Have you heard the great news? Creative Commons is building a mobile app to replace stock photos.
The awesome content sharing nonprofit Creative Commons has been working diligently to create a mobile app that allows people and businesses to request and use images from other users. The beauty is that these images are under an open license (Creative Commons’ thing), which inevitably posses a threat towards our beloved stock photos.
This new app is called The List. Appropriately named because it provides lists of locations, people, objects and events that users might need pictures of. Then, other users can view these requests and publish their own images for public use directly through the app. Preview image courtesy of The Next Web.
For those of us that work with Facebook and other forms of social media on a daily basis, this is groundbreaking. Sometimes, you really need a photo of “a dog playing with a cat” and just can’t justify buying a $15 stock photo for just one Facebook post.
Currently, Creative Commons allows people to search the internet for images under its open license. Soon, the app will expand this and allow contributors to share their work directly with those in need. Not only does The List give businesses and bloggers a new outlet to find relevant images to supplement their content, it provides home-grown photographers a creative space to practice their craft and share their work in a meaningful, legal way.
I don’t know about you but I feel really good about the gradual move away from stock photos – except for the Vince Vaughn ones. Those can stay.