'What Is Flickr?' Question Flummoxes Folks on the Street
Posted Nov 6th 2009 2:39PM by Switched Staff
We'll admit that, as tech journalists, we live in a bit of a self-imposed bubble when it comes to Internet goings-on. ("What do you mean, 'You've never heard of a meme?' ") So we decided to take our cameras to the streets of New York and descend upon the less compulsively-geeky masses to ask, "What is Flickr?"
Though the image-sharing behemoth Flickr -- now millions of users strong -- celebrated its 4 billionth photo upload last month, we apparently confused a fair-sized cross-section of people walking through Times Square. But all was not lost: despite the fact that some couldn't tell us "what the Flickr is," we mercifully found some of our own ilk, from teens to more mature passerbys, to legitimize our inherently techy career focus. (Mom, Dad, we're doing powerful important work, here.)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Information Central said 3:56PM on 11-06-2009
The baffling part is why they named the site FLICKr but didn't host video from the beginning. WTF is the "flick" for then?
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MaryMRevis said 5:04AM on 11-08-2009
I'm a member of Flickr and I also admin/ moderate for 6 Flickr groups. I LOVE the site and the photosharing I do with the other members. It's fun, addicting and I CAN'T WAIT to upload my photograpgy work and to view the works of others.
There are little if any issues and if there happens to be one (such as someone uploading porn or an internet troll) Flickr deals with it FAST!.
KUDOS to Flickr and may they have MANY more years and members to come!
Mary M Revis
Ohio
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Bmntywlsh55 said 8:12AM on 11-09-2009
I would like to report them but they don't have a link for that.
This story wasn't worth putting on here. Who cares what other people think - we know what it means.
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aa1afl411 said 8:35AM on 11-09-2009
I agree with you jbjg24m, I think all spammers should be sterilized so they don't multiply. As for the question at hand........are we now living in a world where we're supposed to be adding every single slang and anachronism (sorry, sp?) currently on the face of the planet to our vocabulary to be considered literate?
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mel said 12:46PM on 11-09-2009
Report them! Hit the exclamation point. Some of these spams are viruses when you open them. Some sites will remove their spam at the time they are reported. They get paid to but these spams on.
Report them!
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Foxsnooze said 8:54AM on 11-09-2009
What is "Flickr"? What a dumb question. ... How about "what is Snapfish"?, or "what is "Picasa"?
Just because some people aren't familiar with one of dozens of photo sharing sites means nothing. Within a few months, Flickr will be surpassed by another site, and then another. Different photo sharing sites are popular with some groups online, and some with others. I've got literally tens of thousands of photos online, using a photo site you've probably never heard of, yet thousands of pro shooters use it every day. So what?
And if the editors at "Switched" don't understand this, THEY are the naive' ones here.
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Laura Lynn said 10:06AM on 11-09-2009
I don't think it's a dumb question. I, for one, have no idea what the term means. I'm guessing it has to do with something on the internet, since I usually only use my computer for email and to read the news I wouldn't have a clue as to any programs or there names. I'm also one of the very few people in the world who does not have a My Face Page, nor do I Twitter (whatever that is). I don't even IM. I even send letters through the US Postal Service (that's right. I actually hand write letters... imagine that!). Yes, I am what you might call a dinosaur of the communication world. Yes, laugh at me if you must, but we are a dying breed and one day we will be extinct and a generation will be born that will not know what it's like to send a letter through the mail (snail mail), just like there is a generation now that has never seen a dial telephone nor do they have any idea how to one. It's very sad if you think about it.
me0905 said 9:20AM on 11-09-2009
I know what FLICK'r is but who really cares? There are so many more important issues in this world than FLICK'r.
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colleen said 9:48AM on 11-09-2009
This article sounds like one big promo for the website!
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rstinva said 10:00AM on 11-09-2009
Flicker is a horse who was a friend of some little girl.
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reimansimon1 said 10:59AM on 11-09-2009
Wasn't that Mr.Ed? The horse, of course.
HinmanKid said 10:03AM on 11-09-2009
Nice job making an advertisement look like a news article.
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brrs137 said 10:31AM on 11-09-2009
Before the more common usage came into being , there was a television show about a horse called Flickr. The name of the show was,"My Friend Flickr"
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you big hunk said 10:41AM on 11-09-2009
LOL, wasn't the horse called Flicka? My Friend Flicka?
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LilDani0512 said 10:44AM on 11-09-2009
Its fun. Sure there are more important things, but who wants to be serious all the time? It is an advertisment though. lol
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reimansimon1 said 11:00AM on 11-09-2009
Flicka was Mr.Ed in drag
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eww133 said 1:55PM on 11-09-2009
The movie and TV show was "My Friend Flicka". The movie starred a very young Roddy McDowell. Don't remember who played Ken in the TV show.
And really don't care one wit about "flickr".
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Mitsuku said 12:50PM on 11-09-2009
well
first guy who knew in this video was from New Orleans o.o
weird, almost no one I ask seems to know what it is over here
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Estella Carol Wyatt said 12:59PM on 11-09-2009
Actually, a Flickr (sic) is one of the first movies ever made for mass consumption. Because the state of the art hadn't reached 20 frames per second yet (the minimum needed to overcome flashes of light between each frame), people would see those flashes of blank light within the movie. Hence, the 'ancient' remarks by movie goers saying things like. "We just came back from the Flicks" or "Did you see the latest Flicker that Charlie Chaplin just made?"
( BTW, I do know the present use of Flickr. I just thought it'd be fun to mix a little video history in the blog. ;->
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Information Central said 4:17PM on 11-09-2009
Yes, which is exactly why the name Flickr never made sense for site that had still images only.