Flickr & SmugMug

[Uncle Al]

I've received an email stating that Flickr has agreed to be 'acquired' by SmugMug.
How will this affect Cafe' members?

Uncle Al

[Fred in Skirts]

I don't use Flickr so it should not affect me. I use IMJUR for hosting my pictures.

[moonshadow]

I don't know yet. I've done a little digging, but so far nothing substantial has come out of it.

Flickr's blog stated that the two platforms will keep their separate identities. What's concerning is SmugMug doesn't appear to have a "free" option for users. I'm not sure if this means that Flickr will become a 100% paid service or not. I've viewed SmugMug's prices and they seem reasonable enough for me to pay if it came down to it (I do enjoy the hobby of amateur photography, and I won't nix it over a few dollars per month, not when I spend hundreds per month finding cool things to photograph...)

Hopefully flickr will maintain their policy on hosting images on other websites (like skirtcafe). I'm sure we'd at least be able to do so with a paid option. I'd hate to think Moon's Phases will go dark.

My biggest concern is I may loose some "flickr friends" if they go to a 100% paid format. I expect some of the people I enjoy chatting with on flickr will abandon the site and find something else. That would be unfortunate as I've really come to like the platform. Flickr is essentially "my facebook", as I don't really actively use any other social media, and most of my internet contacts know me through skirtcafe, or flickr.

Hoping for the best....

[Kilted_John]

From what I gather, flickr will remain how it is for the forseeable future. Expect a lot of bug fixes to occur, however. We might also see the old $25/year Pro membership return with unlimited photo posting. With respect to paid memberships, SmugMug is actually fairly reasonable, since you can split up the cost into a monthly fee, instead of paying for a whole year. $8.00 a month is pretty cheap, compared to $60 a year. It'd be nice if it were $6 per month, but, I guess you get a discount if you do it in a lump sum. When it comes to posting images on other sites, it was actually easier with SmugMug, since you could just copy the image URL and paste it, instead of having to make a clickable link back to the flickr photo page.

I am planning to reactivate my SmugMug membership and use it for non-fashion photos, so I can build up my photography portfolio and not scare off potential clients, at least in advance. That'll also avoid any friction with family members who freak out if they see someone in the family acting like a black sheep. I'll continue to use my flickr account as the dumping ground of photos like I have in the past, as well as my IG account for the same.

-J

[moonshadow]

I'm not sure why, but some of my photos (a very small number) on older threads are coming up with the "PHOTO NOT AVAILABLE" error. Yet I have not deleted the photo.

In fact, if you just click on the error box it takes you to the photo page. I'm not sure what's going on, perhaps it's just a flickr-fart, but know this: I haven't deleted any photos since the incident in April of 2016, and many of those were placed back online shortly thereafter. Even my stupid ones I keep online just for the hell of it.

[Gregg1100]

@Fred In Skirts.
Never really liked Flickr. Photobucket was good at one time, now slow(free) and expensive(faster)
Just registered with IMGUR. Seems easy enough.
One question. I have set my albums/pics to hidden. Is there any way they can be seen by others ??
Thanks

[Gregg1100]

https://i.imgur.com/a28gZVv.jpg

At Falkirk, Scotland. Kelpies Park. There are lights inside the horse heads which come on at night. You can see them for miles apparently.
Just trying out IMGUR

[Kilted_John]

I'm not sure why, but some of my photos (a very small number) on older threads are coming up with the "PHOTO NOT AVAILABLE" error. Yet I have not deleted the photo.

In fact, if you just click on the error box it takes you to the photo page. I'm not sure what's going on, perhaps it's just a flickr-fart, but know this: I haven't deleted any photos since the incident in April of 2016, and many of those were placed back online shortly thereafter. Even my stupid ones I keep online just for the hell of it.

I just had that pop up while trying to upload a photo in the uploadr page. Deleted the photo, then tried again, and it worked fine. I think the server is having issues today.

-J

[moonshadow]

It's probably old news by now, but as many of you may know, Flickr will be making some major changes starting next year. Basically if you're on the free account, the terabyte of store you had is toast. You are now limited to 1,000 photos.

Since I have over 16,000 photos on my stream, this presented a bit of a problem.

Though I hate to have to pay for something I used to get for free, I can also understand that in order for the service to remain viable, it must generate some type of revenue. $50 per year is a small price to pay for unlimited storage, stats, and all the bells and whistles that come with a paid membership, not the least of which is NO ADS. (not that I really noticed many to start with)

So it is with that sentiment that I bit the bullet and switched over to the "PRO" membership at Flickr, now I can continue photographing away and sharing all of my stories and style with my friends here on Skirt Cafe!

Hopefully SmugMug can save Flickr, because I really do enjoy the site.

[Kilted_John]

^Make sure that you use the promo code. I forgot to do that when I reinstated my pro account that I let lapse in 2013 after the reboot of the site. So, instead of paying $35, I paid the full $50.

[moonshadow]

^Make sure that you use the promo code. I forgot to do that when I reinstated my pro account that I let lapse in 2013 after the reboot of the site. So, instead of paying $35, I paid the full $50.

Yeah I did. Its $35 for the first year. But even $50 per year is pretty affordable for such a fun hobby.