These use Flash to create pages that you can upload to your website, or, using plug-ins created by the user community, export to Gallery-driven websites or more mainstream sharing sites such as Picasa and Flickr.
Then they would have been well-positioned (and perhaps more importantly, better prepared) to take on the more established social sharing sites, Twitter and Facebook.
Traffic may still be relatively modest compared to more orthodox photo sharing sites, but with Twitter poised to become a mainstream phenomenon, media sharing is going to take off fast.
Shutterfly, which IPO'd in 2006, is playing catch up to other more popular photo sharing sites, like Flickr and Photobucket, which both host video as well as photos.
"It's becoming more difficult for file-sharing sites to operate without getting into trouble both from the authorities and also lawsuits from copyright owners," Ernesto Van Der Sar, editor of TorrentFreak told the BBC.
Eye-Fi Explore X2 – At 8GB of capacity, the Eye-Fi Explore X2 will automatically upload JPEG photos and videos to the computer and one of more than 25 online sharing sites.
Eye-Fi Connect X2 – At 4GB capacity, the Eye-Fi Connect X2 will automatically upload JPEG photos and videos to the computer and one of more than 25 online sharing sites, such as Flickr, Facebook, YouTube or Picasa, through a Wi-Fi network.
Eye-Fi Pro X2 – Unveiled at CES and winner of CNET's "Best of CES" award, the 8GB Eye-Fi Pro X2 will automatically upload JPEG and RAW photos and videos to the home computer, and will send them to one of more than 25 online sharing sites.
Viralheat plans to add more data sources like image sharing sites (Flickr), Facebook, and Linkedin, which would make its service even more compelling.
Although sometimes referred to as virtual hitchhiking, lift-sharing sites offer more than just the equivalent of raising a thumb in the air.
