Flickr, the popular photo sharing web site now owned by Yahoo, has announced plans to add streaming video to its repertoire. Initially, the video offerings will be limited to only 90 second clips, with a maximum file size of 150 MB.
According to News.com, Yahoo plans to incorporate streaming video into Flickr, and the video clips will be managed just like photos on the site, the only exception being that video clips will feature a selection of playback controls. The videos will be shown as a thumbnail image along the users other photos. Comments can also be added, as well as captions, geo tags and privacy restrictions to make the videos private or public.
With most digital cameras now sporting video capability, Yahoo is making the decision to incorporate these clips as “long photos.” Yahoo is attempting to encourage original video clips, not television episodes or DVD captures, and a strict copyright infringement policy will be in effect to discourage the type of video “borrowing” that is so common on YouTube.
Flickr has been wildly successful as a photo and image sharing site, leading to some speculation that the move into video could threaten the dominance of Google’s YouTube. For the time being though, Flickr should pose no serious competition to YouTube, which is capable of handling much longer videos and greater file sizes.
Another big difference is that only Flickr users with Pro subscriptions will have the opportunity to publish videos. The site will convert various formats of video, including AVI, MPEG, and MOV into a standard streaming flash video format. Flickr will also store the original video, and the sites existing uploader will be used to upload video as well as images.
According to industry experts, the biggest hurdle Yahoo will face in incorporating streaming video is the 90 second clip limitation, which is likely to be a big problem for many users. But where Flickr video may succeed is in posting personal and family video clips to share with relatives and friends, an area where YouTube is weak. After all, many families with video clips of children would not consider putting them on YouTube — but families who have already used Flickr to upload photos would likely consider uploading short video clips as well.
The other big hurdle for Yahoo will be convincing Flickr users to sign up for a $25 per year Pro account. Only time will tell if Yahoo will be able to convince users that signing up for a $25 Pro account is worthwhile to include their short video clips alongside photos.
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I don’t think YouTube has anything to worry about here…
I think the differences between the two services are HUGE, and I dont think FLICKR will ever make a real dent :)
Mandrake
Comment by Robert Mandrake — April 13, 2008 @ 12:19 pm