WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
www.commons.wikimedia.org
Wikimedia Commons is a media file repository, part of the non-profit, multilingual, free-content Wikimedia family. Launched in 2004, Wikimedia Commons hit the 1,000,000 uploaded media file milestone in 2006 and currently contains 35 million files.
It acts as a common repository for the various projects of the Wikimedia Foundation, and is created and maintained by volunteers.
Unlike traditional media repositories, Wikimedia Commons is free. Everyone is allowed to copy, use and modify any files here freely as long as they follow the terms specified by the author. This often means crediting the source and author(s) appropriately and releasing copies/improvements under the same freedom to others.
It was one of my original, "Go-To" resource for photographs, before Unsplash. I avoid using the photos that are aggregated from Flickr. I worry that owners may change their minds and change the license, so I stick with safe content. I use resources from this site when I see the content is in Public Domain.
It's a great outlet for other types of media, as well. There are short video clips, audio and illustrations. I especially enjoy the historic content.
Wikimedia Commons uses the same wiki-technology as Wikipedia and everyone can edit it. It's easy to make an account and upload your own photos or media. In fact, I make my Media Writing college students become Wiki members and "donate" a photo to the common good. I relate to Wiki's motto of "A rising tide lifts all boats," and since it has supported me with information and content, I support it.
Every year when Wikimedia conducts its fundraiser, I donate. It's not a lot of money, but every dollar helps, so I contribute. I hope you'll consider doing the same. It's a great resource for millions of people.
One great thing about Wikimedia Commons is the photos uploaded here are used on the regular encyclopedia site, Wikipedia. Unlike media files uploaded to other projects, files uploaded to Wikimedia Commons can be embedded on pages of all Wikimedia projects without the need to separately upload them there.
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A Useful Guide to Free Photos, Media & More
Non-FictionA Useful Guide to Free Photos, Media & More was designed to help you find content to illustrate your your books, your author's website, your marketing, and your life without spending a dime on photos, video, music and more. Developed for my learning...
