I got my new Zoomit SD card reader for the iPhone in the mail yesterday, and opening the package opened a world of possibilities, making it possible to move full-resolution photos online without a laptop, Wifi, or anything else.

It calls for a little set-up: It needed a charge first, from an included USB charger, and when I plugged the charged device into the bottom of my iPhone4, it prompted me to download the free Zoomit app. (There is also a $2.99 Zoomit music app in the store, but I don’t need it and so I didn’t buy it. I’m all about the photos.)

Next, I plugged into the other end of the device with an SD card that had been in my Canon 990 pocket camera, which contained a few pre-dawn photos, like the one above, which I had taken on my way into New York a few days ago. (No, I was not in the driver’s seat. Distracted driving kills.)

After selecting an image on the iPhone screen, Zoomit sharing options include emailing the photo or posting to your existing Facebook or Flickr accounts, for which you will be prompted to log in.

From Flickr, I emailed this photo to my Posterous blog, which then redistributes to several more platforms, including whichever one you are viewing now.

It’s hard to swallow the $60 price tag at a time when USB SD readers cost so little, but when combined with iPhone apps and social sharing platforms, this baby feels like a game-changer, especially now that more professional-quality cameras are coming SD-ready.

I can’t wait to put it to work in the field.

Sent from my iPhone

Feather O. Houstoun, president of the William Penn Foundation, greets new Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com publisher Greg Osberg after his PhIJI.org presentation at Temple University Tuesday night. Thomas Jacobson, Dean of the School of Communications and Theater at Temple, looks on. iPhone photo by Jim MacMillan

I spend most of my time now teaching graduate journalism courses at NYU and advising students at War News Radio at Swarthmore, but when the sun goes down, I also become the program coordinator for the Philadelphia Initiative for Journalistic Innovation, a program of the Department of Journalism at Temple University.

Last night Greg Osberg, new publisher and CEO of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com, came to visit us at PhIJI.

Osberg announced plans to collaborate with journalism schools, new content sharing objectives, a Philly media incubator that will house startups free of charge in the newspaper building, and a journalism innovation competition with cash rewards for employees.

The William Penn Foundation has previously announced a collaborative journalism initiative that will aim to develop strategies to advance public interest journalism in the greater Philadelphia area. This project is meant to be the next step in creating networks for journalists and developing resourcing strategies and innovations in creating a networked community around public affairs issues.

Check in for more news from this and future events at http://phiji.org/

PhIJI is free and open to the public.

Here’s a peek at one of the projects I hope to launch after I return to Philly in a few months. You can support my proposal by registering, rating and commenting at the official Knight News Challenge site.

…and “How NOT to be The Social Media Guru”