It doesn't happen enough. Too often, images are pasted on by a blogger to help make a point without recognition to those who work hard at creating image content. It's taken for granted that many images are freely used online (whether they are allowed to be or not). Artists' recognition shouldn't be neglected.
Images educate about new concepts, beg to be shared for their cheekiness and insight, and enhance the blogging world. We know this. Time to credit those who take the time to give image-credit where it is due. I hope this meme will spread through the blogosphere.
May I present, The Image-Citation Citation!
Share and award this blog award to bloggers who take the time to cite, backlink and applaud the people who create original images. Giving this award doesn't mean you've read every blog post the author has penned since the phrase "web log" was used: it means you acknowledge those who regularly acknowledge our bloggy artistic treasures and jesters.
Download, right-click & save or request a copy of this image from me in another form or with a blog colour specific background, and I'll see what I can do. Email your award to the intended blogger with an explanation and backlink to here. I'd love it if you'd comment who you've awarded it to and why on this post, and backlink it if you are a recipient announcing your accolade.
To begin, I award the Image-Citation Citation to:
1) Lines and Colors by Charley Parker, for making the citing of image-makers a joy every post.
2)Not Exactly Rocket Science, by Ed Yong, for above average journalistic attention to citations and sources.
3) Infectious Greed by Paul Kedrosky, for taking the time to consistently show his infographic and illustration sources through labels and links.
Who do you award the Image-Citation Citation to?
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Edit, 21 Feb 2010: I've created a new, more compact, easier to understand Image-Citation Citation image for recipients to put on their blog, at the request of the commenters (thanks, peeps!)
Please feel free to forward to those who deserve it, and link back here so we can keep a growing list! The url to link to easily is http://tinyurl.com/imagecite .
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Original artwork on The Flying Trilobite Copyright to Glendon Mellow
under Creative Commons Licence.
Flying Trilobite Gallery *** Flying Trilobite Reproduction Shop ***
16 comments:
I've made a unique tinyurl to use when linking back to this post:
http://tinyurl.com/imagecite
Great idea! As someone who has been plagued by this problem with my Jungle Photos website, I strive to (in the following order):
1. Use my own images :)
2. Always credit images
3. Use images with creative commons licensing where possible
4. Include a link to the original source
It's amazing how many bloggers get apoplectic over written plagiarism while giving themselves a free pass to use any image they want on their own sites without attribution.
I like this idea, but suggest making a version that is not foreshortened and fits better inline with a sidebar or post. Kind of like the Creative Commons bug you are using on your sidebar.
Thanks Jungleman! There are a lot of people who deserve to be thanked for behaving as you do.
Take this Image-Citation Citation as a token of thanks for recognizing artists. And grant the award to others.
Jason, I completely agree. Images, like music have become part of a free-for-all, the least people can do is cite who made them.
Good idea about the bug button. I think this needs a few more formats.
I'm pleased to see your post and encouraged to be more diligent in posting image citations. As a former publisher, I KNOW it's the right thing to do.
I've been crediting all my images on all my lenses for a very long time (ie for the last four years since Making A Mark was set up)
I've also noticed that others now do it the way I do which is:
- title in bold (date if art history)
- name of artist
- size (height x width); media and support
- location if in a museum (with a link to the relevant website page or other source)
- copyright status is always included
If it's a contemporary artist I link to either the blog post or their website whichever is appropriate - sometimes both!
The award is a nice idea however I'm not sure people are now including so many memes as they used to. Design is also a consideration. My blog has been cited many times for awards so. on the whole, I prefer not to include any rather than offend anybody by not including theirs. The only one I've got up at the moment is the one identifying my art blog as the #3 art blog in the UK in 2009 - but that was a bit different!
Maybe you would get more people citing it if there was a line banner option since this would take up less real estate in the blogroll column. Everybody has different preferences of course - and this is only my view.
Thanks, Smartz! Will you be awarding it to anyone? ;-)
Thanks for your suggestion, Katherine! It's a good point. I was thinking I may be a bit behind on the curve of blog award memes, but what the heck.
Above, Jason Robertshaw of Cephalopodcast suggested the same thing: a small button for the sidebar. Sounds like a necessity!
I'll try to whip something up by the end of the weekend.
I like that you're pro-active, Katherine. I read a lot of science blogs, and occasionally bloggers I love will post artwork from someone, without citation. I try to make a comment citing the artist if I know who they are.
If I can, I'd like to raise consciousness about it.
Do we have to cite the creator of the 'image-citation citation!' award when using it to award some one or do we get off free doing that? ;)
Marco.
Ha!
I'd love it if you could link the image button back here, and add the awarded blogs' names here in the comment. That way, people can see who else has participated.
Mainly, I want to raise awareness about image use.
Thanks, Glendon. In my case, the attribution and links are really the point of the post in many ways.
Lines and Colors is amazing Charley. When I was first starting my blog almost 3 years ago, Leslie Hawes pointed me your way, and the advice you give is spot-on.
Cheers, Charley, for always setting the bar high.
Also, four different fonts in one little image? Please don't do that. :)
It's actually 3 typefaces, but 4 fonts because of the size difference. Hahaha, you caught me though, I was breaking the 2 font rule.
Okay. Gotta make the little one. Less fancy, more practical.
New one is made, and I edited this post to make it more prominent. Much cleaner looking.
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