Finding Images for Blog Posts
Whether you fear the crack down of the FTC or you just have sound ethics, you have to be very careful where you find your images and how you give credit where credit is due. There are actually quite a number of ways you can go with this and I suggest you dig around. I have used and like the following 2 options and want to share them with you.
Zemanta: I use WordPress for all my blogs and I really like the Zemanta plugin. This will bring up a sidebar in your post development page. You can type in a keyword to search for that right image or just start typing and it will pick up keywords and start showing images. If you choose one, it will automatically be added to your post with credit linking back to the right site. I know…very cool. Of course Zemanta is so much more than just this function. I suggest playing around with it.
Compfight: I’ve heard a mixed reaction to this one, but it works for me. Compfight is a site that will go out and pull Flickr images that fit your keyword search. So why not just go to Flickr for your search anyway? Compfight uses the Flickr API to pull it down in a more visually stimulating way. I can mouse over the images and it gives me the size and if I click on the image I want, it takes me directly to that Flickr account so I can credit them properly (Be sure to use the Creative Commons filter in the left sidebar).
It depends on your needs as to which one is more useful for you but please remember to always credit (link to) the person who placed the image online. It’s not only good etiquette, but it’s the law.