Free Photos

After reading a my classmate's blog Life Changing Moments in which she talks about a reunion with memorable people she met in Cambodia, I decided to post a few photos from my own Cambodia trip. My trip wasn't quite as philanthropic as hers (I went on vacation while she helped to teach kids English) but it did produce some great photos.

I took the pictures with my little point and shoot digital camera, but still. Trees were overgrowing temples, and the city of Angkor Wat (spelled differently depending on who you ask) was absolutely gorgeous. The problem is that I really like those photos, and I'd like to continue owning them.

It was the thought of posting my Cambodia photos online that finally got me to read Blogger's usage agreement. I've been meaning to read it for a while, but the photos I've posted thus far aren't really fabulous. They're nice, but they're not fabulous. The Cambodia photos may not be fabulous either, but they're closer to it, and they're worth me finally acting like a responsible journalism student and reading the terms and conditions of use.

So here it is, Blogger, and Google's, little paragraph on the things we upload.

"When you upload or otherwise submit content to our Services, you give Google (and those we work with) a worldwide license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works (such as those resulting from translations, adaptations or other changes we make so that your content works better with our Services), communicate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute such content. The rights you grant in this license are for the limited purpose of operating, promoting, and improving our Services, and to develop new ones. This license continues even if you stop using our Services."

Not only do we give all our content to Google, we give it to their undisclosed, uh, who are they, again? Not partners, even, just "those we work with". Obviously I'm going to sleep better tonight knowing my information is in good hands.

Fellow bloggers (if anyone besides classmates is reading this), take a look at Google's Terms of Service agreement. You know, the one you've probably already agreed to.

For those who are interested, Facebook has a similar policy. The first paragraph of their Terms of Use is below.

"For content that is covered by intellectual property rights, like photos and videos (IP content), you specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy and application settings: you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook (IP License). This IP License ends when you delete your IP content or your account unless your content has been shared with others, and they have not deleted it."

It actually looks like Facebook gives users more leeway than Google in that the deal ends when you cut Facebook out of your like. That actually does help me sleep better.