Flickr changes homepage, users not too happy

Photo sharing site Flickr today launched a new version of its homepage, altering the look and adding a few new features.

There are no radical changes here, but Flickr has managed to make the site a little easier to use. The changes are explained on a screencast here.

As someone who uses Flickr a lot, primarily for this blog, the 'upload photos' link is what I look for first, so it's good to see it placed more prominently on the page, as well as my five most recent uploads. 

Recent contacts' photos are also displayed, as well an 'explore' preview section, a good way to start browsing through the site, though both can be minimised if you prefer it that way:

All useful changes so far, at least for the way I normally use Flickr, but a quick look through the feedback page reveals that plenty of users of the site aren't too happy with the changes.

With any website revamp, there are always a few people who are used to the way things work and are resistant to any changes, but the reaction from Flickr users is overwhelmingly negative.

Out of over 1500 comments, at least 80 - 90% want the old version back, with many complaints about the way comments are displayed. 

They used to be separated into comments on other people's photos and comments on your own photos, now they are all bundled in together, which will be confusing for users with a decent amount of activity.

Flickr says that the revamp was made after a period of beta testing and listening to user feedback, but there is still plenty of anger out there.

Many of this is from pro users who pay $25 per year, so perhaps Flickr needs to have a rethink.

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