Now Yahoo have taken control of image sharing site Flickr their strict ‘no competitors’ policy has taken effect, meaning that now, unfortunately, Google accounts and Facebook profiles will not be able to log into the site to use the service.
Regarding Flickr’s purchase by Yahoo in 2005, apparently “Yahoo bought it and murdered it and screwed itself out of relevance along the way.” according to Gizmodo. Whilst this may be the impotent ravings of your average opinionated internet blogger, it could be said that the company has been experiencing setbacks in keeping itself in the public eye in this modern era of Apple vs. Microsoft vs. Google.
This latest announcement that the company will no longer allow Facebook and Google access to the site after June the 30th hasn’t really come as a surprise, since Yahoo has been pushing its users to only use Yahoo accounts as much as possible online. It makes very little sense to some critics, seeing as how Yahoo doesn’t operate a major social network.
An explanation for the blocking of external logins came from Yahoo, as told to TechRadar
“Yahoo is continually working on improving the user experience, which includes our sign-in process for Flickr. This process, which asks users to sign in with a Yahoo username, will allow us to offer the best personalized experience to everyone.”
Although this statement does seem to come from a good place, with Yahoo promising the best service possible for Flickr fans, for some users the statement may just be another example of a very common criticism of Yahoo – it seems they are quick to believe that nobody else around offers services as good as theirs.
The site now requires the user to register and sign up for a Yahoo account whether they like it or not, there simply is no way to use Flickr without a Yahoo account. Users are prompted to log in ‘one last time’ before being directed to sign up for their new Yahoo account.
In a technology and internet scene which is gradually becoming more open and accessible to everyone – even with companies such as Microsoft offering compatibility with competitors products in their new releases – the blocking of external account access seems like a move from times gone by. Everywhere you go now it seems you can log in with your Facebook or Google account. Some might even say that this is the last straw for Flickr’s fanbase.
We’ll keep you updated on the situation, and for now, here’s the login screen at Flickr.com where you can begin your conversion into a member of the Yahoo army.
Source – Flickr.com