What your favourite Web sites say about you

By Rory Reid on 10 September 2007, 5:27pm

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FLICKR
What's the story?
Flickr started life as a multi-user chat room called FlickrLive, which allowed users to chat and exchange photos. As the site evolved, the chat room aspect was shelved and more emphasis was placed on photo management and sharing. The service was developed by Canada-based Ludicorp in February 2004 and had a core team of just nine staff. But don't let its size fool you; Ludicorp had an ambitious corporate philosophy. In its own words, Ludicorp's goal is not to raise capital or to make a profit -- "the goal is to kick ass".

On 20 March 2005, Ludicorp and Flickr were acquired by Yahoo. Five days later Ludicorp updated its Web site to tell visitors it was time to "pop the champagne corks!!" Flickr was migrated from servers in Canada to servers in the US and no updates have been posted on Ludicorp's Web site since. The Ludicorp team (presumably) migrated themselves, perhaps to sunnier climes, with digital cameras in hand and cash firmly in pocket.

Did you know?
The Flickr service originated from tools designed for a massively multi-player online game called Game Neverending (GNE). The game was in development between 2002 and 2004 but proved too ambitious a project and was scrapped. We're not sure anyone would have played it anyway -- it was based on themes of social interaction and object manipulation, but there was no way to actually win at GNE, nor any way of telling whether you were playing it successfully.

What Flickr says about you
The average Flickr user is a lover of life. They are never without their camera and waste no opportunity to capture the moment. They travel often, absorbing new cultures as they go. Their goal is primarily to create a digital record of their adventures, so that by the time they're older, they'll have access to an unlimited supply of photos with which to bore and embarrass their grandchildren at family reunions.

Some might say the Flickr user has a dark side -- they can be show-offs, and often brag to their less financially fortunate friends about their adventures. "Look at me standing in the shadow of the Louvre!" is a common cry. "Don't you wish you could be as beautiful and happy as I look standing at the top of the Eiffel Tower?"

For the most part, though, they live for the moment and are tolerant and embracing of new people and cultures. All in all, Mr and Ms Flickr are sweethearts.