Week 2 Hot Seat Assignment: Flickr

1. flickr is an image and video hosting website connecting people
through photography that extends it’s reach through social media
Submission
by:
Olivia
Whi2on
and
Stacie
Sco2

2. Flickr’s Unique Start and How Yahoo Gave It A Business Model
!
In 2004, Stewart Butterfield and Caterina Fake developed a photo-sharing website called Flickr as a
secondary feature of their platform, Game Neverending. (Game Neverending was a massive online
multiplayer game.) When Ludicorp realized that their photo-sharing site was far more popular and in-demand
than their roleplaying game platform, they turned their attention and energy to Flickr.
!
In 2005,Yahoo purchased Flickr for somewhere between $22-$25 million dollars (this number has been
estimated to be as high as $35 million dollars, though the majority of sources list it in the twenty-million range).
Flickr remains a Yahoo product. Many believe that Yahoo “killed” Flickr after its acquisition by focusing its
attentions of integration with Yahoo’s products rather than on innovation of the product. However,
when Yahoo bought Flickr, it had only one million users. By 2013, there were
87 million. But the complete
monetization of Flickr after the Yahoo acquisition suggests that maybe the critics are right.
!
By May of 2013, Yahoo was prepared to completely overhaul Flickr’s account options. Based on the popular
“freemium” model, Flickr’s free account offers one terabyte of storage, uploading and downloading in full
original quality, unlimited monthly bandwidth, and video playback of up to three minutes each. That’s a lot of
great features, right? Users can opt for an ad-free choice, but that will cost them $49.99 per year, or $5.99 per
month. Finally, the “Doublr” account option offers all the benefits of the free plan, plus two terabytes of storage
for a mere $499 per year.
!
Who Is Flickr For?
!
It should go without saying that Flickr is for photographers. However, as a result of the digital age,
“photographer” has been redefined as anyone with access to a camera and a few filters. With the help if
Instagram, Snapchat and, yes, Flickr, people can organize their photos into digital albums to be shared with
whomever they choose, whenever they choose.
!
However, it is true that Flickr provides a really great platform for aspiring professional photographers. High
resolution, full size photos appear everywhere on the site, users can create photo products with their personal
photos, and Flickr regularly spotlights their users. For instance, their 20 Under 20 post.
REFERENCE:
thinko.hat.net/2011/06/02/the-­‐story-­‐of-­‐flickr/ REFERENCE:
www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2013/05/27/minyanville-­‐flickr-­‐yahoo/2363285/ REFERENCE:
hHps://www.flickr.com/20under20/

3. Welcome to Flickr

4. History of Flickr
• Originally
part
of
a
image
hosMng,
video
hosMng,
web
services
suite
created
in
2004
by
Ludicorp
(founded
by
Stewart
BuHerfield
and
Caterina
Fake)
• Photo
sharing
and
correspondence
features
were
supposed
to
be
a
secondary
feature
of
their
primary
product,
Game
Neverending,
a
web-­‐based
mulMplayer
online
game
• They
realized
it
solved
a
huge
problem
for
people,
which
was
actually
a
large
issue
back
in
the
early
2000s
(storage
issue
was
a
big
deal,
too)
!
• Acquired
by
Yahoo
in
2005
(remains
a
Yahoo
product,
projected
worth
$22-­‐25
million)
!
• As
a
user
you
receive
1,000
GB
of
free
storage,
and
can
purchase
addiMonal
storage
space
!
• A
lot
of
people
think
Yahoo
"killed"
Flickr
because
it
was
forced
to
integrate
(with
Yahoo
products)
rather
than
innovate
!
• In
May
of
2013,
Yahoo
released
a
new
business
model
for
Flickr:
"Freemium"
• Many
believe
this
was
a
money-­‐based
decision
influenced
by
the
profit
Yahoo
makes
by
having
ads
on
Flickr
• Many
think
that
Flickr
purposefully
planned
to
have
an
unnecessary
Ad
Free
and
Doublr
plan
to
keep
people
on
free
accounts
and
keep
generaMng
ad
revenue
REFERENCE:
hHp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flickr

