Comments on: Flickr is smarter than you might think

By: Dimitry

Dimitry — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

As I read this, it was reminding me of myself when I first got a Flickr account.

Good thought and a good tip :)

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Quote: While I am not sure that the Flickr team realized this when they created it, it sure does work.

Ok, so how does this make them smarter? Under the pretenses that this DOES work, this comment alone debases the entire argument you *might* have had.

You are only making the dynamics of a population something that is assumed to be calculated by Flickr staff. It doesn’t make any sense.

The reality is that they created a site that they knew people would flock to, and to handle increases in bandwidth, extra commodities, etc, they charged for it to minimize the gap. Next, they create an extra option of a “badge” to further minimize that gap. Incidentally, humans are shallow needy people with an apparent hard-coded gene to be envious of “the joneses”…

At best, this is a backwards corrolation.

By: centernetworks

centernetworks — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Thanks Dimitry – I try to create thought starters for your startup or service.

By: Free Nature Photography Wallpaper

Free Nature Photography Wallpaper — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Flickr is also going to be couping with Microsoft to create a 3d environment of any vacation place. People will take pics and identify… check out this article: http://www.ohgizmo.com/2007/02/20/microsoft-photosynth-now-available-in-beta/

By: gunnar

gunnar — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

and I still don’t care – couldn’t care less, even though I read a lot of the “A-listers”.

I got Pro for the sole purpose of unlimited uploads (would have taken a lot of time to upload my 1500ish photos that I’ve sorted out for Flickr), and I really like to have more than three (was it?) sets…

But you’ve got a point! Let me just say 9rules… ;-)

By: Live TV

Live TV — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

It’s called branding + social pressure, and it’s been around forever..if you only realized it now ..I strongly think you should check out out Adbusters or No Logo by Naomi Klein

By: cmak

cmak — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

I'll concede the point that there may be a few people who dropped $25 to have the Pro icon and look cool to their Internet buddies, but I'd wager the proliferation of Pro accounts is more closely related to the simple fact that Flickr provides a well-designed, valuable service to most people, and their upgraded service is well worth the $25/yr rate. According to Flickr, free accounts are restricted in these ways:

100 MB monthly upload limit (5MB per photo)
3 sets
Only smaller (resized) images accessible (though the originals are saved in case you upgrade later)

That's compared to no monthly upload limits, unlimited sets, and full-sized photo access for Pro members. To me (and I'm guessing almost all others), that's the real motive behind getting a Pro account -- you're getting a great deal from an excellent service provider.

By: Jakob Montrasio

Jakob Montrasio — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Yes, you are right.
I have a pro account, only for the badge.
Not because I get unlimited upload, unlimited storage, unlimited sets, full resolution images, flickr ad-free.
It’s all about the badge.
You know, there are people who shoot more then just five pictures per month.
And flickr’s community for feedback and suggestions is great, too.

By: centernetworks

centernetworks — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Thanks Jakob for the sarcasm :) — While Flickr may not have been the ultimate best example of this as their basic and pro packages are significantly different, there is validity to what I wrote. People do signup for services (and buy things) based on the "look" of what others will think. Same thing can work online.

By: trev

trev — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

There’s also the fact that a flickr basic account only gives you 20MB of storage, which fills up quickly for any serious photographer. I think that’s probably the biggest factor in people paying for pro accounts.

By: Andy

Andy — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Right on the money Allen.

I noticed a similar phenomenon today while promoting my startup in the offline world (handing out fliers on the street!)

If one person ignored my outstretched hand offering them a flier, those who saw the rejection would ignore me also. Likewise, when one person accepted the flier, all those following accepted the flier also!

It happened much too often to be a coincidence and reminded me of the “empty shop” phenomenon. If your shop is barren people will keep walking, but as it fills up more and more will enter JUST because it appears popular.

Same thing with Flickr…the more people you see with the badge the more you want it!

If only we could think of ways to harness this physcological phenomenon more effectively online.

By: centernetworks

centernetworks — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Here I am in NYC, land of the fliers... and you are absolutely correct. Yesterday Chase was handing out pens near times square. No one took one. (I was waiting for the bus so I watched)... then an attractive woman took one, and all of a sudden 10 more went immediately.

And I have heard of eateries paying people to eat there in the beginning so it looks busy.

I think (could be wrong) same thing happened with the ducks on the show. People bought the ducks just to say they had a duck like xyz person.

Maybe you and I can create the first online flier handout!

By: Dave Andersen

Dave Andersen — Wed, 30 Nov -0001 00:00:00 +0000

Amazon bestows badges as rewards to their engaged customers–those who provide significant feedback–such as “Top 10 Reviewer,” “Top 1000 Reviewer,” etc.