flickr

Let computers figure out what you like with inSuggest

inSuggest is a new recommendation service for finding interesting items on the Web. There are two variations--one for blogs and Web sites, and another for photographs. Both take four items picked by users to whittle down the types of sites or photographs you'd be interested in.

Between the two, the Web flavor is a little more structured, requiring users to enter in the URLs of some of their favorite sites. The results can then be previewed right below the search box and be browsed eight recommendations at a time. The photo engine is a little more organic, simply … Read more

Social network invites can be a plague

If you're like many people deeply wired into a Web 2.0 lifestyle, your inbox is a never-ending flow of invites to new social-networking services.

Day in and day out, it seems, there's a new one. Today it's Notch Up, yesterday it's Naymz. Last week it was Dopplr.

And that's not even counting the steady flow of requests to be someone's friend on LinkedIn, MySpace, Plaxo or Facebook.

For me, it's a constant annoyance. I know I probably should jump on the LinkedIn bandwagon, for example, yet I never have, and frankly, don'… Read more

Photographer finds Flickr pics sold on iStockphoto

Update 4:15 p.m. PST: I added a comment from Guðleifsdóttir and corrected that the earlier incident involved selling eight individual photos.

An Icelandic photographer has for a second time encountered the ugly side of Internet photo sharing, finding photos she published at Yahoo's Flickr site being sold by somebody else through the iStockphoto Web site.

Rebekka Guðleifsdóttir, a professional photographer, found a picture she took of three frolicking horses on iStockphoto, a "microstock" site that licenses images for relatively low prices.

"I mean for crying out … Read more

Flickr fans band together to fend off Microsoft

This is what happens when Microsoft tries to take over not just a company but also a community: a number of Flickr users have launched a group opposing the attempted acquisition.

The Microsoft: Keep Your Evil Grubby Hands Off Our Flickr group has 1,804 members and counting. The photo-sharing site has no shortage of opinionated members, and who knows how many shares they'll be able to vote in a proxy fight, but it is an interesting development.

"I'm not a Microsoft hater," said Flickr user Christopher Bosum. "I just don't like the fact … Read more

Five things right and wrong with Flickr

I apparently ruffled some feathers among Flickerites (of which I'm one by the way), when I suggested last week that maybe it wouldn't be so terrible were someone else, even Microsoft, to take a shot at upgrading a service given that Yahoo has shown so little inclination to do so.

Now, I'm by no means convinced that Microsoft is the right company for this particular job. At the same time, I can't help but feel that Flickr has largely stagnated--even if that stagnation feels safe and comfortable to a lot of current users.

There's no … Read more

Microsoft: Threat or savior for Flickr?

There are probably too many electrons already being spilt today on Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Yahoo. Rather than delving into the $45 billion aspects of the deal, I'm going to specifically discuss Flickr, Yahoo's popular photo sharing service.

Flickr hasn't been a big part of the general online buzzing about this proposed deal. In part, this is doubtless because it's a small part of Yahoo's financials. It's probably also because most people have at best a vague awareness that Flickr is even a part of Yahoo. Yahoo bought Flickr and has largely left … Read more

Social media...just say no?

Social media has certainly come into its own over the last year. Whether you log more hours online than you do sleeping or are the type that only turns your computer on every couple of days — gasp — there is a good chance that you have some familiarity with social media, even if you didn't know that's what it was.

Maybe you get a chuckle every now and then from a video on YouTube, upload photos to Flickr for friends and family to see, ask and answer questions on Yahoo Answers, do a little networking and reconnecting with old … Read more

Warholizer: Presto pop-art for your photos

Chances are you're not going to match the influence over the art world that Andy Warhol did with his pop-art pictures of Campbell's soup cans and Marilyn Monroe, but at least you can have some of the fun.

BigHugeLabs has added a "Warholizer" tool that lets you upload a photo or modify one hosted at Flickr or Photobucket so it becomes a tribute to Warhol's bright, posterized art.

BigHugeLabs already offers a large collection of entertaining photo-effect tools. Along with the Warholizer, my favorites include the mock motivational poster maker, the ID badge maker, the … Read more

Picnik online photo-editing spreads its wings

Picnik, an online photo-editing service, has released specifications that will let other Web sites use its tools.

The Seattle company on Tuesday released its application programming interface, or API, called Picnik-in-a-Box. "Sites can use the Picnik interface to load, edit, and save specific images provided by users, customize certain portions of the Picnik interface, and give users a superior image-importing and -exporting experience for applications or Web sites," the company said in a statement.

Web site developers wishing to employ the feature can obtain a key from Picnik that grants access to the API, Picnik said.

Among sites … Read more