Ode to Flickr...

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It's been over seven years that I've been active on Flickr.  That's a good chunk of time, especially considering that I've gone through some profound internal changes during those many, many months.  With the advent of hotel wifi, it's also meant sharing while traveling (and let's not get into the smartphone aspect of all this).  (fwiw... this is the photo on the laptop screen in this image).  Now, I'm not going to get into the subject of being too plugged in, yada yada...I realize the sometimes ridiculous dependence I have on my virtual connections (and, you know, admitting you have a problem is the first step).  What I *am* thinking of at this moment, is how wonderful this particular community has been to me and for me.

The handful of very close friends and couple dozen of warm acquaintences I've come to know through Flickr, have seriously influenced my life.  I've been fortunate to find like minded souls who are thoughtful and smart, and who inspire me not only to be a better artist but also to be a more aware and better human being.  This isn't to say that everyone with whom the friendships have formed are exactly like me.  It's really wonderful to come to know and admire people whose lives and quite different from mine.  For me, it's been a way to broaden my worldview and even to see myself differently, with an expanded vision.

We old timers from Flickr often lament the changes on the site and wax nostalgic for the "old days."  But, times change.  I'm still active there and will remain so for the forseeable future.  I still enjoy the interaction, although it's not as heady as it once was (and I frequently have to pull views by linking to FB...which I know others do as well and it's really not something on which I plan to place judgment).  Not only that, I'm *still* meeting cool people there...sometimes others who have been there for as long as myself, but we just never connected before.  There's still something very special to me about the community of which I'm a part, that started with sharing our creativity and love for photography on Flickr.

Comments

[A Facebook User]

Therese,
Thank you very much for expressing so eloquently how I, too, feel about Flickr and the warm acquaintances/friendships I have developed there too.