Flickr users freaking out, are you one of them?
Damian Koh | Feb 05, 2008
While Microsoft's indecent proposal to Yahoo has gotten everyone, from analysts to former employees to grandmas talking in Silicon Valley, a big small group is slowly freaking out on the sidewalks. And it's not hard to imagine why some Flickrites are worried. When Yahoo acquired Flickr, the photo-sharing site was left largely on its own. The only time you even knew it belonged to the search giant was when logging into your Flickr account. If you had checked the "Keep me signed in" box, chances were, you'd slowly forget it was ever a part of Yahoo.
The problem now is Microsoft probably won't sit back and leave Flickr alone, like Yahoo does. One of the reasons Flickr is so successful is because of the amount of traffic that goes through there, a fiercely loyal community and, of course, tons of photos waiting to be tapped or possibly monetized. A Flickr group with 10 members is threatening to commit suicide, while another 65 members intend to drop their accounts. There's also an 1,015-member-strong group staging a protest in a more civilized manner and discussing the issue by posting threads. The point here is obvious: A lot of people aren't happy, but most are afraid the Flickr they've come to hold dear in their heart may no longer be the same if Yahoo concedes.
Like everyone else, I'm worried, too. Who knows, one day I may wake up to find all my photos suddenly belonging to Microsoft, or worse, stamped with a fugly copyright logo. Flickr is supposed to be a fun and interactive place where people come to share their photos. (Sidetrack a little, my current favorite Flickrite is a self-taught Icelander Rebekka Gušleifsdótti.) I hope none of these will change drastically in the near future and I'm keeping my trigger fingers crossed.
Picture credit: Flickr
Talkback
damiankoh says...
i don't think they will carry it through.. then again, the number of members increased by two from the time i wrote the article until the time i posted it.. so you never know, these guys may be serious, or they just want to bring their point across.. microsoft have live spaces.. i'm not sure how they can integrate it altogether, but it's better that they don't.. there are just too many overlapping properties between msft and yahoo and it'll be interesting to see what happens if msft manages to accquire yahoo..
Feb 05, 2008 14:36
i don't think they will carry it through.. then again, the number of members increased by two from the time i wrote the article until the time i posted it.. so you never know, these guys may be serious, or they just want to bring their point across.. microsoft have live spaces.. i'm not sure how they can integrate it altogether, but it's better that they don't.. there are just too many overlapping properties between msft and yahoo and it'll be interesting to see what happens if msft manages to accquire yahoo..
Feb 05, 2008 14:36
johnchan says...
When Google took over YouTube, they did a good job of winding down Google Video while letting YouTube continue its growth. I'm inclined to think that MS will be smart enough to keep Flickr the way it is. Like they say, If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Feb 05, 2008 15:21
When Google took over YouTube, they did a good job of winding down Google Video while letting YouTube continue its growth. I'm inclined to think that MS will be smart enough to keep Flickr the way it is. Like they say, If it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Feb 05, 2008 15:21
PearlyLPU says...
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" But this is Microsoft they're talking about, the only way to stamp their dominance over the market is by making their mark known!
Feb 05, 2008 16:26
"If it ain't broke, don't fix it" But this is Microsoft they're talking about, the only way to stamp their dominance over the market is by making their mark known!
Feb 05, 2008 16:26
wood283 says...
I think this is a worst case scenario and we would see it coming before it actually happened. If Microsoft was going to soon own our photos, I would get them off Flickr fast, which could be a pain to doā¦ I guess I would either re download them all or switch over to a site with an automatic mover (Pixamo), not sure which would be more difficult. I am not panicking yet though.
Feb 05, 2008 23:00
I think this is a worst case scenario and we would see it coming before it actually happened. If Microsoft was going to soon own our photos, I would get them off Flickr fast, which could be a pain to doā¦ I guess I would either re download them all or switch over to a site with an automatic mover (Pixamo), not sure which would be more difficult. I am not panicking yet though.
Feb 05, 2008 23:00
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Geekonomics
hahaha that's quite drastic - commiting suicide. Guess it's everyone's impression of a 'big brother' stepping into an otherwise open community. But Microsoft has also been engaging communities, the fear of a Microsoft logo on your flickr photos suddenly won't happen so easily. My guess.
Feb 05, 2008 13:02