[shuttertalk]

Sorry for the controversial title, but that's essentially what Thomas Hawk is claiming in his post. His premise is basically twofold - that the Flickr look and feel is antiquated and (seemingly) hasn't been updated since 2004, whereas Google Plus is all funky and new. Also, there is a lot more community buzz (meetups, online etc.) happening around Google Plus, whereas the once hip Flickr seems to be languishing.

http://thomashawk.com/2011/08/flickr-is-dead.html

Has anyone managed to give Google plus a whirl yet? Personally, I give it a try from a social networking perspective and gave up on it because most of my buddies were still on Facebook. I must admit I have not given the photo side of Google Plus a go yet, so I should really spend some time exploring.

By the way, if anyone is interested, I have G+ invites - just drop me a PM or something and I'll get you one.

[Toad]

I've tried it. The photo presentation is superior to Flickr but still too much TwitBook rubbish fir my tastes - as if that is the entire idea with photography merely bring the subject line. For those who are into it, though, it is better than Flickr (where I gave stopped posting altogether).

[Zig]

News to me..mind you, I've never even been on Twatface or whatever it's called; seems to be a choice of whether to go to somewhere "photo-y" and end up relatively hitless, or somewhere with a "community feel", get plenty of lookers but the combined intellectual stimulus of a conversation with an amoeba.
Bit unfair to amoebae, but hey.

[Clever use of the Latin feminine plural there Zig]

[lcburns]

still too much TwitBook rubbish fir my tastes

I feel the same way. For pure, fast image hosting imgur.com is always my first choice. You can simply drag your images into the window (depending on your browser, I use Firefox) and it uploads them straight away (you can make albums etc too). Although, imgur strips exif data. Min.us does not but it's not as good IMHO.

[Anne]

I think most people will follow wherever their friends go.

I first shared photos on a site called Ringo. Then everyone left Ringo to go to Facebook and only the photography enthusiasts remained on Ringo. Ringo closed and some of my friends moved to Flickr, so I followed and made new friends. I wouldn't leave Flickr while they all remained there, but if they all migrated to a new site, I'd follow. I guess it depends how people use the site, but from my experience the best part of any 'social' site is the people you meet and share with. That is more important than the format.

I also use Facebook and tried Google+ but none of my friends are there, so why would I stay?

I do like the Google+ albums (Is it what used to be Picasa?) I think they are superior to the Facebook albums.

[matthew]

I think most people will follow wherever their friends go.

That's an excellent point, and not something that can be designed.

I used to use Flickr, flirted with Facebook, and have no interest in Google, no matter what the new Buzz is. But then I'm not their target market – pretty much everyone I know online is here.

[NT73]

Some of my brothers family wanted me to go on facebook to keep in touch, but I could not get the hang of it. After about a week I decided to opt out . Facebook would not let me go without a fight and I believe my A/C is still open. I am not going to log in though just to find out.

If my relatives wish to keep in touch, I am at the address where I have been living for nearly 40 years and they are much younger and fitter than me.
Social network sounds like social laziness to me.

[shuttertalk]

Facebook is a real polarising topic amongst many of us. Most of my friends use it, although only one out of each set of our parents are on it. Mutters of "too hard" and "if they want to contact me, they can call" are often heard.

I must say that 6 months on, my Google Plus account is languishing in cobwebs while my Facebook is going stronger then ever. I put it down to prevalence of use amongst your contacts - you'll only use it if your friends are using it.

On another note, looks like Flickr is due to refresh its UI and image. I'm glad - their interface is really getting long in the tooth and in some cases, downright unintuitive.
http://www.dpreview.com/news/2012/02/21/...nts-Coming

[NT73]

It is the old school v the new school. How long before the new school are all sitting in little autopilot boats, with their de-utilised legs , and just have one super strong (button pushing ) finger. (Mekon of the 'Eagle' comic)

[shuttertalk]

Great opportunity to revive this thread - according to Gizmodo, the death of Flickr is at hand, and the finger points squarely at their acquisition by Yahoo.

http://gizmodo.com/5910223/how-yahoo-kil...e-internet

Some choice quotes:

It was a stunning failure in vision, and more or less the same thing happened at Flickr. All Yahoo cared about was the database its users had built and tagged. It didn't care about the community that had created it or (more importantly) continuing to grow that community by introducing new features.

Also (pardon the french):

Flickr offered a way to do that. Because Flickr photos were tagged and labeled and categorized so efficiently by users, they were highly searchable.

