Changes to the iconic Flickr photo sharing community make the site more useful to businesses using it as a resource for images used in marketing and communication.
Flickr Account Changes
The change getting the biggest reaction is the elimination of the one free terabyte of space originally offered to all free Flickr users. Instead, they will be limited to 1,000 photos or videos.
In April of this year, SmugMug purchased Flickr, and it was only a matter of time before changes would be implemented by the new owner. Fast forward seven months, and we now know what those changes are.
The company attributes this change to people outside of the platform who were not members of the photo sharing community using the free storage. By changing the storage limit to the number of files free users can store, Flicker is looking to stop the abuse.
The company says the majority of legitimate free users have less than 1,000 images, which will not affect how they use the platform. If you happen to have more than 1,000 images or videos, Flickr has set some deadlines for retrieving your content.
You have until January 8, 2019 to upgrade to Pro or you must download anything over the 1,000 limit. After this date, you will not be able to upload any new content over the limit. But come February 5, 2019, any content over the limit will be actively deleted starting from oldest to newest date until it is down to 1,000.
For all free members who want to keep their images on the site and upgrade to Flickr Pro, there is a limited 30% discount which will be valid through November 30.
The Pro service still has unlimited storage for photos and videos at full resolution along with ad-free browsing for $49.99 per year. The advanced stat feature is also available so you can see how your images are performing on the site through the life of your Pro account.
Changes to Flickr Pro
A change likely to make new Flicker Pro members happy is the elimination of a requirement to use a Yahoo email address to sign up. Now any email will do. Existing Pro members can also opt out by changing the email address linked with their Flickr accounts.
Premier Support will give Flickr Pros users priority assistance from the company’s support team. Members will also get partner discounts from Creative Cloud from Adobe, 50% off a custom portfolio site on SmugMug, gear from Peak Design, and more.
New features which will be available for Pro members in the near future include advanced stats on mobile, priority exposure in the next iteration of Explore, 5K image display option, and the increase of video playback time from three to 10 minutes.
Images in the Digital Ecosystem
Images have become extremely important in the way individuals and organizations communicate online. Posting the right image on your site can have a noticeable impact on the engagement level with your audience.
This has created a booming market for photographers, videographers, illustrators, designers and others who create this content.
The combined resources of SmugMug and Flicker will allow these creators to showcase their work with greater efficiency and make them more accessible with the goal of getting more people to see their work.
Image: Flickr
This article, “Flickr Updates to Pro and Free Accounts May Simplify Business Use” was first published on Small Business Trends