Here's the deal. I had a Flickr "Pro" account. I think it cost $29 a year. That isn't a ton of money, I agree. Equals like 2.50 a month or so - but let's break this down a bit.
What does the Pro account give you? Where does the money go, as far as improvements to the site? Are they better alternatives? These questions led me to make my decision NOT to give flickr anymore money.
Now I may seem like a mad, bitter person. Perhaps, perhaps not. But when one isn't working much right now, and money is tight - you may have better insight into my reasoning.
So somehow I ended up on Flickrs' "help forum", which really is not very well organized. I am sure they are going to address this when they decide to roll out their update in 8-9 months. I voiced my opinions, and as I expected, many people defended Flickr. I was told you cannot compare G+ or even 500px to Flickr. I was also told that flickr isn't a "social media"site. But isn't it? Maybe perhaps not in the sense that G+ or Facebook are, but it is no doubt still social media. There are Flickr Apps, Flickr plug-ins from Aperture (and I am assuming Lightroom as well?). It was also suggested I delete my account, or even get a website, which I do have.
If you have used Google Plus, I am sure you have opinions on it. You also know what a GREAT tool it truly is. I am sure that Google knew that it would be a HUGE hit with photographers. They already had Picassa in place, and it was integrated into G+ well before Google opened up G+ to the masses (it used to be by invite only). What is really wonderful about G+ is the "blog" aspect of it. I still like the traditional layout, but I could seriously use G+ as my blog. It is like instant messaging or texting, if you think about it. The beauty of G+ is that it IS FREE. As someone who cares about jpeg compression, G+ handles compression extremely well.
500px also handles jpeg compression well. I cannot tell you how frustrating it is, when you upload a 700kb file to flickr, and only 565kb is uploaded. A lot of people don't care about this, but if you are PAYING for a service, it should at least handle files better than a free service, right? Also, both 500px and Google do NOT limit the amount of files you can have. 500px DOES LIMIT the amount per week on their free account, but it is 20 per week. I have yet to even come close to that limit.
Also, and I may be superficial here, but the UI of Flickr is years behind the curve. It is not elegant at all, especially for a so called "non social media" site. Now we get to the cost. For my Zenfolio account, it cost me $80 a year. That equals $6.40 a month or something. For the extra $4 a month, I would much rather have a website that has unlimited storage, customizable, can sell prints from, etc.
However, I have met good people via Flickr. A few buddies I shoot with regularly with I met via flickr. I also met some via G+, and most people that have flickr have a G+. These are my opinions on this, and nothing else:)
Here is a shot I worked on this morning. It is near Fort Rock, Oregon. It was at sunset, and the temperature was around 35 degrees with a breeze.
What does the Pro account give you? Where does the money go, as far as improvements to the site? Are they better alternatives? These questions led me to make my decision NOT to give flickr anymore money.
Now I may seem like a mad, bitter person. Perhaps, perhaps not. But when one isn't working much right now, and money is tight - you may have better insight into my reasoning.
So somehow I ended up on Flickrs' "help forum", which really is not very well organized. I am sure they are going to address this when they decide to roll out their update in 8-9 months. I voiced my opinions, and as I expected, many people defended Flickr. I was told you cannot compare G+ or even 500px to Flickr. I was also told that flickr isn't a "social media"site. But isn't it? Maybe perhaps not in the sense that G+ or Facebook are, but it is no doubt still social media. There are Flickr Apps, Flickr plug-ins from Aperture (and I am assuming Lightroom as well?). It was also suggested I delete my account, or even get a website, which I do have.
If you have used Google Plus, I am sure you have opinions on it. You also know what a GREAT tool it truly is. I am sure that Google knew that it would be a HUGE hit with photographers. They already had Picassa in place, and it was integrated into G+ well before Google opened up G+ to the masses (it used to be by invite only). What is really wonderful about G+ is the "blog" aspect of it. I still like the traditional layout, but I could seriously use G+ as my blog. It is like instant messaging or texting, if you think about it. The beauty of G+ is that it IS FREE. As someone who cares about jpeg compression, G+ handles compression extremely well.
500px also handles jpeg compression well. I cannot tell you how frustrating it is, when you upload a 700kb file to flickr, and only 565kb is uploaded. A lot of people don't care about this, but if you are PAYING for a service, it should at least handle files better than a free service, right? Also, both 500px and Google do NOT limit the amount of files you can have. 500px DOES LIMIT the amount per week on their free account, but it is 20 per week. I have yet to even come close to that limit.
Also, and I may be superficial here, but the UI of Flickr is years behind the curve. It is not elegant at all, especially for a so called "non social media" site. Now we get to the cost. For my Zenfolio account, it cost me $80 a year. That equals $6.40 a month or something. For the extra $4 a month, I would much rather have a website that has unlimited storage, customizable, can sell prints from, etc.
However, I have met good people via Flickr. A few buddies I shoot with regularly with I met via flickr. I also met some via G+, and most people that have flickr have a G+. These are my opinions on this, and nothing else:)
Here is a shot I worked on this morning. It is near Fort Rock, Oregon. It was at sunset, and the temperature was around 35 degrees with a breeze.
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