An active user of Flickr, I was astonished to read that it is being acquired by SmugMug. The email said, “We’re excited to announce that Flickr has agreed to be acquired by SmugMug, the photography platform dedicated to visual storytellers.” This would be the third time in over a decade that Flickr has changed hands with its owners since its launch by the Vancouver-based Ludicorp in 2004. It was in early 2005 that Yahoo! decided to buy this image hosting company for $35 million. Then in 2017 Verizon acquired Yahoo! and all its assets in a $4.48 billion deal, and now it’s SmugMug acquiring Flickr from Oath Inc. for an undisclosed sum. Despite its base of over 90 million users, I think it’s becoming harder to sustain itself in competing with the established photo-sharing social networks, although it’s one of the few places where professional photographers (the folks who experiment with DSLRs) still venture out. I’m not sure what the future holds for Flickr, I adore it, to be honest, but I doubt that it has a long way left now. Given that mobiles are adept at capturing & sharing incredible photos & videos at higher resolutions, only time will tell if the era of image hosting platforms is entering its last lap.
Design Thinker • Innovation Strategist • UCD Consultant
