Read all about it after the jump.

Near the bottom of Lightroom 5′s Library menu, is an item that lets you validate an entire collection of DNG files with a single click. It’s right below the “Find Missing” command. These two tools, when used together, offer excellent verification workflow.

As I have written before, one of the most vexing problems in asset management is knowing whether the files you stored are still sitting on the drive in an uncorrupted state. It’s possible that they can appear to be fine even though they are suffering from bit rot, or they were damaged in transfer, or have been corrupted by virus or other volume error. It’s a more common problem than many people think.

The way this issue is being handled in big institutions like university media collections is by the use of a checksum.  Basically, you run all the bits of the file through an equation, and it produces a unique result.  By recomputing the checksum periodically, you can see if any of the bits have changed.  Any unwanted change would indicate a problem in the storage or transfer of the file, and that should trigger a restoration of the file from backup, as well as a detective procedure to try and find out where the problem came from.

This process is called “fixity checking” and it is the subject of lots of research and thesis writing due to the difficulty of actually implementing it. It’s always a major topic at the Library of Congress storage conferences I go to.

The biggest issue with fixity checking is that sometimes you change a file on purpose.  Let’s say that you have embedded your contact information in a file, and you change address. You might want to update the embedded information. Unfortunately, any change to the file triggers a checksum mismatch. And at that point you make the checksum worthless, because it only tells you that the file has been changed, and can’t distinguish between a good change and a bad one.

I’d been working on this problem a lot after the publication of the first DAM Book, and Marc Rochkind and I came up with an interesting solution. In a DNG file, the important part of the file – the part with the original image data – is never supposed to change. So the checksum could look at that part, and ignore all the other parts, such as the metadata headers. This way you could rename the file, update metadata, even update the embedded previews, and the checksum would still tell you if the most important part of the file remains uncorrupted.

Marc and I took the idea to Thomas Knoll, who wrote it into the draft DNG 1.2 specification within two days. (Thomas may have already been working on it, but the email record indicates it was a new idea). Lightroom and Camera Raw have been using the checksum for years to verify individual files when they are opened into the Develop module or into ACR. But until now there were really no easy ways to check through an entire collection of DNG files to find the bad ones.

Now it’s part of Lightroom 5. With this one simple feature, Adobe gives Lightroom users something that has been a decades-long quest in the digital preservation space, and not all that well implemented even in smart institutions.

One-click verification has enormous implications for long-term preservation of image collections. It was a milestone I was waiting for to simplify (or even scrap) the bucket system and move safely away from optical media backup, if implemented properly. It’s taken six years and six months to be fully implemented, but now it’s here.

I will write more about this as time presents.

Thanks to John Beardsworth for his invaluable help in tracking down this frustrating problem and helping to solve it.

Here’s the sign-up.

Also, on the evening of February 5, I’m doing a shorter program at the CDIA in Georgetown.

Here’s where you sign up for that one.

Complete description after the jump

Creative Lightroom Workflow – Day-long Workshop, February 6

Lightroom has been designed as a comprehensive tool for full digital photography workflow. It can handle download, organization, image optimization, as well as the output to file, print, books and the web. This workshop explores how to approach that process in an orderly and manageable way, with an emphasis on maximizing your creativity inside the application.

It’s common to hear Lightroom users say they love the program, but that they only use a small portion of its capabilities. In many cases that’s because they don’t quite understand the way the program was meant to be used. The program has been designed from the ground up as a guided workflow tool. As someone who has helped guide the development of Lightroom from the very beginning, Peter can shed light on how the program was intended to function – and how to maximize your creative output.

You’ll learn the structure of Lightroom – how to organize a catalog and how to organize your files – but you will also learn how to work more creatively within the program. This is really about linking the capability to sort and organize your images, with the power to make them look great, and the ability to make finished products.

We will cover the following subjects:

Understanding the catalog concept
How to best create and manage catalogs
Importing photos
Keywords and Collection – two very powerful organizational tools
Develop, general use – The general work-order for Develop module
Develop, deep dive – A look at some of the most powerful tools in the program
Streamlined Export – using the power of presets
Making a book – how does this thing work?
Printing capabilities – single images, contact sheets, and picture packages
Customizing slideshows
Exporting your creations as PDF
Exporting Galleries to your iPhone
Class size is limited to 15 people.
Lunch provided.
Attendees to provide their own computer.

Day-long Workshop

____________________________________________

So you’ve finally gotten onboard with Lightroom or have made the transition from LR3, what’s next? Please join us as we welcome one of the leading Lightroom experts Peter Krogh for an enlightening evening of creative workflow and imaging technique. Plus, for those who would like a total immersion into the Lightroom experience, join Peter for a full day workshop.

Lightroom – The Creative Hub – Evening Presentation

Lightroom is fast becoming the standard application for digital photography workflow. It offers unprecedented control over the organization, look and final production of your images.

In this presentation, Peter will cover the use of Lightroom as a central hub for your digital photography workflow. He will touch on organizing and managing the images, effective use of the Develop module, and the use of Lightroom tools to put images into usable products like file output, books and slideshows.

