By Xinhua
Beijing : Yahoo’s online photo-sharing site Flickr will release online video service which represents the latest example of Yahoo trying to catch up with Google in a crucial battleground, media reported Wednesday.
Flickr’s new technology is aimed at amateurs and hobbyists looking for a better way to share short video clips with family and friends.
Only Flickr’s “pro” members — those who pay for a 24.95 U.S. dollars annual subscription — will be allowed to transfer video clips of up to 90 seconds to the site, but anyone will be able to watch them. A privacy setting will allow videographers to limit access to the clips on Flickr if they want.
The video service will be offered in English and seven other languages: French, German, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish and traditional Chinese.
Flickr believes its service will offer a more personal touch than the many other Web sites that feature video, and that will help distinguish it. Flickr managers also expect to appeal to people looking to keep their video and pictures on the same site.
“What we are doing is going to meet a huge unmet need in the market,” predicted Kakul Srivastava, Flickr’s general manager. “Most people aren’t showing their personal videos at all right now.”