5. • Allows
you
to
capture
and
create
stunning
photos:
Take
photos
with
the
app’s
easy-­‐to-­‐use
camera
and
make
them
your
own
with
all
new
filters,
ediMng
features,
and
geo-­‐tagging
!
• Share
your
photos
with
anyone,
anywhere:
Instantly
share
with
your
Flickr
groups
and
Facebook,
Twi2er,
Tumblr
or
email
contacts
!
• Discover
the
world
through
photos:
The
most
interesMng
images
in
the
world
live
on
Flickr.
Rediscover
the
world
and
be
inspired
by
the
Flickr
community
of
photo
hobbyists
!
• Experience
high-­‐quality,
high-­‐resoluEon
photos:
Flickr
maintains
the
original
quality
of
your
photos
so
they
look
as
crisp
and
stunning
as
the
moment
you
snapped
the
photo.
!
• As
a
user
you
receive
1,000
GB
of
free
storage:
You
have
the
opMon
to
purchase
addiMonal
storage
space
!
• Flickr
has
an
App
Garden
allowing
Flickr
members
to
create
Apps
that
enhance
the
Flickr
experience
(sans
any
Flickr
related
logo,
trademarks
or
branding).
It
is
an
opportunity
to
conMnue
engagement
with
these
white
label
Apps
REFERENCE:
hHps://www.flickr.com/services/apps/about/
REFERENCE:
hHps://www.facebook.com/games/flickr_photos/?hs=-­‐1
Examples
from
App
Garden
Facts about Flickr

6. Ad Free and Doublr
Business
Model:
FREE
▪
1
terabyte
of
photo/video
storage
▪
Upload
photos
up
to
200MB
per
photo
▪
Upload
1080p
videos
up
to
1GB
each
▪
Video
playback
of
three
minutes
each
▪
Upload/download
in
full
original
quality
▪
Unlimited
monthly
bandwidth
AD
FREE
▪
$49/year
▪
Plus
benefits
of
a
FREE
account
DOUBLR
▪
$499/year
▪
2
terabytes
of
photo/video
storage
▪
Plus
benefits
of
a
FREE
account
REFERENCE:
hHp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flickr

7. Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths
Weaknesses
Flickr
has
more
room
for
storage
than
compeMtors
Does
not
offer
in-­‐house
prinMng,
you
must
use
3rd
party
producMon
companies
Great
for
saving
and
archiving
photos
Can
add
‘tags’
to
make
them
searchable
Video
uploads
have
a
limit
Photos
can
be
high
resoluMon
You
cannot
sell
your
product
(only
feature
your
work)
Easy
navigaMon Download
funcMon
is
one
at
a
Mme
Can
help
with
SEO
rankings Downloading
photos
depends
on
users
sepngs

8. The Reach
• Flickr
allows
you
to
connect
to
opportuniMes
to
license
your
photography
to
designers,
companies,
and
photography
agencies
(like
GeHy
Images).
!
• Yahoo!
is
the
parent
company
for
Flickr
allowing
Flickr
users
the
opportunity
to
have
their
work
featured
across
the
Yahoo!
network
of
sites
(including
Yahoo!
News,
Yahoo!
Sports
and
Flickr).
REFERENCE:
hHps://www.flickr.com/marketplace/
The
cura9on
team
for
Flickr
choose
the
images
to
be
featured
for
these
opportuni9es.

9. The Target
• Non-­‐profits,
cause
organizaMons,
social
enterprises,
social
media
managers,
markeMng
professionals,
businesses,
brands,
Web
publishers,
photographers,
you
name
it
when
it
comes
to
digital
photography
and
assets,
Flickr
is
targeMng
you!
REFERENCE:
hHps://www.flickr.com/marketplace/

10. Sign Up
You
can
sign
up
online
or
download
the
app
for
your
smart
phone.
It
is
available
in
the
App
Store
and
Google
Play

11. Create Account
5
easy
entry
screens
and
you
can
have
a
Flickr
account!

12. Getting Started
1,000
GB
storage
for
FREE
Start
adding
photos/content
It’s
Mme
to
customize

13. Add Content
Create
Albums
Upload
Photos,
Follow
People
Customize
Avatar
and
Cover
Art

14. The Online Interface
Main
Flickr
Feed
Yahoo!
Ticker
Ad
Space
Top
Flickr
Photos
Flickr
Blog
Connect

15. Main Features
Favorited
photos
Your
Photostream
Photos
from
people
you
follow

16. Flickr
celebrates
20
talented
young
arMsts
(under
20)
and
features
their
work
on
a
tab
under
‘Explore’
Additional Features

17. Profile
pages
link
to
professional
websites
Order
photo
books,
canvas
wraps
and
photo
mounts
Additional Features

18. Connecting Socials
Find
friends
Follow
them
on
Flickr

19. Find
Facebook
friends
Connect
with
them
Connecting Socials

20. Connecting Socials
Find
Flickr
on
Tumblr
(online
and
mobile)

21. Flickr Blog