Phone to cloud with Picasa Web Albums

My search for a perfect solution to transporting and backing up my smart phone pictures to the cloud has continued.  Finally I think I found my favorite way to do this, and this works for anyone with a phone that takes pictures.  (See my previous posts for more information about sending to Flickr or other free photo storage sites.)  But what I really wanted to do was to send my iPhone pics. to a Picasa Web Album.  All you need is a free gmail account to get set up with your free Picasa Web Albums.  There is nothing to download to your smart phone or computer, and I love Picasa Web Albums because you have much more control over privacy settings.  You can mark your photos private, public, or "unlisted" which means that only those who you share the link with can see them.  I also like Picasa Web Albums because they work so well with other free tools by Google such as Blogger, Google Sites, Google Maps, Picnik and more.

To do this, first log into Gmail.  Look for the "Photos" button on the top of the menu bar, and click on it.

Next click on the little gear on the top right hand corner of your Picasa Web Albums page,  Look for "Photos settings."

You are going to look for the option to upload your photos by email. You will have to type in a secret word. This will give you a unique email address that is hidden within your gmail/Picasa Web Album account. Every time you want to back up your photo from your phone to the cloud, simply email it to this special email address.  For your trusted family, friends, or classmates, you can also give them the secret email, and you can collaboratively contribute to a photo album.

After you have done this, your photo(s) will land directly in your drop box in Picasa.  You can move, organize, or edit these later from your computer, or change your privacy settings.  But for now, they are safe in the cloud.

Enjoy!