Revamp

September 10, 2008 4:08 PM

If you use Flickr, your home page is about to change. It looks more like a social networking site than ever.

(There's a link near the bottom of your current home page... see it? Beware: MIDI track!)

posted by chuckdarwin (50 comments total)

Hold on, I'm trying to guess exactly how this is going to TOTALLY OUTRAGE! the flickr community.
posted by mullingitover at 4:15 PM on September 10, 2008 [3 favorites]

OH WOW. The music was the perfect touch for the transition.
posted by Memo at 4:19 PM on September 10, 2008

The Girl From Ipanena?
posted by fixedgear at 4:20 PM on September 10, 2008

You got, fixedgear. I guess it's the ultimate in ironic 'elevator music'.
posted by chuckdarwin at 4:22 PM on September 10, 2008

You have been invited to join the group "1,000,000 AGAINST THE NEW FACEBOOK FLICKR LAYOUT!"
posted by Venadium at 4:24 PM on September 10, 2008 [5 favorites]

Hi. I'm the admin for a group called KEEP YOUR GRUBBY YAHOO HANDS OFF MY HOMEPAGE!!! and we'd love to have this added to the group.
posted by strangeleftydoublethink at 4:26 PM on September 10, 2008 [8 favorites]

I guess it's the ultimate in ironic 'elevator music'.

As used in Mr and Mrs Smith in the lift during the finale gun fight, if I recall.
posted by Brockles at 4:32 PM on September 10, 2008

Well, it's kinda about time Flickr added some features. I like it. Adding recent activity in groups is an excellent improvement, as hopefully it will encourage people to be active in groups, instead of just sending photos to them to attract some views then forget about them.
posted by Jimbob at 4:43 PM on September 10, 2008

I think they're just trying to follow the old adage about good software being anything that gets your users laid. Thus, all websites will try to become 'social networks.'
posted by Kadin2048 at 4:50 PM on September 10, 2008

Looks ok to me.
posted by blaneyphoto at 4:55 PM on September 10, 2008

I don't see the problem. How could Flickr get any less usable?
posted by DU at 4:56 PM on September 10, 2008

I just can't wait until they realize that what the site really needs is an alternate-reality game laid on top of the photo interface.
posted by dhartung at 5:02 PM on September 10, 2008 [5 favorites]

DU, I think my FPP implies negativity... but I kind of tried to compose it as neutrally as possible.

FWIW, I like the new home page.
posted by chuckdarwin at 5:03 PM on September 10, 2008

I hate it when people change something good.
posted by krautland at 5:04 PM on September 10, 2008

I dunno, I kind of like the 'mute' feature.
posted by fixedgear at 5:07 PM on September 10, 2008

The only changes I see are an extra row of photos from my contacts, a row of photos from a group with recent activity, and a row of pictures from Explore. Seeing the Explore pictures is irritating and the two other changes are rather minor. Unless I'm missing something I can't see how these inconsequential changes would alter how I use the site.
posted by plastic_animals at 5:16 PM on September 10, 2008

I hope we get another free donut day out of this.
posted by MiltonRandKalman at 5:19 PM on September 10, 2008

No offense, but this isn't really a very interesting FPP. If you use Flickr, you're going to see this soon enough if you haven't already (there's a link to it on your Flickr main page). And if you don't use Flickr, then you won't care.
posted by dhammond at 5:21 PM on September 10, 2008

I like it. It's not a major redesign, and the few things I access from the Flickr home page are still easily accessible.
posted by Venadium at 5:23 PM on September 10, 2008

I'm trying to do the new Facebook link think but it doesn't seem to be working. I'm looking forward to that feature--the current FB Flickr apps are confusing and often broken.
posted by statolith at 5:24 PM on September 10, 2008

Ooh new 'mute' function! Yay!
posted by statolith at 5:26 PM on September 10, 2008

Flickr's had recent activity for groups for a long time now. It'd be better if you could see group photo activity the same way you can view contact activity. Actually, this is just a redesign as far as I can tell. There are no new 'social networking' features that weren't there before. The homepage does look nicer though.
posted by chunking express at 5:27 PM on September 10, 2008

I can't wait to make to enter a list of my bestest Internet friends into another database which will then be processed according to my Terms of Service agreement.
posted by RobotVoodooPower at 5:30 PM on September 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

I don't see the problem. How could Flickr get any less usable?

well, let's see .... they didn't change or fix any of the confusing aspects of the old interface, but they did move certain things around, so the stuff that I've memorized due to regular use isn't there anymore..
Yahoo!
posted by mannequito at 5:44 PM on September 10, 2008

Can I still upload and share photos from it?

Otherwise, I'm not losing any sleep.
posted by jonmc at 5:45 PM on September 10, 2008 [1 favorite]

should add - I actually do use Flickr, actually that and MetaFilter are the only sites I have paid for ... but I have always been annoyed by certain little aspects of the interface and this 'revamp' doesn't appear to have addressed those issues
posted by mannequito at 5:46 PM on September 10, 2008

I'll have to wait for more comments before I conjure up some fake OMGOUTRAEG!1!!


