Flickr Video is now Live

The rumors have been true - we have Flickr video. If you login to your Flickr account, you'll see that you are now able to upload videos as well as pictures.

There's a limit of 90 seconds and 150 MB to uploaded videos.

Flickr video has two basic rules: only "safe" and "moderated" content is allowed, and you can only upload videos that you have created yourself.

Only pro members can upload video content, but anyone can view it, provided they have permission. There are no general upload limits, except the ones on the individual clip.

Flickr supports uploads of AVI, WMV, MPEG, MOV and 3gp videos.

I uploaded a 21 MB clip, which of course took forever and a day. Once it uploads, the video is processed rather quickly. Quality is good. You can also embed it in your blog if you feel like it. The clip can be watched from the photo stream itself, which is rather cool.

It's a very nice addition to have alongside the pictures, especially with digital cameras these days, which give you the option to shoot short clips.

Obviously, this is not a YouTube replacement. I don't think we'll be seeing much music clips or news bloopers - I guess the Flickr video experience will be more personal and artsy. We'll see. In the mean time, I hope to get some cool clips to add to my photo stream, in the upcoming diving safari in Sinai.

Flickr Video on its Way?

Reports and rumors around the net are talking about an upcoming Flickr Video service.

CNET reports that Flickr Video is due this April (Which is 2 weeks from now, mind you). Flickr Video is not supposed to replace Yahoo Video. So, is Yahoo/Flickr going to compete directly with YouTube? Can it be done via Flickr at all?

Flickr isn't just a photo-sharing site. It's a community, and a very vociferous one, as well. Will they accept the addition of videos, or will they bail on Flickr, looking for a quieter realm for storing their photos?

I have been a Flickr and YouTube user for a while. If Flickr launches a good video service, I might start using it instead of YouTube - but winning over the regular YouTube user isn't going to be easy. Users don't switch easily between services, even free ones. I wonder if pro-Flickr users are going to get some benefits, and how all of this is going to look.

In any case, it's always good to hear about new developments and new services. Keeps everything more interesting and dynamic. I guess I'll be following this subject as well.