Evening Presentation

Instagram made a big deal of backpedaling through the PR storm it created with the proposed Terms of Service (TOS) changes. They claim to be really sorry, and that they have learned their lesson and will respect their users’ wishes better in the future.

After reading the amended terms of use scheduled to take effect January 19th, 2013, I’m unimpressed with the changes.  Some extra-crappy parts include:

• Instagram may continue to reuse your content in an extremely broad way, even if you delete your account.  Basically, your material “may persist and appear within the Service” forever. (Basic Terms, Section 17)
• You assume all liability for any use of the photos or metadata in the photos within their service now and in the future. You explicitly agree to pay their lawyers at their request if they ever get sued by anyone in conjunction to any right of privacy or other right arising out of the use of your photos. Which you have no control over. (The Indemnification section)
• They can modify the service at any point in the future with no notice and liability to you. (General Conditions, Section 1)
• You agree that they may update the terms of service in the future, and you agree that you will abide by those new changes. All they have to do to create new terms is to post them on the website, with no further notice required. You do not seem to have the right to remove existing material no matter how much you might disagree with the new terms. (General Conditions, Section 3)
• The rights you grant to Instagram for your photos and all information they can acquire about those photos is now “transferable, sub-licensable”, with limitation only by the Privacy Policy. (Which you also agree can be changed at their discretion and you will agree to the changes).
• You agree to never join a class action suit against them, and that any dispute will be resolved by arbitration. (Note that arbitration is traditionally understood to be a very unfriendly place for any kind of customer redress. Basically it’s the place where complaints go to die.)

Note that ALL of the items above are new items in the terms of service – none of them appear in the old terms. (I assume that the previous link will be dead after January 19.)

What actually changed?

So what did Instagram really change from the first announcement?  Basically, they took out the part where they can explicitly sell your photos for advertising with no notice to you.  That’s about it.

And while that was a good change, the remaining language will allow them to implement advertising sales or other potentially objectionable changes at any point in the future, and all content that is already uploaded will not be removable. Nor can you sue them about it. And you agree to pay their lawywers if they get sued.

Hmmm.

Let’s review what happened.

Instagram (henceforth referred to as Facebook, since that’s the company making these decisions) put out a proposed TOS change that got the internet all mad and up-in-arms.  Then they said, “Sorry guys, we screwed up. We really feel bad and we won’t do it again.” The internet felt pretty good about itself for stopping that.

And then Facebook put out a revised TOS that includes nearly all the really objectionable stuff, including major changes to the legal framework and the rights of the user. And the Internet said nothing.  (Mostly, it appears as though no one actually read the new TOS.)

So what’s really going on here?  

My close friends (and people I’ve sat next to in bars) know I’m a fan of a good conspiracy theory. Or if not a conspiracy, a sleight-of-hand explanation for strange institutional behavior.

I will bend your ear. Just ask Todd.

Is it really possible that Facebook’s legal and PR teams (surely among the highest paid anywhere) really made the original blunder accidentally?  Even after Facebook has run into the identical problem in the past? Or is it possible that the release of the original revised TOS was a sleight-of-hand, a classic misdirection?

Sure the service took a hit, with the New York Post saying that 4 million daily users dropped out. However, those numbers are suspect, as TechCrunch points out. (The same report shows an increase of weekly and monthly users). The company denies the drop. But even if that hit is real, the likely effect is temporary.

In any case, if I were Facebook, I would consider a daily user base of 12 million governed by the revised TOS to be significantly more marketable and therefore valuable than 16 million governed by the old one.  Especially when you consider the nature of advertising in the Facebook age.

The real strategy

Those who think that Facebook intends to monetize your photos by traditional stock photo sales are way off the mark.  The photos – and more importantly the metadata – are far more valuable when used in the context of your circle of friends and influence. The real value of social media advertising lies in barriers of trust that you can help to break down.

Facebook knows who your friends are, who your community of influence is, where you go (at times), what you buy (at times), who you communicate with when you are there, and who pays attention. What the company advertising with Facebook is really buying is you, including the interconnected web of your community and the personality of the community you inhabit, and your credibility.

The Instagram photos are simply an easy way to encourage your community to open the door and let you in (and whomever else is along for the ride).  The new terms of service make it much easier to build a monetization strategy around your Instagram/Facebook community.

It’s important to say here that I don’t have a problem with Facebook trying to make a return on its investment. They have (for the moment) created the Holy Grail of tech businesses. Companies tried for more than a decade to build what they built, but they are the ones who did it. The services they provide have value and don’t come cheap. If there’s no payback, they can’t continue to offer them. And there’s no guarantee of success.

A billion dollars is a lot of money, and that’s what Facebook paid for Instagram (well, in stock, which fudges that number more than a little bit). It’s possible that, like so many companies before them, they will fail to provide a profit that sustains the investment and overhead of the enterprise.

