BetaBeat reports that Flickr is about to get a massive upgrade. This news is quite welcomed, since it seems like Flickr was never going to go through an interface change (although it was very much needed). The company has hired a new Senior Product Manager by the name of Markus Spiering. Spiering reported to BetaBeat that he intends to provide Flickr with a much-needed update (details and speculations listed below).
Some Changes to Look For
If you currently use Flickr, you can expect interface changes to pop up sometime next week. Amongst those changes will be an all-new interface that locks photos together in a pleasing view (much larger than the small thumbprints currently offered), and some snazzy drag and drop action. Right now, Flickr users are used to a lot of white space surrounded by some small photos, but the new interface (as reported by BetaBeat) will be a lot more centered on photos, which makes a lot of sense.
Presumably, some other interface changes will be rolling out next week as well. What those changes will be are being kept under wraps for the time being, but Flcickr is bound to announce all changes very soon. If you use Flickr, there’s no doubt that you will enjoy these modern adjustments.
The Yahoo Acquisition
When Yahoo purchased Flickr some time ago, Flickr fans weren’t so sure about the acquisition. As time passed, it seemed like Yahoo had altogether forgotten about the photo site, and this left many Flickr fans feeling angry. Now, it seems, Yahoo has started to pay attention to Flickr once more. At first read, it seems like the new interface changes will be positive all around. After all, a photo site that leaves a lot of white space and few photos isn’t a photo site that people are bound to use all that often.
Interestingly, Yahoo claims that the company never did forget about Flickr. Instead, Yahoo insists that Flickr images have been integrated into Yahoo projects for some time now. While fans might have missed this integration, there’s no doubt that Yahoo is paying attention to Flickr once again. This is right in line with current consumer photo trends. After all, apps like Instagram and Pinterest are photo-based, and both of these companies have done rather well over the past few months.
Seemingly, photo sites will be the type of site to build in the future. So, it makes very good sense that Yahoo is paying a lot more attention to Flickr. Even though Flickr has been around for some time now, it hasn’t been until recently that more consumers are looking for a photo site to use and share photos. With Flickr’s current interface, the site simply looks dated. With the new Flickr site that is going to show up in a few days, people are bound to flock to the new Flickr - -which will soon be viewed as a new and fresh site and not something that was swallowed up by Yahoo and forgotten.