Welcome to the Xomiele Project.
The Xomiele Project is the intersection of a number of concepts in photographic marketing, and an exercise in social giving. It's an experiment in Creative Commons image licensing, an exploration of online photography promotion tools, and a new way of looking at the world around you. This project can be duplicated by anyone from pro photographers to hobbyists, and other artists may benefit from the concept, too. The Xomiele Project is simply a newspaper based on Creative Commons licensed images.
Background
The project started in May, 2008 with a request from Now Public via Flickr. An author from the public news organization wanted to use an image of the American Flag for an article about a student experiencing censorship. I changed the permissions on the image to a Creative Commons license, and it along with many others, accompanied the article. Over the next year, other requests would come through for an image to accompany another article or art project, and Flickr's stats revealed a few more...
Maturation
Around that time I began to experiment with Creative Commons images as an avenue for marketing photographers by releasing certain sets of personal images to see what happens. Sites like Boing Boing have long advocated the use of Creative Commons images, and many blogs use them. The Creative Commons FAQ's states, "One of our central goals is to encourage people to experiment with new ways to promote and market their work.1"
Currently
There are more than 32 websites in 7 languages running one or more of the images. From news and opinion sites, entertainment, and personal blogs to aggregators and even a few commercial websites. Anyone can copy this concept. It doesn't break any new ground, it simply remixes the pieces anew. I'm curious to see how other photographers approach Creative Commons licensed images. If you have a similar project or concept, drop it in the comments.
Read more about Commercial Use versus Noncommercial Use of Images.
Contact Xomiele or go to the Home Page.
