Although rumors have been floating around for a while abut flickr adding video, this post on TechCrunch seems to confirm that this is in fact the case. As much as I understand the progression to video, and the thought from users that it would be very convenient to be able to store and share multiple different kinds of media in one place, there is a part of me that wonders how successful flickr video will be. I think the only way to do it right is to have photos and videos in ONE place, rather then separating them into different streams for each user. Even still, I really do feel that the reason flickr has been so successful is because of their sole focus on photography. From the day I began using it, I thought it was the best photo sharing app on the web and possibly even one of the best social networking sites period, organizationally at least. This feeling hasn't changed despite all the copycats and my increased use of Facebook photos over the last few months, which is also designed and organized pretty well.

Part of the reason I have such loving feelings towards flickr is because of their sole focus on one thing, making it really easy to upload, organize, find and share photos, without the added burden of lengthy personal profiles and silly fringe features. I am not necessarily saying that video fits into the category of being an irrelevant step to take, but I worry about what the inclusion of video may turn flickr into. Unlike many of the commenters on the TechCrunch post, I for one, do not want flickr to turn into YouTube AT ALL. Why should they try to revival a site that has simply become a myspace-like marketing tool? (and a highly unsearchable at that) Although I doubt that the intention of flickr's developers is to become the next YouTube, I am almost ready to say, 'why bother doing it at all?' But then again, it may turn out to be perfectly integrated and very useful....I guess we'll have to see.