Adobe's Photoshop, that software so ubiquitous that it has become a verb, now has a free online offering. It's not going to replace its own high-priced software, but as an introduction to Photoshop and as a consumer-grade, online offering, it ain't bad.
Adobe Photoshop Express invites you to upload your digital pictures and do basic manipulation: crop, rotate, touchup, red-eye removal, brightness, color, tint and a few other basic effects. You can store your pictures in public galleries, and the program make the pics easy to share. It offers the ability to link, embed, email or download the pictures - all essential traits of the social web. It has a direct login to Facebook as well, making for a nifty bit of cross-promotion.
The software isn't flawless - this is the extra-beta version, and I think the interface, simple as it is, will be a little less-than-intuitive for beginners. It may be about a 3-4 on the difficulty scale of 1-10, but I suspect Adobe will continue to refine this.
Photoshop Express is the latest example of the Service Web, where software we have always used on our computers is now living. You no longer need your own Word or Excel software, for example. Google Documents offers basic software in these areas - and for free. Right now, you have to be online to use these programs. But just this week, Google announced it's rolling out a Google Docs upgrade that will let you save and edit your documents "locally" (on your own computer) without the need for an internet connection. Once you connect to the web, your offline and online changes automatically sync. Ta da! Free word editing and spreadsheet software and online backup.
You can do basic video editing at sites like Jumpcut and Eyespot. (Check out the contest The History Channel and Eyespot are running right now. It's inviting people to remix its clips with a song by the band "Five for Fighting.")
The Service Web works right along with the Social Web - create on the former, share on the latter.
How do we take advantage of this at the local level? What services can we offer? How do we make money from this?
The History Channel contest is a good place to start. Offering our video up for remix contests is easy. We should be inviting people to "do your own promo" and "remix our community." The promotional value alone in these sorts of ideas is its own payoff. But the contests will also drive traffic and, hence, revenue. Get a good sponsor and you're talking real money now.
Partnering with companies like Motionbox, which offers online video editing, immediately puts you into the web service business. Motionbox recently rolled out its online HD player for all the folks at home who have HD camcorders. Check it out.
Bring people into the tent with more than just your news. Provide services. Make it fun to be a part of your community and you won't just be offering a service - you'll be doing a service as well.
