Only three weeks ago the iPhone was on course to become the most popular camera on Flickr. It had been just below the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi for several weeks but now iPhone usage on Flickr, as measured by Flickr’s own data, has started to fall off dramatically. Just take a look at this graph – I’ve marked where things were when Boris posted Flickr data here on 18th August.
So, what’s happening? Most of the cameras listed have fallen off slightly, maybe due to the end of the summer holiday season in the northern hemisphere, but why is the iPhone’s fall so pronounced?
Missing Data? Blame Flickr’s iPhone app
The answer could well be to do with flaws in the data rather than actual usage. A quick test of Flickr’s new official iPhone app (which after initial trouble I can now log into) reveals that it doesn’t upload camera model information. This means that lots of photos taken with iPhones over the past few days simply won’t show up on this graph. With the app (which is free) currently ‘Featured’ in the App Store, that could account for a lot of photos.
Now, the app has only been available since Tuesday. The fall has been occurring for longer than that so there has to be something else at play…
Is the 3GS novelty factor wearing off?
Look at the graph again and you’ll see a huge growth in iPhone usage a short while ago. In a short space of time usage increased significantly. It’s hard to say exactly when it was (Flickr’s graph doesn’t display accurate time measurement) but it’s likely that the significant increase tied in with the launch of the iPhone 3GS.
With the 3GS sporting an improved camera and new video recording capability, it’s likely that usage shot up as new and upgrading iPhone users rushed to show off what their new phone could do. After a couple of months the novelty could simply have worn off.
Maybe the iPhone isn’t destined to be the most popular camera on Flickr after all.
UPDATE: In case you think this just represents a fall in cameraphone use in general – here’s Flickr’s data comparing only cameraphones. All the iPhone’s nearest competitors remain steady.
Martin Bryant is based in Manchester, UK. A co-founder of the city's monthly Social Media Cafe events and award-winning blogger, he is Digital Content Editor for Marketing Manchester. His main interests are developments in the social web that relate to the mobile and music industries. Twitter, Personal site
[...] they are trying to compete with Twitter. The reviews all over the web have been quite mixed. iPhone usage on Flickr falls dramatically – What’s happening? – thenextweb.com 09/13/2009 Only three weeks ago the iPhone was on course to become the most [...]
I would have to say part of the reason of the iphone fallout is because the app is very buggy. I’m no expert but it seems this is possible because I used it twice and while it was fun, I stopped because it crashes alot and works fairly slow. That’s my two cents
Point missed entirely. You reach a certain number of photos and Flickr wants you to pay. People won’t pay. I wouldn’t.
Mike, so you’re saying that this reduction is due to a load of iPhone users hitting the free photo limit? I very much doubt it. Why would they all hit the limit and decide to stop posting photos en masse? Such an effect would be more gradual, and besides, some people never hit the limit or aren’t bothered by it. You can still use Flickr once you hit the limit, you just can’t see your oldest uploads.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Frederiek Pascal, Arnt Edvin Eriksen, David Petherick, MartinSFP and others. MartinSFP said: iPhone usage on Flickr falls dramatically – What's happening? http://tnw.to/1517 [...]
Could it be that PicPosterous is now capturing the market with people publishing to Posterous instead of Flickr? Just a thought, besides PicPosterous was launched on August 20? http://blog.posterous.com/the-.....cposterous
JPM – I haven’t use PicPosterous but photos posted to Flickr via Posterous’ email service certainly maintain camera data. PicPosterous is also probably still a comparatively little-used app which wouldn’t have had much of an impact, I wouldn’t have thought.
I would like to see a side by side comparison of a graph showing iPhone uploads to YouTube and the chart above. I wonder if more people are uploading video now. Or all the iPhone users had to go back to work after vacations. Since I bought my 3Gs I’ve taken alot more video than images, with my Gen1 iPhone I uploaded a TON of pictures. It’s all video now.
[...] iPhone usage on Flickr falls dramatically – What’s happening? | The Next Web Blog 〈Flickr で iPhone が激減したのはなぜ？〉 [...]
[...] iPhone usage on Flickr falls dramatically – What’s happening? – Is it a glitch in the data, or is something else going [...]
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[...] tons of photos, both shot by and straight from the iPhone. But now, The Next Web has covered a huge drop in photos referencing the iPhone over on the popular photo sharing site. The suspected culprit? Flickr [...]
