1. Openness

The first great thing about Flickr is its openness. Nearly every function that can be executed on Flickr can be utilized in its Web Services API. On my art site rikcat.com I use Flickr’s API to power the artwork section. I wrote a little PHP script using the phpFlickr class that displays artwork from a specified set of images on Flickr. So in the end, Flickr becomes a back-end tool for the front-end of the artwork section of the site. I’m able to add, subtract, and order artwork any way I’d like.

Flickr is constantly improving their product and you can tell the people working on the product love it as well. Yesterday, they released a new feature that allows you to view stats about your account. It’s only available to pro account holders and the upgraded account is only $24.95 a year.

2. Community

There is a tremendous sense of community on Flickr. I’ve met and collaborated with other artists, in which these relationships have rolled into opportunities to show at galleries and so on. As an artist, putting work up on Flickr provides immediate feedback and the ability to provide encouragement and constructive criticism.

Early last year I received a Flickr mail from a book publisher asking for permission to use a photo I posted of my cat Bobo. I agreed, thinking that the book on pet costumes would never be published. But a couple of weeks before Halloween, a copy of “Dog Trick or Cat Treat” was in my mailbox. About a week later, I was approached by People.com to use the same photo for a feature on pet costumes. All because I shared my photos with the community.

3. Storage

The final reason to love Flickr is disaster proof storage of your images. In the past, I’ve been bitten by some bad backups. One incident, I lost 10 years worth of artwork on a bad Iomega Jaz drive. With a pro account, you get unlimited storage, unlimited uploads, unlimited bandwith and permanent archiving of high resolution images.

Free accounts also have ample features with 100megs of bandwith per month, with some other feature restrictions. Free account holders are limited to 3 sets and photostream views limited to the 200 most recent images. The free account is a good way to find out if Flickr is right for you, then you can upgrade to a pro account for $24.95 a year.

There are so many more features and functions Flickr provides that make it one of the best sites on the web. If you don’t use it already, what are you waiting for?