Why I love Flickr

The internet's most empowering value lies in the ease with which new social connections are made. I'm not talking about closed social networks like Friendster, LinkedIn, Spoke and Orkut, which privatise the internet by requiring invitations to join, and focus primarily on who, not what, you know.

I'm talking about those ubiquitous networks in which connections between people, ideas and things are more freely made. These include email, public bulletin boards, chat, P2P, instant messaging, blogs (with comments enabled, of course), and even Amazon customer reviews. I love having the freedom to engage and participate whenever I feel compelled to, within networks of people I may or may not have met in person.

More and more people are using social networking applications in innovative ways. I've come across two examples in the past week. Most of you who read blogs regularly know that Flickr is no ordinary online photo sharing application. It has a photo annotation feature that was most recently and creatively used by Betrand Sereno to share his recipe for lemon pie. When you hover over each hotspot, the associated method pops up (screenshot above). Other peoples' comments vary from the difference between white and brown eggs, to how to make vanilla sugar. I love cooking and, a few years ago, put many of my family's Bengali recipes online, but it's a static site and I love the idea of doing it Betrand's wholly visual way and inviting comments for improvements and variations. Watch this space.

Another inventive use of Flickr is Prandial's "Flicktion" - in which photos of Florentine doorbells inspire and are appended by short stories. An idea that would be even more ingenious if commenters started reacting to, adapting and completely rewriting the stories. Ah, the social possibilities.

Related links:
+ Let's be Friendsters. Social networking sites are spreading like a rash through the internet, but are they sustainable?
+ The truth about why I hate Friendster

Other links today:
+ Please make my perfect cup of tea. Here's a pantone chart you can hang in your office kitchen so your colleagues can make your perfect cuppa based on your preferred pantone reference. Genius.
+ Hell is 57 varieties. Endless choice was supposed to herald progress, but it has only made us more miserable.
+ Space tourism. Sir Richard Branson is at it again.