The following numbers show why Flickr has moved into the mobile arena to increase it’s affected photo sharing market share. So are the two services mutually exclusive and able to coexist, or will the end result is “That there can be only one”?
Instagram uses a stylized version of the Brownie as it's app icon. Maybe the two circles in Flickr's logo were inspired by the Brownie as well.
Flickr
• 51 million registered users.
• Sharing website with mobile apps and social integration
• 100 million web uploads in 2 years – albeit not taking advantage the rise of the iPhone frenzy of 2011
Instagram
• 10 million users
• iOS Web App – exclusive.
• 150 million mobile uploads in 10 months – riding the iPhone frenzy of 2011
Instagram focuses on simple photo storage and sharing with friends. A true mobile approach. A simple website – though branded Webstagram for some off the wall and (I think) off target marketing reason. The app does come with regular updates from a camera angle, as it is not only a posting, but a capture tool. That sounds simple, and it is which makes it a great app and has contributed to it’s rise, but also is a short coming when you remember it is iOS based. The app itself can generate photos reminiscent of the old brownies (maybe that is why the icon represents one) in terms of tint, off focus etc which is not a short coming, but a style. Heck even Obama is on Instagram now.
Flicker was born in a social setting. Share, catalogue, pay for more space and you will never loose any of your photos again. Though unless you were burnt by other defunct photo storage services, you probably wont bother keeping them local if you are an avid user of Flickr – but be warned. All services can end.
The power of the sharing, tagging, sorting etc tools that Flickr has, means that it can do much more for you than Instagram can. If you are looking at this from a business POV, then Flickr definitely has some advantages with the functions it has.
Flickr just has too much clout to be beaten by an photo app. The question is can they improve the app that they have?When the first Android Flickr app hit the market in the fall, it came with some lessons learned from Instagram. So obviously they are taking note. Some of the features are camera filters, a real time activity stream to review friends recent photos, browse older photos of yours and your friends, see likes, comments and a geolocation tag if the uploaded mobile has that enabled. So really taking more of the website function to the app.
The downside is for Instagram is that Flickr is available on iTunes now as well as in the Android Marketplace. Instagram is not on Google’s Android platform.
With the iPhone now the leading camera used on Flickr, things are going to get interesting in 2012.
Note: There is an app called insTAGgramSearch for Android, but it does not upload, so really what is the point of that – so really not a functional app. And from the looks of it, it is from a third party developer.
Recent Comments