From Flickr To Forever

I wonder, have you heard the recent news about Flickr? You’ve heard of Flickr right? The awesome photo sharing site before photo sharing sites were common, before social media was really a thing? In fact, two years ago, I asked “Is Flickr Still A Thing?” I wanted it to be; I found it mostly was. But my use of it never really resurged. Now the latest news has tugged on me to reconsider Flickr.

Fotos Forever

An email arrived to my inbox this past week. Read for yourself here. Basically, Flickr is operating at a loss, which is not sustainable. Thus, Flickr’s existence is in peril. It needs more people to sign up for Pro (paid) accounts in order to remain operational. It’s math. And it’s business. I get it.

This news roused my fond memories of Flickr, a good site that still serves many well. My honest reaction was thinking that I should and want to quickly sign up for a Pro account, even if I hardly use it, just to help keep Flickr alive. It’s something I’m considering, so I might do just that. But first, I plan to look into Flickr again, the site, and re-evaluate how I might use it more these days. In fact, I already reinstalled the Flickr app on my phone!

Flickr’s Future

My valuable time is limited. Flickr requires a little investment of my time if I use it, and that, I think, is the real issue here. A Pro account costs only a little bit of money each month – less, in fact, than what I pay each month for Netflix or Spotify. The cost of money is less a barrier than is the cost of time.

And with amazing “free” photo services like Google Photos, how can Flickr compete? That answer is in the features it has which other sites lack: an enthusiastic photography community! It’s not just pictures, it’s people! Flickr is about photography and the community which loves it. But therein is the other issue. When it comes to a community online, that’s where social media took over, along with its photo sharing experiences.

So, can Flickr survive? And if so, will it? Those are tough questions. I could do my part and sign up for a Pro account and become somewhat active there again. But would that be enough? And then, would I eventually need to say good-bye to Flickr? I would hope not.

We’ll see.

Do you still love Flickr? Would you reconsider using it?