By Sarah Carol Hughes
Asst. Bus & Tech
Facebook made the announcement on Aug. 26 the option to create “shared albums” for multiple users to input photos in its products, in addition to traditional photo albums.
Users can add to about 50 friends who are now able to contribute up to 200 photos to the shared album. Each contributor can manage the photos he or she uploads, but the creator of the album has ultimate control over what images remain.
This function is especially intended for sharing photos from an event like a wedding or birthday party all in one place for viewing.
Crystal Hansen, sophomore liberal studies major, said she sees this as an interesting addition to Facebook.
“It sounds like a great idea,” Hansen said. “Instead of having to go to a bunch of different places for photos of an event, they are all in one convenient spot.”
Previously, users looking for photos from an event would have to sort through their friend’s albums, have the image show up on their timeline, or hope they would be tagged in specific photos. Some photos may have not even been viewable depending on the owner of the photo’s privacy settings.
There are three available privacy settings for shared albums: public, friends of contributors and contributors only. Contributors can choose to leave the album at any time, but their pictures will remain in the album unless the photos are deleted.
While other apps are on the market and websites offer the ability to share photos, they are limited and lack the social networking abilities offered by Facebook. Adding this photo-sharing option on a social network as popular and versatile as Facebook makes keeping up with friends and family that much easier to do.
Ally Guthrie, sophomore business major, said she sees this update as a response to improvements made by other apps and websites.
“It (is) a very helpful addtion to finding photos,” Guthrie said. “It’s a contribution from other social networking sites such as Instagram.”
Guthrie said people today are able to stay in constant contact with friends and family regardless of their geographic location.
With this update, Facebook has made sharing photos online an even more engaging and social experience than before. This is especially helpful in enabling individuals of all backgrounds to gain access to photo albums.
