’, ‘field of grass’ – then you can often find your metaphor. Asking someone for directions or knowledge is time honored. Tweeting improves on email and texting. I won’t elaborate. Dean introduced me to the metaphor of information as an open hydrant. Twitter is growing exponentially at the moment and at some point I wonder how unwieldy it will become. Dean is followed by thousands, but he only follows 500 or so. If each of those people were as prolific tweeters as Dean then he would have a filtering problem of his own. Never-the-less this is a happy illustration of the accessibility Twitter offers us all. Telepathy has fascinated us for decades, personal mobility devices make it happen; mind meeting mind.