Case Study: Flickr

Flickr is a photo management and sharing web site with over 200,000 members that allows users to upload photos and put together photo albums that can be annotated with “tags” and shared. Founded in 2002 by Caterina Fake and Stewart Butterfield and originally based out of Vancouver, Canada, Flickr was purchased by Yahoo! in March 2005. [Source: Flickr, CNET, August 2005]

Things to read:

Questions to consider:

  • How does an online photo service like Flickr open new opportunities in the business for consumer photography?
  • What is the Flickr “tag” system and why is it important to the success of the service?
  • What kind of services do you see evolving in the future as digital photography increases in popularity?

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

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