26 28 March 2020 I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.uk I subscribe 0330 333 1113
THE FUTURE OF FLICKR
A
pril 20th – a date to fear?
Adolf Hitler is born in
1889; my sister Jennifer
embarks on an ultimately
disastrous marriage in 1990. Or a
date to cheer? Best known for his
role as USS Enterprise helmsman
Hikaru Sulu, actor George Takei
is born in 1937; and Barbra
Streisand records We’ve Only Just
Begun in 1971.April 20th: family-owned
photo-sharing platform SmugMug
purchases Flickr in 2018. Do I fear
or cheer the announcement? I
joined Flickr in 2009. I joined it
again in February 2010, July 2010
and in 2015. I could never
remember my Yahoo login details.
My myriad accounts remained in
limbo. My profile picture a floating
head up in the cloud.Second chances
Before the dominance of Instagram and Facebook,
Flickr was the place to be for photographers. Peter
Dench wonders whether it’s time to give it another go
Founded in 2004, Flickr played a
core role in the cultural and social
life of the internet. Friendships
developed as people shared
photographs and others responded
to them. Flickr was sold a year later
to Yahoo for around $35 million.
Yahoo retired its own photo service,
Yahoo Photos, and made Flickr the
jewel in the crown. Innovation at
Flickr stuttered under the Yahoo
umbrella. With the rise of Facebook
and Instagram and the smartphone
era, Flickr was slow to adapt and
millions defected. However,
Facebook and Instagram have their
flaws. Consumers have become