02 February 2007

Form, Content & Disclosure

One of flickr's many idiosyncrasies is its square thumbnails. Square has never been popular for photos so it was an odd choice anyway, but in the age of the digital camera it's hard to think why they didn't go for 4x3

But could flickr actually change the norm? I have found that when I conceive of a set of photos for on-screen display I am increasingly tempted to crop them square - just for flickr. I can't be the only one.

flickr emailed me this week to tell me that in order to carry on posting my photos there I will need to reveal my full name, post code, date of birth and gender [they want me to register with Yahoo] Otherwise no photo sharing. Nope, it's that or you're out. They'll even, grudgingly, give you your money back rather than let you post a picture without revealing your birthday.

It's funny to think that, to flickr - and to dozens of other intrusive sites - I am actually Tony Blair, born 1 Jan 1970, now of 10 Downing Street, SW1A 2AJ. Later this year I suppose I shall have to decide whether to regenerate as Gordon Brown, or just go straight to David Cameron. Its like being Dr Who.

I guess I'm the odd one out here and most people just give their names, otherwise yahoo would hardly bother, would they? but I'm not the only Mr Grumpy on this one.

Not by a long way.

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