What Is Flickr?

That's a question I've been thinking about in the last couple of weeks. It's the web's premier photo sharing application, of course.

I guess I'm asking the question in respect to where the service is going? As Yahoo's most successful sub-brand, how will it evolve to serve its customers while also serving Yahoo's goals.

I see three possible paths...

1. Best in class web photography application

2. Best in class user generated media community

3. Evolve into something broader still. Perhaps Flickr could be Yahoo's fist successful social network. Could it be a facebook-fighter.

Whatever path Yahoo choose, it will leverage the following different functions.


Flickr Home
What your friends are doing in the world. What the world is doing.

My Photos
Yeah, flickr is first and foremost a photo sharing site. Isn't it great that the whole world can see your pics?
My Contacts
These are the most important people to me online, either because we're friends offline or because they rock at taking pictures of interesting things. This has a whole lot of untapped potential. What about some openness here? What about openID
My Profile
This is interesting, except that on Flickr it isn't quite. Why is this page so boring, and hidden? How can I express more about myself here?