To Thomas’ point – I see the principle behind it, but my anecdotal data point is simple: I’ve never seen any of these sponsored groups, EVER, in my Flickring.

I recognize that I am nowhere near the power Flickr user that Thomas is and that will affect how many sponsored groups I encounter. I rarely participate in groups and my searches are very focused in one narrow field.

In fact, Thomas has done a spectacular job of providing social-media advertising for these efforts, as this report is the first I’ve heard of any of these sponsored groups. (I would have written a blog posting in such a way to not give these companies additional exposure. *grin*)

So, I can’t disagree with your premise, but I wonder how many people actually encounter these sponsored groups?

John, actually commercial use of Flickr by Professional photographers actually violates the Flickr TOU. Which states that commercial use on Flickr is strictly prohibited. But yes, somehow it doesn’t quite bother me as much if a Pro photographer puts their phone number on their profile page as it does seeing McDonald’s, Visa and Ford try to disguise their groups as legitimate user created groups in Flickr’s search results when I’ve paid to opt out of advertising.

Many professional photographers openly use their flickr stream as advertising – should that be hidden from you too?

If flickr wants to advertise to pro members, fine. But take down the ad-free claim on their own adverts. Personally though I’d rather be able to pay (as I’ve done for several years) in order to opt out of all ads (even the sneaky ones) all together.

Can’t you see the toggle to hide the Sponsored Groups on your Groups page?