(looks great. I think I'll survive).
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 5:46 PM on September 10, 2008

About time -- your "home page" had basically only one or two items of interesting information on it, and the page I most frequently check (along with RSS feeds of my contacts' photos) is the "recent activity" page, which is hidden in the footer links. Looks good to me.
posted by muckster at 6:18 PM on September 10, 2008

Actually, having switched over, I take that back -- this doesn't go nearly far enough. There's a lot more going on that they could've foregrounded.
posted by muckster at 6:22 PM on September 10, 2008

Did they add an option to remove HDR photos from the search and explore functions?
I'd pay double for that.
posted by BuddhaInABucket at 6:40 PM on September 10, 2008 [10 favorites]

I SNIIIIFFED OUT THIS GREAT POST!
I WANT TO GIVE YOU THIS STAR!
please join my group.
posted by bonaldi at 6:49 PM on September 10, 2008 [7 favorites]

I've never actually used the home page on flickr. I always go directly to my photostream page, because generally anything I want to do involves messing with my photos.
posted by nightchrome at 6:50 PM on September 10, 2008

I was hoping for a function which sends an electric shock to people who post annoying icons in the flickr comments.
posted by gomichild at 6:56 PM on September 10, 2008 [4 favorites]

Worth a look just for the lovely transition. Lounge music midi, yes!
posted by exquisite_deluxe at 7:12 PM on September 10, 2008

I hadn't thought to look at my "home" page in a couple of months -- i generally go to my photostream, then out from there. Boy, let me tell you, I'm OUTRA.. eh, nonpluss... er, I kinda think it's better, now. Still doubt I'll use it much. (OLD SKOOL 4 EVA!!)
posted by Devils Rancher at 7:23 PM on September 10, 2008

Hmm.
Flickr's old homepage sucked, but it annoys me that they're going in this direction.
Like Last.fm's recent redesign, it looks like tools are trying to be places, and I don't think the techies are behind it: probably bosses.
posted by tmcw at 7:25 PM on September 10, 2008

The redesign is nice if only for the recent activity on the front page change. (I can't imagine people will hate on this, but people on Flickr are pretty fucking stupid, so you never know.)
posted by chunking express at 8:25 PM on September 10, 2008

I don't think the techies are behind it: probably bosses.

There is actually a third possibility.
posted by jjg at 10:44 PM on September 10, 2008

It looks fine to me. I wonder when we'll evolve enough as a species so that every little web page redesign doesn't cause people to throw up their arms in turmoil or dismay.
posted by Dave Faris at 4:52 AM on September 11, 2008

i love flikr, though i hated having to get a yahoo account
posted by rexvanderwoodsen at 5:14 AM on September 11, 2008

I wish I could come up with a clever one liner that would convey my disdain for life in the first twenty comments of every single metafilter thread. I mean I hate everything. I punch strangers on the street. I step on flowers. I kick puppies and set kittens on fire. I am jealous of people in wheelchairs always having a place to sit. I tell little girls they will grow up to be ugly. I am an asshole. Yet, here I am ray of fucking sunshine. What am I doing wrong? How come I can't shit in every single thread? I am feeling horribly out of step, like I am just a small click away from an ill-advised metatalk post. Is there a FAQ I have missed?

I like Flickr. I like the new homepage. I can finally find my overall photostream stats easily. I already had a greasemonkey script to give me the sparkline so I am happy with that as well. I like that it will highlight the availability of new pictures from friends. I'd prefer control over what group shows up in my homepage or what aspect of explore but that wasn't there before either. It's a minor change - all the social features were all there before. Minor tweak.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled meta-chest-puffing-nihilism...
posted by srboisvert at 5:41 AM on September 11, 2008 [2 favorites]

I SNIIIIFFED OUT THIS GREAT POST!
I WANT TO GIVE YOU THIS STAR!

It's flattering and all when someone likes your photos, but FTLOG please make the ability to do this go.

Personally, I've never worked out how to make the little pictures of people's avatars appear next to your reply to their comment.
posted by mippy at 6:26 AM on September 11, 2008

totally OT: can someone please point me to some css/ajax sites that teach me how to mimic that transition effect? i'm serious.
posted by yonation at 6:38 AM on September 11, 2008

I have a few good friends who have jumped ship due to Flickr's lousy set navigation and complete inflexibility/molasses-like change on things.

This isn't helping at all.

This is not important. This doesn't help me display pictures better at all.
posted by unixrat at 6:43 AM on September 11, 2008

@mippy They use a grease monkey script that adds some links to the pages, so when you click the link it puts all the html you need in the comment box. booyaka!
posted by chunking express at 6:43 AM on September 11, 2008 [1 favorite]

What I'd really like from them is a way to make the default picture larger. I know that'll give them legacy issues, but a lot of Flickr is skewed towards "things that look good as thumbnails", hence the riot of colour that is Explore.
posted by bonaldi at 6:47 AM on September 11, 2008

I just can't wait until they realize that what the site really needs is an alternate-reality game laid on top of the photo interface.
- dhartung

"We started the company to build a game called Game Neverending, which was really conceived as a context for social interactions. [...] The game was about making and trading, buying and selling, interacting with other people. We had become kind of addicted to Neopets, even though it was intended for children, and we really liked the idea of making something whimsical for adults."
- Flickr's founders, quoted in one of many articles on the history of Flickr
posted by egypturnash at 6:49 AM on September 11, 2008

All I want to do is re-order my sets in alphabetical order. It's too much to ask. I submitted a SCR and everything, but it's on a chart somewhere as a medium to low priority. When I asked in a help forum someone suggested that I use 'Organizer' to do it. What a cruel joke.
posted by fixedgear at 7:32 AM on September 11, 2008

fixedgear, the organizer thing is probably the only way to get that done.
posted by chuckdarwin at 3:07 AM on September 12, 2008

The new design is fine, but the transition with the Ipanema soundtrack was solid gold.
posted by danb at 2:29 PM on September 13, 2008