flickr Video is “The New Coke”

The “No Video on flickr” movement is not (well, not entirely) a bunch of Luddites whining about the invention of moving pictures. The huge “No Video on flickr” protest (30,000 members and counting) is probably the reason for any slight service delays on the flickr site, not 90-second video uploads.

flickr is the most well-regarded photo-sharing community on the web (full disclosure: I am a flicker Pro subscriber). Why the precipitate change to include video? Parent company Yahoo is desperate to add value to corporate assets before an impending corporate take-over. This short-term attempt to pump up stock value is poor long-term strategy, and while that is of no concern to a Yahoo management eager to sell, the user community is understandably concerned. Any flicker corporate purchaser should be, too.

Adding video to flickr is a horrible move for the brand, for the long-term health of flickr, and for the user community. flickr management is diluting brand identity, introducing “New Coke” at the expense of “Classic Coke.” This will not help the Yahoo bargaining position, and even foolishly endangers Yahoo employee stock options.

Nothing keeps flickr from introducing a separate video service except the desire to exploit flickr community user numbers for short-term gain in the corporate acquisition wars.

flickr community members have a strong interest in a strong flickr brand identity. This move weakens it.

 

Images by Mike Licht. Download top image here, bottom image here. Creative Commons license. Credit: Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com

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