Don’t Shortchange Yourself

Summary

The article provides advice on sourcing unique images for Medium articles to enhance originality and engagement, suggesting a method for finding less commonly used photos via Google's image search with specific usage rights.

Abstract

The author of the article expresses frustration with the overuse of a limited selection of stock photos on Medium, emphasizing the importance of selecting distinctive images to make articles stand out. The piece offers a practical guide to finding fresh and interesting images by using Google's image search with the "Labeled for Reuse" filter, which provides access to a wide range of photographs that are less likely to have been extensively used on Medium. The author also points out the abundance of great photos available on Flickr under Creative Commons licenses, which require attribution. The article concludes with a call to action for writers to avoid clichéd images and to use the provided tips to enhance their content, potentially leading to greater success and recognition.

Opinions

The author is critical of the repetitive use of stock photos on Medium, viewing it as a problem that detracts from the uniqueness of articles.
There is a hint of satire in the author's tone, poking fun at the numerous "how to get curated" articles on Medium while acknowledging participation in the same cycle.
The author believes that the right image can significantly impact the attention an article receives and its potential for curation and viral success.
The article suggests that writers are often too quick to select the first appealing image they find, which leads to a lack of originality in article presentation.
There is an endorsement of Google's image search tool, particularly its "Labeled for Reuse" filter, as a solution for finding less conventional images.
The author expresses gratitude to their partner, AleXander, for sharing the method of finding unique images and encourages readers to subscribe to their newsletter, indicating a personal stake in providing valuable content to their audience.

One easy way to find truly unique and powerful images

Photo Courtesy of Pixabay (of course)

See this darling little old lady? Her photo has been used by Medium writers at least 2,749,212 times.

(Full disclosure: this is a rant masquerading as being helpful)

There are roughly fifty stock photos that get used over and over and over ad nauseum. This has got to stop. I’m taking it upon myself to clue you in about how to find unique, uncommon, and interesting images to enhance your articles on Medium and elsewhere.

You can’t swing a (soundly) sleeping cat on Medium without knocking down at least a dozen ever-so-helpful do this and don’t do that so you can get curated articles. Never mind that these pieces won’t get curated, the writers don’t care. They’re after the views, reads, and clicks that these articles practically guarantee (see, I’m no better!)

But if you want your piece to grab (the right kind of) attention, choose your accompanying image with care. Take some time. Don’t just wade into Pixabay or Pxhere or Pexels and grab the first thing that catches your eye. I guarantee it will have already caught entirely too many other eyes.

Here’s my helpful suggestion to find photographs and images that are unusual and not-used-by-everyone-on-Medium-multiple-times:

Google the general term you’re looking for. During January when I was writing one fictional obituary daily I’d ask the Google to find me smiling old ladies or sad little kids or frowning men. Then when I got my ninety-seven kajillion results in under three-quarters of a second I’d go to “Tools”

Once you select “Tools”, then go to “Usage Rights” and select that. You’ll get a pull-down menu where you can select “Labeled for Reuse” and, voila!, you’ve got roughly ten kajillion images to choose from.

Granted, a fair number are from those free stock photo sites, but they’re not the first ones you’d see by going to their site. In other words, they might not already exist on about fifteen hundred published Medium articles. Nice, eh? There are also thousands of great photos on Flickr which are free to use under Creative Commons licenses. These often stipulate that credit be given but we all already do that………right?

Now that I’ve given you the secret to easily finding unique and interesting images to use with your killer article that’s going to be curated, go viral and net you a book deal with Simon & Schuster, I’m declaring a moratorium on the following images. Use at your peril, oh lazy Medium writers!

Giving credit where credit is due, I didn’t come by this information by divine inspiration. My partner, AleXander, showed me how to do this. Thank you, AleXander!

Oh, you don’t like my tone? Subscribe to my weekly newsletter anyway!