Five Ways to Share Vacation Photos

I still smile when I recall Betty White's tongue-in-cheek critiques of social media, and how she equated the global sharing of vacation photos as a form of punishment. It's true that those of use who spend a many hours connected online to loved ones tend to share everything that amuses and interests. These days, I communicate more with cousins in a day than I did twenty years ago when I saw them once a year. The Internet is useful, and if you're eager to share your vacation photos of the beach or that awesome nature hike you'll find there are ways to do it without inspiring people to cease following your updates.

We know you intend to take lots of pictures on your beach vacation, and if you prefer the old school method of creating a photo album for the shelf that's cool. For people who don't get to your house often, here are a few ways to share your memories.

1) Instagram them! The popularity of the Instagram tool for the iPhone and Android has skyrocketed, with amateur photographers creating instant works of art to share with friends and the world. Take your photo, and use the tool to create a retro-style look to it, just like Grandma's collection of Polaroids. You can connect your account to Twitter and Facebook, too, and share as you go.

2) Pin them! Pinterest is fast becoming on of the top social media sites. Photo sharing is huge, and Pinterest allows users to create personal "boards" of information on a myriad of custom topics. With an account, you can create a vacation board and upload your photos to one place. Friends can like the photos and re-pin them to their own boards to save as vacation ideas.

3) Create a cloud. Cloud computing is the new buzz phrase - most things you kept on a shelf - music CDs, books, and pictures - now have a virtual counterpart that you can access from a tablet, phone, or computer. If you use a digital camera, you can transfer photos to a cloud account and offer friends and family access. Dropbox is one tool I've used to share files between my tablet and laptop, and it's easy to create public and private folders for people to view.

4) Blog them! With the improvements to Blogger, for example, you can create a dynamic view style blog that creates a photo album site. Tile photos on the front page in a colorful display.

Tumblr is another good option for a photoblog. You'll find many templates to use that are conducive to photo sharing.

5) Print and pass! Sometimes, the old fashioned way is best suited to your situation. There's just something about holding a glossy photo in your hand that encourages the memories of a great vacation to return. Get your photos printed and bring a stack along to the next Sunday dinner. If you're really feeling old school, there do exist photography services that turn photos into slides!

One thing to note, if you're protective of your pictures, choose only the ones you want to share publicly and consider adding a watermark to prevent theft.