The world’s favourite photo-sharing site, Flickr, has introduced a whole bunch of new features to its search engine, in an effort to make it easier to browse through the billions of photos and videos the site hosts. The new search also entails some social-networking tendencies, as the focus on communities has gone up.
For once, a press release did not go overboard in hyping the product, as Flickr product manager Shanan Delop explained the new features on the site’s official blog:
“Note the new ‘View’ controls at the top of the page, these allow you to display the results in different sizes and formats. Both small and medium views have an ‘i’ icon on every thumbnail — click it to see more detailed information about a particular photo. We’re also doing some whiz bang stuff in the small view to take advantage of as much space as you have on your screen, just try resizing your browser to see.
“On the right side of the page we try to provide a new perspective on your search. Based upon how our members are tagging their photos and participating in the Flickrverse, you’ll see links to the groups, photographers, tag clusters and places that are most closely related what you’re looking for. We hope these will occasionally provide a little extra inspiration for your search.
“Lastly, we’re exposing simple summary information on the page as you refine your search. For example, try looking for Creative Commons licensed videos of dogs made after 1st January 2009 and you’ll see all that information listed above your search. Over time, we’ll bring more and more advanced features directly into the page.”