Ready to communicate visually with new cool tools and web services? This time I have selected for you some tools to edit any of your digital pictures online, as well as services to create slideshows with voice narration, search and download videos from YouTube, and also one cool service to find some nice icons.

Here my selected visual communication and video publishing tools for this week:

1. Fotocrib: Free web-based basic image editor allows you to edit all of your pictures right in your browser
2. Showbeyond: Upload your images and arrange them in embeddable slideshows for free
3. VoiceThread: Upload your pictures, arrange them in slideshows and add text, drawings, and voice narrations to them
4. TineyeProvide an image and let the service tell you where it appears on the web
5. RoundPic: Give your pictures anti-aliased, graduated rounded corners without installing any particular software
6. Iconlook: Icon search engine lets you search and download icons for free
7. Veeple: Web-based video captioning service lets you add small notes to your videos
8. FLVPlay: Search YouTube videos and download them with just one application

Visual Communication Tools

1. Fotocrib
   
   Fotocrib is an online photo editor that allows you to edit any of your pictures. You can upload a picture from you PC, or simply paste its URL, and you will be brought into the Fotocrib's studio: it is all based only on a dropdown menu, in which you can select the editing mode (resize, crop, insert text, brighten, sharpen, and more...). When you are finished, you can email the picture, or simply save it on your computer. Free, no registration needed.
   http://www.fotocrib.com/






2. Showbeyond
   
   Showbeyond is an image aggregating tool which lets you create, share, and embed slideshows. After you sign up for an account, you can then upload your images from your desktop, by URL, or from Picasa. Showbeyond will automatically arrange them in a slideshow and configure the duration between slides. When you're done with your show, you will be presented with multiple options for sharing it or embedding it on your blog. Free.
   http://www.showbeyond.com/






3. VoiceThread
   
   VoiceThread is a photo sharing tool that lets users upload photos from their hard drive or Flickr, arrange them in slideshow, and then add voice narration, text annotations or simple draw things on each slide. When you're done, you can embed your creation on your blog or web-site. Free to use, requires registration.
   http://voicethread.com/






4. Tineye
   
   TinEye is a free service, currently in private beta, that allows you to provide any image by uploading it or by submitting its URL, and that will tell you where it appears on the web. After you provide an image and press search, Tinyeye will scan through the indexed sites, and will report to you where the submitted image appears, showing also a preview, image size and URL. Free to use.
   http://tineye.com/






5. RoundPic
   
   RoundPic is an online service that enables you to give elegant rounded corners to any image on your PC, or that has a URL. After you provide a picture, RoundPic automatically gives it anti-aliased, graduated curves on the corners that you can personalize as you wish, lets you resize the whole image, specify the quality, filename, and lets you download it. Free to use, no registration needed.
   http://www.roundpic.com/






6. Iconlook
   
   Iconlook is a new website that anyone can use to search for icons. After you enter a keyword, you can browse the search results through thumbnails and, when you have find the icon you were looking for, you can just click on it and download the .ico file. The service is completely free to use
   http://www.iconlook.com/







Video Publishing Tools





1. Veeple
   
   Veeple is a web-based video captioning service that lets you add small moving notes or links to your videos. You can upload clips up to 100MB in size, or you can simply access the ones you've got hosted on other sites like YouTube, MySpace, and Facebook, and add simple noted and captions to them. The service is free to use and requires registration.
   http://www.veeple.com/






2. FLVPlay
   
   FLVPlay is a free application that allows you to search and view YouTube's video collection, as well as download videos to your desktop instantly. After you have eneterd a search tems, you can preview videos directly into the program, and download all of them in FLV fornat. FLVPlay needs Adobe AIR to run and it is free to use.
   http://www.riaforge.co.uk/go/flvplay/




Originally written by Nico Canali De Rossi for Master New Media and first published on June 8th 2008 as "Visual Communication And Video Publishing - Selected Tools And Web Services - Sharewood Picnic Jun08 08"