Photo Exhibition or Online Community? The Role of Social Interaction in Flickr

This paper presents the results of a user study based on nine interviews for members of the online photo-sharing service Flickr, and describes the social behaviors for building the community among the Flickr users. The study explores the role of social interaction in Flickr, and the results show that Flickr is more than just an online photo album and has many important social functions in users' lives. It is used for telling about one's lives and presenting one's photographic skills, as well as for gaining a reputation through having content with good quality. Furthermore, several social behaviors for building and maintaining a community can be identified.