"That is the reason we bought Flickr—not the community. We didn't give a shit about that. The theory behind buying Flickr was not to increase social connections, it was to monetize the image index. It was totally not about social communities or social networking. It was certainly nothing to do with the users."

Finally:

Recently, Flickr rolled out a "Justified" view, a way to scan your friends' recent photos where they are all placed together like puzzle pieces. It's similar to the way Pinterest lays out images. It's a dramatic, gorgeous way to look at photos—that mostly highlights how rarely many people update now.

As I scroll down I note that friend after friend has quit posting. At the bottom of the page I am already back in mid 2010. So many of my friends have vanished. It feels like MySpace, circa 2009.

Any Flickr users here that can comment?

[NT73]

Coming shortly - - Meet your friends for a coffee and a chat.

"In Persona" The new way to enjoy friends.

[NT73]

In Persona ... Brought to you by someone who wants to make a few million.

[Pavel]

I use Flickr a lot - there are specialized groups there for just about anything photography. If you wish to learn, it is a great place. If there is a topic which interest you/wish to learn about, you can start a group within minutes and if the topic interest others, have a viable quorum within a couple of weeks. Lot of it is a crap of course, but after a while you learn your way around and can avoid much of it. The content is what matters to me most of all, interface is more important to more sophisticated users. For me Facebook is too much like a voluntary invasion of privacy and too unfocused on photography. Flickr is clearly about photography and i like that. I know little about Google+, although I am a member. Frankly, at this point Flickr meets my needs to communicate with fellow photographers quite well and so i do not feel compelled to look elsewhere. I still prefer face to face meetings, but that is a whole new topic.

[Toad]

I used to have a Flickr account but I canceled it. In general, I am indifferent to social networking sites in general (Shuttertalk being the exception). I must be the only hi tech professional in the world that has never had a Facebook account for example...

[shuttertalk]

Looks like Flickr has updated their interface with a larger photo view. They've also implemented a full window lightbox type arrangement that displays a large photo on a black backdrop.

http://www.petapixel.com/2012/05/16/flic...id-layout/

[Trichstir]

I guess I just stumbled in to the anti-social networking thread... and I feel so at home. But anyway, since this thread started I have seen Google+ becoming a lot more popular. It was always going to be a strong contender because Google just has that kind of power, and they're not going to give up any piece of the market without a fight.

[shuttertalk]

Hmm maybe it's just it some circles... no one in my various networks (work, friends, church) use google plus... it's facebook all the way.

[NT73]

I am not anti flickr, google, facebook, etc. It just does not interest me to talk with the world.
I am content with a small circle of friends.




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[EnglishBob]

I'm a facebook user as that's how I stay in touch with my family back home, have a flickr account but haven't used it much on a long time.

It will be interesting to see what happens to google once apple get their search engine up and running. with so many devices powered by apple, it's going to be an interesting battle.

[Pavel]

I like Flickr for its content. Good "help me" sites, critique, sites with inspiring photos etc. I do not really care what is "in" at this point. If I find that Flickr content is slipping or security is poor, I will move without blinking an eye. Until then, Flickr is a great home for me.

[EnglishBob]

I do enjoy the groups in flickr, can find one on just about anything.

[Pavel]

I do enjoy the groups in flickr, can find one on just about anything.

That is precisely my point. I could not care less if other sites are winning the eyeball war or that they may or may not have slicker interface. What matters to me is the quality and breadth of content for a serious photographer. Flickr has that in spades. If you find something is missing, it is easy to start a group but a bit harder to attract like-minded photographers.

[BrandyMaeD]

I still use Flickr. From the info I've seen around 500pix is the new hot photo site. One big reason is all the crappy pics fall to the bottom and the amazing photos get voted to the front of the search. So when you go to 500pix you see the BEST of the best and don't have to see the cruddy ones until 200 pages later. I am hoping Flickr picks up. I LOVE Flickr.

[alessya]

From my narrow point of view I feel that Google+ and Flickr have nothing in common whatsoever. I mean, really G+ is kind of a rip off FB, from the cover picture to the layout and I believe their goal was to try and surpass FB, it's a networking site and it always will be. As for Flickr, it may seem "antiquated" but it's a platform to showcase art, not to connect with friends and family like FB or G+. I believe that the only reason this controversy started is because a lot of people made G+ accounts to participate at the Google Photography Prize Awards which, I must admit, was a great initiative, but will not turn G+ into Flickr, they just serve different purposes.

[kNox]

I don't know if this fits here, but between Flickr and Google Plus the one I like best is... 500px. It's a smaller Flickr-type site, and it's got better photos and a much tighter community, IMHO.