Back to the real issue

But I’ll return to the main point of this piece. I think the methods they are using here are a bad deal for the user. And mostly because there does not seem to be a way for the user to leave and take her identity with her. It’s a perpetual license to use your identity in service of, well, whatever they want to use it for. And you are giving up the right to take action against them to stop it. Ever.

I feel bad about this.  My wife and kids (and lots of other friends and teens and tweens I know) are making great creative use of the Instagram service. They are developing into wonderful photographers, cultural commentators and editors, they are keeping in contact, and knitting a community together. It does have real value.

But I can’t pull the trigger to post images myself. I object to the one-sidedness of the service terms, and my total lack of leverage in the event it gets even worse. I hope that the Internet looks at these terms and gets mad again, but I fear that it has been totally faked out, and this won’t happen.

Disclaimer

And, it should be said, I’m not a lawyer (although Lord knows, I like to argue). So maybe my analysis here is off-base. But I do have 30 years experience negotiating my own IP contracts for photography, and there’s one thing I have learned. When someone puts something in a contract and then says, “We never intend to use that, it’s just something the lawyers did,” they are probably not telling the truth.

I’m generally not alarmist about web rights boilerplate, since there is often a lot of ambiguity. Nothing ambiguous about this. (Item 2 in Rights, emphasis added.)

Some or all of the Service may be supported by advertising revenue. To help us deliver interesting paid or sponsored content or promotions, you agree that a business or other entity may pay us to display your username, likeness, photos (along with any associated metadata), and/or actions you take, in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you.

Note that this includes minor children.

If you are under the age of eighteen (18), or under any other applicable age of majority, you represent that at least one of your parents or legal guardians has also agreed to this provision (and the use of your name, likeness, username, and/or photos (along with any associated metadata)) on your behalf.

Oh, and you agree to indemnify them in case of breach of privacy. (That means you agree to pay their legal team in the event one of your subjects sues for being included in a viagra advertisement).

(Item 4 in Rights)

You represent and warrant that: (i) you own the Content posted by you on or through the Service or otherwise have the right to grant the rights and licenses set forth in these Terms of Use; (ii) the posting and use of your Content on or through the Service does not violate, misappropriate or infringe on the rights of any third party, including, without limitation, privacy rights, publicity rights, copyrights, trademark and/or other intellectual property rights; (iii) you agree to pay for all royalties, fees, and any other monies owed by reason of Content you post on or through the Service; and (iv) you have the legal right and capacity to enter into these Terms of Use in your jurisdiction.

And this part in Indemnification:

You (and also any third party for whom you operate an account or activity on the Service) agree to defend (at Instagram’s request), indemnify and hold the Instagram Parties harmless from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including without limitation, reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, arising out of or in any way connected with any of the following (including as a result of your direct activities on the Service or those conducted on your behalf): (i) your Content or your access to or use of the Service; (ii) your breach or alleged breach of these Terms of Use; (iii) your violation of any third-party right, including without limitation, any intellectual property right, publicity, confidentiality, property or privacy right; (iv) your violation of any laws, rules, regulations, codes, statutes, ordinances or orders of any governmental and quasi-governmental authorities, including, without limitation, all regulatory, administrative and legislative authorities; or (v) any misrepresentation made by you. You will cooperate as fully required by Instagram in the defense of any claim. Instagram reserves the right to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter subject to indemnification by you, and you will not in any event settle any claim without the prior written consent of Instagram.

Note that this language seems to grant a license to the actual photograph, and not just the copy uploaded to Instagram. If they could find a high-res version somewhere, they may have the rights to that also.

The only opt-out is to delete your account.

The changes take effect January 16, 2013.  So, what does one do?  Well, I don’t see much option except to delete the account.  And if your tween or teen child has an instagram account (and many of them do), you’ll want to think about blocking that.

Instagram claims the rights to any photos uploaded after January 16th in perpetuity, regardless of whether you delete your account later.

(Cnet article here.)

This is breathtakingly horrible.

Introduction to Lightroom
In the Introduction to Lightroom workshop, we’ll show how to get started with Lightroom. You’l learn how to set up your computer to get the most out of the program in the safest and most efficient way.

Sign-up and additional information here 

Intermediate and Advanced Workflow Tune-up
In our second workshop, you’ll learn more advanced techniques, taking advantage of some of the more powerful features of the software. This is also a great workshop for anyone who is upgradfing from an earlier version of the software and wants to know how the new develop module is different from the old one.

Sign-up and additional information here

Each workshop runs from 9-5, costs $200/day and includes lunch. Discounts available for past attendees at Krogh Studio workshops, ASMP and APA members, as well as multi-day attendees and those who want to bring their assistants.

Email for discount details.

My Presentation
Opening and Closing Parties
Fotoweek by Night
FotoWeekEDU Seminars
FotoWeek Lecture Series
Weekday Evening Lectures
Miscellaneous Workshops

My Presentation
Lightroom, An Important Tool for Photographers by Peter Krogh
Nov 10 12-1:30
Morton Auditorium , 805 21st Street, NW
Washington, DC 20052, Northwest

Program description and link to registration here.