Flickr placed a stake in the land grab of Web 2.0 movement early on, and became one of the big boys in the arena of photo sharing. Read on for my impressions of the service.

After being acquired by Yahoo, Flickr expanded by acquiring Picnik allowing user to edit their uploaded photos online with a Photoshop-like application. Now with addition of video support, there is more fun and bewilderment to be had with this service, but it’s no YouTube killer.

Pros

• Free basic service with a paid Pro option with no limits
• Functionality allowing  to secure your Flickr photos
• Great tagging and organizing system including geotagging
• Support inclusion of photos in blogs and person websites
• Creative Commons copyright licenses support with photos of choice
• Impressive community with an impressive number of user and groups ranging from “photos of napkins” to “using small flashes for stunning lighting effects”

Cons

• Easy for visitors to copy public photos (so don’t share your full size stock shots )
• Interface requires some poking around and getting used to
• A small charge for the “Pro” account for unlimited storage and uploads

Description

• Elegant interface with a customisable page layout
• Ability to group by and explore by sets or groups, tags, location and many others
• A number of upload methods for all platforms via the website a large myriad of free applications
• Can materialise photos into prints, calling cards, photo-books, slideshow-DVDs and postage stamps.

The Cult of Flickr

The major part of Flickrs popularity and growth is the Community aspect of the site. With the ability to join and contribute photos and forum posts for every group you are a member of, you quickly embrace the free flow of discussion and suggestion in regards to the topics and photos posted.

This is a powerful tool for anyone from seasoned pros to people with people wanting help with their first try at photography.

• You can create your own groups with photo streams of photos and discussion topics
• Join and contribute comments and photos to existing groups and forums
• Comment on specific parts of the photos
• Blog the selected photos and add them to your site with custom widgets

The Price of Flickr

The price tag is not too shabby either. Users with free accounts get up to 100 MB of image upload monthly for free. A “Pro” account allows for unlimited photo storage at a bargain rate of US$24.95. Compared to many other sites sporting similar feature sets, you still get much more for your dollar.

What I use it for

• Sharing photos with friends and family
• Learning new things and getting my work critiqued via Groups feature
• Storing a full sized copy of my photos privately with no size limits with my Pro account

There are many, many more features on the site, and trying to discuss them all here will surely make the article drag on and take away some of the wonder of discovery from playing around with the site.

So, go and sign up. It’s free and best of all fun.