Why we should pay for Flickr.

Interesting analysis of the Flickr situation. It wasnt a no-brainer for me, I dont have many photos on flickr, and with the exchange rate being so crap, the $44 fee turned into $68 AU. But, I did it, because I got a fit of the guilts after reading the article referenced below. Not sure if I will continue or not.

 
I currently pay for both Flickr and Smugmug. I had planned to move all my pictures over to Smugmug and ditch Flickr altogether but over a year has passed and I still have both. I think the reason is part because I'm too busy (lazy) to sort out my files and part because I am nostalgic about the old community spirit that Flickr once had.

I know Ray, BB and other absent friends don't post here any longer but they still post on Flickr and it's just nice to know that they are doing okay.
 
I currently pay for both Flickr and Smugmug. I had planned to move all my pictures over to Smugmug and ditch Flickr altogether but over a year has passed and I still have both. I think the reason is part because I'm too busy (lazy) to sort out my files and part because I am nostalgic about the old community spirit that Flickr once had.

I know Ray, BB and other absent friends don't post here any longer but they still post on Flickr and it's just nice to know that they are doing okay.

I'm exactly in the same boat...

Pondering to ditch one of the two services every once in a while - but then again...
If you look at the 50USD a year... even if you round it up to 2.50 USD a month - that would be one bought cup of coffee less per month for me...

And both services offer some unique-ish value...
 
Any suggestions if there is anything we can do to guide them back here? 🤔

I remember the "good old days" and all sorts of folks that no longer post here. None of them (that I know of) stopped for any particular reason. Time progresses and people drift into new habits and new hangouts.

Of course, it wouldn't hurt to send out an email to anyone you have in the system. But I wouldn't do it all willy-nilly. There are literally HUNDREDS (and hundreds....not thousands) of regulars from all sites...and from the early days that have drifted away for a myriad of reasons.

Maybe it might make sense to plan a "family reunion" of sorts. Maybe we could find some random date in the ancient history of "seriouscompacts.com" and celebrate an anniversary.

Good lord......now that I think about the early days, there are more people I remember VERY WELL from the old days than from the current group.....and that is no slight to the current group....maybe more to do with my failing memory of recent events.
 
I have the Portfolio Smugmug plan otherwise I'd signup for Flickr Pro, but I'm already at $180 annually. I actually just dropped down from Pro Plan since I don't need the ability for clients to select favorites for albums anymore.

I've considered dropping down to the Power plan and turning off the print option on all my galleries (I'd lose the option to select my lab with Power). But I'd also lose the custom watermark. Not sure I want to do that and I KNOW I don't want to add watermarks to the images and re-upload 60k client images.
 
......Maybe it might make sense to plan a "family reunion" of sorts. Maybe we could find some random date in the ancient history of "seriouscompacts.com" and celebrate an anniversary.

Good lord......now that I think about the early days, there are more people I remember VERY WELL from the old days than from the current group.....and that is no slight to the current group....maybe more to do with my failing memory of recent events.
Well there are few "Serious Compact" than there use to be.
 
re Flickr/SmugMug: If I had any real time to spend on putting together a website, I'd move over to SmugMug. As it is, Flickr provides storage (of sorts, to be honest - because administration could and should be easier) and exposure (again, kind of). Getting rid of the ads is worth the $50 for me. However, if I were after a portfolio site, SmugMug would win hands down. So maybe, I'll move over in the future - but I won't maintain both. But then, I could do my own site (I used to do web publishing as a side job) ... I'll postpone the decision for the time being, and paying for the Pro option is part of that. But Flickr is only borderline useful for me, to be honest.

M.
 
If you read the article, the Flickr business model is broken. It was ailing before the disastrous takeover by the philistine barbarians (Yahoo) and their self-serving exemplar of incompetence, Marisa "professional photography is dead" Meyer.

If you take the rosy glow of sympathy and nostalgia out of the equation, Flickr is a zombie business model with a superceded value proposition whose time has come and gone. Nothing would possess me to put time and money into a failing business model in any other market.

RIP Flickr. You had your day.
 
I know Adobe started this practice, and it’s become industry standard, but I still don’t like it. The practice is advertising the price per month for a yearly subscription instead of giving the price per year.

Flickr’s website does not list the cost per year of the annual plan until you hit the buy button. You have to start the process of paying for Pro before Flickr will tell you the price you will pay! Nobody wants to be treated that way. That is definitely not “by photographers, for photographers,” which Flickr’s CEO wrote in a recent email to me and other users.

It’s actually worse than Adobe. On Adobe’s site it is possible to see the yearly price before hitting the buy button. They don’t make it easy, but it’s possible.

I'm getting back into photography after taking a break for a year. I am looking for a photo sharing service, but it won't be Flickr.
 
Wasted my dosh? Probably, but there ya go. At least for the next 12 months (unless it dies sooner) I shall have unlimited storage, which I wont use. I dont have Smugmug, no need for it. Maybe I’ll go back to posting Photos on my blog, and start writing again.
I have too much invested in Flickr, so I'm certainly continuing to pay for pro membership. I suppose if/ when doomsday arrives, at least I won't be surprised. There's no *viable* alternative, which is a shame. When I say viable, I mean the commuities within groups, often helpful as a resource. For example, I bought an old used lens yesterday and found the Flickr group for it which I joined quite helpful. In that regard, the other alternatives to Flickr don't seem to be on the same level.
 
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Haha, funny to see that the same opinions on flickr are still around on this forum - year in and year out :)

Granted, Flickr can be viewed as an odd phenomenon in this internet day and age...
You can think of it what you may - but unlike other photo hosting sites (that came and went) it is still around...

Thinking about it, that consistency/longevity is one of the main draws for me.

Flickr allowed me to present a photo diary to my parents (and myself) - to follow my crazy life, moving from country to country.
Over the years Flickr saved me from migrating my photos around from one service to another - saving me a lot of hassle.
And it even allowed me to cultivate some "penpal"-type relationships over the years... With people I've never met - yet got to know to a small degree through shared photography.

Yes, flickr is a bit like "myspace" in todays internet-world. But some people are even still using and enjoying that - and there's nothing wrong with it :)
 
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If you have an Amazon Prime account, cloud storage and private gallery links are included in your subscription with unlimited photo storage. Flickr loses big time in that aspect next to Amazon. I tend to use Flickr to research different cameras and lenses since I can examine EXIF data. I've been able to find quite a few amazing old lenses this way, which would be otherwise forgotten. An excellent lens in 2005, is still an excellent lens in the right hands in 2020. Especially with the newest raw editing techniques, AF fine tuning and modern cameras both DSLR and mirrorless!
 
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