[...] tons of photos, both shot by and straight from the iPhone. But now, The Next Web has covered a huge drop in photos referencing the iPhone over on the popular photo sharing site. The suspected culprit? Flickr [...]
[...] tons of photos, both shot by and straight from the iPhone. But now, The Next Web has covered a huge drop in photos referencing the iPhone over on the popular photo sharing site. The suspected culprit? Flickr [...]
[...] tons of photos, both shot by and straight from the iPhone. But now, The Next Web has covered a huge drop in photos referencing the iPhone over on the popular photo sharing site. The suspected culprit? Flickr themselves. TNW suggests [...]
[...] tons of photos, both shot by and straight from the iPhone. But now, The Next Web has covered a huge drop in photos referencing the iPhone over on the popular photo sharing site. The suspected culprit? Flickr themselves. TNW suggests [...]
[...] tons of photos, both shot by and straight from the iPhone. But now, The Next Web has covered a huge drop in photos referencing the iPhone over on the popular photo sharing site. The suspected culprit? Flickr themselves. TNW suggests [...]
[...] tons of photos, both shot by and straight from the iPhone. But now, The Next Web has covered a huge drop in photos referencing the iPhone over on the popular photo sharing site. The suspected culprit? Flickr [...]
[...] Care to comment? By Martin Bryant on September 15, 2009 Two days ago we wrote about the sudden sharp decrease in photos taken with an iPhone being published to Flickr. While we speculated on reasons for the drop, the most likely candidate of all has now come to [...]
[...] tons of photos, both shot by and straight from the iPhone. But now, The Next Web has covered a huge drop in photos referencing the iPhone over on the popular photo sharing site. The suspected culprit? Flickr [...]
[...] though, TheNextWeb noticed a dropoff in photos referencing the iPhone at Flickr. A commenter on TUAW then noticed what may actually be [...]
[...] though, TheNextWeb noticed a dropoff in photos referencing the iPhone at Flickr. A commenter on TUAW then noticed what may actually be [...]
Facebook is free, where Flickr charges a yearly fee. Once I hit the 200 photo limit, I just stopped using it.
Plus more friends of mine have a Facebook account, and many of them have no use for a Flickr account.
[...] though, TheNextWeb noticed a dropoff in photos referencing the iPhone at Flickr. A commenter on TUAW then noticed what may actually be [...]
[...] though, TheNextWeb noticed a dropoff in photos referencing the iPhone at Flickr. A commenter on TUAW then noticed what may actually be [...]
[...] though, TheNextWeb noticed a dropoff in photos referencing the iPhone at Flickr. A commenter on TUAW then noticed what may actually be [...]
[...] though, TheNextWeb beheld a dropoff in photos referencing a iPhone during Flickr. A commenter upon TUAW afterwards beheld what might [...]
[...] though, TheNextWeb noticed a dropoff in photos referencing the iPhone at Flickr. A commenter on TUAW then noticed what may actually be [...]
[...] though, TheNextWeb noticed a dropoff in photos referencing the iPhone at Flickr. A commenter on TUAW then noticed what may actually be [...]
[...] tons of photos, both shot by and straight from the iPhone. But now, The Next Web has covered a huge drop in photos referencing the iPhone over on the popular photo sharing site. The suspected culprit? Flickr [...]
[...] a considérablement décliné depuis le 18 aout, et le coupable n’est autre que Flickr lui-même. The Next Web suggère que le problème provenait de l’application pour l’iPhone qui n’enregistrait plus [...]
[...] though, TheNextWeb noticed a dropoff in photos referencing the iPhone at Flickr. A commenter on TUAW then noticed what may actually be [...]
[...] tons of photos, both shot by and straight from the iPhone. But now, The Next Web has covered a huge drop in photos referencing the iPhone over on the popular photo sharing site. The suspected culprit? Flickr [...]
[...] tons of photos, both shot by and straight from the iPhone. But now, The Next Web has covered a huge drop in photos referencing the iPhone over on the popular photo sharing site. The suspected culprit? Flickr [...]
[...] iPhone usage on Flickr falls dramatically, what’s happening ? (le nombre de photos envoyées sur Flickr depuis l’iphone chute : pourquoi ?) - The next web [...]
[...] though, TheNextWeb noticed a dropoff in photos referencing the iPhone at Flickr. A commenter on TUAW then noticed what may actually be [...]