I have patiently waited a week to review the newest addition to Flickr: video.
It seems that deep in the bowels of Yahoo HQ, the Flickr people were actually doing something these last few years. They have cooked up a fair (if not way too late) video sharing service to complement their outstanding photo service.
THE GOOD
1. Videos are easily uploaded the same way you do with pictures. There is no extra downloader or installed application to use.
2. The videos look great as long as they are shot with a "decent" camera. Most cell phone cameras will only produce a barely watchable video.
3. The video uploads are limited to 90 seconds (see below), but this doesn't seem to be a problem to me because it forces me to think about what I'm shooting and uploading. There won't be a 10 minute video of my daughter singing, only a tight 90 seconds of the highlights. I actually like that.
4. If you use Flickr regularly, you will find the format exactly the same. Videos fall in effortlessly with your photos and can be viewed in the same photostream. I love this idea. For people like my parents (who follow my Flickr feed for the latest on their granddaughter) they are going to get a big surprise the next time they check their RSS feed.
5. Mobile video upload is a snap as well. I was able to email a rather boring video of my lunch to Flickr quickly and easily. This will be great for quick "only the fly" events where you may have nothing else but your cellphone with you.
THE BAD
1. Being a large Flickr fan myself, I was excited by the notion that I could share my videos on the same site. I was a bit disappointed that I could only upload 90 seconds of video at a time. YouTube allows a maximum of 10 minutes. Why is Flickr so limiting? The answer seems to be in the details. Flickr is not trying to be YouTube. They don't want videos of people being kicked in the crotch or the latest thing that Colbert said. They want YOUR videos. The videos that you should be out making instead of sitting around watching other people's stuff on the web. Limiting the videos to 90 seconds is a bit constraining, but it actually gives a kind of boundary, by getting people to think of what is the most crucial thing about the video they want to submit. Everyone is forced to be a video editor on Flickr.
2. Unfortunately you have to have a paid "Pro" account to upload video. In the future I would love to see the 90 second rule apply to non-paying customers and maybe a 5 minute limit be given to the "Pro" account owners.
3. The service feels rushed. It makes me wonder if Yahoo's recent takeover bids were a catlylist for the release of this service. While the truth of that may never be known, I guess I am trying to view this as a "1.0" version of the service. It was badly needed as well as a little late to the party.
THE UGLY
1. There has been a lot of controversy from Flickr fantatics over the release of the video portion of the site. Those against the service point out that Flickr is a PHOTO site that should only be for PHOTOS. They want the site to stick to the model that has served it well for so long. The other side of the debate realizes that to survive the coming consolidation, Flickr has to evolve. They have to draw a bigger share of people that are slowly being taken away by services such as Shutterfly and Picasa.
2. NOTE TO THE DEVELOPERS: you are not Google. You don't have to make butt-ugly sites that should be beaten with a internet ugly stick. Flickr needs to be redesigned. It's just not functional any more. I have wander aimlessly all over the place to go for one page to the next. The silly drop down boxes at the top drive me nuts. It's the only website where I can't remember how to navigate from one section to the next.
So that's my take on Flickr. I think in any case you should give the new service a try. Even if you don't have a "Pro" account, you can still view the videos. The best thing is it will only take up to 90 seconds to try...
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