An opinion about the future of Flickr

Interesting article Tom. I am on Flickr and their latest changes have not been received well at all by the current membership. People are starting to look elsewhere, but I have to say that Google Photos has not featured much in the discussions around this.

Based on some experiences by others in a Flickr group I am part of I have started to try other photo sharing sites. Some of them are just no good, others are perhaps worth the effort, but most are quite different and usually concentrate heavily on their app offering. As part of this research I now have an account with EyeEm, who started off as an app offering only and have now also a desktop interface. Their Getty relationship is certainly attracting people, just as Flickr did all those years ago. The other offering EyeEm has is their marketplace; I haven't made a sale yet, but then I only joined a few weeks back, and this is not a primary focus for me.

A lot of people see 500px as an alternative to Flickr, and whilst I am a member there, it does rather feel like a popularity contest. Don't get me wrong, some outstanding photography is being showcased, but it is very much all of a sameness. To find some true gems that are different is very hard there. But that is just my opinion of course.

I think the future of Flickr is as uncertain as the world economy right now. If Yahoo does sell Flickr who knows what the new owner has in mind for it. It could go either way, so, for the time being I will stick with Flickr and wait and see.

Yes, Yahoo is having problems. They are now facing a proxy battle from an investment group that wants to replace the whole board. It doesn't mean Flickr will end- they might decide to sell it off.