How to Use Image Upload Websites

There are dozens of popular social networking web sites that require you to create a personal user profile, but in order to use a personal photo you will need to host it on one of the Web's many image upload websites.

With digital cameras now almost dirt cheap, and most cell phones containing at least a decent quality digital camera, it is easier than ever to transfer a great personal photo to your computer and upload it online.

To take advantage of popular social networking sites such as MySpace, FaceBook and others, you will need a good profile picture.  Unfortunately, many of these sites will not host your picture file for you.  This means that you will have to seek out a third-party image upload web site to effectively "store" your picture online.

Although the process sounds complicated, don't worry; the process of uploading a photo to a free image upload web site is actually quite simple and can be done in just a few minutes.

The first step is to obtain a great picture to use in your online profiles.  Obviously, you want to have a current picture, not something from four years ago when your hair was dyed red and you were 30 pounds heavier!  You'll also want to go for a head shot, as full body shots will not translate well to a smaller web picture file.

Once you have the right picture, it's simply a matter of locating a free picture hosting website to upload the photo to.  There are dozens, or perhaps hundreds, of these online.  Just do a simple search on Google or Yahoo to find one that looks good.

Once on the image upload website, you will normally need to first create a user profile before uploading any files.  This process is usually very simple, and the overwhelming majority of these services are free so you should not be required to give any payment or credit card information.

After signing up, you will be presented with a form to help you upload your pictures for hosting.  Online help is usually also available if you should have any difficulties uploading a picture file.  Otherwise, just follow the simple steps to locate your picture file on your computer (Tip: if you forgot where you put it, check "my pictures" first.  That is the default Windows folder for image files).

Once you have located the picture file on your computer simply click "upload," and then wait just a moment while the file is transferred online.  Once the picture has been uploaded successfully, you will be provided with a Web address that you can use to paste into your personal profile on web sites such as MySpace or FaceBook.  Be sure to keep this address in a safe place, as you will likely need it many times in the future.

The address provided for your image will effectively "point" to your uploaded photo, so that it can be used on other web sites, while posting on forums or message boards, or even in e-mails.

Finally, it is important to remember to be safe and giving out information about yourself online.  Women, especially, should be careful about using full body pictures on the Internet, as there can unfortunately be stalkers and other troublemakers online from time to time. The best policy is just to use common sense before taking advantage of any image upload web sites online.