Zooomr has great product evangelists such as Mr. Hawk, but it’s time to back up the hype with some features As it stands now, I wouldn’t pay for a pro account, but I hope that will change in the upcoming year.

- Dude, that’s a bit harsh. There’s some interesting stuff on this blog. And it’s an important discussion.

Hawk and his blog thrive off a bit of controversy, much like uninteresting people at parties who try to make themselves appear interesting by being opinionated and argumentative.

This Flickr/Zooomr API controversy appears to have been created and promoted entirely by TH. And I’m sure it’ll be successful as the recent Photography is not a crime post (and it’s predecessor) at boosting his blog’s ad impressions. I wonder who’s cage he’ll rattle next…

AJ

Are you suggesting that because I have a financial interest in Zooomr that I ought not be allowed to have an opinion on the portability of users data in Web 2.0? My views are every bit as valid as your views irrespecitve of the fact that you may work for Flickr and I may work for Zooomr.

And my language is in no way couching at all. I sincerely believe that Flickr is a great consumer focused company. One of the best out there in fact. You’ve seen the work I’ve put into Flickr over the past year. Would I have spent all that time if I had a negative view of the company? I obviously feel very very powerfully positive about flickr. For you to somehow read my words of support for Flickr as somehow hidden missives of criticism is absurd.

Certainly though I have been vocal when I’ve felt critically about things about flickr in the past. There’s nothing wrong with that.

It feels as though you would suggest that because I’m working with Zooomr now that I’m incapable of having an unbiased opinion on the portibility of user data. This too is absurd. I’d have the same opinion about the portibility of data whether I worked for Zooomr or not.

And as to your challenge, “what’s the problem.” The problem is simple. At present there is no easy way to export all of the metadata associated with my photographs on flickr out of flickr and into another platform. My tags very much are trapped at flickr. And I’m more than the casual user. I’ve got over 5,000 photos stored on flickr and flickr is the only place (other than tabblo where you allow importing the images and granted them an API key to do so) where these tags exist today. I can’t get at this data without manually re-entering it all. That is in fact a problem. But it’s a problem that you are aware of and I believe are addressing the correct way by changing your opinion on granting competitors API keys.

And your statement that a standards based approach for import/export is the only way you get real interoperability is in fact false. This is not the only way. On Sunday you suggested to me that this could be accomplished by writing the metadata back to the photo file and this could be developed down the line. This is not how it is being done with tabblo today. Tabblo instead has been granted a flickr api key and is pulling directly from the flickr database. Probably the easiest and most efficient way to get this data transferred across and probably the right way given that it is the least impactful to the user.

For you to suggest that an interoperability solution that involves writing the tags to the image file is the *only* way is misleading and inaccurate.

But as you say this point is in fact moot as you are willing to give Zooomr an API key and I’d argue as you should and as you should grant to any other competitor that would like to build an import tool to allow users portability of their data. The data first and foremost belongs to the users not flickr. You are paid to maintain it and to provide a great experience with it for them. And because of this you benefit and have benefited greatly.

Bottom line today. I can get my tags to tabblo (they got an API key), but I can’t get them to Zooomr or Picasa or Webshots or even to my own damn hard drive.

This should not be a hostile conversation. Flickr is doing the right thing by opening up their API to competitors. I agree with you that flickr is doing the right thing. As I’ve stated more than once now Flickr is in fact the type of company that consistently has and I’m confident will in the future continue doing the right thing for their cusomters. I have nothing but the highest respect for you and flickr and your entire team and a great appreciation for your roles as consumer advocates in the world of photo sharing.

But for you to insinuate that I have nefarious reasons for wanting user portability with their data is off. And for you to suggest that my feelings on this are some kind of a game or a charade or anything but sincere is equally off.

I do plan on spending many hours in the days ahead working on Zooomr functionality as you recommend that I do. But I also will free to speak my mind of subjects that I feel are important. Before I was ever affiliated with Zooomr I was first and foremost a blogger and a photographer. And a passionate photographer who has spent literally thousands of hours on your website building up *my* data. For you to think that I shouldn’t be allowed to have an opinion on how that data ought to now be handled and the issues surrounding it’s portability because I’m now in your words “no longer a neutral third party” is also absurd.

And again you somehow want to indicate that I was part of some “TechCrunch Game” when you don’t address that it was I who posted the third comment on the original post defending Flickr and in fact pointing out that you had changed your opinion on this so that Mike Arrington’s readers would have a proper understanding of the situation. I also personally emailed Mike of this fact when I first saw the post. And that was the only post I made in the entire thread other than this blog entry which I’ve written today and which I still stand by.